Liberals have taken many radical, nonsensical positions in recent years. Few are as baffling as their outrage over President Trump’s removal of Nicolás Maduro, the illegitimate, narco-terrorist dictator of Venezuela — a move the long-suffering citizens of Venezuela are openly cheering. But not so among progressives, such as the clueless governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, who claims Trump’s action was designed, “To distract from Epstein, the explosion of health and homeowners insurance costs, and the tariffs that are decimating small businesses …” Or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who downplays Maduro’s tyrannical brutality by claiming,” It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.” So, who exactly are Pritzker, AOC, and others of their ilk defending? Why are they saying we should have left him in power? In 2023, Joe Biden’s State Department produced a 76-page assessment of specific human rights abuses committed by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his thugs (many of whom were apparently Cuban mercenaries) against their hapless victims. The assessment documents a staggering range of abuses, including: …unlawful or arbitrary killings… enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention by security forces… political prisoners… punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative… use of children by illegal armed groups; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists… harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; extensive gender-based violence… trafficking in persons… and the worst forms of child labor. The report makes for a tough read, given its summation of the viciousness, cruelty, and ruthlessness of Maduro and his henchmen.  Want more? What about the details in the federal criminal indictment of Maduro issued by a grand jury in New York? The superseding indictment charges Maduro and a host of other confederates with running a drug cartel “to import tons of cocaine into the United States.” Makes sense from Maduro’s point of view: his disastrous policies turned Venezuela into an economic basket case, making a once-prosperous country a bankrupt third-world hellhole. Thus, Maduro had to get money from somewhere to line his pockets and finance his depredations. According to the indictment, Maduro essentially turned the Venezuelan government into a massive drug and illegal weapons smuggling operation, doing everything from using Venezuelan law enforcement to protect his distribution system to issuing “diplomatic passports to drug traffickers” and providing “diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds.” All of the money was used to enrich himself, his family, and the “political and military elite” who kept him in power. That also included partnering “with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world,” extremely dangerous criminal cartels and terrorist groups that have kidnapped and murdered Americans, like FARC, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, or Cartel del Noreste, and Tren de Aragua. By the way, the Caribbean drug smugglers that our military has been taking out? Part of the indictment talks about the 200 to 250 tons of cocaine “trafficked” to the U.S. annually by Maduro and his cartel cronies through “maritime shipments…north from Venezuela’s coastline using go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.” Additionally, “air shipments were often dispatched from clandestine airstrips, typically made of dirt or grass, and also from commercial airports under the control” of Maduro and his corrupt officials. I don’t think the majority of Americans have a lot of sympathy for the criminals smuggling drugs on these “go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.” From the drugs poisoning our citizens, especially our youth, to the citizens of Venezuela who have been censored, arrested, tortured, and killed, Maduro has been a scourge who has caused untold harm and suffering. The political parties and both sides of the political aisle may disagree on many domestic issues. But when it comes to the removal of Nicolás Maduro Moros, progressives, liberals, and Democrats, along with conservatives and Republicans, should be praising the president for finally taking action to rid our hemisphere of this menace. * * * Hans von Spakovsky is a Senior Legal Fellow in the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

