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Most of the Americas have suffered from interference from their powerful northern neighbour - and are usually the worse off for it

With Nicolas Maduro in US custody, Donald Trump says we will run' Venezuela until a safe, proper and judicious transition' can be made - key US politics stories from 3 January 2026The US attacked Venezuela and captured its long-serving president Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, with Donald Trump promising to put the country under American control for now, even as Venezuelan officials vowed defiance.As part of a dramatic overnight operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas, US special forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, the US president said. Continue reading...

US president says oil majors primed to invest in rebuilding infrastructure following Maduro ousterUS oil giants have so far remained silent on Donald Trump's claim that they are primed to spend billions and billions of dollars" rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro.Chevron, the only US oil company still operating in Venezuela, committed only to following relevant laws and regulations" after the US president suggested American energy multinationals would be central to his plans for the country. Continue reading...

Though he also discussed plans to run' Venezuela, the US president could not resist upending his moment of glory

Republicans cheer capture of Venezuelan leader, but Democrats say it risks pulling our nation into another war'

Some suspected the attacks on Venezuela were coming, but the shock was still real and no one knows what will happen next

Trump's unprecedented capture of Nicolas Maduro follows months of military campaign and years of strained relationship

Donald Trump has announced that US forces captured the Venezuelan president,Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and have taken out of the country.The US carried out overnight strikes across the country with explosions rocking the capital, Caracas, before dawn

The Sisters of Watts have served families for a decade, providing food, fitness, money and after-school programsThe weekend before Thanksgiving, the gymnasium in Ted Watkins park in the south Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts was crowded with more than 100 families. For three hours, they ate and talked while their kids ran around and a DJ blasted west coast hip-hop staples during games of limbo and musical chairs.Toward the back of the room, people clamored around a step-and-repeat to get a picture with the event's organizers: four siblings known as the sisters of Watts, who for the past decade have arranged food giveaways, backpack drives and after-school activities for kids growing up on the same blocks they did. At this event, there were bags of fresh produce available for families that wanted them. Continue reading...

The world will be anxious, and rightly so. For a man so bent on a peace prize, Trump appears to revel in conflictThe overthrow and reported capture by invading US forces of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's hardline socialist president, will send a shiver of fear and consternation around the world. The coup is illegal, unprovoked and regionally and globally destabilising. It upends international norms, ignores sovereign territorial rights, and potentially creates an anarchic situation inside Venezuela itself.It is chaos made policy. But this is the world we now live in - the world according to Donald Trump.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

The state has created the first registry in the US to track repeat domestic violence offendersLet's say you're going on a first date and you want to make sure the person you're meeting up with isn't a registered sex offender. If you live in the US, you can find this out very quickly: there's a centralized website provided by the US Department of Justice that lets you search a name or location in seconds.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

As explosions hit Caracas, the Venezuelan government confirmed attacks had been made on the capital, as well as three other states: Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua. Donald Trump claimed the US had 'captured' Venezuela's dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown them out of the South American country

Years of scandal and disappointment have left a void in our politics. But New York's new mayor offers an alternative to more apathy: hopeOn 1 January, to mark his inauguration as mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani threw a block party. As he was sworn in outside city hall in front of a crowd of a few thousand of us, a nearby street in Manhattan was closed to traffic so that tens of thousands more could gather to watch the historic moment live on enormous screens. The weather - a cloudless blue sky and arctic winds - felt somehow fitting: a licence to dream and a warning against complacency.Mayors don't usually take office amid such a festival atmosphere. A smaller, more exclusive event is normally adequate. But a key feature of Mamdani's rise has been the desire for mass participation in politics. There was no chance this day was going to pass without an open-invitation party. Continue reading...

Venezuelan leader calls for dialogue and diplomacy' between Washington and Caracas following US claims of airstrike - key US politics stories from 2 January 2026The Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, has urged Donald Trump to abandon his illegal warmongering" and begin serious talks" with his administration as mystery continued to surround a purported pre-Christmas CIA airstrike on the South American country.Speaking during an hour-long TV interview, Maduro declined to confirm reports of the apparent US attack, which would be the first on Venezuelan soil since Trump began his five-month campaign of military pressure in August. Continue reading...

Kentucky woman reportedly ordered medication to end her pregnancy and buried remains in her yardA Kentucky woman is facing multiple criminal charges after she allegedly induced her own abortion using medication.Kentucky state police arrested the woman, Melinda S Spencer, 35, on charges of fetal homicide in the first degree, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to a local Kentucky news outlet. Spencer reportedly ordered medication online to end her pregnancy, then buried the remains of her pregnancy in her backyard. Continue reading...

