NFL Black Monday is here, and boy oh boy, has it been active

Out of the fire that claimed over 40 young lives in Switzerland on New Year’s Eve comes a story of heroism and coincidence that allowed an Italian Swiss father to help rescue 10 of the youth trapped inside the underground venue. In the Swiss town of Crans Montana, sparklers or similar items are believed to […] The post Father Saves 10 from Bar Fire at Swiss New Year’s Party After Frantic Call from His Daughter appeared first on Good News Network.

News Pluribus Pluribus: What That Ursula K. Le Guin Book Suggests About the Series Just some light reading for Carol as she sits by the pool By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on January 5, 2026 Credit: Apple TV Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Apple TV This post contains one spoiler from the Pluribus finale, specifically about Carol reading a certain book. The finale of Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus came out on December 26, and while the episode certainly included a lot, there was one moment that surely had sci-fi fans doing a double take and pointing eagerly at the screen. The scene in question had Carol (Rhea Seehorn) lounging at a pool while Zosia (Karolina Wydra) swims some laps. It’s the end of humanity, and for the moment Carol has accepted it. And what could be a better way to accept that the Joining isn’t going anywhere than to read Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness? “We talked about who Carol might read in general, especially for leisure,” Seehorn said in an interview with Mashable. “Not that Le Guin’s books are easy, passive reading, but they definitely seem like books and a voice and a literary level that Carol would admire.” The nod is a deft one: Le Guin, of course, is a literary legend, with The Left Hand of Darkness remaining one of her best-known works. The premise of the 1969 novel also has some parallels to Pluribus. In it, a man named Genly travels to the planet Gethen as an emissary of the Ekumen, a confederation of planets. The Ekumen wants the people of Gethen to join their organization, a mirror image of what the alien-virus thing in Pluribus has done to most of humanity, and what it seeks to do elsewhere in the universe. Genly is also like Carol, a human effectively surrounded by an alien species. Yes, I know there are other non-Joined in Pluribus, but Carol is isolated from most of them as well… she’s not even invited to their Zoom meetups! There are differences, of course. On Gethen, for example, people are ambisexual and only grow sex organs once a month (50/50 on whether they grow a vagina or a penis) and then have those organs disappear unless they’ve become pregnant. That’s a leap from what’s going on in Pluribus… or is it? How do the Joined consider gender? My initial guess is they consider themselves every gender and also none? Please discuss. Perhaps Carol is considering these questions while reading (or rereading… probably rereading) The Left Hand of Darkness by the poolside. Le Guin’s novel is also a great option for us to read while we wait for Pluribus season two, and we’ve got a list of other books to check out before then as well. [end-mark] The post <i>Pluribus</i>: What That Ursula K. Le Guin Book Suggests About the Series appeared first on Reactor.

Movies & TV Watchlist Here Are All the Genre TV Premieres Airing in January! New recruits enroll at Starfleet Academy, a college student tries his hand at vigilante crime-fighting, and a struggling actor becomes the MCU’s newest superhero By Petrana Radulovic | Published on January 5, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share There is a lot of entertainment out there these days, and a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror titles to parse through. So we’re rounding up the genre shows coming out each month. It’s the start of winter anime season, which means a lot of new anime, including the return of some favorite titles like Jujutsu Kaisen and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and spinoffs of some popular anime like Trigun and My Hero Academia. A new Star Trek show also launches this month, along with the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe series, and a Game of Thrones spinoff. The Outcast — Crunchyroll (January 2) (Season 6) A college student discovers a supernatural world after stumbling into a tiny village and being attacked by zombies. A mysterious sword-wielding girl saves him, but that’s only the beginning of his adventures. This anime is based on a Chinese webcomic called Under One Person.  Sentenced to Be a Hero — Crunchyroll (January 3)  In this fantasy world, criminals are sentenced to acts of heroism—and this condemned criminal must battle endless hordes of monsters. When he dies, he’s simply resurrected and forced to fight them again. But there might be a way out, if he allies with a mysterious goddess… Kunon the Sorcerer Can See — Crunchyroll (January 4) A young blind man named Kunon decides to hone water magic in order to create a new set of eyes. Kunon begins to show great skill in his magic training, even surpassing his mentor in ability. But even as his magical ability grows, his main goal remains out of reach—will he ever be able to see?  