NPR News: 01-04-2026 11AM EST
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What are the details of the U.S. raid on Venezuela’s former president and the upcoming court case?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Nicholas Maduro is expected in federal court in New York as soon as tomorrow. The US military seized the former Venezuelan president and his wife in an early morning raid yesterday. They face drug and weapons charges. President Trump says US will run Venezuela until there can be a proper transition. He says US oil companies will operate the country's oil reserves. President Trump's military intervention in Venezuela is a big departure from his promise to supporters not to get the U.S. involved in foreign conflicts. NPR's Mara Lyason reports.
How is President Trump’s proposed intervention in Venezuela affecting U.S. politics and international reactions?
The big political question that Venezuela may answer is whether the MAGA movement stands for anything Donald Trump decides to do or for principles such as noninterventionism that transcend Trump. Most Republicans in Congress have been supportive so far, but a few, like Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, who's leaving Congress this week after a falling out with Trump. Says the president has broken his America first promise with his plan to quote run Venezuela. She says the president should be focused on domestic problems like the price of food and health care. And it's not clear what Trump means by quote running Venezuela, whether it's a full-fledged occupation like Iraq or something different.
Mara Lyason, NPR News.
Early congressional reaction has fallen largely along party lines.
It proves that we are not an occupying power. Like some of our my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying.
What are European leaders saying about the U.S. takeover of Venezuela and the push for a democratic transition?
We're not an occupying power. We are a liberating power and we restore power and then we give it back to to those who who are in that country. We are a very benevolent country.
European leaders are trying to navigate their discomfort with the US takeover of Venezuela among concerns about provoking the Trump administration. Terry Schultz reports many say they didn't consider Maduro a legitimate leader after disputed elections
in twenty twenty four. European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen says the European Union is following the situation very closely and supports a peaceful and democratic transition. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, however, says while Spain didn't recognize Maduro, quote, neither will it recognize an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region toward a horizon of uncertainty and belligerence. Social media posts suggesting Trump may now enact previous threats to invade Greenland prompted the Danish ambassador to the US to state Denmark expects full respect for its territorial integrity.
How did the Danish ambassador respond to social‑media rumors about a U.S. move on Greenland?
For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels.
The Danish ambassador was responding to a post by the wife of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. It showed an image of Greenland in red, white, and blue with the word soon. This is NPR News in Washington. Hundreds of people marched in silence today at a Swiss ski resort, the site of a deadly bar fire in the early hours of New Year's Day. At least 40 people were killed and more than a hundred others were injured. Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers. They suspect that sparkling candles atop champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling. Identifying the dead is difficult because many were badly burned, requiring the use of DNA samples.
Why are investors bullish on AI and the stock market despite economic concerns in 2026?
Wall Street is hoping for another blockbuster year despite mounting worries about the economy and fears of an AI bubble. As NPR's Maria Aspen reports, tomorrow kicks off the first full week of trading for twenty twenty six.
US markets have rallied for three straight years as investors pin more and more hopes on the artificial intelligence frenzy. Tech companies are pouring money into AI, while investors have sent tech stocks soaring on the hopes of an eventual payoff. The major US indices all rose by double digit percentages in twenty twenty five, and analysts are largely predicting that they'll do it again this year, despite some fears that tech stocks are too hot, and that the overall economy is weakening. Investors will get more clues about US hiring and unemployment on Friday when the federal government releases its December jobs report.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What are the details of the U.S. raid on Venezuela’s former president and the upcoming court case?
0:00–0:39
2
How is President Trump’s proposed intervention in Venezuela affecting U.S. politics and international reactions?
0:39–1:40
3
What are European leaders saying about the U.S. takeover of Venezuela and the push for a democratic transition?
1:40–2:43
4
How did the Danish ambassador respond to social‑media rumors about a U.S. move on Greenland?
2:43–3:29
5
Why are investors bullish on AI and the stock market despite economic concerns in 2026?
3:29–4:39