Tag: capital

Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during operation to capture him

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The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho, ” on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts.Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said on X that the operation was carried out by Mexican special forces “within the framework of bilateral cooperation, with U.S. authorities providing complementary intelligence.”Multiple Sacramento International Airport flights to Mexico have been canceled, according to FlightAware. Volaris Flight 1811, Volaris Flight 1813 and AeroMéxico 789 were all headed to Guadalajara. Roadblocks and burning vehiclesThe killing of the powerful drug lord set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state for Monday.Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico’s second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer’s soccer World Cup.The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to the ongoing security operations. Canada’s embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep a low profile in Jalisco.Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.US had offered up to $15 million for his captureThe U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.On Sunday, Sheinbaum applauded Mexican security forces and called for calm in a post on X.A Jalisco state official who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly said that a member of the National Guard died in Tapalpa during the operation, a jail guard was killed at a lockup in Puerto Vallarta when prisoners rioted, and an agent from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office was killed in Guadalajara. Details were not immediately available.Known as an aggressive cartelThe Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both in U.S. custody.Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S. where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho Coronel.” After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85,” created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split and for years the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.Indicted several times in the United StatesSince 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.Last year, people searching for missing relatives founds piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.___Associated Press writer María Verza contributed to this report.

The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho, ” on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts.

Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.

During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said on X that the operation was carried out by Mexican special forces “within the framework of bilateral cooperation, with U.S. authorities providing complementary intelligence.”

Multiple Sacramento International Airport flights to Mexico have been canceled, according to FlightAware. Volaris Flight 1811, Volaris Flight 1813 and AeroMéxico 789 were all headed to Guadalajara.

Roadblocks and burning vehicles

The killing of the powerful drug lord set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state for Monday.

Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.

In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico’s second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer’s soccer World Cup.

The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to the ongoing security operations. Canada’s embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep a low profile in Jalisco.

Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.

US had offered up to $15 million for his capture

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.

In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.

On Sunday, Sheinbaum applauded Mexican security forces and called for calm in a post on X.

A Jalisco state official who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly said that a member of the National Guard died in Tapalpa during the operation, a jail guard was killed at a lockup in Puerto Vallarta when prisoners rioted, and an agent from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office was killed in Guadalajara. Details were not immediately available.

Known as an aggressive cartel

The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.

The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both in U.S. custody.

Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S. where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.

Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho Coronel.” After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85,” created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.

Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split and for years the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.

Indicted several times in the United States

Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.

Last year, people searching for missing relatives founds piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.

___

Associated Press writer María Verza contributed to this report.

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February 22, 2026
US State Department urges US citizens to stay safe in Jalisco after El Mencho killing

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The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to ongoing security operations after the Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” was killed on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts.Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him on Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.Roadblocks and burning vehiclesThe killing of the powerful drug lord set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state for Monday.Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico’s second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer’s soccer World Cup.Canada’s embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep a low profile in Jalisco.Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.US had offered up to $15 million for his captureThe U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.Known as aggressive cartelThe Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both in U.S. custody.Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S., where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho Coronel.” After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85”, created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split, and for years, the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.Indicted several times in the United StatesSince 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.Last year, people searching for missing relatives found piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.__AP writer María Verza contributed to this report.

The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to ongoing security operations after the Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” was killed on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts.

Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him on Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.

During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.

Roadblocks and burning vehicles

The killing of the powerful drug lord set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state for Monday.

Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.

In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico’s second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer’s soccer World Cup.

Canada’s embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep a low profile in Jalisco.

Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.

US had offered up to $15 million for his capture

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.

In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.

Known as aggressive cartel

The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.

The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both in U.S. custody.

Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S., where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.

Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho Coronel.” After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85”, created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.

Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split, and for years, the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.

Indicted several times in the United States

Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.

Last year, people searching for missing relatives found piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.

__

AP writer María Verza contributed to this report.

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February 22, 2026
BUTTER THAN EVER?: Pennsylvania Farm Show’s butter sculpture honors America’s 250th anniversary

