NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2026 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. Venezuela and President Nicholas Maduro and his wife will make their first court appearance in New York tomorrow. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports they face multiple felony charges. The grand jury indictment against Maduro accuses him of narco-trafficking, conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S., and possession of machine guns and other destructive devices. Prosecutors initially secured an indictment of Maduro back in 2020, but they added new charges and new defendants, including Maduro's wife. The Trump administration has not produced a memo or other details about the legal rationale for their capture,

but Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast it as a law enforcement operator. to arrest people facing American criminal charges. Rubio says military personnel helped protect the federal agents who executed the arrest, and he says the operation was too uncertain to notify Congress in advance. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Meanwhile, Venezuela's interim president is quickly consolidating her power. Reporter John Otis has more. Delci Rodriguez, who had been Maduro's vice president, was sworn in to replace him. Saturday. Since then, Rodriguez has secured backing from key members of Maduro's authoritarian regime, which remains largely in place. Among them is Defense Minister Vladimir Padino Lopez,

who in this speech on Sunday offered Rodriguez his full support. But in an ominous sign for the Trump administration, which claims Venezuela's government will be a U.S. ally, Rodriguez has fiercely criticized the United States and is demanding that Maduro be returned to Venezuela. For NPR news, I'm John Otis. Congress is ending its holiday break dealing with the news of the U.S. strikes in Venezuela. As NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports, this comes after months of growing concerns among some members of Congress about the Trump administration's deadly strikes on alleged drugboats in the Caribbean. top congressional Republicans praised President Trump,

with Senate Majority Leader John Thune calling the strikes an important first step in bringing the Venezuelan president to justice. He added that he looks forward to briefings from the administration when Congress returns this week. Fellow Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska said the operation will be positive for Venezuelans, but he's concerned Russia and China will use it to justify actions against Ukraine and Taiwan. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have blasted the operation questioning whether it was even legal without congressional approval.

Barbara Sprint, NPR News, Washington. Asian markets are trading mostly higher at this hour. The NICA, the main market in Japan, is up about 2.6%. U.S. futures contracts are trading in mixed territory. You're listening to NPR News. Jury selection starts tomorrow. In the trial of the former police officer charged in the delayed response to the deadly Uval a Texas Elementary School shooting in 2022. This after, police waited more than an hour to confront

the gunmen while students and teachers lay dead or wounded in classrooms. 19 students and two teachers were killed. 21 other people were wounded. Adrian Gonzalez is accused of ignoring his training in a crisis with deadly consequences. His attorney says he was focused on helping children escape the building. A majority of Americans support adding technology to cars to prevent trunk driving. It's according to a survey released this month by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Impairs Kamila Dominozki reports the technology has been required by Congress, but it's stuck in regulatory limbo. The auto industry has been working on tools that can detect impaired driving and stop a car from operating without requiring a driver to blow into a breathalizer.

Some rely on samples of air, others on cameras, monitoring eyes. Four years ago, Congress directed federal regulators to write a rule requiring such tech in future vehicles, but it hasn't happened yet. The survey from AAA found that 67% of Americans support requiring some form of this technology in all new cars. That's a big number, bigger than support for laws against texting while driving, or requiring cars simply to warn a driver when they're speeding. Camila Dominooski, NPR News. And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. 10.