NPR News: 01-07-2026 8AM EST

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NPR News Now 4 min 4 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 28 days ago

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What are the Trump administration’s plans for military action in Venezuela?

Corva Coleman 0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, both the full House and Senate will receive closed briefings this morning about the Trump administration's military actions in Venezuela to remove then President Nicolas Maduro. Democratic lawmakers have complained President Trump has a legal duty to inform Congress so it can conduct oversight. Many Republicans say they're comfortable with Trump's decisions. The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says her party won elections and is ready to govern. Trump has said he doesn't think she has support in Venezuela. Spokesman David Smolanski says she does have Venezuelan voters support.

Unknown 0:39

We proved we won with the seventy percent of the vote. We have the vote in Tali so she is the one that can guarantee uh uh prosperous rebuilding o of the nation and restore democracy.

Corva Coleman 0:53

Machado has thanked President Trump for the US military raid that removed Maduro.

Why is the federal government freezing low‑income aid for five Democratic‑led states?

Corva Coleman 0:58

The Trump administration says it is freezing billions of dollars in low income aid for five Democratic led states. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports officials are citing concerns about fraud concerns, but have offered no evidence.

Jennifer Ludden 1:12

The funding freeze is for California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, and New York. The biggest chunk is $7 billion for cash assistance, plus money to help families with child care and other social services. A health and human services official confirmed the move to NPR, but did not say why only these states. The New York Post first reported the freeze, citing claims the money was going to migrants who are in the U.S. illegally but with no specific evidence. This all follows a wider freeze on childcare funding after a right-wing media influencer put a spotlight on alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota. On ex New York Senator Kirsten Julibrand accused the administration of political retribution.

Will the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopen and what does it mean for the peace plan?

Jennifer Ludden 1:56

Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington.

Corva Coleman 2:06

As NPR's Anas Baba reports, a key border crossing may soon open.

Anas Baba 2:11

Israel's political leadership has yet to officially green light the opening of Gaza's border crossing with Egypt. Despite international calls and US involvement, Gaza remains under tight siege. Egyptian security officials say plans are in place, though, for the Rafah crossing to be supervised by European monitors and Palestinian Authority officials. Israel will strictly control entry and exit remotely. The border has been shared. Shot for a year and a half ever since Israeli forces occupied this part of southern Gaza. But reopening it even slightly could be seen as a progress in President Trump's peace plan.

What are the details of the lawsuit against Boeing after a door‑plug failure on a commercial jet?

Anas Baba 2:46

If Rafah opens again, Egyptian officials say Israel's ban on international journalists and forty aid organizations from entering Gaza will remain in place. Anas Baba and Puranus Gaza City.

Corva Coleman 2:57

This is NPR. Nalaska Airlines pilot is suing aircraft maker Boeing, Captain Brandon Fisher, safely landed a Boeing plane two years ago after a door plug blew out over Oregon. He's been credited by federal agencies with saving everyone aboard. Boeing is being sued. Fisher's lawyers allege Boeing is trying to blame him and the jet's crew for the incident. They say that the jet was improperly maintained. Federal corrections officials say that convicted spy Aldrich Ames has died at a prison in Maryland.

How did CIA spy Aldrich Ames betray the United States and what happened to him?

Corva Coleman 3:33

Ames was a longtime CIA counterintelligence officer. He spent more than thirty years behind bars. That was for revealing the names of Soviets who spied on behalf of the US. NPR's Greg Myrie has

Greg Myrie 3:45

more. Aldrich Ames was a career CIA official. He rose to a highly sensitive position with access to the names of the most valuable Soviet agents recruited by the CIA. Ames walked into the Soviet Embassy in Washington in 1985 and began providing those names. He fed secrets to the Soviets for years, often concealing documents for them in his suburban Washington neighborhood. Moscow reportedly executed ten of its citizens spying for the U.S.

What are the final headlines and wrap‑up for today’s NPR News broadcast?

Greg Myrie 4:16

The CIA knew its Soviet agents were being compromised, but didn't identify Ames as a source for nearly a decade. Moscow reportedly paid him around $2 million over the years.