NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2026 4PM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Counter-protests outside a New York City federal courthouse. Today, where Al-Said, Venezuela, and President Nicola Maduro, and his wife, Celia Flores, were arraigned on drug trafficking, weapons, and other charges. They each pleaded not guilty. NPR's Ryan Lucas has more. Nicolas Maduro faces narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons charges. His wife, Celia Flores, faces three of those same counts. At a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, both Maduro and Flores entered pleas of not guilty.

During the proceedings, Maduro introduced himself as the president of Venezuela and a prisoner of war. The first court appearance comes two days after a U.S. military operation captured the couple in the heart of Venezuela's capital, Caracas, and took them to New York to face trial. U.S. prosecutors alleged Maduro presided over a large-scale drug trafficking operation, working hand-in-hand with drug cartels to ship tons of cocaine to the United States. Ryan Lucas and Pierre News, Washington. President Trump is holding up the U.S. action in Latin America as a warning to Venezuela's neighbors and close allies, Trump named Colombia, as well as Cuba, where flags were flown at half-staffed today.

Officials say the government is paying tribute to 32 officers killed in the U.S. strike in Venezuela. U.S. health officials have announced a major overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, And PR Sping Wong reports the changes will reduce the number of vaccines routinely recommended for all kids. Vaccines against polio, measles, tetanus, and pneumonia are still recommended for all children. But others that used to be, like shots for hepatitis A and B or flu and meningitis, are now shifted to more limited recommendations, such as for kids at high risk or only after consulting with a health care provider. The acting director of the CDC made the changes after a memo from President Trump last month, directed officials to compare the U.S. vaccine schedule with those of peer-developed

countries such as Denmark to align with them. The changes were made without formal public comment or input from vaccine makers and sidestepped the usual process of getting guidance from the CDC's vaccine advisors. Health officials say all the vaccines are still available free to anybody who wants them. Ping Huang and PR News. Minnesota Governor Tim Walts is no longer running for a third term. Today, the Democratic Party's 24 vice presidential nominee said he was dropping his re-election campaign to Minnesota's top office to focus his energy on investigating alleged fraud in the state's child care programs. We should be concerned about fraud in our state government. We cannot effectively deliver programs

and services if we can't earn the public's trust. Waltz accused President Trump and his allies, though, of politicizing the fraud probes at the expense of Minnesota's families. The Dow's Closed up, nearly 600 points. It's NPR news. Anne Frank's stepsister, Holocaust survivor and memoirist Eva Schloss has died at the age of 96. The King of England is among those paying tribute to Schloss's legacy. NPR's Lauren Freire has this from London. King Charles says he's privileged and proud to have known Eva Schloss. She was the co-founder and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, UK.

a charity named after her step-sister. Schloss was born in 1929, Vienna, then fled the Nazis to Amsterdam, where she became friends with the teenage diarist. Both were from Jewish families forced into hiding, then arrested, and sent to concentration camps. The only members to survive were young Eva, her mother, and Anne's father, who then married after the Holocaust. Eva later married a German Jewish refugee and settled in London, where it was only in her late 50s that she became a Holocaust educator and author. Lauren Freyer and PR News, London. The U.S. Secret Services agents detained a man overnight after he allegedly tried to break into Vice President J.D. Vance's Ohio home and caused property damage. Officials say the House east of

downtown Cincinnati was not occupied by any member of Vance's family at the time. The latest government data on flu cases reveal a surge in cases over the holidays. officials say the season likely will get worse. Forty-five states reported high or very high flu activity during Christmas week. That's up from 30 states the week before. The Dow's closed up. 594 points or 1.2 percent. It's NPR.