• Venezuela, the “Donroe” Doctrine, and Operation Absolute Resolve: The long-expected strike against Venezuela’s illegitimate leader, Nicolás Maduro, finally arrived on Friday night. President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead to Operation Absolute Resolve, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reported was “flawlessly executed” at 10:46 p.m., and Maduro was in U.S. custody aboard the USS Iwo Jima by 3:29 a.m. Maduro has been indicted as a narco-terrorist and will face trial in the Southern District of New York, where he will make an appearance later today. This strike reaffirmed the Monroe Doctrine, which opposes outside influence in the Western Hemisphere — indeed, Maduro had met with Chinese envoys to discuss a “multipolar world” hours before being taken into custody. The strike was carried out with no American casualties, and only one aircraft, which remained flyable throughout the mission, was hit by hostile fire.

• Cuban, Colombian leaders told to watch out following Maduro capture: After Operation Absolute Resolve captured Venezuela’s illegitimate drug-dealing leader, other hostile leaders in America’s backyard have been put on notice. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela but with drug-trafficking organizations. Rubio went on to explain that Cuban intelligence was propping up Maduro, and while he declined to speak to future events, he admitted that “we are not big fans of the Cuban regime.” On a similar note, President Trump explained to the press that Colombia is “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and sending it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

• Oil prices post Maduro: The price of oil went on a bit of a rollercoaster following the news of the U.S. raid in Venezuela. Oil prices initially rose, then fell, and rose again slightly by Monday morning. With Venezuela accounting for roughly 19% of the world’s proven crude oil reserves, oil companies are seeing a significant investment opportunity. As President Trump stated Saturday, “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country.” However, given Venezuela’s dilapidated energy industry, it will likely take years and billions of dollars before oil companies reap significant profits. That said, the market indicates that investors are lining up.

• Trump’s meaningful energy moves: The Trump administration clearly sees expanding affordable energy as a high priority for the country, including keeping fossil fuel plants online and expanding the nation’s nuclear energy projects. For example, late last month, the Department of Energy issued an emergency order to keep online a coal-fired energy plant in Colorado that was slated for retirement. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the first drilling lease sales in the Gulf of America since 2023, and the U.S. Army is quickly nearing the deployment of nuclear microreactors that generate less than 20 megawatts of power, which could be used to provide electricity in remote locations for both military bases and local communities. As Energy Secretary Chris Wright explained, “Like replacing a remote diesel generator in an Alaskan village or at a remote mine site, the administration is supporting all of these efforts.”

• Daycare fraud updates in Minnesota, Washington: The Department of Health and Human Services has taken action to stymie Somali daycare fraud and ensure accountability. All funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) has been paused for all states, but with a focus on Minnesota, until HHS can be confident the money is not going to fraudsters. Minnesota faces a January 9 deadline to provide information on its daycares, with the possibility of additional penalties “if satisfactory responses are not provided.” In Washington, the Left has been scrubbing public information about its Somali-run daycares ahead of any investigation, which is being described as an attempt “to preempt and restrain investigations and accountability.” Seattle’s new mayor has called the investigation into Somali fraud a “surveillance campaign promoted by extremist influencers” and urged Somalis to report investigations as hate crimes.

• Tim Walz drops gubernatorial reelection bid: “This is on my watch. I am accountable for this,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said last month of the rampant social services fraud in his state. “More importantly, I am the one that will fix it.” Apparently, Democrats in his state weren’t reassured because Walz dropped his bid for a third term this morning. Walz contends he decided to “focus on the work” of rooting out the fraud rather than spend time campaigning. For Democrats, this is an unexpected hurdle in a midterm election year where a former VP candidate might’ve been expected to be a sure thing. Republicans who have already thrown their hat in the gubernatorial ring include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, and 2022 nominee Scott Jensen.

• Minimum wage increases in 19 states: With the new year, new legislation takes effect, and in 19 states, the hourly minimum wage has increased. Seventeen states now have a minimum wage of $15 an hour or higher. Alaska, Florida, and Oregon are set to hike their minimum wage later this year. Meanwhile, 20 states are still maintaining the federal minimum wage level of $7.25. While the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute touts the minimum wage hikes as a $5 billion pay boost for 8.3 million workers, the overwhelming body of data on minimum wage increases shows a direct link to employment loss and fewer job opportunities, especially for entry-level, teen, and unskilled workers.

• Qatar spends big to influence U.S. politics: Qatar has spent a lot of money to project a favorable influence in America, particularly in media, universities, and politics. The Free Press tracked roughly $100 billion in such spending. According to OpenSecrets’s calculation using Justice Department data, Qatar was the seventh-most-spending foreign nation on lobbying and public relations in the U.S. from 2016 through 2024, totaling $260.4 million. For comparison, Israel spent $195.1 million over that same time span. Furthermore, DOJ records show that since 2020, Qatari foreign agents have engaged in some 7,400 political communications with American lawmakers, whereas Israeli agents have communicated just over 2,000 times. Qatar also extends its influence through its media conglomerate, Al Jazeera, which reached over 14 billion views on its social media pages in 2023. Qatar’s influence may have much to do with the growth of antisemitism within the U.S.

• Leftmedia malfeasance: What National Review kindly coins “media misses” are actually media lies, cover-ups, and propaganda. But NR does sum up the worst media misses of 2025. First, the BBC’s antisemitic coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and its journalistic failings in its documentary on Gaza are all symptomatic of the systemic anti-Israel bias at the BBC. ICE has been misrepresented and attacked as incompetent or malicious by the media all year. That includes hoaxes like an 82-year-old Chilean grandfather being deported and raids on elementary graduations. “Fiery, but mostly peaceful” riots made a comeback this year as Los Angeles rioters set fire to cars, injured law enforcement officers, blocked the 101 Freeway, and damaged government vehicles. CNN described the LA riots as “lawful protests” with “some unrest.” Many media outlets were over the moon for Zohran Mamdani, defending his “democratic socialism,” collectivist schemes, and radical friends. Some things don’t change with the new year.

Headlines

• New NYC mayor sparks fury by scrapping antisemitism protections on first day (Fox News)

• Iran’s calculations are scrambled by U.S. raid in Caracas (WSJ)

• Another NC woman slaughtered by a mentally ill perp with a lengthy criminal record (RedState)

• Humor: Democrats confused why Venezuelans cheering downfall of nice, warm collectivism (Babylon Bee)

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