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12:25 PM ET, January 4, 2026

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Washington Post:
Rubio takes on most challenging role yet: Viceroy of Venezuela  —  The top U.S. diplomat has pushed for regime change for over a decade.  Now the hard part begins.  —  Marco Rubio has held many titles during Donald Trump's presidency.  He may have just acquired his most challenging one yet: Viceroy of Venezuela.
Max Tani / Semafor:
News organizations held off on reporting Venezuela raid  —  The Scoop  —  The New York Times and Washington Post learned of a secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin Friday night — but held off publishing what they knew to avoid endangering US troops …
New York Times:
How Trump Fixed On a Maduro Loyalist as Venezuela's New Leader  —  Nicolás Maduro balked at a gilded exile.  U.S. officials then saw a more pliant option in his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, known for stabilizing Venezuela's economy.  —  It was one dance move too many for Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro.
Wall Street Journal:
After Maduro Ouster, Trump Takes On the Risks of Governing Venezuela  —  The administration is racing to get an interim government in place, even as pushback from Maduro's allies raise fears of instability  —  With Nicolás Maduro out of power, the Trump administration is racing …
Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says Maduro capture is ‘the same Washington playbook’ that we're ‘sick and tired of’  —  The Republican congresswoman has previously bucked the president, and her last day in Congress is on Monday.  — Add NBC News to Google  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie …
Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Americans do not want war with Venezuela  —  President Donald Trump announced at a press conference on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 that the United States government had successfully captured Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, and would try him domestically for crime related …
Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
Venezuela: The Precedents  —  And America: The Future  —  Now that the United States has extracted Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, it might help to consider four precedents.  No event of the moment is exactly like any episode in the past.  But in recalling history …
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Wants to Unlock Venezuela's Oil Reserves.  A Huge Challenge Awaits.  —  The president wants to put Venezuela's viscous crude into play.  The problem is the world doesn't have much appetite for more oil.  —  Click for Sound  —  For months, the U.S. sold its pressure campaign …
Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Rubio remains vague on transition plan for Venezuela … But while Rubio told CBS's “Face the Nation” that the U.S. is not occupying Venezuela, he did not reject the idea that it could be a future option from the Trump administration.  —  Trump, Rubio said, “does not feel like he is going to publicly rule …
New York Times:
Trump Plunges the U.S. Into a New Era of Risk in Venezuela  —  President Trump opened a new chapter in American nation building as he declared that the United States had toppled Venezuela's leader and would “run” the country for an indefinite period.  —  President Trump's declaration …
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Today was the legal deadline for the Department of Justice to submit to Congress a written justification for any documents from the Epstein files that the department had redacted or withheld.  But it seems unlikely the Justice Department met this deadline because it has missed the December 19 deadline for releasing the files themselves.
Discussion: Bloomberg
New York Times:
Mamdani Called Trump to Criticize Venezuela Strikes
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Venezuela's Interim Leader Defies Trump and Calls Maduro the ‘Only President’
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Marco Rubio's Venezuela moment
Julian Borger / The Guardian:
The ‘Putinization’ of US foreign policy has arrived in Venezuela
Christian Datoc / Washington Examiner:
Trump hails success of ‘fantastic’ Maduro mission: 'I've never seen anything like it'
Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
This wasn't an arrest in Venezuela. This was an unauthorized regime-change war
Foreign Affairs:
Venezuela After Maduro
New York Times:   In Toppling Maduro, Trump Risks Blowback from ‘America First’ Base
Ryan Mancini / The Hill:
Washington Post editorial board backs Maduro capture, Venezuela strikes
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
U.S. will look to tap Venezuelan oil reserves, Trump says
Nick Taylor-Vaisey / Politico:
Mark Carney urges Venezuelan-led transition following Maduro's capture
Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg and Breitbart
Donica Phifer / Axios:
Venezuela's VP throws cold water on Trump's solution for running the country
Marc Elias / Democracy Docket:
For Trump, the Epstein Cover-Up Beats the Truth  —  As one of her first acts as Attorney General, Pam Bondi wrote a letter to the new head of the FBI, Kash Patel, demanding that the “full and complete Epstein files” be delivered to her office by the next day — Feb. 28.
Discussion: Raw Story
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Talk of Athens … It was a splashy arrival.  Kimberly Guilfoyle, the new United States ambassador to Greece, landed in Athens on the private jet of a multimillionaire Greek American businessman.  She caused a sensation at a Thanksgiving week dinner in a partly sheer black evening dress.
Derek Hawkins / Washington Post:
Secret Service plans unprecedented staff surge with anxious eye on 2028  —  The plan for a 20 percent expansion to combat burnout of agents faces major obstacles, including competition from hiring for ICE.  —  The Secret Service has launched one of the most ambitious hiring efforts in its history …
Discussion: NewsMax.com
New York Times:
Inside Mamdani's Decision to Revoke Executive Orders That Backed Israel  —  Mr. Mamdani, a staunch critic of Israel and its treatment of Palestinians, knew he would not extend the orders, but he had to decide how and when he would rescind them.  —  Mayor Zohran Mamdani knew he faced a dilemma …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Paul Sandle / Reuters:
Britain's Starmer says leadership change would ‘not be in national interest’
Discussion: BBC, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Politico and HuffPost
Philip Bump / MS NOW:
How the internet drove down regard for actual facts — and education
Reuters:
Spain ‘strongly condemns’ violation of international law in Venezuela, PM says
Discussion: The Hill
Constant Méheut / New York Times:
Ukrainian Politics Has Reawakened. Zelensky Must Tread Carefully.
Anvee Bhutani / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Face Steep Climb to Reclaim Senate in 2026 Races
Discussion: New York Post
Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
HHS escalates Minnesota fraud fight, prompting fear among daycare providers
Discussion: Fox News
 Earlier Items: 
Paul Rosenzweig / The Atlantic:
What Role Does ‘Wrath’ Play in American Justice?
The Hill:
READ: Justice Department's 2020 indictment against Maduro
Herb Scribner / Axios:
Someone made a huge profit predicting Maduro's capture. Here's what happened
 

 
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Axios:
David Sacks and top MAGA influencers are publicly opposing House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast's proposed AI OVERWATCH Act to regulate AI chip sales to China
 
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