Joanna Walters

Senior Republican lawmakers Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers criticized the Pentagon’s plan to withdraw about 5,000 US troops from Germany, warning that moving too quickly could weaken NATO deterrence and signal vulnerability to Vladimir Putin. NATO said it was seeking details, while Germany’s defense minister said the withdrawal was foreseeable and emphasized the importance of European burden-sharing. The live coverage also reported 2,659 deaths and 8,183 injuries in Lebanon since Israel renewed attacks, Israel’s detention of Gaza aid-flotilla activists, continuing Hezbollah-Israel exchanges in southern Lebanon, warnings that the Iran war may resume, and Spirit Airlines’ immediate shutdown after exhausting its cash and failing to secure a rescue deal.

The Justice Department closed its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but said a related inspector general review of Federal Reserve building costs would continue. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin demanded that US attorney Jeanine Pirro explain her warning that the criminal probe could be reopened, clarify whether Fed Governor Lisa Cook remains under investigation, and disclose Donald Trump’s role. The live coverage also reports on a court ruling blocking Trump’s asylum restrictions, plans to expand federal execution methods to include firing squads, renewed Iran diplomacy and military action, worsening polling for Trump, a California voter-ID ballot initiative, corporate opposition to Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign, and security concerns over senior officials’ use of personal phones.

The live coverage reports that Republican Texas representative Tony Gonzales will resign after acknowledging an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, while Democratic representative Eric Swalwell also announced his departure amid sexual misconduct allegations and a House ethics investigation. Donald Trump clashed with Pope Leo XIV over war, peace and religion after posting and deleting an AI-generated Christ-like image, drawing criticism from congressional leaders and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. Trump also threatened to destroy Iranian vessels approaching the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, while US forces carried out another deadly strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific. Other developments included the dismissal of Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, renewed congressional negotiations over Homeland Security funding and war powers, protests against arms sales to Israel, and investigations into alleged abuses by authorities in Minnesota and an alleged attack targeting Sam Altman.

Federal agents killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis intensive-care nurse, during an immigration-enforcement operation. Trump administration officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, said Pretti was armed and posed a threat, but video footage and sworn testimony from two witnesses indicate he was not brandishing a gun and was helping a woman when agents tackled and shot him. Pretti’s parents condemned the administration’s account, while Minnesota officials sued to preserve evidence after alleging that federal authorities obstructed the state investigation. The shooting prompted protests, demands for accountability, criticism from Democrats and some former DHS officials, and threats to congressional support for DHS funding.

Donald Trump claimed to have reached a framework for a future Greenland agreement with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte and withdrew threatened tariffs against European allies, but the announcement was met with widespread skepticism. Rutte said Greenland’s sovereignty was not discussed, while NATO described the talks as focused on collective Arctic security. Greenlandic and Danish lawmakers stressed that NATO has no authority to negotiate Greenland’s status or mineral rights without Greenlanders’ participation, and Greenland’s prime minister reiterated that the territory does not want to be owned or governed by the United States. The live coverage also reported Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, tensions over Federal Reserve independence in the Supreme Court, immigration enforcement actions and reactions to Trump’s Davos speech.

Donald Trump urged major US oil companies to invest $100bn in rebuilding Venezuela after the US removal of Nicolás Maduro, promising government protection while warning executives that others could replace them. He threatened possible US action against Iran if its government violently suppresses protesters and said the US would act to acquire Greenland, citing concerns about Russia and China. The live coverage also reported continuing disputes over the ICE shooting death of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, including federal control of the investigation, demands from Minnesota officials for evidence and transparency, and criticism of the administration’s characterization of Good. Other developments included a court block on the freezing of child-care and family-assistance funds, scrutiny of X and Grok over sexual deepfakes, uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs case at the Supreme Court, and his proposal to cap credit-card interest rates at 10%.

Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela temporarily after the capture and removal of Nicolás Maduro, warned that a second strike could follow if the remaining government did not cooperate, and suggested military action in Colombia could be considered over drug trafficking. Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, called for respectful relations based on sovereignty and non-interference while seeking the release of Maduro and Cilia Flores. The raid caused deaths among Venezuelan forces, civilians and Cuban personnel, prompting condemnation from several Latin American governments, North Korea and many European countries. The UK declined to condemn the operation, although ministers called for a rapid and peaceful transfer of power. Trump indicated that elections would be delayed while Washington worked with Venezuela’s remaining authorities to reshape its government, combat drugs and open the country’s oil sector to US companies, intensifying concerns about sovereignty, international law, regional security and future US interventions.

US forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, after strikes on Caracas and transported them to New York to face US criminal charges. Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela temporarily and become heavily involved in rebuilding and exploiting its oil industry, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the operation as a law-enforcement action. Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez to serve as acting president, though elections were not immediately triggered. International leaders, including António Guterres, Mark Carney, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and France’s government, raised concerns about sovereignty, civilian casualties and violations of international law. Reports said at least 40 people were killed, while the intervention disrupted flights across the Caribbean and prompted both celebrations among some Venezuelan exiles and distress among residents in affected areas.

A man known publicly as John is expected to qualify for the FBI’s $50,000 reward after reporting an encounter with Claudio Neves Valente and details about a rented gray Nissan that helped authorities identify and locate him. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley praised John for overcoming fears about his safety and providing the corroborating information that broke the case. Valente was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Salem, New Hampshire; investigators also believe he killed MIT professor Nuno FG Loureiro. Authorities had not established a motive.

A federal judge in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order barring immigration officials from re-detaining Kilmar Ábrego García before a hearing on his lawyers’ request for longer-term protection. The order followed his release from a Pennsylvania detention facility after another judge directed that he be freed. Ábrego, who returned to Maryland to await trial on human-smuggling charges, said he would continue challenging what he called government injustices. His case has become a prominent example of the Trump administration’s immigration policies after his wrongful deportation to an El Salvador prison, subsequent return to the United States, and renewed efforts to deport him to other countries.

US forces seized the oil tanker Skipper off Venezuela’s coast under a federal warrant, saying it was involved in transporting sanctioned Venezuelan and Iranian oil. Venezuela condemned the operation as theft and international piracy, while Nicolás Maduro warned that his country would resist US pressure. The seizure marked a major escalation in Donald Trump’s campaign against Maduro. The live coverage also reported María Corina Machado’s arrival in Norway after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, a US House defense bill authorizing $900 billion, a Federal Reserve quarter-point rate cut, plans to purchase Boeing 737s for deportations, threats against Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro, continued criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and legal and political disputes involving the Trump administration.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s continued deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles and ordered roughly 100 remaining troops returned to California’s control. Judge Charles Breyer rejected the administration’s claim that protests over immigration raids constituted a rebellion justifying federal control of the guard. The ruling followed a lawsuit by Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the deployment illegal, while the White House maintained that President Trump had lawful authority and said it would appeal. The injunction was placed on hold until Monday, leaving the deployment temporarily in effect.