Your daily look at late breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. CABINET MEMBER UNDER FIRE AS EPSTEIN CASE REAPPRAISED
President Trump said he would be looking "very closely" at Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's handling of a sex trafficking case involving now-jailed billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. But he also praised Acosta's performance on the job and saying he felt "very badly" for him.
Flag-themed souvenirs are for sale along Broadway, also known as the "Canyon of Champions," along the parade route in lower Manhattan, one day ahead of a ticker-tape parade and City Hall ceremony for the four-time World Cup winning U.S. women's soccer team, Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in New York. (AP PhotoKathy Willens)
2. DEMS STRUGGLING TO PUT HOUSE IN ORDER
In what could be a momentary blip or a foreshadowing of divisions to come, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are speaking at one another in a way that threatens party unity and underscores broader tensions reshaping the Democrats.
3. WHERE GUN CONTROL IS HIGH ON THE AGENDA
Deep-pocketed interest groups and activists on both sides of the long-running fight over gun laws are gearing up for a major clash in Virginia, now a key election battleground in the issue.
4. WHO COULD GO FROM SPY TO NATIONAL LEADER
Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, an internet engineer who could be a candidate for Iran's 2021 presidential campaign, tells The AP in an interview that his past work helping design the Intelligence Ministry's surveillance systems should not be a concern.
5. WHICH FISH SEE A DRAMATIC REVERSAL OF FORTUNE?
Sturgeon were America's vanishing dinosaurs, armor-plated beasts that crowded the nation's rivers until mankind's craving for caviar pushed them to the edge of extinction. Now, some populations of the massive bottom feeding fish are showing signs of recovery in the dark corners of U.S. waterways.
6. POLYNESIAN KINGDOM THREATENED BY CRIPPLING LOANS FROM BEIJING
Tonga, a South Pacific archipelago with no traffic lights or fast-food chains, is a country of 106,000 people which could be undone by debts of some $108 million to China's Export-Import bank, equivalent to about 25% of GDP.
7. DETERMINED REPORTERS STILL DIGGING DEEP
The Miami Herald's stories on sex trafficking charges against billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein illustrate a counter-intuitive trend: Investigative journalism is thriving as the news media industry struggles.
8. TIME-HONORED ARTISTRIES DISAPPEARING IN GAZA
For decades, traditional crafts like clay pottery, colorful glassware and bamboo furniture defined the economy of the coastal Palestinian enclave, but today the industries are almost non-existent.
9. BRING ON THE CONFETTI
The U.S. women's national soccer team will reign supreme once again Wednesday in New York City's Canyon of Heroes, inspiring another ticker tape parade in lower Manhattan to celebrate its historic World Cup win.
10. NOTABLE THESPIAN PASSES ON
Rip Torn, the free-spirited Texan who overcame his quirky name to become a distinguished actor in theater, television and movies and win an Emmy in his 60s, has died. He was 88.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.
On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.
It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.
The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.
Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.
Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.
Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.
Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.
The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.
Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.
Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.
President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
