NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2026 4PM EST

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom. Captured Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is to appear in a Manhattan courtroom tomorrow to face drug and weapons charges. He was seized in a U.S. military operation in Caracas early yesterday morning and brought to New York. The Justice Department indictment accuses him of running a corrupt, illegitimate government fueled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the U.S. with cocaine. His wife and son also face charges. President Trump said his administration will run Venezuela after U.S. forces captured Maduro.

Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio qualified this state admission, saying the U.S. will run the country's policy through sanctions. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. Trump pointed to Rubio, along with others in his administration, when asked who will run Venezuela. But Rubio said this on NBC News. It's not running. It's running policy. The policy with regards to this, we want Venezuela to move in a certain direction, because not only do we think it's good for the people of Venezuela, it's in our national interests.

Rubio said that no U.S. troops are currently in Venezuela and that the U.S. will influence the country through oil sanction enforcement enforcement. Our military is helping the Coast Guard conduct a law enforcement function, which is not just the capture of Maduro, but the enforcement of our sanctions. The Secretary of State said the U.S. naval, quote, quarantine remains in place, and that boat strikes and oil tanker seizures will continue if needed. He, like Trump, did not rule out future use of U.S. troops in Venezuela. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.

Ambassador Frederick Barton was the first Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations under President Obama. He says the U.S. has done the easiest part, the military operation. He says it won't be quite so easy from now on. It's going to be tough. In a way, they've done the easiest piece already, and we've seen that over and over again. These are a huge task, a country of about 30 million people, twice the size of Iraq. We haven't really been in the country, in the way we should be to know it before we get into it. We have not engaged the American public.

Some Venezuelan migrants in North Texas expressed joy and relief after Maduro's capture. Priscilla Rice of member station KERA reports. Victoria Reyes, originally from Caracas, woke up early Saturday morning by family members back home. to let her know planes were flying close to the ground. Reyes watched news updates on Spanish-language television in a Venezuelan restaurant in the Dallas suburb of Garland. Reyes has lived in North Texas for the last three years. She says she is happy now that Maduro is out

and that soon she and other nationals will be preparing their luggage to return home. But others in North Texas view Maduro's capture with alarm. For NPR news, I'm Priscilla Rice in Dallas. This is NPR News in Washington. Hundreds of people marched in silence today at a Swiss ski resort, the site of a deadly bar fire in the early hours of New Year's Day. At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured. Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers.

They suspect sparkling candles atop champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling. Denmark's ambassador to the U.S. said today, his country expects full respect for the territorial integrity of Denmark. He posted a link to a picture posted last night by the wife of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. It was an image of Greenland. The Danish autonomous of territory was painted, red, white, and blue with one word soon. President Trump has repeatedly said Greenland should be part of the U.S. The start of the new year comes with lots of ideas for what will be in and what will be out,

especially for food. NPR's Netta Ulibe has more in the story. The predictions come from chefs, industry analysts, and influencers. And they range from flavors like guava and black sesame to fiber maxing, more fiber in everything. On TikTok, an influencer named Casey Carter responded to a Whole Foods list of 2026 predictions. They say vinegars will be all the rage. As well as beef tallow. But I wonder what cardiologists have to say about that.

Other food predictions for 2026 from other industry, leaders include more creative tiramisus with flavors like banana or peanut butter and jelly and celery in desserts. Netta Ulibe, NPR News. And I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.