A crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed at least 538 people and even more are feared dead, activists said Sunday, while Tehran warned that the U.S. military and Israel would be legitimate targets if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

Another over 10,600 people have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous rounds of unrest in Iran in recent years. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said of those killed, 490 were protesters and 48 were members of security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll.

The Iranian government has not offered overall casualty figures for the demonstrations.

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Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Irans security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the countrys capital and its second-largest city again Sunday morning.

U.S. President Donald Trump has offered support for the protesters, saying on social media that Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by either U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has not indicated it has made any decisions. The massive ongoing U.S. military deployment to the Caribbean has created another factor that the Pentagon and Trumps national security planners must consider.

Defiance in Parliament

The threat to strike the U.S. military and Israel came during a parliamentary speech by Mohammad Baagher Qalibaf, the hard-liner speaker of the body who has run for the presidency in the past.

He directly threatened Israel, calling it the occupied territory."

In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets, Qalibaf said. We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.

Lawmakers rushed the dais in parliament, shouting: Death to America!

It remains unclear how serious Iran is about launching a strike, particularly after its air defenses were destroyed during the 12-day war in June with Israel. Any decision to go to war would rest with Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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The U.S. military has said in the Mideast it is postured with forces that span the full range of combat capability to defend our forces, our partners and allies and U.S. interests. Iran targeted U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in June, while the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet is stationed in the island kingdom of Bahrain.

Israel, meanwhile, is watching closely the situation between the U.S. and Iran, said an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to journalists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio overnight on topics including Iran, the official added.

The people of Israel, the entire world, are in awe of the tremendous heroism of the citizens of Iran, said Netanyahu, a longtime Iran hawk.

At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV mentioned Iran as a place where ongoing tensions continue to claim many lives," adding that I hope and pray that dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society."

Demonstrations were held in some international capitals in support of the protesters. A spokesperson said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked" by reports of violence against protesters resulting in scores of deaths and called on Iranian authorities to use maximum restraint and restore communications.

Protests in Tehran and Mashhad

Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, purportedly showed demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran's Punak neighborhood. There, it appeared authorities shut off streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.

The pattern of protests in the capital has largely taken the form of scattered, short-lived, and fluid gatherings, an approach shaped in response to the heavy presence of security forces and increased field pressure, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. Reports were received of surveillance drones flying overhead and movements by security forces around protest locations, indicating ongoing monitoring and security control.

In Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city some 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, footage purported to show protesters confronting security forces. Protests also appeared to happen in Kerman, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran.

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Iranian state television on Sunday morning had correspondents appear on the streets in several cities to show calm areas, with a date stamp shown on screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included.

Government rhetoric ratcheted up. Ali Larijani, a top security official, accused some demonstrators of killing people or burning some people, which is very similar to what ISIS does, referring to the Islamic State group by an acronym.

State TV aired funerals of slain security force members while reporting another six had been killed in Kermanshah. In Fars province, violence killed 13 people, and seven security forces were killed in North Khorasan province, it added. It showed a pickup truck full of bodies in body bags and later a morgue.

Even Iran's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had been trying to ease anger before the demonstrations exploded in recent days, offered a hardening tone in an interview aired Sunday.

People have concerns, we should sit with them and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns, Pezeshkian said. But the higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the countrys economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Irans theocracy.

The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywoods booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?

Political tension and industrywide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night's 83rd Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.

A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump. Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.

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Youd be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying Venezuela, Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. People arent getting the news like we all are.

Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.

Were going to hit Leo, Glaser said. The icebergs are coming.

Heres what to look for at this years Globes:

How to watch and stream the Globes and red carpet

The Golden Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST on CBS while streaming live for Paramount+ premium subscribers. E!s red carpet coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST.

The Associated Press will be have a livestream show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern with a mix of stars' arrivals, fashion shots and celebrity interviews. It will be available on YouTube and APNews.

Could Warner Bros. own the night if not itself?

The overwhelming Oscar favorite One Battle After Another comes in with a leading nine nominations. Its competing in the Globes musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Cooglers Sinners, Chlo Zhaos Hamnet and Joachim Triers Sentimental Value are all in the mix.

But thus far, One Battle After Another has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Andersons cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.

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If it and Sinners take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix is a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theaters have warned such a result would be a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.

The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.

How might the top acting awards go?

After an audacious promotional tour for Marty Supreme, Timothe Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, hell have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon).

In best actress, comedy or musical, Rose Byrne is the favorite for her performance in the not especially funny A24 indie If I Had Legs Id Kick You. One prominent nominee in the category, Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good), wont be attending due to her schedule in the West End production Dracula.

Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) may win over Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) and Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams).

In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgrd come in the favorites.

Who'll give the most memorable speech?

The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehlys Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.

But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for The Substance and gave the night's most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (Anora), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.

A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.

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One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama It Was Just an Accident is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Irans ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran's leaders.

What to look for in the TV and podcast categories

For the first time, the Globes are trotting out a new podcast category. The nominees are: Armchair Expert, Call Her Daddy, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, The Mel Robbins Podcast, SmartLess and Up First.

In TV, HBO Maxs The White Lotus another potential big winner for Warner Bros. leads with six nominations. Netflixs Adolescence comes in with five nods.

