NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2026 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. To post-Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro is set to make a federal court appearance in a few hours in New York City. He faces charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. Maduro's wife, Celia, also faces charges. The Maduro's were taken over the weekend by U.S. forces during a raid in Caracas. Venezuela's new leader, Delsi Rodriguez, says she's ready to cooperate with the U.S. she's also urging dialogue. The softer tone is a big shift away from what Rodriguez first said after the U.S. military

captured the Maduro's, and Pierre's Kerry Khan reports. Rodriguez put out a conciliatory statement late Sunday, hours after both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump said Venezuelan officials now in power must follow U.S. demands or face further military action. Rodriguez, who was vice president for the last seven years, was sworn into office by Maduro. Loyalist Pact Supreme Court. State media says she was ordered to assume the presidency by the tribunal. And yesterday, Edmundo Gonzalez, who's widely believed to have won Venezuela's 2024 election

and is now in exile, put out a video calling himself president and demanding all political prisoners at Venezuela be released. Kerry Kahn, NPR News, Bogota, Colombia. President Trump has been hinting the U.S. military could take more action, speaking to reporters on Air Force One yesterday, Trump suggested that might include the President of Columbia, a country that borders Venezuela. Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long.

Trump is also saying the U.S. needs to control Greenland. The remarks have alarmed other countries. Greenland is the largest island in the world with a semi-autonomous government. It's controlled by Denmark. Greenlandic authorities say, they will continue to calmly point out their island is not for sale. Jury selection begins today in a case related to the mass school shooting in Nouvelde, Texas in 2022. A former school district police officer is facing trial over the response to the attack.

Texas Public Radio's Mariannevaro has more. Adrian Gonzalez was part of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Rob Elementary School, which killed 19 students and two teachers. Gonzalez faces 29 felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child for his alleged inactions during the response. He's pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The case will be heard in a Corpus Christi courtroom after Gonzalez's lawyers successfully secured a venue change away from Uvaldi, citing concerns that a local jury could not be impartial. Former Uvaldi School's police chief P. Aredondo is the only other officer to be indicted.

He is awaiting a separate trial. I'm Marianne Navarro. in San Antonio. You're listening to NPR News. A Wisconsin judge 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 immigration officials. Members of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature had threatened to impeach her. Some films did really well over the weekend at the box office. They include Avatar, Fire and Ash. NPR's Bob Mondes, Della reports Hollywood is hoping this will mean a bright 2026.

One weekend in, ticket revenue is up 20% over last year, thanks to holiday sequels, Avatar 3 and Zootopia 2. A single weekend doesn't mean much, but theater owners have reason to be optimistic. The next few months, usually a slow period on the release calendar, will bring two high-profile sci-fi epics, mercy about an AI justice system run amok, and Project Hail Mary, which sends Ryan Gosling into space. I met an alien.

He's kind of growing on me. At least he's not growing in me, you know, which was a concern for a little while. There'll be an animated sports epic called Goat and Pixar's hoppers about a human consciousness hopping into an animal's body. This is like Avatar. This is nothing like Avatar. Also two major horror sequels, Scream 7 and 28 years later, the Bone Temple, all before Easter. Bob Mandello, NPR News. The National Weather Service says flood watches are up for much of Northern California.

There are coastal flood warnings, too, around the San Francisco. Bay Area. The region was saturated by storms over the weekend. Flooding was fueled by exceptionally high tides that came along with the weekend's full moon. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.