Noble Reincarnation: Born Blessed, So I’ll Obtain Ultimate Power — Crunchyroll (January 4)  A very powerful six-year old has been reborn as the child of an emperor. He has a ton of powers, which increase with every loyal follower who pledges themselves to his cause. But all this wealth, power, and privilege has a hidden cost, especially when it comes to the royal court’s political machinations.  My Hero Academia: Vigilantes —  Crunchyroll (January 5)  In a world where most people have some sort of superpower, only a few are chosen to go on and become heroes. But one unlicensed college student decides to test his luck and becomes a vigilante. This series takes place five years before the events of popular anime series My Hero Academia. The Demon King’s Daughter is Too Kind!! — Crunchyroll (January 6)  Demon King Ahriman wants to conquer the world—till he’s stopped by his compassionate daughter Dou. She’s just such a sweetheart that everyone who meets her melts immediately! Jahi, the king’s loyal secretary, decides to train Dou into a proper, terrifying demon—but can she overcome Dou’s adorableness and kind heart?  There was a Cute Girl in the Hero’s Party, so I Tried Confessing to Her — Crunchyroll (January 6) In this comedic enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, a demon unexpectedly falls for a beautiful priestess. He’s supposed to destroy her adventuring party, but now all he wants to do is confess his affection for her—even if that means going behind the demon king’s back. Isekai Office Worker: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter — Crunchyroll (January 6) An office worker is transported to a fantasy kingdom… but instead of becoming a hero, he plays to his strengths and gets a job in the palace’s accounting department. His skills attract the attention of the handsome, but icy, Knight Captain and soon a romance blossoms between them.  Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord — Crunchyroll (January 7) Van, the child of a marquis, realizes that he has immense knowledge from a past life and becomes a prodigy in magic. His snooty battle magic-favoring family doesn’t care for his crafting magic skill, so they banish him to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. But Van uses this banishment as an opportunity to maximize his crafting magic and tap into the memories of his past life so that he can revitalize the tiny village.  An Adventurer’s Daily Grind at Age 29 — Crunchyroll (January 7) Though he grew up poor and hunting for food, Hajime Shinonome enjoys a comfortable life as the local village’s resident adventure: he gets money and food in exchange for going on quests and fending off monsters. But his life takes a bit of a turn when he rescues an orphaned girl from a monstrous slime and decides to adopt her. Adventuring isn’t so easy when you have a hyper sword-wielding child tagging along.  A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation — Crunchyroll (January 7) A chancellor in a fantasy realm gets transported to another fantasy realm. But he’s not about to let this kerfuffle get him down. In fact, he’s determined to use this as a chance to get some much needed rest and relaxation from his noble duties.  Jujutsu Kaisen — Crunchyroll (January 8) (Season 3) Following season two’s catastrophic Shibuya Incident arc, the third season of Jujutsu Kaisen sees the sorcerers enter the “Culling Game”—a twisted battle royale conducted by ancient sorcerer Kenjaku as a way to evolve humanity. The sorcerers and cursed users must battle each other to the death across different sections of Japan.   The Holy Grail of Eris — Crunchyroll (January 8) After a terrible betrayal, kindhearted Constance Grail is sentenced to death. But as she awaits execution, the ghost of Scarlett Castiel, a noblewoman executed for trying to poison the prince’s lover, whispers to her and offers her a chance at salvation. Together, the two of them unravel a conspiracy hiding in the kingdom.  Roll Over and Die — Crunchyroll (January 8) Even though she’s prophesied to hold great power and defeat the Demon Lord, Flum doesn’t really understand her abilities. Her party leader sees her as a liability and ends up selling her into slavery. But when Flum is thrown into a gladiatorial death match against some monsters, her power finally ignites. The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife — Crunchyroll (January 8) Akira Tounome, a polite invisible man, runs a detective agency with the help of Shizuka Yakou,  a mild-mannered blind woman. As they work together day after day, a slow romance begins to blossom between them. After all, Shizuka can always tell where Akira is, even though he’s invisible and she can’t see. It’s a sweet slice-of-life with a magical spin.  Fire Force — Crunchyroll (January 9)  (Season 3: Part 2) In a world where people spontaneously combust and turn into fiery monsters, a group of pyrokinetic fire fighters is entrusted to protect humanity. This new season sees the main characters uncovering a big secret, but before they can stop an impending disaster, they’re branded as traitors.  