NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2026 3PM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Venezuela and President Nicola Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores have pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking weapons and other charges in the United States. At their arraignment in New York City today, Maduro said he and his wife were prisoners of war, kidnapped at their home two days ago during a U.S. military raid, and he sought to invoke protections under international law by appealing to the Geneva conventions. NPR's Jasmine Garz reports of Venezuela and first lady appear to have sustained injuries. Her right eye looked a bit swollen. Her forehead was bandaged and it was later revealed by the defense that she may have sustained a fracture during the operation or at the very least severe bruising

on her ribs and they requested an x-ray. That's NPR's Jasmine Garst reporting. Some oil industry analysts are weighing in about President Trump's decision to arrest Maduro and his wife, Trump has made it clear that part of the U.S. operation is about control of Venezuela's oil. NPR's Julius Simon has more on Venezuelan oil deposits. Venezuela has massive oil resources, and U.S. oil companies first started drilling there a century ago. But around 2007, then President Hugo Chavez forcibly renegotiated oil contracts. Exxon Moby and Conoco Philips left and took Venezuela to court. The courts ordered Venezuela pay the companies over $11 billion combined. Oil experts tell NPR that for some oil companies,

coming back, could be a way to recoup money owed. Next door to Venezuela is Guyana, a key emerging oil player with a big ExxonMobil presence. For years, Guyana and Venezuela have had territorial disputes, also related to oil. Oil experts tell NPR with President Maduro gone, U.S. oil investments in Guyana are more secure. Julia Simon, NPR News. We see shares of major U.S. companies in the energy sector are sharply higher today at last check. The Dow was up more than 800 points or 1.6 percent. S&P gained 50 points.

The NASAC was up 166. In an unprecedented change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing the number of vaccines recommended for all children and shifting several vaccines that had been universally recommended. The action follows a presidential memorandum issued in December that directed the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC to review the list of vaccines recommended for children. On the new schedule released today, vaccines that had previously been recommended,

such as those for rotavirus, hepatitis, A, and B, meningitis, and seasonal flu are now more limited. They're recommended only for those at high risk or after consultation with a health care provider. This is NPR News. The pill version of the obesity drug Wagovi launches today, this following the blockbuster's success for the injectable version of the drug. NPR Sidney Lepkin has details. Patients can now fill Wagovi pill prescriptions, and they can also order the drug online directly from Novo Nordisk for a discount, as well as through telehealth platforms. The discounted starting dose of the pill is 140.

$49 a month. The higher doses are $299 a month for patients who don't use their health insurance. The price that affects insurance coverage, called a list price, is the same as the Wagovi injection, around $1,400 a month. Although insurance coverage for weight loss drugs has become more restrictive, the company says people with insurance could have co-pays as low as $25 a month. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. One of the first law enforcement officers to respond to the 2022 mass shooting at Rob Elementary School in Uvaldi, Texas, is on trial. Former Uvaldi Schools Officer Adrian Gonzalez is facing 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment. He is one of two officers facing criminal charges.

But an investigation found nearly 400 officers from various agencies were at the side of the school attack. They waited 77 minutes before they breached the classroom and killed the ship. shooter in that time that gunman had killed 19 students and two teachers. U.S. Secret Services agents detain a man overnight after he allegedly tried to break into Vice President J.D. Vance's Ohio home and caused property damage. No one was home at the time. It's NPR News.