NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2026 5PM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. President Trump is celebrating the military raid to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but as NPR's Mara Liason reports, he's less interested in talking about what happens next in Venezuela. Trump says the U.S. will run Venezuela, but it's not clear exactly what that means. His Secretary of State has ruled out an Iraq-style occupation, and the U.S. seems content to leave the rest of Maduro's government in place, with no plan for Democratic elections anytime soon. When it comes to possible political fallout among his non-interventionist America First Base,

the president sounds confident his voters will stick with him, despite his breaking a campaign promise not to get involved in foreign military ventures. He told NBC News, quote, MAGA loves it, MAGA loves what I'm doing, MAGA loves everything I do, MAGA is me, MAGA loves everything I do, unquote. He told Republican House members that this year they should run on private health insurance accounts, lower gas prices and a ban on transgender athletes. But he didn't mention Venezuela.

Mara Liason, NPR News, the White House. Today marks five years since the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. A mob of supporters of President Trump violently stormed the building and injured about 140 police officers. President Trump issued mass pardons to the rioters on his first day in office. As NPR's Tom Driesback reports, police officers who were assaulted that day say they're still dealing with trauma. D.C. police officer Daniel Hodges was repeatedly attacked on January 6th, 2021. Riders punched him, kicked him, tried to gouge out his eyes, and then crushed him in a metal door. President Trump gave all of the people who assaulted Hodges' full pardons. Hodges says that only adds to the damage done on January 6th. I can't draw a straight line between this and the 6th, but I've been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety adjustment disorder.

and BDSD symptoms. Hodges told NPR he will keep speaking out about the insurrection to try to preserve an accurate account of what happened that day. Tom Dreisbach, NPR News. Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth says he's censuring Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona over the former Navy pilot's participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. The move would cut Kelly's military rank in retirement pay. Kelly says the administration is trying to send a signal to other military members and officials not to speak out.

This is the way they're going to deal with me, and it sends a chilling effect to service members, retired service members, especially across the country, but anybody who served in the military and any U.S. citizen that if you speak out against this president, they're going to come after you. President Trump accused the decorated war veteran turned astronaut of sedition that could be punishable by death. Stocks rose on Wall Street today. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ both added six-tenths of a percent. This is NPR. Local authorities say fire safety inspections hadn't been carried out since 2019 at the Swiss bar where a fire at a New Year's party left 40 people dead and more than 100 injured. Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop champagne bottles ignited the fire. The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld abortion access in the deep red state, but as Wyoming, Public Radio's Hannah Mersbach reports, the battle may not be over.

The majority of justices ruled that two 2023 laws banning most medical and procedural abortions violate the state constitution, which gives Wyomingites the right to make their own health care decisions. Jackson Holby, G.YN, Jovenina Anthony, says this is a big win. You know, I don't have to lie to patients about what they can and can't do. I don't have to send them out of state. I don't have to. I don't have to. to figure out how to fly them somewhere. But state lawmakers say they'll put a constitutional amendment before voters as early as next fall to make abortion illegal in nearly all cases.

Despite the Republican majority's efforts, the practices remain legal in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. For NPR News, I'm Hannah Mersbach in Jackson, Wyoming. Indonesia's Conservation Park has shared a video of a giant panda cub named Rio 40 days after birth. Veterinarians examined him for the first time outside the incubator. The video shows his growth from a tiny pink baby to a panda with black and white fur. Pandas are known for their breeding difficulties, making Rio's birth especially significant. This is NPR News from Washington.