Dark Moon: The Blood Altar — Crunchyroll (January 9) In this quiet seaside town, the most popular boys at rival prestigious academies just so happen to be vampires and werewolves respectively. When a new student transfers to the vampire boys’ school, both sets of popular boys find themselves inexplicably drawn to her…. Based on the popular webtoon of the same name, it’s like Twilight, but with even more boys. Trigun Stargaze — Crunchyroll (January 10) In the distant future, humanity is forced to leave Earth and searches the stars for habitable planets. On one distant arid planet, an outlaw named Vash wanders the wastelands, hiding from his hostile brother. This series, which is a sequel to Trigun Stampede (itself a reboot of a ‘90s anime), picks up two and a half years after the first show and finds Vash hiding out in a remote village after a catastrophic tragedy.  Dead Account — Crunchyroll (January 10) A contentious online streamer who purposefully trolls his viewers with ragebait is actually a soft-hearted older brother who just wants to take care of his little sister’s medical bills. He doesn’t care if the world hates him, so long as the money from his streams helps out his sister. But when the unthinkable happens, he finds himself pulled into the world of digital exorcists who fight digital evil spirits and ghosts who possess the accounts of the deceased.  Fate/strange Fake — Crunchyroll (January 10) The Holy Grail is a magical wish-granting device capable of fulfilling any desire—which means people desperately want it and wage full wars to obtain it. After the end of the Fifth Grail War in Japan, rumors point to a new grail in the United States of America. Mages start to gather and a new battle for the grail begins.  A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans — Crunchyroll (January 10) A grumpy, misanthropic teacher takes a new job at a remote mountain school, hoping that it will be a relaxing experience. But he quickly learns the school is for demi-humans—werewolves, mermaids, half-rabbit creatures, oh my! His new job is to help them learn to blend in with humans!  Primal — Adult Swim (January 11) (Season 3) From legendary animator Genndy Tartakovsky, Primal takes place in a fantastical version of the past, where Neanderthals and dinosaurs coexist. It follows a neanderthal man named Spear who bonds with a female t-rex named Fang. The two bond after both losing their families and form a partnership as they encounter different humans, like Vikings and Ancient Egyptians, and dangerous animals.  Hell’s Paradise — Crunchyroll (January 11)  A group of death row convicts are sent to search for the coveted elixir of life on a mythical and dangerous island. In this new season, the main characters arrive at the castle that belongs to the monsters who rule the island. Meanwhile, other expeditions have arrived on the island, also seeking the powerful elixir.  Kaya-chan isn’t Scary — Crunchyroll (January 11)  A precocious five year-old constantly gets in trouble in kindergarten… but it turns out that it’s because she can see evil spirits! Her way of getting rid of them is punching them, which is why she’s been getting into trouble! A new teacher aims to help her out.  The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom — Crunchyroll (January 11)  A girl is reincarnated into her favorite romance video game! But as the main villainess, instead of one of the main characters! The game’s story progresses as normal, but things take a turn when the prince of a neighboring country swoops in and unexpectedly proposes to her.  ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess — Crunchyroll (January 12) A warrior princess is captured by a demon army, expecting to be tortured. But the torture comes in the form of delicious food! Can she resist these tempting treats and keep the secrets of her kingdom?  Oshi No Ko — Crunchyroll (January 14)  (Season 3) The twin children of a tragically murdered pop idol are actually reincarnated fans of hers, who were also brutally killed. They make their way in the entertainment industry, while also trying to solve the murders of their mother and their former lives. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy — Paramount+ (January 15) The newest Star Trek spinoff series follows a class of Starfleet cadets as they train to be officers. Starfleet Academy takes place in the far-future timeline of the Star Trek franchise and this class of cadets is the first one in over a century. The students, made up of humans and aliens alike, are taught aboard the USS Athena, which docks in San Francisco.  Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End — Crunchyroll (January 16) (Season 2) One of the most evocative fantasy anime out there, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End follows the titular elven mage who has outlived all the members of her original adventuring party. She’s determined to journey to the land of the dead, so she can pay final tributes to her old friends. Now, she travels with two young heroes. The show dives into the ramifications of long-lived fantasy races and doesn’t hold back in getting really poignant about the passage of time. