January 4, 2026 6:00 am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has arrived in the United States to face criminal charges. He was captured in an audacious military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. Maduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas. The couple will face prosecution in connection with a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
January 4, 2026 5:55 am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States will run Venezuela at least temporarily after an audacious military operation plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country. Trump on Saturday also described plans to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning. It resulted in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful.
January 4, 2026 5:52 am
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded two others, including a 4-year-old child, in Russia’s Belgorod region on Sunday, officials said, ahead of peace talks in Paris this week. In Ukraine, three people were wounded in overnight drone strikes in the Kharkiv region, while the death toll from Friday’s missile attack on Kharkiv rose to four. The attacks came after European national security advisers met in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said meetings of military officials and European leaders in Paris on Monday and Tuesday could finalize security guarantee documents.
January 4, 2026 5:49 am
Embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor. The letter was sent Saturday. Republicans had been making plans to impeach her ever since her Dec. 19 conviction. Last April, federal prosecutors accused Dugan of distracting federal officers trying to arrest a Mexican immigrant outside her courtroom and leading the man out through a private door. A federal jury convicted her of felony obstruction. The case against Dugan was highlighted by President Donald Trump as he pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown.
January 3, 2026 4:43 am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The United States has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flown him out of the country in a stunning military operation that plucked a sitting leader from office following months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation. Maduro and his wife were taken overnight from their home on a military base. They were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York on Saturday. They are set to face criminal charges. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is now evaluating next steps for Venezuela. Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife.
January 3, 2026 4:40 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The FBI says it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old who allegedly pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group. Christian Sturdivant is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities say he shared plans with an undercover FBI employee to use knives and hammers to carry out the attacks. Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remains in custody. An attorney representing him did not respond Friday to requests seeking comment. The investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of IS.
January 3, 2026 4:38 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Authorities in Iran report that violence surrounding protests over the country’s struggling economy has killed two more people, raising the death toll to at least 10. The protests, now a week old, are the largest since 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Friday against violently suppressing protesters, promising U.S. intervention. This sparked an angry response from Iranian officials. Activists say the protests have spread to over 100 locations across 22 provinces. Iran’s government, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, has signaled a willingness to negotiate, but economic challenges persist.
January 3, 2026 4:41 am
The Trump administration has frozen child care funds to all states after allegations of fraud at Minnesota day care centers run by Somali residents. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said states will have to provide more verification for the child care centers that receive funds from the Child Care and Development Fund. In addition, Minnesota will have to provide additional verification on top of the new requirements for centers that are suspected of fraud. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has accused President Donald Trump of weaponizing the allegations for political gains. Trump has targeted the Somali diaspora in the state.
January 3, 2026 3:56 am
Emergency crews were dispatched to the 50 block of West Maiden Street in West Middletown early Saturday morning. At about 1:30am, a pick-up truck left the road and struck a house. The people in the home were trapped until emergency crews arrived. They were safely evacuated. The driver of the pick-up truck also escaped. Washington County 9-1-1 officials state that no injuries were reported and that the home is being analyzed for structural integrity.
January 4, 2026 3:54 am
The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has launched the “Pennsylvania 250; The Keystone of American History” showcase to commemorate Pennsylvania’s role in the nation’s founding, growth and democratic evolution. At the center of the initiative is an exhibition called “Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection”. It is a 3000 square foot exhibition at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. It features more than 140 artifacts that span three centuries of Pennsylvania and American history. Additionally, several other events are planned statewide. Among them are the “Patriots and Prisoners: The Pennsylvania Experience” that examines prisoners of war. That will take place during the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show. Locally, Old Economy Village in Ambridge will explore craftsmanship as a civic tradition. That will culminate in a Civil War Weekend on May 2, 2026. More information about other statewide events may be found at phmc.pa.gov.
