1.5.26 The case against Maduro, Venezuela’s sidelined oil production, and the Palisades fire, one year later

Summary

Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It

Episode: 1.5.26 - "The case against Maduro, Venezuela’s sidelined oil production, and the Palisades fire, one year later"

Date: January 5, 2026
Host: WORLD Radio (Mary Reichert, Nick Eicher)
Featured Contributors: Kent Covington, David Bonson, Emma Eicher, guest experts

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers thorough analysis and reporting on three major stories:

• The American-led operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and its legal, political, and economic ramifications.
• US Supreme Court news, including a consequential copyright dispute.
• A recap, one year on, of California’s catastrophic Palisades wildfire, probing causes, response, and ongoing recovery.

The tone is factual, sober, and in some segments, conversational and analytical, consistent with a biblically-informed journalistic approach.

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Major Segments & Key Insights

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1. The Case Against Nicolas Maduro: Legal, Political, and International Context

Arrest and Political Response

• [01:03] News Recap

  • US forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife at a military installation near Caracas.
  • Immediate jubilation among Venezuelan immigrants in the US, especially in Miami.

    “This is my dream. This is the best moment for my life.” — Anonymous Venezuelan immigrant [01:26]

  • In Venezuela, celebrations are muted; Maduro’s power structure controls media/security.

• [01:53-04:00] International & Domestic Political Reactions

  • US maintains it will not enforce full regime change by force.
  • Marco Rubio (Secretary of State/National Security Advisor) says US will keep “oil quarantine” on Venezuela, targeting drug traffickers and sanction violators.

    “They will continue to face pressure from the United States.” — Marco Rubio [02:23]

  • Venezuela’s interim president, Delsey Rodriguez, appears to be both publicly defiant and privately cooperative.
  • The Trump administration demands no reprisals, financial transparency, cooperation on drugs, and a credible transition plan—possibly offering immunity for the Maduro regime member(s).
  • Congress splits along party lines:
    • Sen. Chuck Schumer: “It’s a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress.” [03:34]
    • Rep. Rick Crawford: “This is exactly what this country has needed... We need to be projecting strength in our neighborhood and our allies welcome that.” [04:12]

Legal Analysis and Operation Details

• [06:16] Joint Chiefs & Operation Reveal

  • Operation “Absolute Resolve”: Discreet, precise, months in planning.
  • Gen. Dan Kane:

    “An operation that, frankly, only the United States military could undertake.” [06:23]

• [06:48-08:02] Indictment Details

  • President Trump: Maduro accused as kingpin of “Cartel de las Solas,” responsible for trafficking cocaine to the US.

    “He personally oversaw the vicious cartel… responsible for the deaths of countless Americans, the many, many Americans, hundreds of thousands over the years of Americans died because of him.” — President Trump [06:48]

  • Grand jury indictment in New York details criminal charges: running a trafficking enterprise, new charges for international cartel partnerships.

• [08:19] Legal Precedent

  • Reference to Manuel Noriega’s extradition—courts previously denied immunity, even as (unrecognized) head of state.
  • Venezuela’s larger context and international legal scrutiny make the outcome less predictable.

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2. Supreme Court Recap and Major Copyright Case

Year-End Reflections

• [09:08-11:39] Chief Justice John Roberts’ annual report:
  • Focus on Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary, founding values, and the lineage from independence to constitutional and civil rights.
  • Historic and celebratory, quoting Calvin Coolidge on enduring American charters of “freedom and justice.”

Case Spotlight: Cox Communications vs. Sony Music Entertainment

• [12:19-21:36]

  • Context: Can an internet service provider (Cox) be held liable for copyright infringement committed by its customers if they’re notified but don’t cut off service?

  • Arguments for Cox:

    • Joshua Rosenkranz (Cox’s attorney):

      “No notion of tort or copyright law ever conceived can support that theory… Knowledge alone can [not] create the necessary culpability…” [13:53]

      • Cox claims robust action:

        “Cox send out hundreds of warnings a day…We did [account suspensions] 67,000 times… The program stopped infringement by 98% of the people who were accused of infringement. That is not nothing, Your Honor.” [16:57, 17:21]

    • Justice Barrett: What incentive would Cox have to do anything if ignorance were a defense?

      Rosenkranz: “Cox is a good corporate citizen that cares a lot about what happens on its system.” [17:38]

    • Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart:

      “Secondary liability is reserved for persons who act for the purpose of facilitating violations…” [17:58]

  • Arguments for Sony:

    • Paul Clement (Sony’s attorney):

      “A classic form of material contribution is to provide the means of infringement to a specific known infringer, knowing infringement is substantially certain to follow.” [18:54]

    • Justice Alito: Asks about ISPs and university accounts—highlights difficulty of a clear rule.
    • Justice Sotomayor: The case presents the Court with two extremes—how to craft a workable rule.

