The US president wrote:<\/p>\n
Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of \u201cSeeking Peace.\u201d This is a very important and smart gesture. The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure. Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes. At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!<\/p>\n
Earlier, Venezuela<\/a> had announced the release of an \u201cimportant number\u201d of detainees in what the congressional president characterised as a gesture to \u201cconsolidate peace\u201d.<\/p>\n Former opposition candidate Enrique M\u00e1rquez was among those released from prison, according to an opposition statement. \u201cIt\u2019s all over now,\u201d M\u00e1rquez said in a video taken by a local journalist who accompanied him and his wife, as well as another opposition member Biagio Pilieri, who was also released.<\/p>\n Thiago Rogero, our South American correspondent, has further details on the release:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.14 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n A day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer<\/a> shot and killed a 37-year-old US citizen in Minneapolis, Democrats on Capitol Hill are demanding restraints on the agency Donald Trump has empowered to carry out his mass deportation campaign \u2013 and some are threatening to use the next funding deadline to force those changes.<\/p>\n Democrats sharply condemned the Trump administration over the killing of Renee Nicole Good<\/a>, demanding accountability after the president; JD Vancethe vice-president; and the secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem repeatedly claimed that the officer acted in \u201cself-defense\u201d.<\/p>\n Videos taken from multiple angles show Good behind the wheel, reversing her car and then attempting to drive away when an agent shoots her multiple times, remaining on his feet and walking away, apparently uninjured.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats cannot vote for a [Department of Homeland Security] budget that doesn\u2019t restrain the growing lawlessness of this agency,\u201d Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator of Connecticut, wrote on X<\/a>, sharing a video of the shooting.<\/p>\n Axios reported<\/a> on Thursday that Murphy was preparing to introduce a sweeping reform package that would require a warrant for arrests, ban agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations and limit border patrol agents from operating in cities far from the border.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Richard Luscombe<\/p>\n The killing of a US citizen by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis was a five-alarm fire for the Trump administration<\/a>. But a torrent of untruths, half-truths, smears, and innuendo has been unleashed by the White House, and amplified by its social media and cable television acolytes, in an attempt to douse the flames.<\/p>\n Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, called homeland security secretary Kristi Noem a \u201cstone cold liar\u201d on Thursday for her efforts to falsely portray the victim Renee Nicole Good<\/a>, a 37-year-old mother of three and award-winning poet, as a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d.<\/p>\n Good, Noem said, without presenting evidence, had been \u201cstalking and impeding\u201d Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) officers before using her car as a weapon to try to run down the agent who killed her.<\/p>\n Jacob Frey, the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis<\/a>, condemned as \u201cbullshit\u201d a concerted push by homeland security officials and others to immediately paint the officer\u2019s action as self-defense, when video of the incident is unclear at best, and an investigation had yet to begin.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople in positions of power have already passed judgment, from the president to the vice-president, to Kristi Noem \u2026 [they] have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate,\u201d Tim Walz, Minnesota\u2019s Democratic governor, told a press conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Melon,i said on Friday she did not believe the United States would launch a military strike to take control of Greenland, warning that any such move would have serious consequences for Nato.<\/p>\n At her traditional new year\u2019s press conference, Meloni added that there was a need for a \u201cserious and significant\u201d Nato presence in the Arctic region, including Greenland.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.51 EST<\/p>\n Supreme court could rule on Trump tariffs later today<\/p>\n The US Supreme court could issue a ruling later in the day determining whether Trump can invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress.<\/p>\n Although it is unclear whether the supreme court will issue a ruling, it has scheduled Friday as a \u201cdecision day\u201d for releasing opinions, fuelling speculation that the tariff case could be decided this afternoon.<\/p>\n The case centers on whether the administration can invoke the IEEPA to impose the tariffs and, if not, whether the United States would be required to refund duties already paid by importers.<\/p>\n The court\u2019s ruling could also fall short of a definitive outcome on both issues.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.51 EST<\/p>\n Moscow says US released two Russian crew from seized tanker<\/p>\n Russia on Friday said the United States had decided to release two Russian members of the crew of a Russian-flagged oil tanker that Washington seized earlier this week, AFP reported.<\/p>\n The American authorities said the tanker was part of a shadow fleet that carried oil for countries such as Venezuela<\/a>, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions, and seized it in the North Atlantic despite the ship being escorted by the Russian navy.<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to our request, US president Donald Trump has decided to release two Russian citizens aboard the Marinera tanker, previously detained by the United States during an operation in the North Atlantic,\u201d Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the US leadership,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on Telegram that Trump decided to release \u201call Russians\u201d on board the Marinera tanker. The United States said previously the Marinera\u2019s crew could be prosecuted \u2013 which Russia said was \u201ccategorically unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Moscow on Thursday accused Washington of stoking tensions and threatening international shipping with the seizure of the tanker, which it has cast as illegal.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s foreign ministry said the move will \u201conly result in further military and political tensions\u201d, adding that it was worried by \u201cWashington\u2019s willingness to generate acute international crisis situations.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Two people shot by US federal agents in Portland US border patrol agents shot two people outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, a day after an ICE officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Portland<\/a> police bureau (PPB) said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that two people were in hospital after a shooting involving federal agents, adding that the conditions of those shot were not known.<\/p>\n Police initially responded to reports of a shooting outside the Adventist hospital campus in east Portland, the department said, before learning \u201cthat a man who had been shot was calling and requesting help\u201d about 3 miles (5km) away.<\/p>\n \u201cOfficers responded and found a male and female with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers applied a tourniquet and summoned emergency medical personnel. The patients were transported to the hospital,\u201d the police said.<\/p>\n \u201cOfficers have determined the two people were injured in the shooting involving federal agents.\u201d<\/p>\n Authorities have not confirmed the condition of the injured, but emergency dispatch audio obtained by FOX 12 Oregon<\/a> indicated that the 911 call came from a man who said he was shot twice in the arm and his wife had been shot in the chest.<\/p>\n A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that US border patrol agents had stopped a vehicle to search for a man they suspected of being an undocumented immigrant connected to a Venezuelan gang. According to the agents, they opened fire when the driver of the vehicle tried to run them over, the statement said. \u201cFearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n Portland\u2019s mayor, Keith Wilson, said at a news conference: \u201cWe know what the federal government says happened here. There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob Day, the Portland police chief, said: \u201cThis is a federal investigation. It\u2019s being led by the FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump claims he cancelled second wave of attacks on Venezuela<\/p>\n Good morning. Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social<\/a>, in the early hours of this morning, Donald Trump claimed that he had cancelled a second wave of attacks on Venezuela that would have followed Saturday\u2019s raid, in which the US seized the country\u2019s president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>.<\/p>\n The US president wrote:<\/p>\n Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of \u201cSeeking Peace.\u201d This is a very important and smart gesture. The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure. Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes. At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!<\/p>\n![\"Lauren](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lauren_Gambino.png\")
Lauren Gambino<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Robert_Mackey.png\")
Robert Mackey<\/p>\n