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THE HONOR IS BOTH HOSTING THIS, BUT ALSO DOING A SCULPTURE THAT CAPTURES THAT MOMENT AS WELL. WELL, THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DESIGN WERE BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, THE FOUNDING FATHERS, YOU KNOW, SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. MONTHS OF PLANNING, DAYS OF SCULPTING. MARIE PELTON AND JIM VICTOR MADE THE FARM SHOW BUTTER SCULPTURE, WEIGHING IN OVER 1,000 POUNDS OF BUTTER. IT IS QUITE THE FEAT. SO YOU SUBMIT THE DRAWINGS? WE DID THREE OF THEM, AND THIS WAS OUR FIRST DRAWING THAT WE SUBMITTED. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE GLAD THAT THEY ACTUALLY SELECTED THIS ONE. BRINGING YOU INSIDE OF THE BUTTER SCULPTURE. LET’S TAKE A LOOK. SET IN 1776 TO HONOR THE 250TH BIRTHDAY HERE OF THE UNITED STATES, AND CELEBRATING TWO 50 PA, WE HAVE THE FOUNDING FATHERS UP TOP WITH RED, WHITE AND BLUE ACCENTS. SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THERE’S A LITTLE TRIBUTE HERE TO BETSY ROSS OFF ON THE SIDE, CELEBRATING THE FARM SHOW HERE THIS YEAR. AND ON THE BOTTOM YOU SEE HIGHLIGHTS OF PENNSYLVANIA’S AGRICULTURAL EXPERTISE. SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE THE THE DOCUMENT DEFINITELY IS A HIGHLIGHT. THE FIGURES OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, ARE VERY RECOGNIZABLE AS FOUNDING FATHERS SIGNING THE DECLARATION. THE BUTTER IS FROM ACROSS THE RIVER IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY FROM LAND O’LAKES. AND WHEN THE SCULPTURE REACHES ITS TIME TO MELT, IT WILL BE RECYCLED INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY. WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE THAT THAT THERE’S, YOU KNOW, A FAN BASE FOR THIS PARTICULAR THING. IT MEANS A LOT TO PEOPLE. AND SO WE WANT TO DO AS GOOD A JOB AS POSSIBLE. ALL THERE FOR YOU TO CHECK AT THE MACLAY STREET LOBBY ENTRANCE, ALL FAR

1,000-pound butter sculpture at Pennsylvania Farm Show honors America’s 250th anniversary

Updated: 8:52 PM EST Jan 9, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

The 1,000-pound, 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show butter sculpture has been unveiled. In keeping with this year’s theme of “Growing a Nation,” in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, this year’s butter sculpture features Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross and the Liberty Bell. You can see another view of the creamy creation below.Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, Carolyn Matthews Eaglehouse of Milky Way Farm, Chester Springs, and butter sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton, of Conshohocken, attended the unveiling in the main hall of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center.The sculpture is crafted from butter donated by the Land O’Lakes plant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.Video below: See the unveiling and get a closer look at the sculpture After the farm show, the butter will be recycled into biofuel. The Pennsylvania Farm Show takes place in the state’s capital of Harrisburg. It is held at the nation’s largest indoor agricultural expo, featuring more than 5,000 animals, 12,000+ competitive entries from over 4,600 competitors, 250+ commercial exhibits, and hundreds of educational and entertaining events.

The 1,000-pound, 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show butter sculpture has been unveiled. In keeping with this year’s theme of “Growing a Nation,” in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, this year’s butter sculpture features Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross and the Liberty Bell. You can see another view of the creamy creation below.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, Carolyn Matthews Eaglehouse of Milky Way Farm, Chester Springs, and butter sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton, of Conshohocken, attended the unveiling in the main hall of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center.

The sculpture is crafted from butter donated by the Land O’Lakes plant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Video below: See the unveiling and get a closer look at the sculpture

After the farm show, the butter will be recycled into biofuel.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show takes place in the state’s capital of Harrisburg. It is held at the nation’s largest indoor agricultural expo, featuring more than 5,000 animals, 12,000+ competitive entries from over 4,600 competitors, 250+ commercial exhibits, and hundreds of educational and entertaining events.

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January 9, 2026
US strikes Venezuela and says its leader has been captured and flown out of the country

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The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary nighttime operation that was accompanied by a flurry of strikes following months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation.The U.S. is now deciding next steps for Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Saturday on Fox News, adding, “We’ll be involved in it very much.”The legal authority for the attack was not immediately clear. The stunning American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known his wife had been and it wasn’t clear if Bondi was referring to a new indictment.Video below: CNN chief international security correspondent on the context of this strikeVenezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press that Maduro and Flores were at their home within the Ft. Tiuna military installation when they were captured.“That’s where they bombed,” he said. “And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country.”Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.With the Venezuelan leader’s whereabouts not known, the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, would take power under Venezuelan law. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike, demanding proof of life for Maduro and his wife.Maduro, Trump said, “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.” He set a news conference for Saturday morning.The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, the vice president, without giving a number.It was not known if more actions lie ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out “successfully.” The Pentagon referred questions about the safety of American personnel involved in the operation to the White House.The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to.Maduro last appeared on state television Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.The strike followed a months-long Trump administration pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as a necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.Maduro has decried the U.S. military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power. Some streets in Caracas fill upArmed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. But in other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.“How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep.”Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape sky as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed an urban landscape with cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. Unintelligible conversation could be heard in the background. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without power.“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.”Video below: Caracas wakes up to a Venezuela without MaduroVenezuela’s government responded to the attack with a call to action. “People to the streets!” it said in a statement. “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 Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.” That state of emergency gives him the power to suspend people’s rights and expand the role of the armed forces.The website of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, a post that has been closed since 2019, issued a warning to American citizens in the country, saying it was “aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas.”“U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place,” the warning said.Reaction emerges slowlyThe FAA warned all commercial and private U.S. pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country, was off limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”The Armed Services committees in both houses of Congress, which have jurisdiction over military matters, have not been notified by the administration of any actions, according to a person familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss it.Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised deep reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near the Venezuelan coast and Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the military action and seizure of Maduro marks “a new dawn for Venezuela,” saying that “the tyrant is gone.” He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”Cuba, a supporter of the Maduro government and a longtime adversary of the United States, called for the international community to respond to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called “the criminal attack.”“Our zone of peace is being brutally assaulted,” he said on X. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes.President Javier Milei of Argentina praised the claim by his close ally, Trump, that Maduro had been captured with a political slogan he often deploys to celebrate right-wing advances: “Long live freedom, dammit!” Toropin and AP journalist Lisa Mascaro reported from Washington.