  • Implications:

    • Major impact on ISPs, universities, hospitals, copyright holders, and how the internet policed for copyright infringement.

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3. Monday Money Beat: Venezuela’s Economic Future & Oil Market Impact

Maduro’s Capture and the Oil Economy

• [22:58-31:36]

  • Guest: David Bonson, Chief Investment Officer, The Bonson Group

  • Main focus: The economic fallout of the operation in Venezuela, with particular emphasis on oil.

    • Venezuela’s oil production has been underperforming; US and OPEC companies may revive productivity.

      “From an economic standpoint, the big issue is going to be oil, obviously, and you highlight the fact that they're a member of OPEC... Geopolitically, the major issue here is that Venezuela is a provider of both oil and gas to China.” — David Bonson [23:42]

    • Potential US aims: restore productivity, isolate China from regional energy markets, and stabilize supply and commodity prices.

  • Effect on Markets:

    • Bonson:

      “Market concern would be if we were getting ready to go on a kind of Wild West binge of interventions... But they did a good job at portraying this for a very specific and strategic purpose.” [25:28]

      • The future stability depends on US handling of post-capture transition.

  • Oil Infrastructure Challenges:

    • Decades-old oil assets, nationalized since Hugo Chavez, pose difficult questions for US and international companies.

      “It’s very difficult to get the right capital expenditures when you don’t own the asset and you don’t have control over the productivity out of the asset.” — David Bonson [27:40]

    • US companies may invest under military protection—a unique but high-risk arrangement.

  • Outlook:

    • Best-case scenario: Venezuela could become a meaningful energy player—dependent on unknowns: political stability, societal response, demand-side economics, China-US rivalry.

      “If it all goes as well as it possibly could, then yes, there’s a great impact. But nothing goes as well as it possibly could...” [30:08]

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4. Wildfire Anniversary: The Palisades Fire, Lessons and Aftermath

Recap One Year Later

• [32:24-39:18]

  • Narrative by Emma Eicher

  • Timeline and Impact:

    • The Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires (Jan 7, 2025): 40,000 acres burned, 16,000 structures destroyed, 31 confirmed deaths.
    • Survivors recall rapid escalation:

      “It was a half acre of smoke. And then 10 minutes later it was 20 acres of smoke.” — Eyewitness Nick Libenotti [33:08]

    • “Once the fire got into the urban environment and once it ignited a home, those homes spread the fires at an incredible rate.” — John Keeley, USGS wildfire researcher [33:26]

  • Contributing Factors:

    • Prolonged drought, high winds (“not unique”, but extreme), and human ignition.

  • Urban-Wildland Interface:

    • “It was the urban environment that drove these fires, the fuels that ended up destroying so many homes… The fuels were the homes themselves.” — John Keeley [34:06]

  • Long-Term Recovery Issues:

    • One year later: Debris removal incomplete, rebuilding barely begun, regulatory and insurance bottlenecks.
    • Resident: “There's nobody here… It’s the eeriest part about it.” — Alexander Ayling [35:45]
    • First home rebuilt was a model project—not an actual residence.

  • Fire Dept. Investigation:

    • Federal probe into LA Fire Department handling; subpoenaed firefighter texts reveal under-resourcing, delayed response.
    • LA Fire Chief Kristen Crowley fired amid criticism. Mayor Karen Bass:

      “She was absolutely not scapegoated... but it is important for us to understand what happened.” [38:08]

  • Researcher Perspective:

    • John Keeley: Most blame goes to weather, not solely to human error, but new evidence shows executive failure in response.

      “It was not something that was going to be easily controlled… But some things can be controlled. New evidence continues to reveal the scale of executive failure.” [38:23]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Venezuela & Maduro:
  • “He is not the legitimate president of Venezuela… He’s not recognized by the European Union, in multiple countries around the world. He is a fugitive of American justice with a $50 million reward, which I guess we saved $50 million.” — Secretary of State Marco Rubio [07:15]
• Legal Debate:
  • “There is precedence in Trump’s favor... They also ruled that US Courts retained jurisdiction over him despite legal questions about his capture. That precedent underpins this case, though Venezuela’s size, regional influence, and modern legal scrutiny make the outcome far less predictable.” — Mary Reichert [08:19]
• Copyright Case:
  • “There is no surefire way for an ISP to avoid liability and the only way it can is to cut off the Internet not just for the accused infringer, but for anyone else who happens to use the same connection. That could be entire towns, universities or hospitals.” — Joshua Rosenkranz [13:53]
  • “We are being put to two extremes here. How do we announce a rule that deals with those two extremes?” — Justice Sonia Sotomayor [20:43]
• Palisades Fire:
  • “It was just like candlesticks.” — Commentary on rapid fire spread through urban homes [34:53]
  • “I’m just sick and numb. That’s the two words I will say.” — Resident Laura Pistotnik on losses [35:31]
  • “When you have 80 mile per hour winds blowing fire through an urban environment, it’s an extremely difficult situation…” — John Keeley, USGS [38:23]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------| | 01:03 | News: Maduro’s capture, international reactions | | 06:16 | Legal analysis: operation, indictment, precedent | | 09:10 | Supreme Court year-end remarks | | 12:19 | Cox v. Sony: copyright law argument | | 22:52 | Monday Money Beat: Venezuela’s economic future | | 32:24 | Palisades wildfire: recap, investigation, lessons |

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a comprehensive, multi-angle look at the major news events shaping the first week of 2026—melding timely field reporting, expert legal and economic analysis, and the human dimension of both international and domestic headlines. The conversations are marked by careful factual explanation, nuanced debate, and a persistent focus on consequences, precedent, and lessons learned.

