Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. LONG STANDOFF IN PHILLY ENDS
A gunman who opened fire on police as they were serving a drug warrant in Philadelphia, wounding six officers and triggering an hourslong standoff, is in police custody.
Assamese Rabha tribal women perform traditional fishing dance during the Independence Day celebrations in Gauhati, India, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended his government's controversial measure to strip the disputed Kashmir region of its statehood and special constitutional provisions in an Independence Day speech Thursday, as about 4 million Kashmiris stayed indoors for the 11th day of an unprecedented security lockdown and communications blackout. (AP PhotoAnupam Nath)
2. US SEEKS SEIZURE OF IRANIAN TANKER IN GIBRALTAR
A newspaper says that the U.S. Department of Justice has moved to halt the release of Iranian tanker held in the British overseas territory over an oil shipment to Syria.
3. MANY IN INDIA APPROVE MODI'S MOVE
The prime minister's unprecedented clampdown on Kashmir — India's only Muslim-majority state — to near-totalitarian levels is backed by his Hindu nationalist supporters and also some in the opposition camp.
4. WHERE 'TRUMPGRET' IS REAL
Not all are feeling the prosperity in New Hampshire, and when the tumult of his presidency is thrown in, the state's flinty voters may not be receptive to his appeals.
5. EPSTEIN'S CARIBBEAN ISLANDS A CURIOSITY AFTER HIS DEATH
Tourists and locals alike are powering up boats to take a closer look at a place nicknamed "Pedophile Island" that lies just off the southeast coast of St. Thomas.
6. 23 INJURED IN RUSSIAN PLANE'S EMERGENCY LANDING
The Ural Airlines A321 carrying 226 passengers lands in a field outside of one of Moscow's airports after colliding with a flock of birds.
7. CHINA UPS ANTE IN TRADE WAR
Beijing warns to retaliate if Washington goes ahead with planned Sept. 1 tariff hikes on additional Chinese imports.
8. DEMOCRATIC FIELD NARROWS
John Hickenlooper, a moderate and former Colorado governor, will drop out of the presidential primary, AP learns.
9. CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS US WEST RIVER DESPITE WET WINTER
A wet winter likely will fend off mandated water shortages for states in the U.S. West that rely on the Colorado River but won't erase the impact of climate change.
10. WHAT'S COMING TO TIFFANY'S
The upscale chain launches its first comprehensive jewelry collection for men in October, tapping into a trend popularized by the likes of Jay-Z and John Mayer.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.
The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.
People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”
Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.
“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”
The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”
This comes as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.
Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.
The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.
They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.
Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.
Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Residents evacuate a building near the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