Executive chair Richard Baker to replace Marc Metrick after company misses $100m interest payment on debtSaks Global said on Friday that its CEO, Marc Metrick, has stepped down and named executive chair, Richard Baker, as his successor, amid reports that the luxury retailer is preparing for bankruptcy.The change at the top comes days after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Neiman Marcus parent company is preparing for bankruptcy after missing an interest payment exceeding $100m on debt from its Neiman merger. Continue reading...

Savanna's law' named after woman killed by ex-boyfriend, who had extensive record of domestic violence allegationsA state law creating the first registry of people convicted of domestic abuse in the US took effect Thursday in Tennessee.Named after Savanna Puckett, a woman who was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend in January 2022, Savanna's law" requires the Tennessee bureau of investigation to maintain a database of people who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to at least two domestic violence offenses. Continue reading...

Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova, 19, died on the Devil's Backbone trail after reportedly falling 500ftA 19-year-old college freshman has been identified as one of the hikers whose remains were found on California's Mount Baldy on Monday.The San Bernardino county sheriff announced this week that Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova, a resident of Seal Beach, California, was discovered along a mountain trail known as the Devil's Backbone. Continue reading...

Brian Cole, accused of planting bombs before Capitol attack, presents intolerable risk of danger', court findsA federal magistrate judge has ruled that the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican headquarters the night before the January 6 Capitol attack must remain in custody while awaiting trial.In a memorandum opinion, the court determined that Brian Cole Jr, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, poses an intolerable risk of danger to the community if released", granting the government's motion for pretrial detention. Continue reading...

Hiroshi Nagai, in a post on X, has objected to his artwork being used by the agency to promote its deportation agendaThe US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing backlash once again, this time from a Japanese artist who has condemned the agency for using, without permission, his work to promote deportations.In a post on X on New Year's Eve, the department posted a photo featuring a pristine and empty beach with palm trees and a vintage car. Written across the photo was America after 100 million deportations," along with a separate caption that said: The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world." Continue reading...

Families are struggling to survive amid the devastation. Israel's ban on international NGOs will worsen this disasterAs Gaza enters the bleakest period of winter, children are dying of hypothermia, drowning in flooded camps and burning to death as their families try to cook in flimsy tents. Israel destroyed nine out of 10 homes over more than two years of war. Camped amid the ruins, Palestinians struggle against strong winds, heavy rain and freezing temperatures. Aid deliveries resumed following the ceasefire, staving off the famine that had taken hold in parts of the territory, but remain wholly insufficient: 1.6 million people face acute food insecurity. The sanitation infrastructure has collapsed.The UK, Canada, Japan, France and six other nations have jointly warned that the situation is catastrophic. Yet Israel is now deepening one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. On Tuesday, it announced that it is deregistering 37 NGOs active in Gaza. They must cease all operations there by 1 March unless they meet its new security and transparency standards" - including by disclosing the personal details of staff. Many of the listed groups are among the best-regarded in their field, including Oxfam, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Refugee Council.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

FBI says teen was planning Islamic State-inspired hammer and knife attack on Jews, Christians and LGBTQ+ peopleThe FBI has said it thwarted an alleged plot to carry out a New Year's Eve terrorist attack on a grocery store and restaurant in North Carolina in support of the Islamic State (IS).Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill - a town outside Charlotte - was arrested on 31 December as he was being released from a special medical facility. He was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the US attorney for the western district of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson, said at a press conference on Friday morning. Continue reading...

A shift away from police-led responses spreads, but gaps in crisis teams leave some communities exposedIn the past year, a handful of sheriff's departments in California have started refusing to respond to 911 calls that involve a mental health crisis, but where no crime has been reported.In February, the Sacramento sheriff, Jim Cooper, announced that his deputies would only respond to mental health crises if a crime had been committed or was in process, or if someone other than the person in crisis was in imminent danger. Down in San Diego county, the police chief for the city of El Cajon, Jeremiah Larson, made a similar policy decision in May. Continue reading...

These malign figures will do anything to avoid paying for the harm they have done, but accountability must eventually come to bothIt's not quite a new year resolution, and it's certainly not a prediction. Think of it instead as a hope or even a plea for the next 12 months. May the coming year see those leaders who have done so much damage to their own countries, and far beyond, at last be called to account. Let 2026 be a year of reckoning.Start with the man whose reach is longest, by dint of the mighty power he wields. Such is the nature of the US electoral system that Donald Trump, who returned to power less than a year ago, will face the judgment of voters in 10 months' time. His name will not be on the ballot but, make no mistake, the midterm elections of 3 November will deliver a verdict on the second Trump presidency.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistGuardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US?