Listeners come away with a clear understanding of the stakes involved in US-Venezuela relations post-Maduro, the complexity of copyright liability for ISPs, and the enduring challenges of wildfire recovery—all told through sound reporting and vivid, direct quotes from those at the center of each story.

Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. A busy legal docket today. We'll tell you the legal basis that set in motion the capture of Venezuela's Maduro. Also, the year end report from the chief justice and an oral argument over copyrights and the Internet.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

The program stopped infringement by 98% of the people accused of infringement. That is not nothing.

[Nick Eicher]

Also today, the Monday money beat the economic impact of the Venezuela operation and the history book.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

It was a half acre of smoke. Ten minutes later it was 20 acres.

[Nick Eicher]

A year ago, the California wildfires.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Monday, January 5th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

[Kent Covington]

Jubilation in Miami with many Venezuelan immigrants celebrating the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. US Forces conducted a surgical operation over the weekend, capturing Maduro and his wife at a military installation near Caracas. They're expected to be arraigned in New York today. And in New York, one Venezuelan immigrant told reporters, this is my dream.

[Nick Eicher]

This is the best moment for my life.

[David Bonson]

And this moment because he is the bad person.

[Kent Covington]

But inside Venezuela, celebrations have been muted. People there are still living under the Maduro regime power structure which remains in control of the media and security forces. Many demonstrators in the US have also protested the operation. And one big question now on the minds of many is what's next for Venezuela? Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio told NBC's Meet the Press that the US has no plans right now to try and enact a full regime change by force. Venezuelan Vice President Delsey Rodriguez, a longtime Maduro loyalist, is now the acting leader. And Rubio says problems the regime has caused for the United States remain. However, we are going to give people an opportunity to address those challenges and those problems. Until they address it, they will continue to face this oil quarantine.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

They will continue to face pressure from the United States.

[Nick Eicher]

We will continue to target drug boats.

[Kent Covington]

If they try to run towards the United States.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

We will continue to seize the boats.

[Nick Eicher]

That are sanctioned with court orders.

[Kent Covington]

And he said the US Is not ruling out other actions if the regime now led by Rodriguez does not cooperate. Publicly, she is condemning the US Capture of Maduro and denies that he stole multiple elections to retain power. But the Trump administration says that privately Rodriguez is cooperating, at least to some degree. That's a claim that Democratic Congressman Ami Berar echoed despite his criticism of the operation.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

It does look like the interim president is in conversation with the administration Barra.

[Kent Covington]

Sits on the Foreign affairs and Intelligence committees. The Trump administration is reportedly demanding that Rodriguez and other top figures maintain stability in Venezuela, no reprisals, open the books on the country's oil finances, cooperate on drug trafficking and lay out a credible transition plan that could effectively mean immunity and an off ramp for members of the Maduro regime. And in Washington, reaction to the operation has been largely split down party lines. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

They did not just do ships off the water, they went inside Venezuela, bombed civilian as well as military places, and it's a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress.

[Kent Covington]

We'll have more on the legal questions surrounding the operation later in the program, but most Republicans see it differently, insisting the move was legal, justified and exactly the right course of action. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford this is exactly what this country has needed and that is leadership in this hemisphere. We need to be projecting strength in our neighborhood and our allies welcome that. Administration officials were expected to brief members of Congress soon on that operation. National security advisors from across Europe and other US Allies were in Kyiv over the weekend stepping up talks on security guarantees and economic support for Ukraine. The meetings come as a U S led diplomatic push to end the war intensifies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government has now shared all draft peace documents under discussion with partners involved in the talks and he said that includes materials on long term security guarantees. Zelenskyy added that the peace process is now on stronger footing and many in Washington agree. GOP Senator Eric Schmidt it is.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

I mean there's still important work to do. There's still some sticking points along the.

[Kent Covington]

Way and everyone agrees that the peace process is a long way from complete. Zelensky is preparing to travel to Paris for follow up meetings and expects the next round of work to move quickly into European capitals as well as Canada and Japan. I'm Kent Covington and straight ahead, a look at the legal questions surrounding the operation to capture and charge Nicolas Maduro. Plus the Monday money beef. This is the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

It's the world and everything in it for this fifth day of January 2026. We're so glad you've joined us today. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Iger. Time now for legal docket. We'll tell you about the special year end report by the Chief justice of the Supreme Court and we have one oral argument for you. But before all that, let's return to.

