NPR News: 01-05-2026 3PM EST

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NPR News Now 4 min 4 speakers 5 chapters transcribed 28 days ago

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Who are Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores and why were they arraigned in New York?

Lakshmi Singh 0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Sang. Venezuelan President Nicola Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores have pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, weapons, and other charges in the United States. At their arraignment in New York City today, Maduro said he and his wife were prisoners of war, kidnapped at their home two days ago during a U.S. military raid. And he sought to invoke protections under international law by appealing to the Geneva Conventions. NPR is Jasmine Gars. Reports a Venezuelan First Lady appeared to have sustained injuries. Her right

Jasmine Garce 0:36

eye looked a bit swollen, her forehead was bandaged, and it was later revealed by the defense that uh she may have sustained a fracture uh during the operation or at the very least severe bruising on her ribs and um they requested an x-ray.

Lakshmi Singh 0:54

That's NPR's Jasmine Garst reporting.

How might U.S. control of Venezuelan oil affect global energy markets?

Lakshmi Singh 0:57

Some oil industry analysts are weighing in about President Trump's decision to arrest Maduro and his wife. Trump has made it clear that part of the US operation is about control of Venezuela's oil. NPR's Julius Simon has more on Venezuelan oil deposits. Venezuela

Julia Simon 1:16

has massive oil resources, and US oil companies first started drilling there a century ago. But around 2007, then President Hugo Chavez forcibly renegotiated oil contracts. ExxonMobil and Conaco Phillips left and took Venezuela to court. The courts ordered Venezuela pay the companies over eleven billion dollars combined. Oil experts tell MPR that for some oil companies, coming back could be a way to recoup money owed. Next door to Venezuela is Guyana, a key emerging oil player with a big ExxonMobil presence.

What impact did the Venezuelan leadership arrests have on U.S. stock indexes?

Julia Simon 1:50

For years, Guyana and Venezuela have had territorial disputes, also related to oil. Oil experts tell MPR with President Maduro gone, US oil investments in Guyana are more secure. Julia Simon, MPR News.

Lakshmi Singh 2:04

We see shares of major US companies in the energy sector are sharply higher today at last check. The Dow was up more than 800 points or 1.6 percent, SP gained fifty points, the Nasdaq was up 166. In an unprecedented change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing the number of vaccines recommended for all children and shifting several vaccines that had been universally recommended. The action follows a presidential memorandum issued in December that directed the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC to review the list of vaccines recommended for children. On the new schedule released today, vaccines that had previously been recommended, such as those for rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, meningitis, and seasonal flu, are now more limited.

Why is the CDC reducing the number of routine childhood vaccines?

Lakshmi Singh 2:51

They're recommended only for those at high risk or after consultation with a healthcare provider. This is NPR News. The pill version of the obesity drug Wagovi launches today, this following the blockbuster's success for the injectable version of the drug, NPR Sidney Lupkin has details.

Sydney Lupkin 3:14

Patients can now fill Wagovi pill prescriptions, and they can also order the drug online directly from NovoNordisk 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 fourteen hundred dollars a month. Although insurance coverage for weight loss drugs has become more restrictive, the company says people with insurance could have copays as low as $25 a month.

What are the costs and availability of the new oral obesity drug Wegovy?

Sydney Lupkin 3:50

Sydney Lepkin NPR News.

Lakshmi Singh 3:53

One of the first law enforcement officers to respond to the twenty twenty two mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvaldi, Texas is on trial. Former Ivaldi Schools officer Adrian Gonzalez is facing twenty nine counts of child abandonment or endangerment. He is one of two officers facing criminal charges. But an investigation found nearly four hundred officers from various agencies were at the site of the school attack. They waited seventy seven minutes before they breached the classroom and killed the shooter.