NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2026 11AM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kourva Coleman. Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro is at a federal courthouse in New York City. He was captured over the weekend in a U.S. military operation in Caracas. NPR's Jasmine Gar's reports from New York, Maduro, faces U.S. charges, including drug trafficking. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the courthouse ahead of deposed President Nicolas Maduro's indictment. Tentes escalated quickly between those who expressed outrage over the U.S. incursion in Venezuela and those who support it. Mariasu from Venezuela was visibly emotional. She said, quote, I'm happy. I'm happy to see him enter court today and pay for everything.

The deposed Venezuelan president is expected to appear before a judge for a brief hearing that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight. Jasmine Garst, NPR News, New York. President Trump is saying the U.S. will run Venezuela, and he indicated that could include with the help of Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump also says U.S. oil companies will return to Venezuela to take charge of its enormous oil resources. Trump is further musing about U.S. military action in other countries. He specified the President of Colombia,

whose country neighbors Venezuela. He's talked about Cuba, and he's demanding control of Greenland. Defense Secretary Hegset says he is sending a letter of censure to Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly. Heg Seth is citing, Kelly's participation in a short video released last year. Kelly and five other lawmakers called on U.S. troops to resist illegal orders and uphold the Constitution. Heg said he's taking a necessary process step that could lead to a demotion in rank for Kelly. The Arizona senator

is a retired Navy captain. Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walls has announced today he is ending his bid for re-election. Minnesota Public Radio's Dana Ferguson has more. The second term governor said in a statement that he will not pursue a third term in office. Walls launched a re-election campaign in September. He said he wants to spend the last year of his term rooting out fraud in state programs. And he said another campaign could pull focus from that. The move comes after the Walls administration faced increasing scrutiny over that issue. The Trump administration has placed a national spotlight on misuse of government funds in recent weeks.

Wals was first elected governor in 2018 and previously represented. represented southern Minnesota in Congress. He ran unsuccessfully for Vice President on the Democratic ticket in 2024. He says he's confident a Democrat can win the governor's office in November. For NPR News, I'm Dana Ferguson in St. Paul. A judge in Wisconsin has resigned. Hannah Dugan was convicted last month of obstructing justice after she helped a migrant who appeared in her courtroom earlier last year evade federal immigration officials. On Wall Street, points. This is NPR. Police in Switzerland say they have identified all of the injured victims from last week's deadly bar fire that killed 40 people. Swiss police say 83 of the injured are still in the hospital. President Trump has warned India that it will face higher terrorists if it continues to buy Russian oil. As NPR's Amkar Kandekar reports, Trump earlier accused India of helping fund Moscow's invasion of Ukraine by importing cheap Russian crude oil. India emerged as one of Russia's biggest oil importers after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But it reduced purchases after the US doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year. India also began buying more American oil, which analysts say was a conciliatory move to help seal a trade deal. That deal still hasn't happened. Now, India newspaper The Hindu cites government data to report that New Delhi appears to have resumed bulk imports of Russian. oil. President Trump recently reiterated that India reducing imports from Russia was, quote, important to make me happy. But if that trade continues, he said the U.S. could boost tariffs on India, quote, very quickly. Oumkar-Kandekar in PR News, Mumbai. The National Weather Service says the West Coast is getting a lot of precipitation today. That includes

winter weather warnings in the eastern mountains of California with a lot of snow. There are flood watches posted for Northern California. A weekend of heavy rain left some flooding in the San Francisco Bay Area and up to three inches of rain are expected in the same areas today. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.