But the most closely watched nominee might be The Studio. The first season of Seth Rogens Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.) The Studio is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.

A guard at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in the mountain resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo died during a frigid overnight shift, authorities confirmed on Saturday.

Italys Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old workers death.

Italian media reported that the death occurred on Thursday while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortinas ice arena. Temperatures that night plunged to minus 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 6-22.

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The construction site was not one overseen by Simico, the governmental company responsible for Olympic infrastructure, the company said in a statement expressing its condolences.

Cortina city officials said they were deeply saddened and troubled by the death.

Cortina will host curling, sliding and womens Alpine skiing.

Bob Weir, the guitarist and singer who as an essential member of the Grateful Dead helped found the sound of the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s and kept it alive through decades of endless tours and marathon jams, has died. He was 78.

Weirs death was announced Saturday in a statement on his Instagram page.

It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir, a statement on his Instagram posted Saturday said. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.

The statement did not say where or when Weir died, but he lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for most of his life.

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Weir joined the Grateful Dead originally the Warlocks in 1965 in San Francisco at just 17 years old. He would spend the next 30 years playing on endless tours with the Grateful Dead alongside fellow singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995.

Weir wrote or co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Dead classics including Sugar Magnolia, One More Saturday Night and Mexicali Blues.

After Garcias death, he would be the Dead's most recognizable face. In the decades since, he kept playing with other projects that kept alive the band's music and legendary fan base, including Dead & Company.

For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road, the Instagram statement said. "A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music.

Weirs death leaves drummer Bill Kreutzmann as the only surviving original member. Founding bassist Phil Lesh died in 2024. The band's other drummer, Mickey Hart, practically an original member since joining in 1967, is also alive at 82. The fifth founding member, Ron Pigpen McKernan, died in 1973.

Dead and Company played a series of concerts for the Grateful Deads 60th anniversary in July at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, drawing some 60,000 fans a day for three days.

Born in San Francisco and raised in nearby Atherton, Weir was the Dead's youngest member and looked like a fresh-faced high-schooler in its early years. He was generally less shaggy than the rest of the band, but he had a long beard like Garcias in later years.

The band would survive long past the hippie moment of its birth, with its ultra-devoted fans known as Deadheads often following them on the road in a virtually non-stop tour that persisted despite decades of music and culture shifting around them.

Longevity was never a major concern of ours, Weir said when the Dead got the Grammys MusiCares Person of the Year honor last year. Spreading joy through the music was all we ever really had in mind, and we got plenty of that done.

Ubiquitous bumper stickers and T-shirts showed the band's skull logo, the dancing, colored bears that served as their other symbol, and signature phrases like ain't no time to hate and not all who wander are lost.

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The Dead won few actual Grammys during their career they were always a little too esoteric getting only a lifetime achievement award in 2007 and the best music film award in 2018.

Just as rare were hit pop singles. Touch of Grey, the 1987 song that brought a big surge in the aging band's popularity, was their only Billboard Top 10 hit.

But in 2024, they set a record for all artists with their 59th album in Billboard's Top 40. Forty-one of those came since 2012, thanks to the popularity of the series of archival albums compiled by David Lemieux.

Their music called acid rock at its inception would pull in blues, jazz, country, folk and psychedelia in long improvisational jams at their concerts.

I venture to say they are the great American band, TV personality and devoted Deadhead Andy Cohen said as host of the MusiCares event. What a wonder they are.

Irans parliament speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be legitimate targets if the U.S. strikes the Islamic Republic over the ongoing protests roiling the country, as threatened by President Donald Trump.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the threat after nationwide protests challenging Irans theocracy saw protesters flood the streets in the countrys capital and its second-largest city into Sunday morning, crossing the two-week mark. At least 116 people have died in violence surrounding the demonstrations, activists said.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. But the death toll in the protests has grown, while 2,600 people have been detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Those abroad fear the information blackout will embolden hard-liners within Iran's security services to launch a bloody crackdown, despite warnings from Trump he's willing to strike Iran to protect peaceful demonstrators.

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Trump offered support for the protesters, saying on social media that Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!! The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, said on Saturday night that Trump had been given military options for a strike on Iran, but hadnt made a final decision.

The State Department separately warned: Do not play games with President Trump. When he says hell do something, he means it.

Parliament rallies

Iranian state television broadcast the parliament session live. Qalibaf, a hard-liner who has run for the presidency in the past, gave a speech applauding police and Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, particularly its all-volunteer Basij, for having stood firm during the protests.

He went on to directly threaten Israel, the occupied territory as he referred to it, and the U.S. military, possibly with a preemptive strike.

In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets, Qalibaf said. We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.

Lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: Death to America!

It remains unclear just how serious Iran is about launching a strike, particularly after seeing its air defenses destroyed during the 12-day war in June with Israel. Any decision to go to war would rest with Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The U.S. military has said in the Mideast it is postured with forces that span the full range of combat capability to defend our forces, our partners and allies and U.S. interests. Iran targeted U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar back in June, while the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet is stationed in the island kingdom of Bahrain.

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Israel, meanwhile, is watching closely the situation between the U.S. and Iran, said an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to journalists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio overnight on topics including Iran, the official added.

Protests in Tehran and Mashhad

Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, purportedly showed demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran's Punak neighborhood. There, it appeared authorities shut off streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.