After fourteen years of guiding the Star Wars galaxy through a series of increasingly turbulent hyperspace jumps, Kathleen Kennedy is finally stepping down as president of Lucasfilm. For the critics who have spent a decade watching the most storied franchise in cinematic history trade timeless heroism for the dismal gray hues of modern identity politics, the news is a seismic, if long-overdue, development. Kennedy, whose career began as Steven Spielberg’s secretary before she ascended to produce hits like E.T., was handpicked by George Lucas in 2012. However, under Disney’s $4 billion ownership, her tenure became a Rorschach test for the “woke” transformation of Hollywood. While early efforts like The Force Awakens capitalized on pure nostalgia to rake in billions, the subsequent years were defined by creative chaos and a widening chasm between the studio and its core audience. Under Kennedy’s watch, the franchise famously “put a chick in it” — as South Park brutally parodied — often at the expense of established lore and beloved legacy characters. From the sidelining of Luke Skywalker to the “Mary Sue” critiques of the sequel trilogy, the brand struggled to maintain its gravity. Production was marred by the firing of directors, the rejection of projects from Game of Thrones creators, and the flat-out rejection of shows like The Acolyte by fans weary of diversity pandering. One blogger wrote, “These days, the Star Wars franchise is a mess of live-action con jobs and Mary Sues, and we can all blame Kathleen Kennedy for her significant part in ruining the whole franchise. Kennedy was placed as the head of Lucasfilm by George Lucas to keep Star Wars from going off the rails. However, she wanted the Force to be ‘female’ and after taking control of Lucasfilm, she set about manufacturing the template. … Utterly humiliate the characters people love and replace them with generic, threadbare, overpowered self-inserts that the audience was supposed to love.” Taking the reins is Dave Filoni, the Lucas-mentored creative mind behind the animation boom and The Mandalorian, who will serve as president alongside business lead Lynwen Brennan. This “creative versus suit” split is a classic Disney maneuver, designed to stabilize a ship that has been spinning its wheels in development hell. Kennedy isn’t vanishing into the Outer Rim just yet; she remains a producer on upcoming projects like The Mandalorian and Grogu. Yet, her departure signals the end of an era defined by “The Force is Female” slogans and the beginning of a desperate attempt to recapture “a more civilized age.” Whether Filoni can bridge the gap between niche lore and universal appeal — or if the franchise is too far gone into the “lame and gay” abyss mocked by critics — remains the ultimate cliffhanger for Disney’s bottom line.

The FBI is hunting for an illegal immigrant from Honduras who is accused of ramming his truck into multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicles during a traffic stop in Texas last month.  Jerson Lopez-Sanchez, 28, is charged with three counts of assaulting or resisting federal officers, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Lopez-Sanchez is on the run, and the FBI has offered a $15,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest and conviction.  The incident unfolded on December 1 after ICE agents conducted a registration check of a Chevrolet Silverado carrying five people driving through Dallas. After determining that Lopez-Sanchez was in the country illegally, agents followed the truck and attempted to initiate a traffic stop in nearby Lewisville, Texas.  The #FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Jerson Lopez-Sanchez, #wanted for allegedly assaulting federal officers in Lewisville, Texas, on December 1, 2025: https://t.co/NpFHK7ZdoP pic.twitter.com/MKsZbB1SSW — FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) January 15, 2026 Three ICE vehicles surrounded the truck and prepared to conduct the stop when Lopez-Sanchez suddenly put his truck, which was loaded with ladders, in reverse and slammed it into a Jeep SUV driven by one of the ICE agents, according to the indictment.  “The ICE agent in that SUV had one leg out of his vehicle and on the ground when the driver rammed the Jeep and jolted him backwards. This agent had to quickly jump back into his vehicle to avoid serious injury,” the indictment said.  That action created enough space for Lopez-Sanchez to drive away, and a car chase began in a heavily populated area, the indictment said. As he drove away, Lopez-Sanchez also allegedly drove into a Chrysler van being driven by an ICE agent, injuring the agent’s knees and neck.  The indictment said he “weaponized his 5,500-plus-pound vehicle and dangerously accelerated into the ICE agents in the Chrysler van, causing significant damage and smoke to rise from the hood, and also causing all front airbags to deploy.” After a ten-minute pursuit, Lopez-Sanchez parked his truck in a median and fled. Three of the occupants were later arrested, but Lopez-Sanchez evaded law enforcement.  The FBI wanted poster for Lopez-Sanchez lists him as being 5 ‘8’’ tall and weighing 165 pounds. His occupation was listed as a roofer.  ICE agents have faced a sharp increase in vehicle attacks, according to the Department of Homeland Security. From January 21, 2025, to January 7, 2026, there have been 66 “vehicular attacks” targeting ICE, according to DHS. That is up from two the previous year during the same time frame.

