NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2026 9PM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

NPR News: 01-05-2026 9PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to four U.S. criminal charges against him in federal court in Manhattan today. As NPR's Joe Hernandez reports, his initial court appearance marks the beginning of what could be a lengthy legal saga. Now that the ousted leader is on U.S. soil, the legal process of pretrial motions, plea negotiations, and possibly even a jury trial begins. Shane Stansberry is a professor at the Duke University School of Law and a former federal prosecutor. He says the case against Nicolas Maduro should mostly follow the typical path of any criminal case, with some notable exceptions. It's just that things may take longer, given the nature of the case, the type of evidence involved, the security considerations, and so forth.

Legal experts say Maduro's defense team may raise a number of challenges in the pretrial phase, including Maduro's status as a head of state and whether his arrest was legal. If the case does go to trial, experts say it's unlikely it would begin this year. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. Officials from the Trump administration briefed members of Congress today on the military operation that led to Maduro's capture. Democrats say the operation should have required congressional approval. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress only needed to be notified later that it had happened. I spoke with the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense within hours of the operation commencing. The first call was from Marco Rubio at about 4 a.m.

So they've done everything that they were supposed to do. The Senate will vote later this week. on whether to prohibit further U.S. military involvement in the country without congressional approval. The Pentagon is mounting a six-month review of women in ground combat jobs, according to a memo obtained by NPR. The review is set to determine the effectiveness of having several thousand female soldiers and Marines in infantry, armor, and artillery. A decade after those positions were opened, NPR's Tom Bowman, has more. The memo from Defense Undersecretary Anthony Tata calls for Army and Marine Corps leaders to provide data on the readiness training, casualties, and command climate of ground combat units.

Tata is also asking for any internal studies on the integration of women in ground combat, which is open to them in 2015. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson tells NPR the review is designed to make sure the military is the most lethal. She said Defense Secretary Hegseth will not compromise standards. As a Fox News anchor, Hegseth opposed women in ground combat, but he said during his confirmation hearing, in January that women can serve in ground combat if they meet the same requirements as men. Tom Bowman, NPR News.

Wall Street gained ground today, led by a mix of energy companies and banks. The SMP 500 and NASDAQ both rose 6 tenths of a percent, and the Dow gained one and two-tenths of a percent. This is NPR News. The Health Department says it plans to rescind a series of Biden-era rules meant to make child care more affordable for low-income families. The rules encourage states to base payments to child care providers on enrollment, rather than verified attendance, pay providers in advance of services, and favor guaranteed slots with providers over parent-directed vouchers. HHS says it plans to restore attendance-based billing and reinstate vouchers.

The pill version of the obesity drug Wagovi launches today. This follows the blockbuster success for the injectable version of the drug, NPR's Sydney Lupkin reports. Patients can now fill Wagovi pills. 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 $149 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, than

company says people with insurance could have co-pays as low as $25 a month. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. A 535-pound bluefin tuna sold for a record $3.2 million at the first auction of 26 at Tokyo's Toyusu fish market, the top bid broke the previous record set in 2019. The pricey fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, a region widely regarded for producing some of the world's finest tuna. This is NPR News from Washington.