Other footage purportedly showed demonstrators peacefully marching down a street and others honking their car horns on the street.

The pattern of protests in the capital has largely taken the form of scattered, short-lived, and fluid gatherings, an approach shaped in response to the heavy presence of security forces and increased field pressure, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. Reports were received of surveillance drones flying overhead and movements by security forces around protest locations, indicating ongoing monitoring and security control.

In Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city some 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, footage purported to show protesters confronting security forces. Flaming debris and dumpsters could be seen in the street, blocking the road. Mashhad is home to the Imam Reza shrine, the holiest in Shiite Islam.

Protests also appeared to happen in Kerman, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran.

Iranian state television on Sunday morning had their correspondents appear on the streets in several cities to show calm areas with a date stamp shown on screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included. They also showed pro-government demonstrations in Qom and Qazvin.

Ali Larijani, a top security official, went on state TV to accuse some demonstrators of killing people or burning some people, which is very similar to what ISIS does, referring to the Islamic State group by an acronym.

State TV aired funerals of slain security force members while reporting another six had been killed in Kermanshah. In Fars province, violence killed 13 people, and seven security forces were killed in North Khorasan province, it added. It also showed a pickup truck full of bodies in body bags and later a morgue.

Even Iran's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had been trying to ease anger before the demonstrations exploded in recent days, offered a hardening tone in an interview aired Sunday.

People have concerns, we should sit with them and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns, Pezeshkian said. But the higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.

More demonstrations planned Sunday

Irans exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi asked in his latest message for demonstrators to take to the streets Sunday.

Pahlavis support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past, particularly after the 12-day war. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isnt clear whether thats support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the countrys economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Irans theocracy.

Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his full support. Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trumps campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

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Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. Thats significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nations largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

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The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. Thats because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trumps campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Authorities say a person was in custody Saturday after six people were killed in a series of related shootings in eastern Mississippi.

Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said in a Facebook post that multiple innocent lives" were lost "due to violence in the town of West Point, near the Alabama border. The sheriff told WTVA that six people were killed in three locations.

A suspect was in custody and there was no threat to the community, the sheriff wrote on Facebook.

I ask that you lift our victims and their families in your prayers Law Enforcement is busy investigating and will release an update as soon as possible, he wrote.

The sheriff's office did not provide further details early Saturday, but planned a morning news conference.

Protests against immigration enforcement are planned for cities and towns across the country on Saturday after one federal officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis and another shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon.

The demonstrations come as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushes forward in the Twin Cities with what it calls its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation. President Donald Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who weaponized their vehicles to attack officers.

Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states. Many were dubbed ICE Out for Good using the acronym for the agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indivisible and its local chapters organized protests in all 50 states last year.

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In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups called for a demonstration at Powderhorn Park, a large green space about half a mile from where 37-year-old Renee Good was shot in a residential neighborhood on Wednesday. They said the rally and march would celebrate Goods life and call for an end to deadly terror on our streets.

Protests held in the neighborhood so far have been peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and agents guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

Minneapolis police said at least 30 people were cited and released during Friday night protests in the city that drew hundreds of people. Police said protesters threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, police vehicles and other vehicles, but no serious injuries were reported.

The Trump administration has been surging thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

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Some officers moved in after abruptly pulling out of Louisiana, where they were part of another operation that started last month and was expected to last until February.

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting low-income families with children from flowing to five Democratic-led states for now.

The states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York argued that a policy announced Tuesday to freeze billions of dollars in funds for three grant programs is having an immediate impact on them and creating operational chaos. In court filings and a hearing earlier Friday, the states contended that the government did not have a legal reason for withholding the money from them.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was pausing the funding because it had reason to believe the states were granting benefits to people in the country illegally, though it did not provide evidence or explain why it was targeting those states and not others.

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U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, did not rule on the legality of the funding freeze but said the five states met a legal threshold to protect the status quo for at least 14 days while arguments are made in court.

Health department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The affected programs are the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes child care for 1.3 million children from low-income families; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant, a smaller fund that provides money for a variety of programs.

The five states say they receive a total of more than $10 billion a year from the programs.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the ruling a critical victory for families whose lives have been upended by this administrations cruelty.

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The government had requested reams of data from the five states, including the names and Social Security numbers of everyone who received benefits from some of the programs since 2022.

The states argue that the effort is unconstitutional and is intended to go after Trumps political adversaries rather than to stamp out fraud in government programs something the states say they already do.

Jessica Ranucci, a lawyer in James' office, said during the Friday hearing that at least four of the states had already had money delayed after requesting it. She said that if the states cant get child care funds, there will be immediate uncertainty for providers and families who rely on the programs.

A lawyer for the federal government, Kamika Shaw, said it was her understanding that the money had not stopped flowing to states.

The other 45 states face a new requirement to check attendance at child care centers and submit strong justification for the use of funds that aligns with the program's purpose.

At about the same time the judge stopped the freeze on the child care subsidies, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the administration would freeze about $130 million a year in funding from her agency to Minnesota.

Rollins said the states inability to stop fraud schemes led to the decision. Seventy-eight people have been charged since 2022 and 57 convicted after federal prosecutors said the Minnesota nonprofit group Feeding Our Future stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's office did not immediately have a comment Friday evening. The states attorney general, Keith Ellison, said hed fight the new freeze of funds in court.