CARACAS, Venezuela —

The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary nighttime operation that was accompanied by a flurry of strikes following months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation.

The U.S. is now deciding next steps for Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Saturday on Fox News, adding, “We’ll be involved in it very much.”

The legal authority for the attack was not immediately clear. The stunning American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known his wife had been and it wasn’t clear if Bondi was referring to a new indictment.

Video below: CNN chief international security correspondent on the context of this strike

Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told The Associated Press that Maduro and Flores were at their home within the Ft. Tiuna military installation when they were captured.

“That’s where they bombed,” he said. “And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country.”

Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

With the Venezuelan leader’s whereabouts not known, the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, would take power under Venezuelan law. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike, demanding proof of life for Maduro and his wife.

Maduro, Trump said, “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.” He set a news conference for Saturday morning.

The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, the vice president, without giving a number.

It was not known if more actions lie ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out “successfully.” The Pentagon referred questions about the safety of American personnel involved in the operation to the White House.

The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to.

Maduro last appeared on state television Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.

The strike followed a months-long Trump administration pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as a necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.

Maduro has decried the U.S. military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

Some streets in Caracas fill up

Armed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. But in other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

“How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep.”

Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape sky as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed an urban landscape with cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. Unintelligible conversation could be heard in the background. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without power.

“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.”

Video below: Caracas wakes up to a Venezuela without Maduro

Venezuela’s government responded to the attack with a call to action. “People to the streets!” it said in a statement. “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 Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.” That state of emergency gives him the power to suspend people’s rights and expand the role of the armed forces.

The website of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, a post that has been closed since 2019, issued a warning to American citizens in the country, saying it was “aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas.”

“U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place,” the warning said.

Reaction emerges slowly

The FAA warned all commercial and private U.S. pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country, was off limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

The Armed Services committees in both houses of Congress, which have jurisdiction over military matters, have not been notified by the administration of any actions, according to a person familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss it.

Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised deep reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near the Venezuelan coast and Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the military action and seizure of Maduro marks “a new dawn for Venezuela,” saying that “the tyrant is gone.” He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”

Cuba, a supporter of the Maduro government and a longtime adversary of the United States, called for the international community to respond to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called “the criminal attack.”

“Our zone of peace is being brutally assaulted,” he said on X. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes.

President Javier Milei of Argentina praised the claim by his close ally, Trump, that Maduro had been captured with a political slogan he often deploys to celebrate right-wing advances: “Long live freedom, dammit!”

Toropin and AP journalist Lisa Mascaro reported from Washington.

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January 3, 2026
US strikes Venezuela and says its leader has been captured and flown out of the country

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The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known that his wife had been, and it wasn’t clear if Bondi was referring to a new indictment. The details of the allegations against Flores were not immediately known.Multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital, and Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.With Maduro’s whereabouts not known, the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, would take power under Venezuelan law. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike.“We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said. “We demand proof of life.”Maduro, Trump said, “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.” He set a news conference for later Saturday morning.The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. It was not known if there were any deaths or injuries on either side or if more actions lay ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out “successfully.”Video below: CNN chief international security correspondent on the context of this strikeSen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed him on the strike and said that Maduro “has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.”The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to. Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges.Maduro last appeared on state television Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.The strike came after the Trump administration spent months increasing the pressure on Maduro, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as a necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.Maduro has decried the U.S. military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.Some streets in Caracas fill upArmed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. But in other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape sky as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed an urban landscape with cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. Unintelligible conversation could be heard in the background. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without power.“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.”Video below: Caracas wakes up to a Venezuela without MaduroVenezuela’s government responded to the attack with a call to action. “People to the streets!” it said in a statement. “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 Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.” That state of emergency gives him the power to suspend people’s rights and expand the role of the armed forces.The website of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, a post that has been closed since 2019, issued a warning to American citizens in the country, saying it was “aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas.”“U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place,” the warning said.Reaction emerges slowlyInquiries to the Pentagon and U.S. Southern Command since Trump’s social media post went unanswered. The FAA warned all commercial and private U.S. pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country to the north, was off limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted his potential concerns, reflecting a view from the right flank in the Congress. “I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” Lee said on X.It was not clear if the U.S. Congress had been officially notified of the strikes.The Armed Services committees in both houses of Congress, which have jurisdiction over military matters, have not been notified by the administration of any actions, according to a person familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss it.Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised deep reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling on boats near the Venezuelan coast, and Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the military action and seizure of Maduro marks “a new dawn for Venezuela,” saying that “the tyrant is gone.” He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”Cuba, a supporter of the Maduro government and a longtime adversary of the United States, called for the international community to respond to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called “the criminal attack.” “Our zone of peace is being brutally assaulted,” he said on X. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes.President Javier Milei of Argentina praised the claim by his close ally, Trump, that Maduro had been captured with a political slogan he often deploys to celebrate right-wing advances: “Long live freedom, dammit!”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.Toropin and AP journalist Lisa Mascaro reported from Washington.

