NPR News: 01-09-2026 11PM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
What is President Trump's new stance on Venezuela?
President Trump says he sees Venezuela as an ally now, but as NPR's Franco Ordonez reports, Trump says the U.S. also needs to be the sole superpower with a presence in that country.
President Trump says the relationship with the current leadership in Venezuela, including acting President Delce Rodriguez, is, quote, very good.
Right now they seem to be an ally, and I think it'll continue to be an ally, and we don't want to have Russia there, we don't want to have China there.
Trump says he expects to be meeting with representatives of the new government soon, but nothing is scheduled yet. He does have a meeting set up with the Venezuelan opposition. Trump told reporters he'll be meeting with the Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado next week. He says she's coming to the U.S. to pay her regards to the country. And to him, Franco Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.
As President Trump flexes America's muscles overseas, a new NPR Ipsos poll shows that Republicans and Democrats see the U.S. role in the world very differently. NPR's Frank Langfitt explains.
Most Democrats think the U.S. should focus on promoting democracy and human rights abroad, according to the poll, while most Republicans think the U.S. should focus on enriching America. and should not hesitate to use military power. Kim Long was shopping for Trump merchandise at a store northeast of Philadelphia on Thursday. She supports the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
He was big with drugs, and he just wasn't treating his people right. Even the people from Venezuela were happy to see him go.
A separate Reuters-Ipsos poll this week found Americans were split on the move. One-third was for it, a third against, and one-third wasn't sure.
Frank Lankford, NPR News. The Washington National Opera announced today it's leaving the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which has been its home since 1971. As NPR's Chloe Velpen reports, the opera's departure comes in response to new policies which put a strain on the opera's financial model.
In a statement to NPR, the Washington National Opera stressed the amicability of its decision to end its long-time residency at the Kennedy Center. But it said the center's new business model, which requires productions to be fully funded in advance, is incompatible with the usual mix of ticket sales, grants and donations that cannot all be secured ahead. Artistic director Francesca Zambello shared her regrets in a recorded statement with NPR. I am deeply saddened to leave the Kennedy Center. In a post on social media, the center's executive director, Richard Grinnell, said it was the center's decision to sever ties with the opera company in order to, quote, have the flexibility and funds to bring in operas from around the world.
Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
The Labor Department says employers added 50,000 jobs in December. That's down slightly from November's numbers and less than economists have been expecting. The unemployment rate, though, dropped by a tenth of a percent to 4.4%. In the college football playoffs, Indiana is destroying Oregon 56-15 late in the fourth. This is NPR News. Burning plastic for heating and fueling is more widespread than previously thought. That's according to new research. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, the problem is greatest in low-income countries.
Each year, humanity produces over a billion tons of plastic. Much of that plastic ends up as trash. A study in the journal Nature Communications reveals that many households in low-income countries are burning that plastic trash to heat their homes or cook their food. Across more than two dozen countries, nearly one in three people surveyed by researchers reported being aware of households burning plastic. Sixteen percent said they'd done it themselves, either as a cheap source of fuel or just as a way of dealing with all that excess waste. Burning plastic can create toxic fumes that harm health and contaminate food. With plastic waste on track to triple by 2060, the problem will likely get much worse.
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