U.S. Daily Roundup – January 5, 2026

Overview

January 5, 2026 was dominated by the fallout from the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the return of a divided Congress facing major fights over war powers and health care, severe flooding in California, and continued Russian and Ukrainian strikes in the war’s third year. The administration also advanced a major international tax deal, announced new immigration enforcement actions, and named a slate of federal judges and prosecutors.

Venezuela operation, airspace disruption, and diplomatic outreach

A U.S. military operation on January 3 that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power continued to drive events:

• Maduro, captured along with his wife and flown to New York, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and is facing longstanding U.S. narcotics and “narco‑terrorism” charges. He was expected to make his first court appearance in New York City on January 5 on allegations that he and associates conspired to ship large quantities of cocaine to the United States.[1][2]
• President Donald Trump told reporters the United States is now “in charge” of Venezuela and intends to oversee a “judicious transition,” while also signaling plans to seize and redevelop Venezuela’s large oil reserves through U.S. companies.[2]
• Venezuela’s Supreme Court directed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the powers of acting president, citing Maduro’s inability to perform his duties while in U.S. custody.[2]
• The operation prompted protests and mixed reactions within Venezuela and abroad, as well as a sharp condemnation from China, which called for Maduro’s immediate release.[2]

The operation produced significant knock‑on effects in regional aviation:

• The FAA temporarily closed large portions of Caribbean airspace after the strike, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations from destinations such as Puerto Rico and Aruba. Those restrictions have since been lifted; major U.S. airlines including American, Delta, United, and Southwest began adding flights to move stranded passengers as of January 5.[1][2]

Diplomatically, the administration moved to reassure European allies:

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel. According to the State Department, they discussed U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean, the need for a “proper, judicious transition of power” in Venezuela, and reaffirmed close U.S.–Netherlands cooperation.[3]
• Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met in Washington with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot. The readout said they reaffirmed the “historic and close cooperation” between the countries and discussed commerce, security, and migration.[4]

The White House also released a political article arguing that Democrats had previously demanded Maduro’s removal but now criticize Trump’s decision to use military force. The piece characterizes the operation as a foreign‑policy success that captured an “indicted narcoterrorist” now detained on U.S. soil, and it quotes past and present statements from Democratic lawmakers to highlight shifts in their positions.[5]

Congress returns: war powers, Obamacare subsidies, and shutdown risk

Congress returned from recess to face a crowded agenda and heightened scrutiny of presidential war powers:

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson are under pressure from both parties after the administration removed Maduro without prior notification to Congress. Senate leaders Chuck Schumer, Tim Kaine, and Rand Paul plan to bring a war‑powers resolution to the floor this week to limit further U.S. military action in Venezuela without authorization.[6]
• The Trump administration has argued the operation was a law‑enforcement action using military assets rather than an act of war requiring advance notice.[6]

Health‑care and budget issues are central to the new session:

• Enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies expired at the turn of the year, raising projected 2026 costs for millions of marketplace enrollees. A group of House Republicans joined Democrats in a discharge petition, forcing a floor vote—expected this week—on Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ bill to restore the subsidies for three years.[6]
• In the Senate, a bipartisan group is drafting its own health‑care compromise, though details have not yet been made public.[6]
• Congressional leaders must also negotiate new spending bills before a January 30 deadline to avoid another partial government shutdown. Both parties remain divided over topline spending levels; leaders are preparing contingency plans that could extend temporary funding for the rest of the fiscal year if no deal is reached.[6]

On foreign policy, members are also pushing new steps on Russia and Ukraine:

• A bipartisan group in the House is advancing a Russia sanctions package and a separate Ukraine reconstruction bill using discharge‑petition procedures, seeking to increase pressure on Moscow and formalize U.S. support for rebuilding Ukraine.[6]

Immigration enforcement and drug‑trafficking cases

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) highlighted several enforcement actions:

• Indiana cocaine trafficking case. ICE lodged immigration detainers on Gurpreet Singh (25) and Jasveer Singh (30), Indian nationals arrested in Putnam County, Indiana, after local law enforcement found about 309 pounds of cocaine hidden in the sleeper berth of the semi‑truck they were operating during a routine inspection.[7]
  • DHS stated both men held commercial driver’s licenses issued by California.
  • According to ICE, Gurpreet Singh entered the U.S. irregularly near Lukeville, Arizona, in March 2023 and was released into the country; Jasveer Singh entered near Otay Mesa, California, in 2017 and had previously been arrested in San Bernardino in December 2025, when an earlier ICE detainer was not honored by local authorities.[7]
• California surge operation. ICE Los Angeles reported arresting 118 noncitizens in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties during a six‑day “surge” operation from December 26–31, 2025, many of whom the agency says had prior convictions for crimes including lewd acts with a child, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, burglary, hit‑and‑run, and multiple DUIs.[8]
• “Worst of the worst” arrests nationwide. In a separate release, ICE described multiple recent arrests of noncitizens with serious criminal histories—such as homicide, attempted murder, kidnapping, and rape—in states including Georgia, New York, California, Indiana, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, and others.[9] ICE leadership linked these actions to what the department calls a 120% increase in agency manpower, adding more than 12,000 officers and agents in the past year.[9]

The releases sharply criticize “sanctuary” policies in states like California, arguing they allow people with serious convictions to remain in communities, but do not include responses from state or local officials.

