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- [00:00]
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- [00:33]
Nora Ram
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Ram. President Trump is to speak within the hour from his Florida resort on the overnight operation in Venezuela. He said this morning that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been taken to a U.S. warship. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports.
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Franco Ordonez
President Trump said he watched the capture of the Venezuelan leader in real time from a room in Mar a Lago. In an interview on Fox News, Trump said there were few injuries but no deaths, at least on the US Side.
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President Trump
And they just broke in and they broke into places that were not really able to be broke into, you know, steel doors that was were put there for just this reason and they got taken out in a matter of seconds.
- [01:20]
Franco Ordonez
Trump said the US Would be involved in determining the future direction of Venezuela, saying the US Is making decisions now and that they can't let just anyone run it. Franco ORDONEZ, NPR News.
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Nora Ram
U.S. attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro and his wife will face criminal charges. They've been indicted in the Southern District of New York. The charges include conspiracy to commit narco terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons possession. Bondi says they will face the full wrath of American justice on American soil. NPR's Carrie Kahn has been monitoring events in Venezuela from Rio de Janeiro.
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Vanessa Silva
Reports started flooding social media with videos of multiple explosions throughout the city. And I spoke right away with a reporter, Vanessa Silva, and she actually lives right in front of the military airport La Carlota in Caracas. She says there were several fires on the Runway, but they were put out quickly. But she could hear airplanes continuing to circle around the Caracas skies for hours.
- [02:21]
Nora Ram
NPR's Carrie Kahn reporting. Russia is condemning the U.S. actions against Venezuela. NPR's Charles mainnes reports from Moscow. Maduro has been an ally of the Kremlin.
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Charles Maynes
In a statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry called the Trump administration's pretext for attacking Venezuela unfounded and said if reports of Maduro's capture were true, the US Actions marked an unacceptable assault on Venezuela's sovereignty. Despite such expressions of support, Moscow has stopped short of challenging the US More forcefully amid a months long pressure campaign by the Trump administration against the Venezuelan leadership. The Kremlin reportedly rebuffed a request by Nicolas Maduro for direct military assistance in the fall, a result, analysts say, of Moscow's desire to maintain good relations with the Trump administration as it tries to broker its own peace deal for Russia's war in Ukraine. Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow.
- [03:12]
Nora Ram
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today the Islamic Republic will not yield to the enemy. He was apparently responding to President Trump's comments that if Iran kills peaceful protesters, the US will come to their rescue. At least 10 people have died in demonstrations in Iran this week. This is NPR News. The investigation continues into the deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort in the early hours of New Year's day. At least 40 people were killed. Officials say it appears that sparkling candles on top of champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling. Investigators are also looking into the foam material used to soundproof the ceiling over a dance floor and renovations made to the bar. Even though it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth will make its closest approach to the sun in about an hour at 12:15pm Eastern Time. As Joe Palko explains, distance from the sun is not what explains the seasons.
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Joe Palko
If the orbit of the Earth around the sun were a perfect circle, then the two bodies would always be the same distance apart. But Earth's orbit is elliptical, a very slightly squashed circle, meaning every year there's a single time when it's closest and another when it's furthest away. But even if it were circular there, there would still be seasons. That's because the Earth is tilted away from straight up and down in its orbit. The tilt is significant, 23 degrees. In winter, the North Pole points away from the sun and in summer towards the sun. Longer time bathed in sunlight does more to explain changes in temperature than slight changes in distance. For NPR News, I'm Joe Pelka.
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Nora Ram
Health officials in South Carolina are reporting nine more confirmed cases of the measles in a county that has the lowest school vaccination rate of any county in the state. The total number in South Carolina is 185. The health department says the outbreak is affecting children at a greater ratio than current outbreaks in other states. I'm Nora Ramm, NPR News.
- [05:13]
Pop Culture Happy Hour Host
What's in store for the music, TV and film industries for 2026? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year, plus setting some personal pop Culture resolutions. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.