[Mary Reichert]

The biggest news of the day. Venezuela, and in particular, the legal underpinning of the mission to capture former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The two will be turned over for prosecution in federal court in the Southern District of York.

[Nick Eicher]

New at the press conference on Saturday in Florida, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane.

[David Bonson]

This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd and was the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal. An operation that, frankly, only the United States military could undertake.

[Nick Eicher]

President Trump said Maduro had become a dictator and kingpin of a vast drug trafficking network.

[David Bonson]

He personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as Cartel de las Solas, which flooded our nation with lethal poison, responsible for the deaths of countless Americans, the many, many Americans, hundreds of thousands over the years of Americans died because of him.

[Nick Eicher]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized it was not only this administration that saw Maduro in this light.

[Kent Covington]

He is not the legitimate president of Venezuela. That's not just us saying it. The first Trump administration, the Biden administration, the second Trump administration, none of those three recognized him. He's not recognized by the European Union, in multiple countries around the world. He is a fugitive of American justice with a $50 million reward, which I guess we saved $50 million.

[Nick Eicher]

The grand jury indictment filed in New York lays out the charges. We'll include a link to that document in this program transcript.

[Mary Reichert]

The indictment finds probable cause that Maduro, his wife, son and three others ra a criminal enterprise responsible for bringing tons of cocaine into the US and using their power to provide cover for traffickers. These charges build upon an earlier indictment from 2020, adding new charges of partnership with international drug cartels.

[Nick Eicher]

What comes next is procedurally straightforward but politically complex. The defendants will face arraignment, discovery, and potentially a trial. They'll be treated as ordinary criminal defendants under U.S. law, and if convicted, sentencing could include decades in prison.

[Mary Reichert]

There is precedent in Trump's favor. In the late 1980s, the US indicted and captured Panama's de facto ruler, Manuel Noriega, on drug trafficking charges. American courts ruled that he had no immunity as head of state because the US did not recognize him as a legitimate leader. They also ruled that US Courts retained jurisdiction over him despite legal questions about his capture. That precedent underpins this case, though. Venezuela's size, regional influence as as modern legal scrutiny make the outcome far less predictable.

[Nick Eicher]

All right, next. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used his annual year end report on the federal judiciary in large part to honor the semi quincentennial this year of the Declaration of Independence.

[Mary Reichert]

The audio you're hearing and will hear comes from a celebration last summer at the National Archives, kicking off the 250th anniversary remembrance. Less than a mile from the Supreme Court building.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

In Congress, July 4, 1776, a historic.

[Mary Reichert]

Reenactor portraying George Washington declared, when in.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

The course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with.

[Nick Eicher]

Another and to assume among the powers.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

Of the earth the separate and equal.

[Nick Eicher]

Station to which the laws of nature.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

And nature's God entitle them.

[Mary Reichert]

A reenactor portraying Abigail Adams read aloud the famous preamble. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these.

[Emma Eicher]

Are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[Nick Eicher]

The Chief justice, in his annual report, traced America's founding principles back to a booklet titled Common Sense by Thomas Paine. It was published early in 1776. It then went viral, to use today's parlance, and galvanized the colonists to vote for independence from the Crown.

[Mary Reichert]

That's when the committee of five set out to draft the Declaration of Independence. They were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, John Adams, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson, just 33 years old, was lead writer. No less than 86 edits later, it was adopted at Independence hall in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776.

[Nick Eicher]

The writers and signers of the Declaration knew what they were in for. The British would see this as treason. That's why Benjamin Franklin warned they'd have to hang together on this, or else they'd all hang separately.

[Mary Reichert]

The Declaration of Independence set the American mission statement down on paper for all to see. It was more aspiration than law. But it led to the Constitution, that is law protecting basic freedoms. That in turn led to the 13th amendment that abolished slavery, to the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote, and to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The chief ended his report with a quote from, from President Calvin Coolidge during the nation's 150th anniversary 100 years ago.

[Nick Eicher]

Amid all clash of conflicting interests, he wrote, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken. Chief Justice Roberts wrote that it was true then, and it's still true today.

[Mary Reichert]

Well, our final order of legal docket business, a case the court heard in December. It's one with massive consequences for the Internet.

[David Bonson]

We'll hear argument first this morning in case 24171 Cox Communications versus Sony Music Entertainment.

[Mary Reichert]

Likely the most consequential copyright case in years with billions of dollars at stake. Here's the background. Sony Music Entertainment and more than 50 labels including Universal and Warner sued Cox Communications. Cox provides Internet, phone and TV service to 6 million homes and businesses in 18 states. The labels Cox received notice of copyright infringement by its subscribers, but Cox did not cut off their service.

