January 13, 2026: Venezuela Frees Americans, Trump Sanctuary Cities Warning, More
episodePreviously titled “Venezuela Frees Americans, Trump Sanctuary Cities Warning, More” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
News when you want it. With Bloomberg News Now, I'm Doug Krisner. The government of Venezuela has begun to release prisoners with U.S.
What recent developments have occurred regarding American prisoners in Venezuela?
citizenship. The State Department says that it's an important step in the right direction by the interim authorities in Venezuela, and it's also part of the effort to meet Washington's demands following the capture of leader Nicolas Maduro. President Trump says he's cutting off federal funding to sanctuary cities at the end of the month. His administration has given 90-day notices to states like California that bill the federal government. Here is Trump.
Starting February 1st, we're not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens. And it breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come. So we're not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities.
At the same time, President Trump said he's disappointed in Fed Chair Jay Powell for not cutting interest rates.
And just last week, the average 30-year mortgage dropped below 6% for the first time in many years. It's coming down very rapidly, and that's not with the help of the Fed. If I had the help of the Fed, it would be easier. But that jerk will be gone soon.
Now, Trump said he will announce his nomination to replace Powell within the next few weeks. His remarks come in the midst of backlash over the Department of Justice's probe over the Fed. Iran has experienced more than two weeks of deadly nationwide protest, and the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Group is now warning the death toll could be more than 6,000. Today, President Trump urged Iranians to keep up their protest, and he said that help is on the way. Here is Bloomberg's Nick Wadhams.
Well, if they take him seriously and they do ramp up those protests and face violence from the government, I mean, what we've heard is that hundreds of people have been killed so far as the government tries to crack down on these protests.
What is President Trump's stance on federal funding for sanctuary cities?
So if they go out there thinking that the U.S. is somehow going to have to have their back, what pressure or obligation does that put on President Donald Trump?
That is Bloomberg's Nick Wadhams. Meantime, we are being told that SpaceX is now offering free Starlink satellite service in Iran after a days-long Internet blackout. In the U.S., about 1.4 million fewer people have signed up for Obamacare plans so far this year compared to the same period in 2025. The expiration of those federal tax credits is confronting consumers with significantly higher premiums. While the drop-off is less severe than projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and others, experts are warning more attrition is likely in the coming months as consumers face premiums that are, on average, more than doubling. Netflix is working on revised terms for its proposed acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery.
We are told Netflix is discussing making its offer all cash for Warner Studios and streaming businesses. Here's Bloomberg's Chris Palmieri.
The big takeaway here is that Netflix is in this. There's been a question mark. They were sort of a surprise bidder to begin with. This isn't their thing, doing these big acquisitions. And so people wondered, how committed are they to this? This is a signal that they're still committed to doing this deal. Paramount from here, as they're trying to get more details about the valuation process that Warner Brothers went through public, They're continuing with their tender offer. If it comes down to a shareholder vote over the deal, they'll oppose that. If it comes down to an annual meeting, they will propose an alternative slate. So that's Paramount's strategy.
That is Bloomberg's Chris Palmieri. Now, the Netflix offer has faced opposition not only from politicians, but Paramount's guidance as well. And institutional investors have been divided on their support. JPMorgan Chase led a slide among bank stocks today after reporting quarterly results.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:07
2
What recent developments have occurred regarding American prisoners in Venezuela?
0:07–2:02
3
What is President Trump's stance on federal funding for sanctuary cities?
2:02–4:44
4
How are interest rates affecting the housing market according to President Trump?
4:44–5:06
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Bloomberg News Now
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