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — HBO (January 18) The latest prequel to Game of Thrones adapts George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. The stories follow Sir Duncan the Tall (or Dunk), a lowborn knight, and his young squire, Prince Aegon Targaryen (known as “Egg”). And yes, Egg is one of those Targaryens.  The Beauty — FX/Hulu (January 21)  Ryan Murphy’s latest is a sci-fi body horror series about a sexually transmitted virus that transforms regular people into absolutely gorgeous ones, but with gruesome and terrifying consequences. Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall star as FBI agents looking into the bloody deaths of international supermodels.  Wonder Man — Disney+ (January 27) Struggling actor Simon Williams lands the lead role in the remake of an in-universe superhero flick—and eventually gets superpowers himself. Apparently, in the MCU’s version of Hollywood, superpowers are looked down upon, so Simon has to hide his newfound abilities. He’s joined by Trevor Slatterly, the actor who once “played” the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and also returned for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings after being kidnapped by a criminal organization for impersonating the Mandarin. Hopefully, he can finally catch a break![end-mark] The post Here Are All the Genre TV Premieres Airing in January! appeared first on Reactor.

A new era of policing is set to begin in the Mamdani’s Big Apple, and already there are positive signs … if you are a criminal. Among the flurry of moves New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani made during his first days in office was to rearrange the mayor’s office. He made a subtle change, buried in his second executive order, to have NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch report to Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan instead of himself. While this isn’t quite a demotion as some have said on X, it does likely indicate that the Tisch—who is highly regarded as an effective administrator—will have a smaller role in the incoming administration. Jessica Tisch should quit. https://t.co/PuEY2vuQob— Mike Gonzalez (@Gundisalvus) January 5, 2026 It means that the mayor and police commissioner will no longer have direct briefings, a practice that was established after 9/11 to ensure that the mayor and NYPD closely coordinate not only on issues of crime, but counterterrorism. It must be noted that Mamdani has vowed to eliminate the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which was not only created as a counterterrorism unit but now additionally manages riots and unrest in the city. Today the NYPD deployed the Strategic Response Group (SRG) to harass + arrest striking @teamsters. As Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights.— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 19, 2024 When Mamdani announced in November that he would be keeping Tisch at her post, it was seen as a possible sign that he was willing to moderate once in office. It was hard for Mamdani to do otherwise because it was one of his bigger campaign promises. The difference between Tisch and Mamdani is stark. Manhattan Institute crime expert Rafael Mangual highlighted the difference between them in City Journal when the announcement was made. Tish has backed the Strategic Response Unit, opposed the recent bail “reforms,” and generally seems to back “broken windows” policing that transformed the city for the better in the 1990s. Mangual then noted that many would question how such an arrangement could conceivably work. It looks very much like it won’t. In the last year, NYPD has stepped up some of its most effective policing methods to positive results. For instance, crime in Washington Square Park dropped by 65% after the NYPD began 24-hour-a-day patrols at the beginning of November. And that’s not all. Under previous Mayor Eric Adams and Tisch, crime saw a significant drop across the board in the last year. It was far from a perfect record but suggested that the city was getting back on the right track after the serious crime spike of 2020. It’s folks like Mandani who insisted on defunding the police that caused the spike to begin with. If Tisch is sidelined, it’s hard to see the effective policing policies that led to a reduction in crime being maintained. Mamdani said in his inaugural address that he would govern as a “democratic socialist.” Socialists do sometimes grow fond of the police sometimes, but usually only when they become pawns of the party deployed to crack down on political opponents rather than street crime. Mamdani’s transition team made it clear that he plans on reversing course on crime and going back to the leftist ideas that made it spin out of control in New York. It’s bad news for the remaining people of good sense living in and visiting the city. The post Mamdani’s Early Moves Suggest ‘New Era’ in New York Is About Deprioritizing Crime Fighting appeared first on The Daily Signal.