In a letter to Walz that Rollins shared on social media, she suggested the state could restore its access to the funding by providing justification for how it spent federal dollars over the past year. All the states future transactions involving money from the agency will require the same justification, she said.

Walz and Minnesota have become a main target of the administration in Trump's second term.

Last month the president called the states Somali population garbage in the wake of the Feeding Our Futures investigation and other fraud cases involving Somali defendants.

And this week the administration launched the largest immigration enforcement operation in history in Minneapolis, leading to a fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he plans to call a special session in April for the Republican-dominated legislature to draw new congressional districts, joining a redistricting arms race among states that have redrawn districts mid-decade.

Even though Floridas 2026 legislative session starts next week, DeSantis said he wanted to wait for a possible ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling in Louisiana v. Callais could determine whether Section 2, a part of the Voting Rights Act that bars discrimination in voting systems, is constitutional. The governor said at least one or two districts in Florida could be affected by the high court's ruling.

I dont think its a question of if theyre going to rule. Its a question of what the scope is going to be, DeSantis said at a news conference in Steinhatchee, Florida. So, were getting out ahead of that.

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Currently, 20 of Floridas 28 congressional seats are held by Republicans.

Congressional districts in Florida that are redrawn to favor Republicans could carry big consequences for President Donald Trumps plan to reshape congressional districts in GOP-led states, which could give Republicans a shot at winning additional seats in the midterm elections and retaining control of the closely divided U.S. House.

Nationwide, the unusual mid-decade redistricting battle has so far resulted in a total of nine more seats Republicans believe they can win in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio and a total of six more seats Democrats expect to win in California and Utah, putting Republicans up by three. But the redrawn districts are being litigated in some states, and if the maps hold for 2026, there is no guarantee the parties will win the seats.

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In 2010, more than 60% of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the drawing of district boundaries to unfairly favor one political party in a process known as gerrymandering. The Florida Supreme Court, however, last July upheld a congressional map pushed by DeSantis which critics said violated the Fair Districts amendment.

After that decision, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez last August announced the creation of a select committee to examine the states congressional map.

Warner Bros. again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix.

Warners leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramounts overtures and urged shareholders just weeks ago to back its the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile offer for the entire company.

Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday that its board determined Paramounts offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal.

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Paramounts offer continues to provide insufficient value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that create risks to close and lack of protections for our shareholders if a transaction is not completed," Warner Bros. Discovery Chair Samuel Di Piazza Jr. said in a statement. In contrast, he added, the company's agreement with Netflix will offer superior value at greater levels of certainty.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company's hostile bid is still on the table. Warner shareholders currently have until Jan. 21 to tender their shares.

Late last month, Paramount announced an irrevocable personal guarantee from Oracle founder Larry Ellison who is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison to back $40.4 billion in equity financing for the companys offer. Paramount also increased its promised payout to shareholders to $5.8 billion if the deal is blocked by regulators, matching Netflix's breakup fee.

In its Wednesday letter to shareholders, Warner expressed concerns about a potential deal with Paramount. Warner said it essentially considers the offer a leveraged buyout, which includes a lot of debt, and also pointed to operating restrictions that it said were imposed by Paramount's offer and could hamper WBDs ability to perform throughout a transaction.

The battle for Warner and the value of each offer grows complicated because Netflix and Paramount want different things. Netflixs proposed acquisition includes only Warners studio and streaming business, including its legacy TV and movie production arms and platforms like HBO Max. But Paramount wants the entire company which, beyond studio and streaming, includes networks like CNN and Discovery.

If Netflix is successful, Warners news and cable operations would be spun off into their own company, under a previously-announced separation.

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A merger with either company could take over a year to close and will attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny along the way. Due to its size and potential impact, it will almost certainly trigger a review by the U.S. Justice Department, which could sue to block the transaction or request changes. Other countries and regulators overseas may also challenge the merger. And politics are expected to come into play under President Donald Trump, who has made unprecedented suggestions about his personal involvement on whether a deal will go through.

Trade groups across the entertainment industry have continued to sound the alarm about both deals.

In a statement addressed to a Congressional antitrust subcommittee on Wednesday, Cinema United which represents more than 60,000 movie screens worldwide reiterated it was deeply concerned that Netflix's acquisition could harm both moviegoers and people who work in theaters, pointing to the streaming giant's past reliance on its online platform. The group said its concerns were no less serious for Paramount's bid warning of consequences of further consolidation overall, which it said could result in job losses and less diversity in filmmaking.

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The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it launched what it described as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out by the agency with 2,000 federal agents and officers expected in the Minneapolis area for a crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.

The largest DHS operation ever is happening right now in Minnesota, the department said in a post on X, dramatically expanding the federal law enforcement footprint in the state amid heightened political and community tensions.

The government planned to send about 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officers to Minnesota, according to a U.S. official and a person briefed on the matter. The agents are expected to be dispatched in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, the person said. The people were not authorized to publicly discuss operational details and spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

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Immigrant rights groups and elected officials in the Twin Cities reported a sharp increase Tuesday in sightings of federal agents, notably around St. Paul. Numerous agents vehicles were reported making traffic stops, outside area businesses and apartment buildings.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was also present and accompanied U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during at least one arrest. A video posted on X showed Noem wearing a tactical vest and knit cap as agents arrested a man in St. Paul. In the video, she tells the handcuffed man: You will be held accountable for your crimes.