CARACAS, Venezuela —

The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known that his wife had been, and it wasn’t clear if Bondi was referring to a new indictment. The details of the allegations against Flores were not immediately known.

Multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital, and Maduro’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

With Maduro’s whereabouts not known, the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, would take power under Venezuelan law. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike.

“We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said. “We demand proof of life.”

Maduro, Trump said, “has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.” He set a news conference for later Saturday morning.

The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they’d seen and heard. It was not known if there were any deaths or injuries on either side or if more actions lay ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out “successfully.”

Video below: CNN chief international security correspondent on the context of this strike

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed him on the strike and said that Maduro “has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.”

The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to. Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges.

Maduro last appeared on state television Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.

The strike came after the Trump administration spent months increasing the pressure on Maduro, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as a necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.

Maduro has decried the U.S. military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

Some streets in Caracas fill up

Armed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. But in other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape sky as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed an urban landscape with cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. Unintelligible conversation could be heard in the background. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without power.

“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.”

Video below: Caracas wakes up to a Venezuela without Maduro

Venezuela’s government responded to the attack with a call to action. “People to the streets!” it said in a statement. “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 Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.” That state of emergency gives him the power to suspend people’s rights and expand the role of the armed forces.

The website of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, a post that has been closed since 2019, issued a warning to American citizens in the country, saying it was “aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas.”

“U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place,” the warning said.

Reaction emerges slowly

Inquiries to the Pentagon and U.S. Southern Command since Trump’s social media post went unanswered. The FAA warned all commercial and private U.S. pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country to the north, was off limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted his potential concerns, reflecting a view from the right flank in the Congress. “I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” Lee said on X.

It was not clear if the U.S. Congress had been officially notified of the strikes.

The Armed Services committees in both houses of Congress, which have jurisdiction over military matters, have not been notified by the administration of any actions, according to a person familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss it.

Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised deep reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling on boats near the Venezuelan coast, and Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the military action and seizure of Maduro marks “a new dawn for Venezuela,” saying that “the tyrant is gone.” He posted on X hours after the strike. His boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reposted a post from July that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”

Cuba, a supporter of the Maduro government and a longtime adversary of the United States, called for the international community to respond to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called “the criminal attack.” “Our zone of peace is being brutally assaulted,” he said on X. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes.

President Javier Milei of Argentina praised the claim by his close ally, Trump, that Maduro had been captured with a political slogan he often deploys to celebrate right-wing advances: “Long live freedom, dammit!”

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.

Toropin and AP journalist Lisa Mascaro reported from Washington.

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January 3, 2026
Did the U.S. attack? Maduro flee? No, but in Venezuela, rampant rumors fly

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CARACAS, Venezuela — Even in Venezuela, a nation battered by years of economic, social and political turmoil, the Christmas season is a time to put aside one’s troubles, spend time with family, enjoy a bit of holiday cheer — if you can escape the ubiquitous uncertainty and rumors that mark life here.

On one day social media will be ablaze with reports that President Nicolás Maduro has fled to Brazil. Or to Turkey. Or that he stopped in Turkey on his way to Qatar. Or that the U.S. invasion had begun. None of it (so far) is true.

Social media daily fuels the rumor mill, in part, because access to independent news is severely restricted.

“One hears so much on social media, but learns little,” said Begoña Monasterio, 78, who was out shopping in Caracas for ingredients to prepare las hallacas, the country’s emblematic Christmas dish. It’s a succulent mix of cornmeal, meat, olives, raisins and other delectables cooked and wrapped in banana leaves, a kind of Venezuelan tamale.

“I want to give a surprise to my eldest son, who is having a birthday during the holiday,” said the grandmother.

She toted a small shopping bag and vowed to buy “the minimum,” now the custom in a once-wealthy South American nation that has suffered a decade of hyperinflation, ravaged wages, lost savings, mass displacement and migration — the equivalent of multiple Great Depressions.