You, Too, Can Be a Local Pathetic Anarchist, LARPing as a Venezuelan - You Just Need a Sign

Sunday's 60 Minutes didn't air their controversial report on the Salvadoran CECOT prison, but they did make quick room for Scott Pelley to investigate President Trump's seizure of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The story led with the expert Roger Carstens, a former "Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs" under Trump and Biden, who quibbled with the notion that Maduro was a "bloodthirsty drug dealer."  Has he had people killed? Sure. Is Venezuela pumping out drugs? Yes. But trust the Expert located by CBS.  Scott Pelley threw this question: "The administration would paint Maduro as a bloodthirsty drug dealer, that, is that the man you knew?"  CARSTENS: I don't think so. And yet— let me answer that by this way. In one way, I could say I'm not naïve to the crimes that were committed by the regime writ large. And if you're the president of a country, you, of course, have responsibility for what's being happen — what's happening — in your government. On the flip side, I would say that being the person in the room with President Maduro my job was to get Americans back and that's best done by building a very human relationship. And in doing so, I didn't find him to be a bloodthirsty maniac. I found him to be — a practical person, someone who wanted to find ways to solve the problems — that was — were faced by his country. Pelley also asked Carstens: "Do you believe the Maduro you met was an international drug dealer?" The answer was slippery:  CARSTENS: I think the — the country clearly touched drugs — and there's information — I always have to be very — clear that I might see certain amounts of information and there's always a treasure trove of information that I've never seen or never will see due to classification or compartmentalization. But what I witnessed was not someone who's necessarily hard-core in the drug business. And I'll be interested to see in how the prosecution goes about proving their case. Later in the story, longtime DEA agent Sandy Gonzalez disagreed with that assessment. "It's a state sponsored drug trafficking organization. So, it's a massive conspiracy. And what I mean by that is not everybody is going to be holding the kilos of cocaine. But in a conspiracy you link everybody together. That's part of the chain. Maduro was part of that chain." This did not sound like the "CBS Newsmax" that leftists are already complaining about. Pelley was still seeking to undermine the Trump administration's arguments. 

On Monday, ABC’s Good Morning America stood alone among the broadcast networks in expressing uniform disgust to Saturday’s U.S. military actions in Venezuela to capture dictator Nicolas Maduro, painting a picture of chaos, “questions,” “uncertainty,” and “unknowns” thanks to what they painted as illegal behavior by the Trump administration. ABC came dangerously close to openly siding with the murderous thug by decrying the “attack” on his country, suggesting without evidence U.S. troops will take over, and only footnoting any support domestically or internationally. It began in the teases, thanks to its star co-host who suffers from chronic, incurable Trump Derangement Syndrome, George Stephanopoulos: All negativity, all doom and chaos in the teases on ABC for Monday’s ‘Good Morning America’ George Stephanopoulos calls it an “attack on Venezuela” and arguing Maduro’s ouster has triggered “fear on the streets of Venezuela and around the region” while Robin Roberts decried… pic.twitter.com/NJIPVSUxk3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   Stephanopoulos formally kicked off the Venezuela coverage with this “attack” descriptor and suggested the U.S. intervention was illegal: ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos decries Saturday’s U.S. military action in Venezuela as an “attack” with “big questions about what’s going to happen next in Venezuela as well, how the U.S. is going to run the country, whether… pic.twitter.com/r5vKAYvek4 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   Virulent Trump hater and senior political correspondent Rachel Scott had the lead-off report and immediately sought to peddle disinformation: FALSE: ABC’s @RachelVScott tries to drive a wedge between President Trump and @SecRubio, claiming the President’s claim that “we’re in charge” of Venezuela “contradicted” Rubio’s