DHS said in a news release that the man was from Ecuador and was wanted in his homeland and Connecticut on charges including murder and sexual assault. It said agents arrested 150 people Monday in enforcement actions in Minneapolis.

Minnesota governor blasts surge

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, criticized the federal enforcement surge as a war thats being waged against Minnesota.

Youre seeing that we have a ridiculous surge of apparently 2,000 people not coordinating with us, that are for a show of cameras, Walz told reporters in Minneapolis on Tuesday, a day after announcing he was ending his campaign for a third term.

Many residents were already on edge. The Trump administration has singled out the area's Somali community, the largest in the U.S. Last month, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian OHara criticized federal agents for using questionable methods following a confrontation between agents and protesters.

RELATED STORY | Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he is no longer seeking a third term

Molly Coleman, a St. Paul City Council member whose district includes a manufacturing plant where agents arrested more than a dozen people in November, said Tuesday was unlike any other day weve experienced.

Its incredibly distressing, Coleman said. What we know happens when ICE comes into a city, its an enforcement in which every single person is on guard and afraid.

Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said there had been an increase in sightings of federal agents and enforcement vehicles in locations like parking lots.

We can definitely a feel a heavier presence, said Dieu Do, an organizer with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, which dispatches response teams to reports of agents.

Surge includes investigators focused on fraud allegations

Roughly three-quarters of the enforcement personnel are expected to come from ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations, which carries out immigration arrests and deportations, said the person with knowledge of the operation. The force also includes agents from Homeland Security Investigations, ICEs investigative arm, which typically focuses on fraud and cross-border criminal networks.

HSI agents were going door-to-door in the Twin Cities area investigating allegations of fraud, human smuggling and unlawful employment practices, Lyons said.

The HSI agents are largely expected to concentrate on identifying suspected fraud, while deportation officers will conduct arrests of immigrants accused of violating immigration law, according to the person briefed on the operation. Specialized tactical units are also expected to be involved.

RELATED STORY | Trump administration says it's freezing child care funds to Minnesota after series of fraud schemes

The operation also includes personnel from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, the person familiar with the deployment said. Bovinos tactics during previous federal operations in other cities have drawn scrutiny from local officials and civil rights advocates.

Hilton drops Minnesota hotel that canceled agents' reservations

Hilton said in a statement Tuesday that it was removing a Minnesota hotel from its systems for not meeting our standards and values when it denied service to federal agents.

The Hampton Inn Lakeville hotel, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside Minneapolis, apologized Monday for canceling the reservations of federal agents, saying it would work to accommodate them. The hotel, like the majority of Hampton Inns, is owned and operated by a franchisee.

The Hampton Inn Lakeville did not respond to requests for comment.

Federal authorities began increasing immigration arrests in the Minneapolis area late last year. Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel announced last week that federal agencies were intensifying operations in Minnesota, with an emphasis on fraud investigations.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly linked his administrations immigration crackdown in Minnesota to fraud cases involving federal nutrition and pandemic aid programs, many of which have involved defendants with roots in Somalia.

The person with information about the current operation cautioned that its scope and duration could shift in the coming days as it develops.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has, for now, denied the A's request to trademark the names "Las Vegas Athletics" and "Vegas Athletics."

The club, which intends to move to Nevada in 2028, has three months from when the refusals were issued Dec. 29 to ask for an extension to file a new application within a six-month period.

The A's were told the nickname "Athletics" was too generic and could be confused with other activities, even if associated with Las Vegas.

That, however, has been the club's nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began playing in 1901. The A's kept the nickname when they moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968.

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The Patent and Trademark Office denied the NHL's Utah team to use the nickname "Yetis" on Jan. 9 because of potential confusion with companies such as Yeti Coolers. Utah, which moved from the Phoenix area in 2024, now uses the nickname "Mammoth."

The A's relocated to West Sacramento, California, last year to play the first of three planned seasons in the city's Triple-A ballpark. The team is going solely by "Athletics" while playing in the Northern California city.

A $2 billion, 33,000-capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is under construction. Club officials told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Dec. 4 that the ballpark is on schedule to open in time for the 2028 season.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the ballpark, and the A's have said they will cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher has been seeking investors to assist in the funding.

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In preparing for the move to Las Vegas, the A's have signed some notable contracts. The most recent was an $86 million, seven-year deal for left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the richest in team history. Soderstrom signed his contract Dec. 30 at the A's Experience Center in Las Vegas.

The A's acquired second baseman Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets on Dec. 22.

Going back to last offseason, the A's also reached agreements on a $60 million, five-year contract with designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker and a $65.5 million, seven-year deal with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that takes him through 2028 with a club option for 2029.

Cleveland Browns All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett set the NFL's single-season sack record, reaching No. 23 for the season with 5:09 remaining during the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Garrett sacked Joe Burrow for a 6-yard loss on first-and-10 at the Browns 45-yard line. Burrow was in the shotgun formation when he saw Garrett coming and went down.