But the rumors of war, and peace — and all manner of other developments, from the trivial to the momentous — are never far away, even as shoppers make their way through storefronts and well-lighted malls brimming with holiday fare, much of it beyond most family budgets.

A lot of the current chatter-cloud hovers above María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She lives “in hiding” in the capital, though the government’s pervasive security apparatus probably watches her movements closely.

Members of the Bolivarian militia wave Venezuelan flags in Caracas on Wednesday during a march to commemorate a 19th century military battle.

(Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

After days of conflicting reports about her whereabouts, Machado showed up in Oslo a day after the Nobel award ceremony, reportedly following a covert, U.S.-aided voyage via land, sea and private jet. Thousands of ecstatic supporters greeted her in the Norwegian capital, a publicity coup for the opposition and another round of bad optics for Maduro’s embattled administration.

Though Machado did indeed make it to Norway, the Venezuelan rumor mill still churned out theories about her arrival.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addresses supporters during a rally Wednesday in Caracas.

(Pedro Rances Mattey / Anadolu / Getty Images)

“We heard at one point that María Corina left the country in the fuselage of an airplane carrying migrants, and that once she was out los gringos would arrive,” Monasterio said. “Then we hear that Maduro has fled to Brazil. Really, nothing has turned out to be true. So I try to continue with my life, savoring my little alegrías [joys] as long as I can.”

It’s a sagacious survival strategy in a country where what will happen next is anybody’s guess. Will Maduro negotiate a stay-in-power deal with President Trump? Will U.S. forces, already amassed off the Venezuelan coast, attack? Or will the tense status quo just drag on?

“One doesn’t know whom to believe,” said Sebastián López, 33, a public employee who participated in a pro-government political rally downtown, one of a series organized these days by the ruling socialist party. “Many rumors originate outside the country, from Venezuelans who have left and can write what they want on the internet. … Yes, it’s true, María Corina left. But she’ll be back again.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answers questions about the recent U.S. military seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

(Alex Wong / Getty Images)

One report circulating is that high-ranking chavistas — the hard-core government supporters named after late ex-President Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor — are sending their families abroad, anticipating a U.S. strike. But there have been no reported high-level defections, a stark contrast from 2019, when Trump, during his first-term “maximum pressure” campaign against Venezuela, also attempted to force Maduro out.

Another rumor is that, in some fashion, Washington and its allies will officially recognize as the legitimate leaders of Venezuela the opposition tandem of Edmundo González Urrutia and Machado.

González, a veteran diplomat who lives in exile in Spain, ran as a stand-in presidential candidate for Machado in last year’s national election. Maduro claimed victory in balloting results widely denounced as fraudulent.

Whether such a move by Washington would even make much difference is not clear. During his first term, Trump followed a similar strategy, declaring Juan Guaidó, then an opposition legislator, as the U.S.-recognized president of Venezuela, providing diplomatic backing and funding for a shadow government. The gambit failed. Guaidó has since joined the large Venezuelan exile community in Miami.

The news this week that U.S. forces had seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast only fueled the prevalent climate of unease. Maduro’s government denounced the seizure as an act of international piracy. Fears now abound about a possible U.S. blockade, potentially throttling oil exports, Venezuela’s economic lifeline, and deepening hardships for civilians.

“I’ve heard all the rumors — that the invasion will happen before Christmas, that Maduro is negotiating his departure, to Doha, to Cuba, to Russia — but I pay no attention,” said Carmen Luisa Jiménez, a Maduro supporter in the capital’s working-class Artigas district. “We know that el presidente will never leave, that he will remain with us. … We are a nation of peace, but prepared to confront whatever attack comes from the United States.”

Militia members wave Venezuelan flags Wednesday in Caracas during a ceremony marking the anniversary of a 19th century military battle.

(Pedro Rances Mattey / Anadolu / Getty Images)

Sonia Bravo, 40, who hawks Christmas trinkets from a makeshift stand, has also heard that “zero hour” is imminent. She has no idea. A bigger concern, she says, are slumping sales and trying to put food on the table for her family.

“People can’t afford to buy much,” said Bravo. “Right now, anything seems possible. But what we are all hoping is this: That something will happen to end this nightmare.”

Meantime, Venezuelans will keep on stocking ingredients for las hallacas, a complex dish that can take days to prepare. There is no doubt about the delicacy’s comforting presence in homes this Christmas, providing a sense of continuity absent from so many other facets of contemporary life in Venezuela.

Special correspondent Mogollón reported from Caracas and Times staff writer McDonnell from Mexico City.