Sunday show blitz saying the U.S. wouldn’t officially run it, “but instead pressure the country with… pic.twitter.com/YFJ5dtZPLo — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   She also pulled on Stephanopoulos’s string suggesting the military’s actions were illegal: ABC’s @RachelVScott on Monday’s ‘Good Monring America’.... “[T]he administration has yet to explain the legal authority for running Venezuela or detail how America will actually take charge of a country of more than 31 million people. The President has made clear he wants to see… pic.twitter.com/IeCA7c0QAX — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   Later, Scott spun another web about the future and wrapped by making it seem as though Congress was lined up against the White House: ABC’s @RachelVScott falsely paints Congress as seemingly uniformly opposed to the U.S. military’s actions in Venezuela and capturing Maduro, adding Trump’s broken a campaign promise of “keeping America out of foreign conflict” and strongly suggests Trump will put boots on the… pic.twitter.com/dvsNpqDTiZ — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   The snide remarks took a brief reprieve thanks to chief global affairs anchor Martha Raddatz providing more details on Saturday’s raid (and fear of future U.S. operations next door in Colombia) and then chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky previewing Maduro’s first court appearance. But it was at the end of Katersky’s report that Stephanopoulos hurled this aside out of nowhere: “Of course, it should be noted that the former president of Honduras was pardoned by President Trump after being convicted in that same jurisdiction for bringing hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States.” “Many are keeping that in mind. You’re right about that, George,” an enthused Roberts responded. Roberts next threw to chief international correspondent James Longman at the Colombia/Venezuela border, declaring Colombia was “where millions of Venezuelans have fled in recent years.” Why have they fled, Robin? What has Maduro done that’s caused so many to leave? ABC wouldn’t say. This entire report from James Longman at the Colombia/Venezuela border and co-host Robin Robert's lead-in could be boiled down to one word: Why? They point out millions of Venezuelans have fled the country in recent years, those that stay do their shopping next door in Colombia,… pic.twitter.com/h5HYAIJGx3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   Longman relayed seeing “a massive military presence” because “[t]he Colombians are really worried about a deteriorating security situation inside Venezuela, so they are securing the border” in which Venezuelans normally “flood over here every day...to go shopping on the Colombian side” because “[g]oods on the Colombian side are cheaper.” Again, we ask the question: Why is that? Longman’s next statement would yield the same response on our end: “We’ve been speaking to Venezuelans crossing over, and I’ve got to tell you, the overwhelming sentiment they have is one of relief, joy, happiness that Maduro is gone...The question they have is what happens next? How will their lives materially improve?” “[W]hen it comes to regular Venezuelans, they want to make sure their lives get better And crucially, time and time again we speak to people here, they want their families to come home. Millions of Venezuelans are in exile. They’re hoping to be reunited...[I]t remains to be seen if anything will really change,” Longman concluded. Yet again, Stephanopoulos opined: “So many questions going forward.” Stephanopoulos spread more punditry, going to congressional correspondent Jay O’Brien with the statement that “some Republicans” and “top Democrats are questioning the legality and wisdom of Trump’s plan to run Venezuela.” Notice how Stephanopoulos suggested partway through that Saturday’s moves were illegal because of what Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair a few weeks ago (click “expand”): STEPHANOPOULOS: We go to Capitol Hill now, where top Democrats are questioning the legality and wisdom of Trump’s plan to run Venezuela. Some Republicans joining in. Jay O’Brien is tracking the fallout. Good morning, Jay. JAY O’BRIEN: Good morning, George. Multiple sources telling me that top congressional leaders will be briefed today by several Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Attorney General