Garrett came into the game needing one sack to surpass the mark of 22 1/2 shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan (in 2001 with the New York Giants) and Pittsburghs T.J. Watt in 2021.

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The sack in some ways was similar to Strahan's record-breaking sack of Green Bay's Brett Favre. Both players didn't put up much of a challenge when they saw an oncoming pass rusher.

Garrett's teammates celebrated his 23rd sack even though Cincinnati tried to go no-huddle on the next play.

Garrett has sacked 51 players over his nine-year NFL career. Burrow is at the top of the list at 12 in 10 meetings.

The NFL did not start counting sacks as an official statistic until 1982. Mark Gastineau of the New York Jets had 22 in 1984 until Strahan surpassed that late in the fourth quarter of the New York Giants' 2001 season finale against Green Bay. Favre went down to the ground as Strahan was approaching to set the mark. Watt tied the record during the final game in 2021 at Baltimore by taking down Ravens QB Tyler Huntley.

Garrett has recorded at least half a sack in 11 of 12 games including Sunday. That includes a team-record five against the New England Patriots on Oct. 26, four against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 14 and three one week later at Las Vegas.

Tyson Fury is returning to the ring after announcing on Sunday that he will step out of retirement.

The former heavyweight world champion confirmed his comeback in a post on social media, which sets up the prospect of a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua.

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2026 is that year. Return of the mac," Fury posted on Instagram. Been away for a while but Im back now, 37 years old and still punching. Nothing better to do than punch men in the face and get paid for it.

Fury retired last year after losing for a second time to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024. Before his two bouts with Usyk he was unbeaten in 35 fights, winning 34 and drawing one.

Fury did not mention potential opponents, but his announcement comes after increased speculation about a clash with British rival Joshua in 2026. Joshua, who is also a former world champion, last month knocked out YouTube star Jake Paul. But he was injured in a fatal car crash that killed two of his friends in Nigeria this week, which has resulted in uncertainty over his immediate plans.

Fury is a two-time world champion. He ended the reign of Wladimir Klitschko with a points win in 2015 that saw him crowned Super WBA, IBF and WBO champion.

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He didn't fight again until 2018 - but a thrilling trilogy with American Deontay Wilder resulted in a draw and two victories to claim the WBC title.

Fury previously said he was retiring after he beat Dillian Whyte in 2022, but was back in the ring the following year.

A fight with Joshua has long-been anticipated. There is also the potential of a trilogy-capping fight with Usyk or a clash with WBO champion Fabio Wardley.

A passenger boat has capsized in northern Nigerias Yobe state, leaving at least 25 people dead while 14 others remained missing, emergency services said Sunday.

The boat was carrying residents who had gone to the local market, while some were involved in fishing or farming when it capsized along the Yobe River in Yobe states Garbi town on Saturday night, the Yobe emergency management agency said.

Out of the 52 passengers on board the boat, 13 were rescued and are receiving medical assistance, the agency said in a statement.

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Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with security agencies, emergency responders, and local community volunteers working tirelessly to locate the missing passengers and recover bodies, the agency added.

The disaster response agency said the boat overturned mid-journey without offering additional details.

Boat accidents are common in Nigerias remote areas where water transportation is common due to its convenience for business owners and to the absence of good roads.

Past accidents have been often caused by overloaded and poorly maintained vessels, many of them operating without carrying life jackets.

The U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro and flew him out of the country early Saturday has also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region.

No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela on Saturday, according to FlightRadar24.com. And major airlines canceled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that the disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed restrictions.

Flights to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and other destinations near Venezuela were canceled. The airlines are waiving change fees for passengers who have to reschedule their flights this weekend.

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The FAA had earlier said it imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Ricos international airport and surrounding regions.

An announcement by Luis Muoz Marn International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said restrictions were put in place because of the security situation related to military activity in Venezuela.

As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by U.S. airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.

Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. Passengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.

JetBlue said it canceled about 215 flights due to airspace closures across the Caribbean related to military activity. It also noted that flights to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica were not affected by the governments restrictions. Customers could rebook their travel or request a refund if the flights were canceled, the company said.

RELATED STORY | Timeline: From boat strikes to Caracas raid how U.S. forces captured Maduro

United said it was adjusting its schedule to account for airspace closures in the Venezuela region. It said customers could change their travel plans in the region for free as it continued to monitor the situation and worked with U.S. aviation authorities.

Southwest said it canceled all Aruba flights for Saturday and suspended Puerto Rico flights until late afternoon, but flights to the Dominican Republic were unaffected.

American said it was waiving change fees for flights to and from about 20 island destinations, including Anguilla, Antigua, Curacao, Saint Lucia and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

Delta said it has issued a travel waiver for customers traveling to or from 13 impacted airports through Tuesday.

President Donald Trump had long threatened that he could order military strikes on targets on Venezuelan territory after months of attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs from the South American country. President Nicols Maduro of Venezuela said the U.S. military operations were a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

On Saturday, the U.S. conducted a large-scale strike against Venezuela and said that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured and flown out of the country. Trump announced the operation on social media hours after the attack. The Venezuelan government called it an imperialist attack and urged citizens to take to the streets.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York.

RELATED STORY | Full wrath of American justice: US announces capture of Venezuela's Maduro

Before the escalation, there had been 35 known strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters since early September that killed at least 115 people, according to announcements from the Republican administration.