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December 13, 2025
Suicide bombers strike security force headquarters in northwestern Pakistan

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Two suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of a security force in northwestern Pakistan on Monday morning, killing at least three officers and wounding five others, police and rescue officials said.The attack took place in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said city Police Chief Saeed Ahmad.Video above: Pakistani officials say the insurgent attack on a train has ended but some hostages are deadHe said one attacker detonated his explosives at the main gate of the provincial headquarters of the Federal Constabulary, while the second bomber was shot and killed by officers near the parking area.According to Ahmad, a large number of security personnel were on open ground inside the headquarters for morning parade drills when the attack took place. “The terrorists involved in today’s attack were on foot and failed to reach the parade area and a timely response by our forces prevented a much larger tragedy,” he told The Associated Press.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.However, the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have been blamed for similar previous assaults in the country, which has witnessed a surge in militant attacks. The TPP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that leads Afghanistan.The latest attack came less than two weeks after a suicide bomber struck outside a court in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people.The attacks have strained ties between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, with Pakistan accusing the Pakistani Taliban of operating freely inside Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.Pakistan’s government often accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to cross-border attacks by militants.Kabul denies the allegation, but tensions between the two sides escalated after Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for Oct. 9 drone strikes in Kabul and vowed retaliation. The ensuing fighting killed dozens of people, including soldiers, civilians and militants, before Qatar brokered a ceasefire on Oct. 19, which remains in place.It was followed by two rounds of talks in Istanbul, during which the two sides failed to reach an agreement after Afghanistan refused to give guarantees in writing about preventing the TTP from using Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan.Pakistan in recent weeks has stepped up operations against the TTP, killing dozens of insurgents near regions bordering Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.

PESHAWAR, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa —

Two suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of a security force in northwestern Pakistan on Monday morning, killing at least three officers and wounding five others, police and rescue officials said.

The attack took place in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said city Police Chief Saeed Ahmad.

Video above: Pakistani officials say the insurgent attack on a train has ended but some hostages are dead

He said one attacker detonated his explosives at the main gate of the provincial headquarters of the Federal Constabulary, while the second bomber was shot and killed by officers near the parking area.

According to Ahmad, a large number of security personnel were on open ground inside the headquarters for morning parade drills when the attack took place. “The terrorists involved in today’s attack were on foot and failed to reach the parade area and a timely response by our forces prevented a much larger tragedy,” he told The Associated Press.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have been blamed for similar previous assaults in the country, which has witnessed a surge in militant attacks. The TPP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that leads Afghanistan.

The latest attack came less than two weeks after a suicide bomber struck outside a court in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people.

Muhammad Zubair
Security officials and rescue workers gather at the site of a suicide bombing at the main gate of headquarters of the Federal Constabulary (FC) in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.

The attacks have strained ties between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, with Pakistan accusing the Pakistani Taliban of operating freely inside Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Pakistan’s government often accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to cross-border attacks by militants.

Kabul denies the allegation, but tensions between the two sides escalated after Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for Oct. 9 drone strikes in Kabul and vowed retaliation. The ensuing fighting killed dozens of people, including soldiers, civilians and militants, before Qatar brokered a ceasefire on Oct. 19, which remains in place.

It was followed by two rounds of talks in Istanbul, during which the two sides failed to reach an agreement after Afghanistan refused to give guarantees in writing about preventing the TTP from using Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan.

Pakistan in recent weeks has stepped up operations against the TTP, killing dozens of insurgents near regions bordering Afghanistan.

Associated Press writer Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.

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November 23, 2025
6.3 magnitude earthquake kills at least 10 people in Afghanistan

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A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 260 others, an Afghan health official said.According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake’s epicenter was located 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-southwest of Khulm, Afghanistan, at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles). It struck at 12:59 a.m. Monday local time, the USGS said.Video above: Earthquake destroys villages in eastern AfghanistanSharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said at least 10 people died and 260 were injured in the earthquake.Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management agency, said most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after receiving initial treatment.In Kabul, the Ministry of Defense announced that rescue and emergency aid teams have reached the areas affected by last night’s earthquake in the provinces of Balkh and Samangan, which suffered the most damage, and have begun rescue operations, including transporting the injured and assisting affected families.According to the Afghan officials, the earthquake was also felt in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.In Mazar-e-Sharif, footage on social media showed that the earthquake caused some damage to the historic Blue Mosque. Several bricks fell from the walls, but the mosque remained intact. The centuries-old site is one of Afghanistan’s most revered religious landmarks and a major gathering place during Islamic and cultural festivals.The quake was felt in the capital, Kabul, and several other provinces in Afghanistan. The Defense Ministry, in a statement, said pieces of rock falling from the mountains briefly blocked a main highway linking Kabul to Mazar-e-Sharif, but the road was later reopened. It said some people who were injured and trapped along the highway were transported to the hospital.Afghanistan has been rattled by a series of earthquakes in recent years and the impoverished country often faces difficulty in responding to such natural disasters, especially in remote regions.Buildings in Afghanistan tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made from mud bricks and wood. Many are poorly built.A magnitude 6.0 earthquake on Aug. 31, 2025, in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan killed more than 2,200 people. On Oct. 7, 2023, a magnitude 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks left at least 4,000 people dead, according to the Taliban government.