[Nick Eicher]

A jury in Virginia slapped Cox with a massive billion dollar verdict that was later vacated as far as the damages go. But the appeals court still said Cox may have some contributory liability. Liability is what the lawyers are battling over. Sony wants the kind of liability called secondary holding. Cox liable for something it didn't directly do, namely pirate music or movies.

[Mary Reichert]

But remember, Cox is not the pirate here. Cox didn't copy songs or upload files or press download. Its subscribers did that. So here's the legal question. Can an Internet service provider be held liable when its customers commit copyright infringement knowing it's happening but not cutting those people off? Cox says absolutely not. It's lawyer Joshua Rosenkrans.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

No notion of tort or copyright law ever conceived can support that theory. No case has suggested that knowledge alone can create the necessary culpability to find someone liable for infringement. The consequences of plaintiff's position are cataclysmic. There is no surefire way for an ISP to avoid liability and the only way it can is to cut off the Internet not just for the accused infringer, but for anyone else who happens to use the same connection. That could be entire towns, universities or hospitals turning Internet providers into Internet police.

[Mary Reichert]

Rosenkranz pointed to Supreme Court precedent in support, particularly a dispute involving Twitter. There the court held that Twitter could not be held liable for aiding and abetting terrorism by just hosting or recommending content made by users.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

Twitter's held several things that are fully applicable here. The first is that contributory liability requires malfeasance with the purpose of fostering the bad act, that there's no liability for passive non feasance and there's no liability for sales to the general public on the same terms, regardless of any eventual use. What our customers do is invisible to us in real time.

[Nick Eicher]

But Justice Elena Kagan distinguished the cases starting with the Twitter case.

[David Bonson]

Twitter we spent a lot of time talking about the fact that the companies Facebook and so forth didn't know of any particular conduct that had led to the attack. It wasn't even clear that the terrorists in Twitter had used those companies to plan the attack. So we said that there was no real nexus between the companies and the actual communications that created the legal issue. Now here, your client has received notice as to particular people doing particular infringements of copyright. And I would think that that's a step further from Twitter.

[Nick Eicher]

Rosenkrantz pushed back with an example.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

There is literally not a single place in this record where a specific individual was identified. Let's take the smallest unit, a household. You still don't know who the individual is.

[Nick Eicher]

Justice Sonia Sotomayor jumped in with this sharp exchange, which we have edited for time, as we have several other clips that you'll hear today.

[David Bonson]

But what I'm troubled by is that you got these reports and it's about 1% of your customer base who's infringing. There are things you could have done to respond to those fringers. You did nothing.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

The notion that Cox did nothing is absurd.

[Nick Eicher]

Rosenkrantz brought plenty of data.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

Cox send out hundreds of warnings a day, contacting them, cutting them off, that is suspending their accounts, which we did 67,000 times in the course of this period. The program stopped infringement by 98% of the people who were accused of infringement. That is not nothing. Your Honor.

[Mary Reichert]

Justice Amy Coney Barrett underscored another problem, that of incentives. Should Cox prevail, what incentive would you.

[David Bonson]

Have to do anything if he won?

[Mary Reichert]

If you. If you win and mere knowledge isn't.

[Emma Eicher]

Enough, why would you bother to send.

[David Bonson]

Out any notices in the future? What will the obligation be?

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

For the simple reason that Cox is a good corporate citizen that cares a lot about what happens on its system.

[Mary Reichert]

Cox had an ally in the federal government. Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart said secondary liability does not apply to companies that provide a service on equal terms to everyone.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

This form of secondary liability is reserved for persons who act for the purpose of facilitating violations of law. Because Cox simply provided the same generic Internet services to infringers and non infringers alike. There is no basis for inferring such a purpose here.

[Mary Reichert]

Justice Barrett tested that standard against the ruling in the Twitter case.

[David Bonson]

Does that mean that your answer to the question I asked, Mr. Rosenkranz, is that you?

[Mary Reichert]

Yes.

[David Bonson]

Twitter would not be liable for facilitating.

[Mary Reichert]

Child trafficking if it knew that a particular user was using its account for that purpose.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

It wouldn't be secondarily liable. That is perhaps a platform like YouTube or Twitter. The platform could be held directly liable on the theory that it was speaking the words as well as assisting the third party.

[Nick Eicher]

Then it was Sony's turn, with former Solicitor General Paul Clement framing the argument like this.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

This court's case is recognized that liability for copyright infringement is not limited to direct infringers, but extends to those who induce cause or materially contribute to the infringement of others. And a classic form of material contribution is to provide the means of infringement to a specific known infringer, knowing that infringement is substantially certain to follow. Now, on this record, there, it is beyond dispute that Cox provided the service to known infringers with substantial knowledge that what they themselves called habitual abusers would continue to infringe.