International tax and economic policy

The Treasury Department announced a significant development in global tax negotiations:

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has reached an agreement with the more than 145 countries in the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework under which U.S.-headquartered multinationals will not be subject to the OECD “Pillar Two” global minimum tax. Instead, they will remain subject only to U.S. global minimum tax rules.[10]
• The agreement is described as recognizing U.S. “tax sovereignty” over the worldwide operations of U.S. companies while recognizing other countries’ sovereignty over activity within their borders.[10]
• Treasury says the deal protects the value of key U.S. tax incentives, including the research and development credit, and frames the outcome as preventing foreign governments from imposing additional minimum taxes on U.S. firms.[10]
• Treasury also pledged to continue working with other countries on implementation and on renewed discussions over how to tax digital‑economy activity.[10]

Separately, energy analysts cited by CNN projected that 2026 could bring the lowest U.S. gasoline prices since the Covid‑19 pandemic, offering potential relief amid rising costs in other categories such as food and electricity.[1]

Labor and regulatory actions

The Department of Labor announced two notable policy moves:

• Expanded self‑correction for health plans. The Employee Benefits Security Administration broadened the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program to include Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) that missed required Form M‑1 annual filings.[11]
  • The change allows MEWA administrators to voluntarily correct late or missing filings, reduce potential civil penalties, and bring plans back into compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
  • Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said the goal is to “foster a culture of compliance and trust” by giving plan officials a structured pathway to fix violations.[11]
• Six new opinion letters on wage, hour, and leave rules. The Wage and Hour Division issued opinion letters clarifying how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) apply in several recurring situations:[12]
  • When an employee’s job qualifies for the “learned professional” overtime exemption and whether an employer may nevertheless reclassify the role as non‑exempt (FLSA2026‑1).
  • Whether certain bonus payments can be excluded from the regular rate of pay and, if not, how they must be included when calculating overtime (FLSA2026‑2).
  • Whether a collectively bargained 15‑minute “roll call” before shifts must count toward overtime calculations (FLSA2026‑3).
  • How to apply the commissioned‑employee overtime exemption under section 7(i), including which minimum wage benchmark to use when the state minimum exceeds the federal minimum and whether tips count as “commissions” (FLSA2026‑4).
  • How short school closures affect FMLA leave usage for school employees (FMLA2026‑1).
  • Whether FMLA leave covers travel time to and from medical appointments when the medical certification does not specifically mention travel (FMLA2026‑2).

The department frames the letters as part of an expanded opinion‑letter program launched in June to give workers and employers more detailed guidance in complex, fact‑specific scenarios.[12]

Judicial and Justice Department nominations

The White House sent 14 nominations to the Senate:[13]

• U.S. Attorneys (7):
  • Andrew Benson – District of Maine (replacing Darcie N. McElwee).
  • William Boyle – Eastern District of North Carolina (replacing Michael F. Easley, Jr.).
  • Kevin Holmes – Western District of Arkansas (replacing Duane A. Kees).
  • Zachary Keller – Western District of Louisiana (replacing Brandon B. Brown).
  • Brian David Miller – Middle District of Pennsylvania (replacing Gerard M. Karam).
  • Richard Price – Western District of Missouri (replacing Timothy A. Garrison).
  • Darin Smith – District of Wyoming (replacing Mark A. Klaassen).
• U.S. District Judges (6):
  • Megan Blair Benton – Western District of Missouri (replacing Judge M. Douglas Harpool, retiring).
  • David Clay Fowlkes – Western District of Arkansas (replacing Paul Kinloch Holmes III, retired).
  • Nicholas Jon Ganjei – Southern District of Texas (replacing Lynn N. Hughes, retired).
  • Brian Charles Lea – Western District of Tennessee (replacing John Thomas Fowlkes Jr., retired).
  • Justin R. Olson – Southern District of Indiana (replacing Jane E. Magnus‑Stinson, retired).
  • Aaron Christian Peterson – District of Alaska (replacing Timothy Mark Burgess, retired).
• Assistant Attorney General (1):
  • Daniel E. Burrows of Colorado was nominated to be an Assistant Attorney General, filling the vacancy left by Aaron Reitz’s resignation.[13]

The nominees would fill vacancies across a wide geographic range, from Maine and Missouri to Texas, Alaska, and Wyoming.