In a stunning revelation that underscores the malevolent depths of the Iranian regime, a new investigation by Catherine Herridge suggests that the 2020 Iranian ballistic missile attack on Al Asad Air Base was far more than a conventional strike. While the public was told at the time that no Americans died, the reality is a nightmare of traumatic brain injuries and the alleged use of “dirty” warheads laced with toxic agents and radioactive materials. According to military records obtained by Herridge’s team, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) didn’t just want to create craters in a runway; they were conducting a live-fire test of their most heinous capabilities. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Alan Johnson, who survived the attack, believes Iran intentionally deployed contaminated warheads to inflict long-term damage on American troops in retaliation for the death of Qasem Soleimani. Johnson said one specific missile had a “heat signature” entirely different from the others. The evidence is hard to ignore. Military testing records reportedly identified radioactive isotopes like actinium-228, bismuth-214, and cesium-137 at the site — substances that experts say have no business being near a conventional missile. Retired JAG lawyer Robert Broadbent was blunt: before the attack, there was no radiation at Al Asad. After the missiles landed? The environment was toxic. The military’s own quiet admission of this reality is perhaps the most damning: every service member now deployed to the base is issued a dosimeter to monitor radiation exposure. For the soldiers on the ground, surviving the initial blast has turned into a slow-motion catastrophe. Service members in their 20s and 30s are now facing thyroid cancer, homelessness, and mental health issues. Johnson himself is being screened for cancer, while at least six others in his group have already been diagnosed. The investigation suggests that the IRGC bypassed the runways and specifically targeted living quarters and dining facilities to maximize the toxic exposure of U.S. personnel.

President Donald Trump weighs military action in Minneapolis, the White House maintains pressure on Iran as Trump ratchets down his rhetoric, and the Senate hears the testimony against mail-order abortion pills. It’s Friday, January 16, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below: Trump Threatens Insurrection Act As tensions remain high in Minneapolis following another ICE shooting on Wednesday, President Trump is threatening to invoke a centuries-old law. According to the Department of Homeland Security, an agent was attempting to detain an illegal immigrant when the man fled on foot. As the agent caught up to him, two more illegal immigrants emerged from a nearby apartment and began attacking him with a snow shovel and broomstick, DHS said. The agent fired a shot in self-defense, striking the first man in the leg. All three men were eventually detained. On Thursday, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act unless “the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E.” The 1807 law authorized the president to deploy the military on U.S. soil to suppress an insurrection or violent unrest when the state is unable to do so. It also applies to cases in which a state is unable or unwilling to enforce federal law. Trump Eases Tensions With Iran, But Military Threat Remains President Trump keeps the world on edge with his plans for Iran. On Tuesday, speculation circulated that an American strike against Iran is coming soon. Iran closed its airspace, and reports said some American personnel were evacuating the region. But Trump took a step back, telling reporters that his administration had been informed that the Iranian regime had stayed executions scheduled for Wednesday. Still, reports suggest the United States is moving military assets into the region, and the White House insists that Trump has not ruled out military action. The situation between Washington and Tehran remains tense. Senators Scrutinize Abortion Pill Senators heard testimony this week about the abortion pill, now by far the leading means of abortion in the United States. Particularly at issue is the Biden-era policy that stripped away the requirement that a woman consult with a physician in person before taking the pill, mifepristone. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician, spoke to Morning Wire about a recent congressional hearing on abortion pills. According to Cassidy, Americans need to be better informed about the risks. He also said that lawmakers need to reverse Biden-era rules that allow people to obtain the pills without an in-person interview with a doctor. That change would eliminate cases “in which someone else ordered the abortion pill and forced the pregnant woman to take them,” Cassidy said.