[Nick Eicher]

Justice Samuel Alito asked a practical question.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

What is an ISP supposed to do with a university account that has, let's say, 70,000 users? What is the university supposed to do, in your view? The university is supposed to. Under those circumstances, the ISP is supposed to sort of have a conversation with the, with the university.

[Nick Eicher]

Now, it didn't quite fly with Justice Alito.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

So, yeah, all right, the ISP tells the university, look, you know, a lot of your, your 50,000 students are infringing my copyright. Do something about it.

[David Bonson]

Not.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

The university then has to try to determine which particular students are engaging in this activity. And let's assume it can even do that. And so then it, it knocks out a thousand students, and then another thousand students are going to pop up doing the same thing. I just don't see how it's workable at all. I don't think it would be the end of the world if universities provided service at a speed that was sufficient for most other purposes, but didn't allow the students to take full advantage of bittorrent. I could live in that world.

[Nick Eicher]

With both sides arguing what sounded like extremes, Justice Sotomayor laid out the dilemma that the court faces.

[David Bonson]

We are being put to two extremes here. How do we announce a rule that deals with those two extremes?

[Mary Reichert]

During his rebuttal argument, Rosenkranz, for Cox, pointed to the fatal flaw in Soni's case, collective punishment for the specific actions of its customers.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

There is no proof of any specific known infringer. That is a human being who actually did any of the things that some of these hypotheticals spun out. Even if you focus on households, there is no way to disaggregate. Plaintiff's tried a case in GROSS as to 57,000 subscribers, no individual circumstances. Plaintiffs never tried to disaggregate in any way. As to the people who they see, who they claim can sustain this verdict, if Cox wins.

[Mary Reichert]

Then Sony argues it has no way to attack repeat offenders because going after people just one at a time is expensive and slow. Other disputes are now on hold awaiting the ruling. In this case, Optimum and Verizon are also fighting copyright infringement with tons of money at stake. And that's this week's legal docket.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Commuter Bible, the Bible podcast series that matches weekly schedules on podcast apps and commuterbible.org annual plans begin this week from Dort University. Dort's online master of Social work program equips students for faithful service in their local communities until all is made new. And from Free Lutheran Bible College, grounding students in the word of God for life in Jesus Christ on campus and in person in Plymouth, Minnesota, flbc edu World.

[Mary Reichert]

Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it, the Monday MONEY Beat.

[Nick Eicher]

Time now to talk business, markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bonson. David heads up the wealth management firm the Bonson Group. And although in an airport today, he is here with us. David, good morning to you.

[David Bonson]

Well, good morning, Nick. Good to be with you.

[Nick Eicher]

Well, David, obviously major news over the weekend with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife now facing charges in the United States. You heard what we said earlier on the legal side when Maduro faces justice. But from an economic standpoint, David, talk a bit about how you see the future. I mean, Venezuela is an OPEC country. It's an energy producer. How do you see things?

[David Bonson]

Well, from an economic standpoint, the big issue is going to be oil, obviously, and you highlight the fact that they're a member of opec. The president stated on Saturday that he felt that they had been non productive in terms of global oil output. US has interest there. On the ground, there are several major integrated oil companies that have a large drilling presence and the president referenced them coming in and building out the infrastructure to bring more global supply to the market. Geopolitically, the major issue here is that Venezuela is a provider of both oil and gas to China. And I believe that that has a lot to do with this behind the scenes in terms of further strengthening US Western hemispheric presence and isolating China from other allies in the Western hemisphere when it comes to global energy markets. So there's a lot that will play out in the days ahead. Obviously, there's a legal geopolitical, you know, military story here. But my probably most important insight would be on the economic side, and that's going to be what it does to commodity prices and overall oil Supply.

[Nick Eicher]

Right. Well, David, we played audio earlier in the program. You heard all of that over the weekend. The President and his national security team explaining what happened. The Secretary of State, who now has an even bigger portfolio for himself, the Secretary of War, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. How did all the messaging strike you? I mean, I do wonder about the effect on markets in the long term. And I wonder whether the entire message was communicated clearly and in a restrained way, or whether it might have raised some new questions that might unnerve the markets.

[David Bonson]

I think that Secretary Rubio was most comforting in reinforcing this as a law enforcement action. Everything he said was factually correct. Maduro is a criminal. He has been under US Indictment through several administrations. I think that the concern to the markets would be if we were getting ready to go on a kind of Wild west binge of interventions, even if in all contained in the Western Hemisphere. And they did a good job at portraying this for a very specific and strategic purpose. Look, Venezuela's relevance to US Economic interests is pretty much limited to oil supply. That's different than what the geopolitical interests are and their role as a narco terrorist. And some of these other issues, they get a little bit outside of my lane. But I thought that the administration did a good job messaging what their intent was here. Obviously the mission itself was executed very well. And now we wait and see what the aftermath is. That's the point I'd bring up that I am a lot more forgiving and supportive of certain American foreign adventurism than some of my friends are. But that is largely dependent. The US Response to these things is largely dependent on the aftermath, how we do. And so you could cherry pick some of the language like we're going to go run Venezuela. Now you mentioned Secretary Rubio having a larger portfolio. In addition to running the State Department National Security Advisor. The President of the United States more or less implied that he's now going to run Venezuela for a little bit. So, yeah, I think markets are going to want to see if we handle the exit as efficiently as we handle this operation, then that will be good for markets.