The U.S. had sent a fleet of warships to the region, the largest buildup of forces in generations.

The White House said Washington was in armed conflict with drug cartels to halt the flow of narcotics into the United States, while U.S. officials alleged that Maduro supported the international drug trade.

Here is a timeline of the U.S. military actions and related developments:

Jan. 20, 2025

Trump signs an executive order that paved the way for criminal organizations and drug cartels to be named foreign terrorist organizations. They included Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang.

U.S. intelligence agencies have disputed Trumps central claim that Maduros administration was working with Tren de Aragua and orchestrating drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the U.S.

Feb. 20

The Trump administration formally designated eight Latin American crime organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.

The label is normally reserved for groups such as a-Qaida or the Islamic State that use violence for political ends, and not for profit-focused crime rings.

Aug. 19

The U.S. military deployed three guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela.

The naval force in the Caribbean grew within weeks to include three amphibious assault ships and other vessels, carrying about 6,000 sailors and Marines and a variety of aircraft.

The U.S. sent F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September, while a Navy submarine carrying cruise missiles operated off South America.

Sept. 2

The U.S. carried out its first strike against what Trump said was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua.

Trump said all 11 people on the boat were killed. He posted a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.

Sept. 10

In a letter to the White House, Democratic senators said the administration had provided no legitimate legal justification for the strike.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. military was not empowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.

Sept. 15

The U.S. military carried out its second strike against an alleged drug boat, killing three people.

Asked what proof the U.S. had that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump told reporters that big bags of cocaine and fentanyl were spattered all over the ocean. Images of what Trump described were not released by the military or the White House.

Sept. 19

Trump said the U.S. military carried out its third fatal strike against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. Several senators and human rights groups continued to question the legality of the strikes, describing them as a potential overreach of executive authority.

Oct. 2

Trump declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and said the U.S. was now in an armed conflict with them, according to an administration memo obtained by The Associated Press.

The memo appeared to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers and drew criticism from some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Oct. 3

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he ordered a fourth strike on a small boat he accused of carrying drugs.

Oct. 8

Senate Republicans voted down legislation that would have required the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes.

Oct. 14

Trump announced the fifth strike against a small boat accused of carrying drugs, saying it killed six people.

Oct. 15

Trump confirmed he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and said he was weighing carrying out land operations in the country.

He declined to say whether the CIA has authority to take action against Maduro.

Oct. 16

The Navy admiral who oversaw military operations in the region said he will retire in December.

Adm. Alvin Holsey became leader of U.S. Southern Command only the previous November, overseeing an area that encompasses the Caribbean and waters off South America. Such postings typically last three years to four years.

Oct. 16

Trump said the U.S. struck a sixth suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing two people and leaving two survivors who were on the semisubmersible craft.

The president later said the survivors would be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, for detention and prosecution. Repatriation avoided questions about what their legal status would have been in the U.S. justice system.

Oct. 17

The U.S. military attacked a seventh vessel that Hegseth said was carrying substantial amounts of narcotics and associated with a Colombian rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN. Three people are killed.

Oct. 20

Washington Rep. Adam Smith, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called for a hearing on the boat strikes.

Never before in my over 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave their post this early and amid such turmoil," Smith said in a statement of Holsey's impending departure. I have also never seen such a staggering lack of transparency on behalf of an Administration and the Department to meaningfully inform Congress on the use of lethal military force.

Oct. 21

Hegseth said the U.S. military launched its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two people in the eastern Pacific.

The attack was an expansion of the militarys targeting area to the waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the worlds largest producers is smuggled.

Oct. 22

Hegseth announced the ninth strike, another in the eastern Pacific, saying three men are killed.

Oct. 24

Hegseth ordered the U.S. military's most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region in a significant escalation of military firepower.

Oct. 24

Hegseth said the military conducted the 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six people dead.

Oct. 27

Hegseth said three more strikes were carried out in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor.

Hegseth said Mexican authorities assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue of the sole survivor, who was presumed dead after Mexico suspended its search.

Oct. 29

Hegseth said the U.S. military carried out another strike on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing all four people aboard in the 14th attack.

Oct. 29

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the administration briefed Republicans, but not Democrats, on the boat strikes.

The Senate at the time was facing a potential vote on a war powers resolution that would have prohibited strikes in or near Venezuela without congressional approval.

Oct. 31

U.N. human rights chief Volker Trk called for an investigation into the strikes, in what appeared to be the first such condemnation of its kind from a U.N. organization.

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Trks office, relayed his message at a briefing: "The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.

Nov. 1

Hegseth announced the 15th known strike, saying three people were killed.

Nov. 4

In the 16th known strike, Hegseth posted on social media that two people were killed aboard a vessel in the eastern Pacific.

Nov. 6

Hegseth announced the 17th known strike, which killed three people.

Senate Republicans voted to reject legislation that would have limited Trump's ability to order an attack on Venezuelan soil without congressional authorization. Lawmakers from both parties had demanded more information on the strikes, but Republicans appeared more willing to give Trump leeway to continue his buildup of naval forces.

Nov. 9

The U.S. military struck two vessels in the eastern Pacific, killing six people, according to an announcement from Hegseth the following day.