KABUL, Kabul —

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 260 others, an Afghan health official said.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake’s epicenter was located 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-southwest of Khulm, Afghanistan, at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles). It struck at 12:59 a.m. Monday local time, the USGS said.

Video above: Earthquake destroys villages in eastern Afghanistan

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said at least 10 people died and 260 were injured in the earthquake.

Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management agency, said most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after receiving initial treatment.

In Kabul, the Ministry of Defense announced that rescue and emergency aid teams have reached the areas affected by last night’s earthquake in the provinces of Balkh and Samangan, which suffered the most damage, and have begun rescue operations, including transporting the injured and assisting affected families.

According to the Afghan officials, the earthquake was also felt in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.

In Mazar-e-Sharif, footage on social media showed that the earthquake caused some damage to the historic Blue Mosque. Several bricks fell from the walls, but the mosque remained intact. The centuries-old site is one of Afghanistan’s most revered religious landmarks and a major gathering place during Islamic and cultural festivals.

The quake was felt in the capital, Kabul, and several other provinces in Afghanistan. The Defense Ministry, in a statement, said pieces of rock falling from the mountains briefly blocked a main highway linking Kabul to Mazar-e-Sharif, but the road was later reopened. It said some people who were injured and trapped along the highway were transported to the hospital.

Afghanistan has been rattled by a series of earthquakes in recent years and the impoverished country often faces difficulty in responding to such natural disasters, especially in remote regions.

Buildings in Afghanistan tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made from mud bricks and wood. Many are poorly built.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake on Aug. 31, 2025, in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan killed more than 2,200 people. On Oct. 7, 2023, a magnitude 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks left at least 4,000 people dead, according to the Taliban government.

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November 2, 2025
There Are Lots of Ways to Raise Capital. Here’s How 3 Inc. 5000 Founders Did It

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Looking to scale your business? You’re going to need money to do it—and unless you’re planning on bootstrapping indefinitely, that’ll probably involve some outside capital.

But with lots of different ways to secure third-party investment, from venture capital and private equity to grant programs and the public markets, how’s an entrepreneur to choose?

Attendees at this week’s Inc. 5000 conference in Phoenix got a first-hand look at some of the different paths that high-growth business leaders have followed to success during a panel on Thursday featuring creative growth capital strategies. On stage were three Inc. 5000 founders: Tony Lamb of the shaved ice truck business Kona Ice (No. 1935 in 2014), Vanessa Rissetto of the telehealth nutrition startup Culina Health (No. 564 this year) and Kim Vaccarella of the beach bag brand Bogg Bag (No. 434 in 2020).

All three founders achieved impressive scale with their startups, but financed them in very distinct ways. Vaccarella started Bogg Bag as a side hustle, using money from her kids’ college savings plan and husbands’ pension to kick things off before eventually inking a deal for a minority investment. Rissetto, meanwhile, built up Culina with referrals from doctor friends, then went down the venture capital path, closing a $7.9 million Series A late last year. And Lamb bootstrapped Kona Ice for a while before private equity eventually bought out his co-founder’s shares, leaving him with a 51 percent stake; following a second PE deal, he now owns around one-third of the company.

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People have very mixed feelings about PE funds, he told the Inc. 5000 audience, but “no one brings value like private equity brings value.”

Of course, not every financing opportunity bears fruit. Lamb said he fielded meetings with 15 different prospective investors before landing on the right one, while Rissetto turned down an early offer from a VC fund that said it would back Culina if it had $10 million EBITDA—to which Rissetto responded, “If I was $10 million EBITDA, I would not need you.”

Vaccarella also turned down a major deal with a public company because it would’ve given them full control over Bogg—something she was unwilling to sign over.

“I was not ready to give up my baby yet,” she says of the proposal, which would’ve been worth over $100 million had she taken it. She went into “a little bit of a depression” after rejecting the offer, she says, in part because she’d told her nieces and nephews that she would take them all to Disney when she thought the deal was going to happen.

But “better things come along,” she adds. Still, she encourages her fellow entrepreneurs to listen to their guts when it comes to working with the people on their cap table.

“They’re going to have a million ideas for you, because they’ve done it all a million times,” Vaccarella said. “The people that they were bringing in had so much more experience in bigger brands than Bogg Bag—but at the end of the day, what I do know is, I do know Bogg Bag. I know my customer. So I needed to forcefully, in the nicest way possible, come out and say, ‘No, this is the way I want to see it done. This is what we need to get back to.’”

She added: “Sometimes you lose yourself when you take on all those partners, and you’re intimidated by them. So finding that balance has been important for me.”

