Monday January 5th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Tim Walz abruptly drops out of Minnesota governor’s race in wake of alleged billion-dollar fraud scandal
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz abruptly dropped his bid for a third term on
Monday, amid a growing fraud scandal in which allegedly billions of
taxpayer dollars were swindled on his watch.
Democrat Walz, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ veep pick in 2024,
had launched his campaign for a third term back in September. No
Minnesota governor has been elected three times since the term of
office was doubled to four years in the 1960s.
“In September, I announced that I would run for a historic third term
as Minnesota’s Governor. And I have every confidence that, if I gave it
my all, I would succeed in that effort,” Walz said in a statement.
“But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the
holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political
campaign my all,” he added.
Colombian President Petro Vows to Take Up Arms Against Trump
Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned President Donald Trump on Monday that Colombians will defend him against an "invader."
Responding to Trump's rhetoric, he added that he's "not illegitimate" or "a narco."
In a lengthy statement posted to X in Monday's early hours, Petro
portrayed himself as the constitutional "supreme commander" of
Colombia's military and police and accused U.S. officials, particularly
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, of being fed "false information" by
Colombian political interests he claimed are tied to the mafia.
Petro said he has ordered the removal of intelligence colonels for
allegedly providing bogus claims "against the state" and urged Rubio
not to believe "fallacies."
Nicolas Maduro NYC court appearance live updates: Fallen dictator assigned court-appointed attorney — meaning US will foot bill
Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores are
slated to make their first appearance in a US federal court Monday.
The fallen leader, 66, and his 69-year-old wife were charged with
narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession
of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess
machine guns and destructive devices against the United States in the
Southern District of New York on Saturday.
The couple was indicted after they were captured at their heavily
fortified compound in Caracas by US forces during a daring mission
dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve” after President Trump gave the
final directive for the US to attack the South American nation earlier
Saturday.
The Trump administration has repeatedly called Maduro’s regime
“illegitimate” and said he has remained in power due to rigged
elections, including in 2024. Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy
Rodriguez is next in line for the presidency, according to its
constitution.
Trump Team to Brief Congress About Maduro Operation
Trump administration officials on Monday will brief members of Congress
about the events surrounding the apprehension of Venezuelan leader
Nicolás Maduro, according to reports.
The classified 5:30 p.m. session, first reported Sunday night by
Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman on X, is expected to include
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney
General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs
Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
The invited lawmakers include leaders of the House and Senate Armed
Services and Foreign Affairs/Relations panels, plus the bipartisan
"Gang of Eight" congressional leadership and intelligence overseers.
Sen. Mark Kelly at risk of demotion, cut in military pay over ‘illegal orders’ video after Pentagon probe: Hegseth
Sen. Mark Kelly could get demoted and have his military pay docked as
punishment for participating in a video with five other congressional
Dems who urged service members to “refuse illegal orders,” Secretary of
War Pete Hegseth announced Monday.
Kelly, who is facing a review of his military rank, has also been sent
a censure letter that “outlines the totality of Captain (for now) [sic]
Kelly’s reckless misconduct,” according to Hegseth.
“In response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his
pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking
administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly,” Hegseth posted on
X.
“The department has initiated retirement grade determination
proceedings … with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a
corresponding reduction in retired pay.”
Trump Hails '$600B in Tariffs': Vital for Security
Amid the pending Supreme Court decision on tariffs, President Donald
Trump said "$600 billion" in tariffs income was a success and vital to
"national security."
He also ripped the "fake news media" for smearing the efforts.
"We have taken in, and will soon be receiving, more than 600 Billion
Dollars in Tariffs, but the Fake News Media refuses to talk about it
because they hate and disrespect our Country, and want to interfere
with the upcoming Tariff decision, one of the most important ever, of
the United States Supreme Court," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday
morning.
Ukraine Didn't Target Putin Residence in Drone Strike as Kremlin Claims
President Donald Trump on Sunday told reporters that U.S. national
security officials have determined that Ukraine did not target a
residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone
attack last week, disputing Kremlin claims that Trump had initially
greeted with deep concern.
"I don't believe that strike happened," Trump told reporters Sunday
aboard Air Force One en route back to Washington, D.C., from Florida.
"There is something that happened fairly nearby, but had nothing to do
with this."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week said Ukraine launched
a wave of drones at Putin's state residence in the northwestern
Novgorod region that the Russian defense systems were able to defeat.
Lavrov also criticized Kyiv for launching the attack at a moment of
intensive negotiations to end the war.
Mamdani Official: Homeownership Is 'White Supremacy'
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly appointed tenant advocate has a history of
calling to “seize private property” and denouncing homeownership as a
“weapon of white supremacy,” according to a series of resurfaced,
pro-Communist social media posts, the New York Post reports.
Cea Weaver — recently named director of the city’s Office to Protect
Tenants — made the incendiary remarks in posts on her now-deleted X
account that were uncovered by internet sleuths.
“Seize private property!” Weaver declared in a June 13, 2018 post. She
later doubled down a year later in a mini-manifesto outlining her views.
Trump has started to liberate Venezuela while striking the heart of Russia, China, Iran’s evil global axis
President Trump’s historic intervention in Venezuela offers needed hope
to friends of freedom around the world and nervous traders in the oil
market.
A pro-America, free-market government could unleash the country’s oil
potential and lower energy prices around the globe. This is bad news
for the Kremlin and clerics in Iran, who need high oil prices to
perpetuate their regimes.
For decades, Venezuela’s socialist leaders have plunged their country
into a black hole of poverty. Populist leader Hugo Chavez promised his
voters unlimited riches. Nicolás Maduro, Chavez’s hand-picked
successor, turned those hopes into an economic nightmare.
In the 1930s, America’s GDP declined by 30%.
Under Maduro, Venezuela’s economy has shrunk by about 75%, and Moscow and Beijing have been circling like vultures.
Supreme Court’s 2026 rulings could define America for decades to come
From birthright citizenship to climate lawfare and women’s sports, Supreme Court justices face essential questions
As the Supreme Court heads into the new year, its docket makes clear
that the justices aren’t easing into a quiet second half of the term.
This winter, we’ll get hearings in a series of cases that go to the
core of federalism, equal protection, executive power and even the
meaning of citizenship itself. And looming behind the argument calendar
is the anticipation of major opinions — some of them likely to arrive
well before the traditional end-of-June finale — that will shape the
legal and political landscape for years to come.
The January calendar opens with Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, a case
the court should use to put an overdue stop to the abuse of state tort
law as a weapon against nationally significant industries. At issue is
whether energy companies sued by Louisiana parishes over decades-old
oil-and-gas activity may remove those cases to federal court. That
question may sound technical, but the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Local governments, backed by well-funded activist groups, have pursued
environmental claims designed not to remedy concrete harms, but to use
sympathetic state courts to impose sweeping policy change. Allowing
such suits to proceed in venues hostile to manufacturers and producers
invites inconsistent legal standards and massive verdicts untethered
from federal policy. A ruling for Chevron wouldn’t immunize companies
from accountability; it would prevent state courts from becoming shadow
regulators of national energy policy.