Nov. 10

The 20th known strike on a boat accused of transporting drugs killed four people in the Caribbean, according to a social media post from the U.S. military's Southern Command.

Nov. 11

Venezuelas government launched what it said was a massive mobilization of troops and volunteers for two days of exercises prompted by the U.S. military buildup.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lpez asserted that Venezuelas military was stronger than ever in its unity, morale and equipment.

Nov. 15

Three people were killed after the U.S. military conducted its 21st strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, according to a post from Southern Command a day later.

Nov. 16

The Ford arrived in the Caribbean, a major moment in the Trump administration's show of force.

The aircraft carrier's arrival brought the total number of troops in the region to around 12,000 on nearly a dozen Navy ships in what Hegseth said was Operation Southern Spear.

Nov. 16

Trump said the U.S. may be having some discussions with Maduro and Venezuela would like to talk, without offering details.

Ill talk to anybody, Trump said. Well see what happens.

Dec. 4

Adm. Frank Mitch Bradley appeared for closed-door classified briefings at the Capitol as lawmakers began investigating the strikes. The investigation started after reports that Bradley ordered a follow-on attack that killed the survivors of the first strike on Sept. 2 to comply with Hegseths demands.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., later told reporters that Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all."

Democrats said they found the video of the entire attack disturbing.

Smith said the survivors were basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water until the missiles come and kill them.

Dec. 4

Four people were killed in the 22nd strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, according to a post from Southern Command.

Dec. 10

The U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela after the ship left that country with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker was involved in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. Venezuela's government said the seizure was "a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.

Dec. 15

The U.S. military struck three alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing eight people, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Southern Command announced.

Dec. 16

Hegseth said the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video of the Sept. 2 strike that killed two survivors, even as questions mounted in Congress about the attack and the overall campaign near Venezuela.

Dec. 16

Trump said he was ordering a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela, a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American countrys oil-dependent economy.

Trump alleged that Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking, terrorism and other crimes. He pledged to continue the military buildup until Venezuela returned to the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was unclear why Trump felt the U.S. had a claim.

Dec. 17

The U.S. military said it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people.

House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions that would have put a check on Trumps power to use military force against drug cartels and Venezuela. They were the first votes in the House after Senate Republicans previously voted down similar war powers resolutions.

Dec. 18

The U.S. military said it conducted two more strikes against boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing five people.

Dec. 20

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. Coast Guard, with help from the Defense Department, stopped a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

Dec. 22

Trump confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard was chasing another oil tanker that the administration described as part of the dark fleet.

The U.S. military said it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people.

Dec. 29

Trump told reporters that the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs load up. He declined to say whether the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the strike on the dock or where it occurred. He did not confirm it happened in Venezuela.

The U.S. military said it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.

Dec. 30

The CIA was behind the drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the classified operation who requested anonymity to discuss it.

It was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September. Venezuelan officials have not acknowledged the strike.

Dec. 30

The U.S. military struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people in the first boat while people from the other two boats jumped overboard and may have survived, Southern Command announced the following day.

Dec. 31

The U.S. imposed sanctions on four companies operating in Venezuelas oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers as blocked property and part of the larger shadow fleet that was evading U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.

Dec. 31

The U.S. military said it attacked two more boats, killing five people who were allegedly smuggling drugs along known trafficking routes.

Jan. 1, 2026

Maduro, in an interview on state television that aired on New Year's Day, said Venezuela was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking. He declined to comment on the CIA-led strike and reiterated that the U.S. wanted to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves.

Jan. 3

The U.S. conducted a large-scale strike across Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, captured Maduro and Flores and flew them out of the country. Maduro and Flores would face charges after an indictment in New York, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Maduro was indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known that Flores had been.

Sprinkles Cupcakes, a company famous for selling sweet treats in vending machines known as "cupcake ATMs," has shut down after 20 years of operation around the United States, according to its former owner.

"Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn't how I thought the story would go," said Candace Nelson, who started the company after she lost her job in 2005. The closure was announced Dec. 30.

Nelson started Sprinkles Cupcakes in her own kitchen, and the first location was in a small Beverly Hills storefront that had previously been a sandwich shop. The brand would go on to ascend to national fame, and fans took to social media following the company's announcement to lament the closure.

The company's cupcake-dispensing machines in malls and airports briefly went viral on TikTok for the not-so-subtle "I love Sprinkles" jingle that played repeatedly while a mechanical arm delivered the dessert.

The company no longer has any products for sale on its website, which also has removed all operational locations across the country.

Nelson sold her business to private equity firm KarpReilly LLC in 2012 after the company had expanded to 10 locations across the country. The firm owns dozens of other companies for products including a health food home delivery service, kombucha and protein wellness shakes.

KarpReilly did not respond to an emailed request for comment Friday evening. Neither the firm nor Nelson provided a reason for the cupcake company's closure.

Private equity has dramatically expanded its influence in restaurants over the last decade, investing $94.5 billion between 2014 and 2024, according to data from capital market company PitchBook.

Some outraged Sprinkles Cupcakes fans said on social media that the closures were part of a larger trend where private equity firms purchase restaurants and retail brands like Red Lobster or TGI Fridays that later file for bankruptcy or close altogether.