NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2026 9PM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. There are clarifications and contradictions today about President Trump's remark that the U.S. will, quote, run Venezuela. In Piersquil Lawrence reports, the president didn't rule out U.S. ground troops. After the lightning raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, President Trump said the United States will run Venezuela. Secretary of State Marco Rubio walked that back on Sunday news programs,

saying the U.S. would use its leverage to run Venezuela's government policy. But Trump had said he wasn't afraid of U.S. boots on the ground. Ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, told NPR Congress hasn't been briefed. What he hasn't put forward is, okay, what's the plan? Where are those boots going to go? How are they going to secure the country? The president has not presented a plan for that. There don't appear to be U.S. ground troops in Venezuela right now,

but Trump said they could be used to secure the country's oil production. Quill Lawrence NPR News. Venezuelan Americans across the U.S. are reacting to the news. In Austin, Texas, people gathered for a prayer during a Spanish-language mass. Luis Moreno Lozano from member station KUT has more. Dozens of people filled the pews at St. Louis King of France Catholic Church in North Austin as many prayed for peace in Venezuela, peace they've been waiting years for. Reinal Martinez, who has lived in the United States since 2002,

said the capture was a good first step to liberating people in Venezuela. This is the good step for democracy. So we're happy because we finally can see that Venezuela would be free of the tyranny. Among state lawmakers, the news from Venezuela is mixed, including worry about creating a conflict with the country. I'm Luzmoldana Lozano in Austin, Texas. Wall Street's hoping for another blockbuster year, despite mounting worries about the economy and fears of an AI bubble. As NPR's Maria Aspen reports tomorrow kicks off the first full week of trading for 2026. U.S. markets have rallied for three straight years as investors pin more and more hopes on the artificial intelligence frenzy.

Tech companies are pouring money into AI, while investors have sent tech stocks soaring on the hopes of an eventual payoff. The major U.S. indices all rose by double-digit percentages in 2025. An analysts are largely predicting that they'll do it again this year, despite some fears that tech stocks are too hot, and that the overall economy is weakening. Investors will get more clues about U.S. hiring and unemployment on Friday when the federal government releases its December jobs report. Maria Aspen and PR News. U.S. futures contracts are trading higher at this hour. Dow futures are flat, but NASDAQ futures are up about three-tenths of a percent. You're listening to NPR News.

The leaders of South Korea and China are set to meet tomorrow for their second summit in two months. This amid tensions over regional flashpoints, including North Korea and Taiwan. South Korea's president says cooperation with its main ally, the U.S., doesn't mean ties with China should be confrontational. Cooperation and North Korea's nuclear weapons are expected to be discussed. North Korea launched its first ballistic missiles of the year just before the talks are set to take place in Beijing. Social Security field offices around the country lost 9% of their staff last year. And here's Ashley Lopez reports, that's according to a report from the Strategic Organizing Center. Researchers compiled data from unions representing Social Security field office workers nationwide.

These are local employees that provide direct services like help with identity. credit cards, benefits applications, and benefits verification among other community-specific needs. Thousands of workers who provide those services have left the agency amid the Trump administration's push to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The report found that there are nearly 4,000 beneficiaries for every Social Security field office worker. In eight states, there are 5,000 beneficiaries for each worker. The report also found that some congressional districts lost as much as a fifth of their

local social security workforce. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. Ukrainian President Zelensky is expected to be in Paris Tuesday to meet with European leaders amid the U.S.-led push to end the war in Ukraine. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News, from Washington.