Good morning, everyone. Today is already shaping up to be an extremely busy and high-stakes day. Overnight, Trump threatened six different countries with potential American intervention, ranging from Cuba and Venezuela to Greenland and Iran. At the same time, we are learning why the President is refusing to support the widely popular opposition leader poised to take over in Venezuela. The answer appears simple. She won the Nobel Peace Prize, and he did not.

This will be a deeply consequential week as Congress returns to session. Overnight, TikTok began another crackdown on content as the sale of the platform moves closer to completion this month, even as attacks and threats continue to rise. I am not backing down. If you value this work, please consider subscribing to support it. I am not going anywhere, because everyone deserves accurate, timely, and independent news.

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Here’s what you missed:

  • Overnight, in a press gaggle with reporters that I personally watched, Donald Trump threatened American intervention in six separate countries:Colombia: President Donald Trump claimed Colombia is “run by a sick man” involved in cocaine trafficking and responded “sounds good to me” when asked whether the U.S. might carry out an operation there, signaling aggressive rhetoric without announcing a formal policy or action.Venezuela: President Donald Trump said the U.S. remains prepared to carry out a second military strike in Venezuela if necessary, warning that further action is still “on the table” depending on behavior and leaving open the possibility of deploying American troops on the ground.Mexico: President Donald Trump said Mexico “has to get its act together,” claiming that in conversations with President Claudia Sheinbaum he has repeatedly offered to send U.S. troops, adding that she is “a little afraid.”Greenland: President Donald Trump said the U.S. needs Greenland for national security, claiming it is strategically vital and increasingly surrounded by Russian and Chinese vessels, arguing that Denmark cannot secure it alone and that the European Union ultimately needs U.S. control of the territory.Iran: Moments after warning Colombia, President Donald Trump—a day after ordering strikes in Venezuela—also threatened Iran, saying the U.S. would respond “very hard” if Iran resumes killing people, escalating his confrontational rhetoric across multiple regions.Cuba: President Donald Trump claimed Cuba is “ready to fall” and suggested uncertainty over whether its government can hold on, continuing a string of aggressive public remarks about U.S. adversaries in the region.
  • Colombia: President Donald Trump claimed Colombia is “run by a sick man” involved in cocaine trafficking and responded “sounds good to me” when asked whether the U.S. might carry out an operation there, signaling aggressive rhetoric without announcing a formal policy or action.
  • Venezuela: President Donald Trump said the U.S. remains prepared to carry out a second military strike in Venezuela if necessary, warning that further action is still “on the table” depending on behavior and leaving open the possibility of deploying American troops on the ground.
  • Mexico: President Donald Trump said Mexico “has to get its act together,” claiming that in conversations with President Claudia Sheinbaum he has repeatedly offered to send U.S. troops, adding that she is “a little afraid.”
  • Greenland: President Donald Trump said the U.S. needs Greenland for national security, claiming it is strategically vital and increasingly surrounded by Russian and Chinese vessels, arguing that Denmark cannot secure it alone and that the European Union ultimately needs U.S. control of the territory.
  • Iran: Moments after warning Colombia, President Donald Trump—a day after ordering strikes in Venezuela—also threatened Iran, saying the U.S. would respond “very hard” if Iran resumes killing people, escalating his confrontational rhetoric across multiple regions.
  • Cuba: President Donald Trump claimed Cuba is “ready to fall” and suggested uncertainty over whether its government can hold on, continuing a string of aggressive public remarks about U.S. adversaries in the region.
  • After U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump declared the United States would now “run” Venezuela, but officials in Washington and Caracas face deep uncertainty over how to govern the country amid damaged infrastructure, political fallout, and the daunting complexity of administering a crisis-ridden nation in the weeks and months ahead.
  • Sources told the Washington Post that President Donald Trump cooled on supporting Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado after she accepted a Nobel Peace Prize instead of pushing for it to be awarded to him, a move allies described as an “ultimate sin.”
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  • The White House is now weighing giving Stephen Miller a bigger role in the control of Venezuela:
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  • Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores arrived at a Manhattan court, where prosecutors are expected to read out the full list of charges against them later today, according to the BBC.
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  • China condemned the U.S. military action in Venezuela as a violation of international law and urged the immediate release of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian saying Beijing is coordinating closely with Caracas and warning analysts that the intervention could encourage China to press its claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
  • Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces he won’t run for reelection for a historic third term in office:
  • Congress is returning to session this week and Mike Johnson faces a slew of issues that could plague the start of his new year:Johnson faces growing unrest from moderate Republicans frustrated over expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, foreign policy, Ukraine, and tariffs, with several centrists backing rare discharge petitions to force votes—signaling potential internal revolts as Johnson struggles to manage a razor-thin GOP majority while balancing loyalty to President Donald Trump. Johnson faces growing unrest from those who are demanding a full investigation into the release of the Epstein files as the Justice Department continues to blow through deadlines prescribed by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.Johnson faces growing instability within his own caucus as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns from office just before midnight tonight, shrinking his caucus and making votes more difficult.
  • Johnson faces growing unrest from moderate Republicans frustrated over expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, foreign policy, Ukraine, and tariffs, with several centrists backing rare discharge petitions to force votes—signaling potential internal revolts as Johnson struggles to manage a razor-thin GOP majority while balancing loyalty to President Donald Trump.
  • Johnson faces growing unrest from those who are demanding a full investigation into the release of the Epstein files as the Justice Department continues to blow through deadlines prescribed by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
  • Johnson faces growing instability within his own caucus as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns from office just before midnight tonight, shrinking his caucus and making votes more difficult.
  • According to NBC News, a man was taken into custody shortly after midnight for allegedly damaging Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home by breaking exterior windows while Vance and his family were in Washington, D.C.; the suspect was detained by the U.S. Secret Service and arrested by the Cincinnati Police Department, with investigators reviewing charges and no motive yet disclosed amid broader concerns about rising political violence.
  • Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows 303 total gun-related injuries, including 7 mass shootings, with 3 children (ages 0–11) and 9 teens (ages 12–17) killed just this year.
  • According to The Hill, composer Stephen Schwartz, who is the songwriter behind Wicked, withdrew from hosting a Washington National Opera gala at the Kennedy Center, saying the venue—renamed to include Donald Trump’s name after a board overhaul—had become politicized, amid a broader wave of artist cancellations and disputes between performers and the center’s new leadership.

    • Good news:

  • Staff at Grundy County Memorial Hospital teamed up with waste management after patient Susan Sinnwell accidentally threw away heirloom rings, using metal detectors and a mobile X-ray operated by imaging manager Craig Buskohl to search dozens of trash bags—eventually recovering the rings and leaving the patient tearfully grateful for the extraordinary care.
  • India’s rhino stronghold of Assam recorded zero poaching deaths among its greater one-horned rhinoceroses in 2025 for the second year on record, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hailing the achievement alongside other conservation successes at Kaziranga National Park, including rare wildlife sightings and continued recovery of the species nationwide.

    • See you this afternoon.

    — Aaron