Foreign ministry says mayor has poured antisemitic gasoline on an open fire' by scrapping IHRA definitionIsrael's foreign ministry has accused the New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani, of pouring antisemitic gasoline on an open fire" after he reversed a recent order by the outgoing mayor, Eric Adams.On his very first day as @NYCMayor, Mamdani shows his true face: he scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn't leadership. It's antisemitic gasoline on an open fire," the foreign ministry said in a post on X. Continue reading...

Venezuelan president warns of a forever war' similar to Iraq after US counterpart claims first land strike on dockThe Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, has urged Donald Trump to abandon his illegal warmongering" and begin serious talks" with his administration as mystery continued to surround a purported pre-Christmas CIA airstrike on the South American country.Speaking during an hour-long TV interview, Maduro declined to confirm reports of the apparent US attack, which would be the first on Venezuelan soil since Trump began his five-month campaign of military pressure in August. Continue reading...

Other hikers had reported seeing the animal near the body and scared it away by throwing rocks' at itAuthorities are investigating a suspected fatal mountain lion attack after a woman was found dead on a hiking trail in Colorado on Thursday.In a news release on Thursday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said that hikers reported seeing a mountain lion near a person lying on the ground on the Crosier Mountain trail in unincorporated Larimer county at around 12.15pm local time on Thursday. Continue reading...

A once-toxic topic is helping survivors and relatives of victims get elected to enact the laws they helped draftA new generation of young political leaders is gaining power in the US by using their personal experience with gun violence to push for reforms they say the US is ready for.Their ascent is part of a nearly decade-long shift, from gun violence prevention being a third-rail issue in politics that was rarely spoken about on campaign trails, to one that candidates, most of them Democrats, are now running - and winning - on. Continue reading...

New mayor gives speech at inauguration and rescinds all orders signed by Eric Adams after corruption indictmentZohran Mamdani vowed to reinvent" New York City in a speech on his first day as mayor, promising a new era" for America's largest city and an ambitious start to his term of office.The 34-year-old political star and democratic socialist, who a year ago was a virtually unknown state assemblyman, is the city's first Muslim mayor, the first of south Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. He is also the first to be sworn in using the Qur'an. Continue reading...

There's no doubting the charisma of its leader, but Reform UK lacks the depth and experience needed to govern - and voters are quickly realising thatI fear for Nigel Farage. This should be his big year, the make-or-break 2026. Last year his Reform party finally began to top the polls and he was feted by Washington as the UK's Trump and next prime minister. So how now would he turn a sheaf of poll results into a disciplined election-winning machine? Or has he for the past year merely been doing what most third parties do at this stage of a parliament, which is feast on the misfortune of their opponents?The polls sent Reform surging into a steady lead last spring. It held that position through the summer, with a high of 29% according to YouGov, and 33% according to More in Common. But pollsters now suggest that Farage's party may have peaked - with YouGov's December polling showing a drop in its vote share to 26%, its lowest since April. Some of this has been credited to increasing support for the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and to the joint Lib Dem/Green vote surging to nearly 30%. It seems likely that this confusion will survive through this May's local elections. Betting in this field is for madmen.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

US cuts proposed levies to between 2% and 14% despite accusing Italian producers of selling at unfairly low pricesThe US government has slashed proposed tariffs on Italian pasta that would have almost doubled the cost of many brands for shoppers.Donald Trump had threatened to impose tariffs as high as 92% on Italian pasta companies, after accusing 13 producers including Barilla, La Molisana and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo of selling their products at unfairly low prices. Continue reading...

Blaze that swept through crowded New Year's Eve bar in Crans-Montana also injured 115 people. Plus, the politicians and advocates making climate policy part of the affordability agendaGood morning.Swiss investigators are racing to identify the victims of a fire that tore through a crowded bar, killing about 40 people and injuring 115 who were celebrating at a New Year's Eve party in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana.How did the fire start? The fire broke out at 1.30am on Thursday in the town's Le Constellation bar, but it's not yet clear what set off the blaze. Some witnesses said it started after sparklers or flares were put into champagne bottles.How long will it take to identify the dead? Swiss police have warned it could take days or even weeks, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends.What else did he say? Mamdani did not shy away from his socialist politics. I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being called radical," he said to loud cheers from the gathered crowd. He ended by saying: The work has only just begun." Continue reading...

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions every year. In today's Pitch Points column, we address three of the big ones for 2026You may have heard there's a World Cup this year. After all the debate about ticket prices and peace prizes and cooling breaks, an actual soccer tournament will kick off. That's when the US, both as a national team and a host nation, will truly be judged; when the 2026 World Cup will be deemed a soaring success or a grotesque failure. There will be no in between. No nuance. That vanished from public discourse a long time ago. Continue reading...