about this high stakes operation to capture Maduro. It comes There are mounting questions here about how the president plans to make good on his promise for the U.S. to run Venezuela and give American companies access to the country’s vast oil reserves. There’s also continued criticism here on Capitol Hill that Congress did not authorize military action in Venezuela. Now, the administration is saying it initially delayed briefing members of Congress to prevent leaks, they say, and Secretary Rubio saying that in the administration’s view, Congress has limited authority here because this is a “law enforcement operation,” not an invasion. That’s despite the fact, George, that the military was integrally involved in capturing Maduro. STEPHANOPOULOS: Also, despite the fact that several weeks ago, the President’s chief of staff told an interviewer that, in fact, the President would need congressional authorization for an operation like this. O’BRIEN: Exactly right, she said if there were land strikes like the kind we saw in this operation, that would require congressional approval, and the president himself has called this a military operation. Now we’ve seen broad Republican support for this, but some. from within the president’s ranks, including Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of the President’s, saying that this is putting U.S. soldiers at risk to “make...oil companies (not Americans) more profitable.” Now, there will be a Democratic resolution on the Senate floor this week to rein in President Trump’s military power when it comes to Venezuela, but there have been repeated resolutions like this on the floor of the House and Senate over the last few weeks. They have repeatedly failed, blocked by Republican votes, George. Two more segments closed out the first half-hour of programming and they weren’t any better: The first half-hour of ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ concluded with fear-mongering about gas prices after what happened in Venezuela and Americans being “stranded” in the Caribbean by the Trump administration. “Could impact,” “pretty circumspect,” “standing back, waiting,” “lot… pic.twitter.com/Ze3WDzK8F3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026   Correspondent Matt Rivers — who reported extensively from the region when at CNN — spoke from Bogota, Colombia about what sources were telling him inside Venezuela (click “expand”): Maduro’s inner circle still very much in power in Venezuela, but sources have confirmed to ABC News that there is a lot of concern amongst that group given the threats that we continue to hear from President Trump. We’ve even heard from sources that several senior officials within the government there have sent their children to stay outside of the country for fear of what happens next. But the government is absolutely trying to hang on and keep order. I’ve spoken to multiple people in Caracas who describe calm but tense streets with the government trying to keep gas stations and grocery stores stocked to avoid any sense of panic as locals continue to line up to stock up on groceries, fill up on gas, and keep cell phones charged. Meanwhile, people I’m speaking with also seeing significantly fewer of the much feared national police forces that were everywhere on the streets before this attack happened. But whether it’s the government or ordinary people, there is absolutely a sense of fear and uncertainty inside the country about who will govern and what exactly will happen next. Meanwhile, international reaction continuing to come in, condemnation from places like Cuba, Mexico, and here in Colombia, with praise coming from places like Argentina and El Salvador. But no question this attack reverberating across this entire region[.] Other than a few characters recapping their stories in the second hour, ABC’s Venezuela coverage concluded with ABC News contributor and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, John Lute, who played the only adult in the room by tapping the breaks on Stephanopoulos’s fear-mongering: In the entire two hours of ABC's 'Good Morning America,' retired Lt. Gen. Doug Lute was the only person to dial back the anti-Trump hysterics over Venezuela. Watch as, on point after point, he lets George Stephanopoulos down pic.twitter.com/nn8BGg2aWg — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2026 To see relevant ABC transcript from January 5, click here.

"Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Could Change the World. Here’s How." It's still an open question as to how Trump plucking Nicholas Maduro out of Venezuela on Saturday to face criminal charges will change the world but has Politico already been changed by President Donald Trump since most of the thirteen experts, regional analysts to national security veterans, it sought input from the next day were surprisingly upbeat about what could happen next? The first expert cited was Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who stated that Trump's actions in Venezuela on Saturday sends a clear message to the "axis of authoritarians." ...The fact that President Trump launched this operation hours after Nicolás Maduro met with China’s special envoy sends a clear and unequivocal message to China and its role in the Americas. It also sends the message that the ‘axis of authoritarians’ is strong during peacetime, but not decisive for one another in moments of greatest need, when it comes to questions of regime security. Even critics of the action on Saturday such as Tufts university professor Daniel W. Drezner also sounded like Trump might accomplish his (icky) goals: In the summer of 2024, I cautioned in POLITICO that a second Trump administration would be likely to increase, not decrease U.S. military adventurism: “Even though the term is directed at him a lot, Trump is not an isolationist — he is a mercantilist who prefers using force in this hemisphere.” The use of force to depose Nicolás Maduro is a pretty strong data point supporting this contention. ...I strongly suspect that the Trump administration will use this Maduro action to threaten the leaders of recalcitrant allies and weak adversaries that they might be next on the chopping block — and such threats might actually work. Former New York Times foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer wondered about the collapse of Cuba due to being cut off from Venezuelan oil: "Rubio hopes that without Venezuelan oil, Cuba’s political system will finally collapse. That would turn both countries into submissive clients — or into bloody battlegrounds where a new generation of Latin Americans will seek to defy what the Nicaraguan rebel leader Augusto César Sandino called 'the eagle with larcenous claws.'" Here are yet more plaudits from those cited. Many are so positive as to perhaps leave readers scratching their heads that they are being published in Politico: The nighttime U.S. air assault and special operations raid that nabbed Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife was impeccably planned and executed. President Trump is rightly proud of the results; Maduro, a man who outlasted the first Trump administration’s maximum pressure strategy, will soon find himself in a U.S. courtroom as a criminal defendant. If Maduro’s capture tells us anything, it’s that Trump is dead serious about implementing his so-called Trump Corollary in the Western Hemisphere. In less than a year, Latin America has transformed from a perpetual backwater of U.S. grand strategy to one of its main theaters. The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy codified the Western Hemisphere as not only a core U.S. security priority but Washington’s exclusive domain, where non-hemispheric powers aren’t welcome. ...The U.S. ousting Maduro potentially kills multiple birds with one stone: It could increase oil supply in the U.S. and reduce oil prices, curb drug trafficking, dislodge China, Russia, and Iran from their strategic beachhead, and weaken other regional adversaries like Cuba and Nicaragua. ... even the loudest critics of the operation will have strong incentives to quietly appease Washington. Many Latin American governments are likely to invest more in counternarcotics and migration control. Yes, there are naysayers in the group of experts but the overall impression is one of a surprisingly positive reaction to Saturday's actions in Venezuela. And to think it was all published in the same periodical that a few months ago went completely over the edge in an Epstein files frenzy of stories in the desperate hope that it would spell big trouble for Trump. If Politico can be changed or at least modified in their hostile attitude towards Trump, it is entirely plausible that the world too can be changed by Trump.

Nicolas Maduro pled "not guilty" during his first appearance in a United States court on Monday. Just days after being captured from his home in Caracas, Venezuela, Maduro appeared in a New York City court for the first time alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. During the hearing, Maduro maintained that he is a "decent man" who is innocent of the charges levied against him by the United States.'They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.'"I am innocent," Maduro said. "I am not guilty.”Flores' attorney also claimed that she sustained "significant injuries during her abduction" over the weekend, with journalists present in the courthouse reporting that she was seen wearing bandages on her head during the hearing. RELATED: Maduro captured following 'large scale strike' in Venezuela, Trump says Photo by Donald Trump's Truth Social Account/Anadolu via Getty ImagesFollowing his capture, the United States indicted Maduro in the Southern District of New York on charges of "Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.""They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," Attorney General Pam Bondi said of Maduro and his wife. "On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers."The operation that captured both Maduro and Flores took place in the dead of night on Saturday, and they were both then transported to New York by American officials. The operation left Americans and Venezuelans with questions as to who would govern Venezuela while Maduro — whose presidency is not recognized by many countries, including the U.S. — faces legal battles in the United States. RELATED: 'We're going to run it': Trump reveals Venezuela's fate following Maduro's capture Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty ImagesJust hours after the capture, President Donald Trump told reporters that "we're going to run" Venezuela. "We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind," Trump said Saturday. "We've had decades of that. We're not going to let that happen."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!