Defense, security, and National Guard activity

The rebranded U.S. Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) highlighted industrial base and security developments:

• “Arsenal of Freedom” industrial base tour. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth launched a month‑long “Arsenal of Freedom Tour” in Newport News, Virginia, speaking to shipyard workers as part of a multistate campaign focused on rebuilding the U.S. defense industrial base.[14]
  • Hegseth emphasized accelerating deployment of “cutting‑edge technologies,” making “historic, multigenerational investments” to maintain military dominance, and moving weapons programs to troops faster than at any time since World War II.[14]
  • He said the department intends to end tolerance for chronic delays and cost overruns, encourage more competition among contractors, and shift work toward firms that can deliver at “speed and scale.”[14]
• National Guard fire response in Washington, D.C. A Defense Department article described an incident in which three West Virginia National Guard members—Air Force Senior Airman Brett Fries, Army Sgt. Devin Cantwell, and Army Pfc. Tyler Farley—spotted smoke while on a “D.C. Safe and Beautiful” patrol on Massachusetts Avenue NW and helped extinguish a dryer fire in an apartment laundry room on December 15, 2025.[15]
  • They retrieved a fire extinguisher, put out the blaze before D.C. Fire and EMS arrived, and helped evacuate residents. Officials said their actions likely prevented a much larger fire in a densely populated building.[15]
  • The piece noted that since the joint task force began in August 2025, Guard personnel have rendered medical aid to about 170 people, reunited 12 lost minors with families or authorities, intervened in 99 potential fights, assisted police with roughly 130 apprehensions, and administered naloxone in about 50 overdose cases.[15]
• Major Navy and defense contracts. The War Department listed multiple contract awards for January 5:[16]
  • A $149 million cumulative modification to a large multiple‑award construction contract for commercial and institutional facilities in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest area of operations, raising the total contract ceiling to $2.94 billion.
  • A nearly $50 million contract with ShadowObjects LLC for lifecycle support and modernization of Naval Air Systems Command’s contracts e‑business systems, including integration of contract writing and ERP systems.
  • Additional awards for C‑40A aircraft logistics support, E‑6B communications modernization kits, deactivation work on fleet oiler USNS John Ericsson, helicopter program support for the AH‑1Z and UH‑1Y, harbor pilot services in Hampton Roads, and maintenance of Mk‑41 Vertical Launch Systems.[16]

Weather and disasters: California flooding and Swiss bar fire

• Northern California flooding. Heavy rain combined with unusually high “king tides” produced coastal and urban flooding across parts of Northern California. CNN and other outlets reported flooding and road closures in at least Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties, with some motorists needing rescue from submerged vehicles. Flood watches remained in effect, with up to roughly three inches of additional rain possible in areas already saturated by a series of winter storms since Christmas.[1][17]
• Swiss ski‑resort bar fire. Authorities in Switzerland said all 40 people killed in a New Year’s Eve bar fire in Crans‑Montana have now been identified, with many of the victims reported to be teenagers or young adults.[1][18]
  • Investigators are examining whether indoor pyrotechnics such as champagne sparklers may have ignited the blaze and are scrutinizing the bar’s operators for possible criminal liability and age‑verification failures.[1][18]

Russia–Ukraine war developments

Fighting between Russia and Ukraine continued at a high tempo:

• Ukrainian officials said Russian forces launched an air attack on Kyiv on January 5, killing one civilian in what they described as the first reported death in the capital this year from such an attack.[19]
• Over the weekend, Russian drones struck northeastern Ukraine, killing at least two people in the Sumy region and wounding three in the Kharkiv region. The death toll from a prior Russian missile strike on Kharkiv rose to five after additional remains were identified in rubble.[19]
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had conducted more than 2,000 air attacks across Ukraine during the first week of the new year.[19]
• Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine has targeted the Moscow region with drones every day in 2026 so far, saying that by midnight Sunday Russian air defenses had downed 57 drones over the Moscow area out of 437 reportedly shot down nationwide. Officials also reported two civilian deaths in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions from Ukrainian drone attacks and a fire at an industrial zone containing a battery plant in Lipetsk region.[19]
• On the diplomatic front, President Trump told reporters that U.S. officials do not believe Ukraine targeted a residence belonging to Vladimir Putin in a recent incident, dismissing Russian claims and aligning with European statements that the allegation appeared intended to undermine peace efforts.[19]