January 6, 2026 4:46 am
(AP) – Several European leaders have pushed back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about seeking an American takeover of Greenland. The leaders issued a statement Tuesday reaffirming the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island “belongs to its people.” The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom have joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in defending Greenland’s sovereignty in the wake of Trump’s comments. Greenland is a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Monday that Greenland should be part of the United States. Frederiksen previously said a U.S. takeover of Greenland would amount to the end of the NATO military alliance.
January 6, 2026 5:52 pm
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Republican Doug LaMalfa, a California rice farmer who served seven terms in the U.S. House and was a reliable vote on President Donald Trump’s agenda, has died at age 65. LaMalfa’s death reduces the GOP’s narrow control of the House to 218 seats to Democrats’ 213. LaMalfa was a former state lawmaker and rice farmer who was first elected to Congress in 2012. The Butte County sheriff’s office says the congressman experienced a medical emergency Monday and died during a surgical procedure. LaMalfa’s chief of staff says he was a funny guy who loved cars and classic rock. Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff says LaMalfa was willing to work across the aisle to get things done.
January 6, 2026 4:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has declared himself “innocent” and a “decent man” as he is pleading not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges. Maduro told a judge in New York on Monday, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” Maduro was making his first appearance in an American courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York. The courtroom appearance was Maduro’s first since he and his wife were seized from their home Saturday in a stunning middle-of-the-night military operation. It kicks off the U.S. government’s most consequential prosecution in decades of a foreign head of state.
January 5, 2026 4:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hasn’t minced words about the larger message he’s trying to send the world with the U.S. military raid to capture Nicolás Maduro. “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump declared shortly after the deposed Venezuelan leader and his wife were spirited away to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges. In the days since the audacious raid, the president and his team have only doubled down on this notion. It’s the kind of tough talk not heard since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when American presidents deployed the military for territorial and resource conquests.
January 6, 2026 4:50 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Activists say the death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35. The figure came from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which said more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week. It said 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, says some 250 police officers and 45 members of the Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force have been hurt.
January 5, 2026 2:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child — cutting protection against a half-dozen diseases in a move slammed by the nation’s pediatricians. The overhaul is effective immediately, meaning that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now recommend vaccines against 11 diseases. What’s no longer broadly recommended is protection against flu, rota-virus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis or RSV. Instead, protections against those diseases are only recommended for certain groups deemed high-risk, or if their doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making.” Trump administration officials said the overhaul, a move long sought by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., won’t result in families who want the vaccines losing access to them, and said insurance will continue to pay. But medical experts said the move increases confusion for parents and could increase preventable diseases. The change came after President Donald Trump in December asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising its guidance to align with theirs. (File Photo: AP)
January 5, 2026 2:28 am
(AP) – Four people injured in an explosion at a Pennsylvania nursing home two weeks ago are suing the facility and a natural gas utility. The lawsuit filed Monday in Philadelphia claims negligence led to the Dec. 23 blast at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center. The plaintiffs are two nursing home workers, a resident and a contractor. The suit alleges the defendants knew of a gas leak but failed to evacuate the property or fix the problem. The explosion killed a resident and a worker and injured 20 other people. Officials haven’t determined the cause.
January 5, 2026 5:14 pm
Corey O’Connor is now officially – the 62nd mayor of Pittsburgh. He was sworn in on Monday afternoon, making him part of a small group of family members who have served as mayor of Pennsylvania. O’Conner’s father, Bob O’Connor, was sworn in as mayor – almost exactly 20 years before him. He died though, of a rare form of brain cancer, just eight months into his term. O’Connor was sworn in at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland, with a reception following that. O’Connor and his wife have asked attendees to bring a toy donation for Toys for Tots.
January 5, 2026 12:47 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro declares himself “innocent” and a “decent man” as he pleads not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges. Maduro told a judge in New York on Monday, “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.” Maduro was making his first appearance in an American courtroom Monday on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York. (Photo: AP)
January 5, 2026 10:52 am
ST PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is ending his bid for a third term as governor amid President Donald Trump’s relentless focus on a fraud investigation into child care programs in the state. Less than four months after announcing his reelection campaign, Walz said Monday he could no longer devote the energy necessary to win another term, even as he expressed confidence he could win. A person close to Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said she is considering running for governor. Around a dozen Republicans are already in the race.