[Nick Eicher]

Yeah. Well, David, one long running issue here, of course, is the legacy of assets nationalized under the regime of Hugo Chavez. The oil infrastructure, now decades old, originally built with capital from American companies. Could you talk about the economic challenge of restoring productivity to 20 year old assets that companies have not fully controlled for all that time and haven't been able to invest in?

[David Bonson]

Yeah, well, in some cases it's older than 20 year old assets and so, you know, look, full disclosure, we're a significant shareholder in Chevron and Chevron is the largest player in this as far as US Based companies, partially because of their acquisition of the Hess Corporation, which also had significant contracts there. And so when you're dealing with these public private partnerships, which I am very opposed to when it's the US Government with private companies, but it gets even crazier when it's US Private companies with other public partnership. And in this case you have a nationalized oil industry in Venezuela that had various joint ventures with companies like Exxon and Chevron and Hess. And so it's very difficult to get the right capital expenditures when you don't own the asset and you don't have control over the productivity out of the asset. So what the President United States very firmly implied in his press conference on Saturday is that the US Companies were now going to go in and they were going to spend the money for infrastructure improvement and then they were going to get paid back from the productivity. So the US sort of putting its military protection around a private company doing a private activity versus before the dysfunction and in a lot of cases the corruption of the Venezuelan government was distorting that you could argue. Why would US Companies want to get in bed with such a situation to begin with? I think that's a very legitimate issue. And in many countries around the world they haven't. But South America is a little different than some of the Middle Eastern autocracies because some of the South American countries have had good leadership for a period of time and then there's a takeover or a revolution and then you end up with a bad country. But the assets still sit there. So Venezuela has been very temperamental, very unpredictable for a long time. And unfortunately this is the legacy of Chavez. And I'd like to point this out, by the way, to American faculty lounge professors. And I'd like to point this out to the new mayor of New York City. Those collectivist presences in South America have not done well for their people.

[Nick Eicher]

No, indeed. David, looking ahead and acknowledging how many unknowns remain, I wonder about a best case scenario for Venezuela. Everything goes right, do you think that Venezuela could re emerge as a meaningful player in global oil markets? And would that materially change the global energy picture?

[David Bonson]

Well, when you say if it all goes as well as it possibly could, then yes, there's a great impact. But nothing goes as well as it possibly could. So there probably will be hiccups and so forth. But I think at this point, Nick, I'm a little afraid to answer prematurely because of what we don't know about succession, about potential uprisings, what kind of pushback to US Presence there will be. And let's not forget that if we just had a magic wand and could take over oil production in foreign countries tomorrow, it doesn't change the fact that there's questions about the demand side of the oil equilibrium. Right. We're dealing with a supply and demand equation. So you did see oil prices come down last year. The president would like to keep them down. And this is one way that US Producers can maintain profits at the same level of production even with low oil prices, is expand places they're able to produce. And so there was all this conversation when the US went into Iraq over 20 years ago about where there was and wasn't an oil motive. And a lot of that proved to be a lot more bark than bite. President Trump on Saturday flat out said it that we intend to go in and we would intend to make money on the oil down there. So, so I think that's a factor. And then as I mentioned before, deterrent to China. You basically trying to keep oil and gas out from the Western hemisphere being sold to China. There's that leverage factor as well. Those are the economic angles I'm focused on now.

[Emma Eicher]

All right.

[Nick Eicher]

David Bonson, founder, managing partner and chief investment officer of the Bonson Group. Be sure to visit dividendcafe.com toward the end of the week and read David's big annual annual white paper on the economy. It's a look back. It's a look forward. And that is coming out on Friday, DividendCafe.com we will talk more about that next week. David, safe travels.

[David Bonson]

Thanks so much. Nick.

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. THIS is the WORLD and everything in it from listeners supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichardt.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Next up, the one year anniversary of one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. The Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed nearly 40,000 acres in just three weeks.

[Mary Reichert]

A year later, recovery efforts are still ongoing and investigators are uncovering new information about what caused it. World's Emma Eicher has the story.

[Emma Eicher]

It was a Tuesday morning in Southern California. January 7th. A year ago, about 50 miles west of LA, a plume of smoke rose from California's Santa Monica Mountains. In the Pacific Palisades neighborhood along the coast, a man and his sister were enjoying a cup of tea when she looked out the window and screamed fire.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

It was a half acre of smoke. And then 10 minutes later it was 20 acres of smoke.

[Emma Eicher]

Nick Libenotti spoke with News 3 Las Vegas, saying he called 911 as the blaze left behind a black burn scar of disintegration. It was just the beginning.