The surprise hit series has reopened a familiar debate: why, in the National Hockey League, visibility is still treated as a problem rather than a possibilityAt around the midpoint of the first episode of Heated Rivalry, just after Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov - one Canadian, the other Russian, both hockey's top prospects - have had their first tryst, Hollander sits at the side of his hotel bed and says: So. You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?" Rozanov, lying naked beside him, replies sarcastically: Me? Yes, Hollander, I'm going to tell everyone." Hollander reinforces the point: Because no one can know," he says. Rozanov utters something under his breath in Russian, then: Hollander. Look, I'm not going to tell anyone, OK?" Hollander replies: OK."No one can know. If hockey were to have an unofficial slogan, this might be it. Heated Rivalry, the surprise 2025 hit series from Crave and HBO, is layered drama, prompting timely questions about the barriers to acceptance that persist within sport even as they are lowered elsewhere across society. But it may be that hockey's existential battle with its culture of silence is the show's deepest target. Continue reading...

England defender publicly confronted racist abuse at the Euros and ended 2025 a title winner with club and countryThe Guardian Footballer of the Year is an award given to a player who has done something remarkable, whether by overcoming adversity, helping others or setting a sporting example by acting with exceptional honesty.Jess Carter has spent her life grappling with when to hold back and when to speak up; wrestling with being naturally herself, embodying the characteristics her parents instilled in her of being open, honest, vocal and confident, and subduing herself because, while society values those traits, in a black woman they can be viewed negatively. Continue reading...

The final week of the regular season delivers a winner-take-all clash in the NFC West, while Houston surge, the Rams slide and the race for the No 1 draft pick tips toward farceSeattle Seahawks (13-3) v San Francisco 49ers (12-4) Continue reading...

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump robustly defended his health after the first year of his second term in office raised growing questions. Key US politics stories from 1 January 2026Donald Trump has denied falling asleep while attending public meetings and robustly defended his health after the first year of his second term in office raised growing questions.Trump, who at 79 is the oldest person to assume the US presidency, told the Wall Street Journal my health is perfect" and expressed frustration with scrutiny of his wellbeing. Continue reading...

Trump called the actor and his wife, Amal, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time' after they were awarded French passportsGeorge Clooney has lashed out at US president Donald Trump for criticising France's decision to grant the Hollywood actor and his family French citizenship.The 64-year-old Oscar winner, his wife, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, and their two children became French citizens earlier this month after living on a property in southern France for years. Continue reading...

Toby Morton now owns trumpkennedycenter.org, which advertises new year performance by the Epstein dancers'Donald Trump may be remaking the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts into a pool of his self-reflection, but a writer for South Park, the TV series that better reflects the obsessions and tendencies of the administration than any political pundit, has purchased the rights to trumpkennedycenter.org.Toby Morton, a TV writer and producer who has worked on the long-running and joyfully offensive sitcom, said he purchased the domain in August after predicting the president would change the name from the Kennedy Center to the Trump Kennedy Center after he installed himself as chair and stocked the board with loyalists. Continue reading...

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President tells Wall Street Journal in interview that his doctors encouraged him to take lower dose but he declinedDonald Trump takes more aspirin" than his doctors recommend but says his health is perfect", according to an interview given to the Wall Street Journal after the outlet recently questioned the 79-year-old president's health.Trump told the Journal that the large dose of aspirin he take daily causes him to bruise easily and that doctors have encouraged him to take a lower dose - but he declined the advice because he has been taking it for 25 years. Continue reading...

Abortion was seen as one of Democrats' strongest issues in the 2024 election - new polls indicate that may be shiftingUp to seven states will vote on abortion rights this year. But recent polling indicates that Democrats may not be able to count on the issue in their efforts to drive votes in the 2026 midterms, after making abortion rights the centerpiece of their pitch to voters in the elections that followed the fall of Roe v Wade.In 2024, 55% of Democrats said abortion was important to their vote, according to polling from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). But in October of this year, just 36% of Democrats said the same. By contrast, abortion remained about as important to Republicans in both 2024 and 2025, PRRI found. PRRI's findings mirror a September poll from the 19th and SurveyMonkey, which found that the voters who cared most about abortion are people who want to see it banned. Continue reading...

Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, remains undeterred and determined to press on with his investigationThat's the tactic they use," said Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island senator, pondering whether Donald Trump might attach his name to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. You float stuff and you float stuff and you float stuff until people get inured to what a stupid or outrageous thing it is that has been floated and then you pull the trigger."Whitehouse was sitting in his Senate office and speaking to the Guardian at 11am on Thursday 18 December. Two hours later, his words proved prophetic. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced on X that the Kennedy Center board had voted unanimously" to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center. Continue reading...