[David Bonson]

And once the fire got into the urban environment and once it ignited a home, those homes spread the fires at an incredible rate.

[Emma Eicher]

I got in touch with John keely of the U.S. geological Survey. He's a research scientist who studies wildfires. Keely blames a combination of factors that led to this point.

[David Bonson]

We had nine months of drought, which dried out the vegetation. We had extreme winds, which were unusual but not unique. And then we had a human ignition, which is always related to these fire events.

[Emma Eicher]

In the afternoon, the embers settled onto rooftops, signaling the next most devastating stage.

[David Bonson]

Then it was really an urban conflagration. It was the urban environment that drove these fires, the fuels that ended up destroying so many homes and lives. The fuels were the homes themselves.

[Emma Eicher]

Massive red and orange flames ravaged the neighborhoods while thousands fled their homes. The fire spread through Malibu, the Pacific Palisades, and the community of Altadena. Firefighters took to the sky in helicopters to dump water while those on the ground fought a losing battle. Audio here from CBS 8 San Diego.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

And one of the things that we noticed, it would just be a single.

[Nick Eicher]

Line of houses on one side of the block.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

The first one would go and then the wind would keep pushing it.

[Nick Eicher]

It was just like candlesticks.

[Emma Eicher]

Three weeks later, the last flames flickered out. 16,000 structures reduced to ash. Firefighters and civilians nursing burns and other injuries. Many residents died, 31 by official count, but some scientists estimated hundreds. The evacuation orders were lifted, but for most people, there was nothing to go back to.

[David Bonson]

I can't even put this into words.

[Emma Eicher]

Laura Pistotnik looked around at what used to be her house in the Pacific Palisades. It was only blackened rubble. Audio from CBS Sunday morning.

[David Bonson]

I'm just sick and numb.

[Mary Reichert]

That's the two words I will say.

[Emma Eicher]

One year later, many houses are still a pile of debris. The federal government promised to help rebuild, but cleanup has been slow.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

There's nobody here either. It's the eeriest part about it. It's like it's empty.

[Emma Eicher]

In October of 2025, travel YouTuber Alexander Ayling walked through the Palisades neighborhoods. He found signs claiming hazardous materials had been removed. Whether that cleanup was complete or only partial was unclear. Aling's video shows remaining heaps of rubble and ash scattered nearby.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

Why aren't there people, people working to clear this up?

[Emma Eicher]

Eight months later, still the remnants of many houses were hauled away, but very few have been rebuilt. Challenges range from labor costs and insurance disputes to government red tape. November marked the first home rebuilt after the fires. And that home isn't meant as a place to live. It's just a model property for future projects. Now there's a federal investigation into the LA Fire Department. ABC7 reported this a month ago.

[Joshua Rosenkranz]

New details this morning in the Palisades fire investigation. The Los Angeles Times reports federal prosecutors have served the LA Fire Department with a subpoena for firefighter text messages.

[Emma Eicher]

In late December, those text messages were handed over in the courtroom. They revealed in detail the days leading up to the fires. On January 1, firefighters put out a blaze in the Santa Monica mountain. Then Battalion Chief Mario Garcia ordered the firefighters to pack up their hoses even though the ground was still smoldering. Fire Department Chief Deputy Joe Everett insisted that the New Year's fire was mopped up. And he said it couldn't have caused the Palisades fire days later. Here's Everett in an interview with ABC 7.

[Nick Eicher]

Should those hoses have been kept in place longer? Should firefighters been checking on that burn scar longer?

[David Bonson]

Well, I mean, in retrospect, I think that yes.

[Emma Eicher]

Investigators questioned why certain safety measures weren't followed. The LAFD knew about the wind conditions and drought, but they didn't send fire engines to high risk areas. They also delayed sending more firefighters until the Palisades fire was burning out of control. Fire Chief Kristen Crowley defended her actions, saying the LAFD lacked resources. In February, Louisiana Mayor Karen Bass fired Crowley. NBCLA asked the mayor for the reason behind the sacking.

[Mary Reichert]

It was just she was absolutely not scapegoated. I would never do that. But it is important for us to understand what happened.

[Emma Eicher]

Wildfire researcher Keeley says he believes the weather conditions were the main drivers behind the fires, not human error.

[David Bonson]

When you have 80 mile per hour winds blowing fire through an urban environment, it's an extremely difficult situation. So it seemed to me watching this event that it was not something that was going to be easily controlled.

[Emma Eicher]

But some things can be controlled. New evidence continues to reveal the scale of executive failure. And that may prove crucial in preventing settlement destruction in the future. That's this week's world history book. I'm Emma Eicher.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow for now, more on Venezuela. We'll talk with a variety of experts. And new therapy for neurological problems. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Book of Matthew records the words of Jesus. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and use will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Verses 7 and 8 of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Go now in grace and peace.