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Brian Contreras

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October 24, 2025
Israeli airstrike kills Houthi rebel prime minister in Yemen’s capital

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The Iranian-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.Related video above: Indian Navy acts as firefighters on container ship attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden (03/06/24)Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.The Israeli military said Thursday that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024, was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the rebels’ statement said.The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The group says the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Though most of the missiles launched by Yemen are intercepted by Israel or fragment mid-air, this has done little to deter the attacks.Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The rebels say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a U.S.-led coalition pounded the rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

The Iranian-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Related video above: Indian Navy acts as firefighters on container ship attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden (03/06/24)

Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.

The Israeli military said Thursday that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”

Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024, was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the rebels’ statement said.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The group says the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Though most of the missiles launched by Yemen are intercepted by Israel or fragment mid-air, this has done little to deter the attacks.

MOHAMMED HUWAIS
Yemen’s Houthi-led government’s Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi visits the offices of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Sanaa, to offer his condolences over the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Hamas movement, on Oct. 20, 2024.

Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The rebels say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a U.S.-led coalition pounded the rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.

The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

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August 30, 2025
Hundreds gather at California State Capitol to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day

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Hundreds of people gathered in front of the California State Capitol to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, creating a somber yet spirited celebration as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.”This day is a reminder to the whole world what freedom is about. And Ukraine fighting for their freedom,” said Vlad Skots, a Ukrainian American.Skots explained the evening’s significance, noting, “I would say we are not necessarily celebrating. We are here to remark the courage of the Ukrainian people. We are here to celebrate the American support.”While many Ukrainians want to celebrate, they are also mourning the lives lost in the fight to protect their freedom as the war continues.”The war today, it’s not only Ukrainian problem, that’s the global problem. And I deeply believe the United States will support Ukraine,” Skots said.Despite the current state of their country, attendees waved Ukrainian flags, danced to music and created a sense of community for refugees like Liana Lischenko, who arrived in Sacramento three years ago. “I remember my country, and I realize that I’m in Ukraine right now, and I have friends here who speak Ukrainian. And this is so kind,” Lischenko said.The gathering served as an important reminder of what they are still fighting for. “It’s not something particularly about country. It’s not about this group as a country only. No, that’s more than country. This is our value, our freedom, independence, what we stand for and what we will fight for,” Skots said.The event raised money for the Ukrainian military and featured multiple resource tents for those looking to get involved in the community.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the California State Capitol to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, creating a somber yet spirited celebration as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.

“This day is a reminder to the whole world what freedom is about. And Ukraine fighting for their freedom,” said Vlad Skots, a Ukrainian American.

Skots explained the evening’s significance, noting, “I would say we are not necessarily celebrating. We are here to remark the courage of the Ukrainian people. We are here to celebrate the American support.”

While many Ukrainians want to celebrate, they are also mourning the lives lost in the fight to protect their freedom as the war continues.

“The war today, it’s not only Ukrainian problem, that’s the global problem. And I deeply believe the United States will support Ukraine,” Skots said.

Despite the current state of their country, attendees waved Ukrainian flags, danced to music and created a sense of community for refugees like Liana Lischenko, who arrived in Sacramento three years ago.

“I remember my country, and I realize that I’m in Ukraine right now, and I have friends here who speak Ukrainian. And this is so kind,” Lischenko said.

The gathering served as an important reminder of what they are still fighting for.

“It’s not something particularly about country. It’s not about this group as a country only. No, that’s more than country. This is our value, our freedom, independence, what we stand for and what we will fight for,” Skots said.

The event raised money for the Ukrainian military and featured multiple resource tents for those looking to get involved in the community.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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August 24, 2025
Some Guard units in Washington are now carrying firearms, Pentagon says

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Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary.A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.Video above: President Trump greets, thanks National Guard and federal agents during trip into D.C.An Associated Press photographer on Sunday saw members of the South Carolina National Guard outside Union Station with holstered handguns.A statement from the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation’s capital said units began carrying their service weapons on Sunday and that the military’s rules say force should be used “only as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.” It said the force is committed to protecting “the safety and wellbeing” of Washington’s residents.The defense official who spoke to The Associated Press said only troops on certain missions would carry guns, and that would include those patrolling to establish a law enforcement presence throughout the capital. Those working in transportation or administration would likely remain unarmed.The development in Trump’s extraordinary effort to override the law enforcement authority of state and local governments comes as he is considering expanding the deployments to other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York.Earlier Sunday, the president threatened to expand his military deployments to more Democratic-led cities, responding to an offer by Maryland’s governor to join him in a tour of Baltimore by saying he might instead “send in the ‘troops.’” He earlier said he was considering deploying troops to Chicago and New York.Thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now patrolling the district’s streets, drawing sporadic protests from local residents.Trump made the threat to Baltimore in a spat with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat who has criticized Trump’s unprecedented flex of federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington. Moore last week invited Trump to visit his state to discuss public safety and walk the streets. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Moore asked “in a rather nasty and provocative tone,” and then raised the specter of repeating the National Guard deployment he made in Los Angeles over the objections of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom. Video below: National Guard deployment increases in Washington, D.C.”Wes Moore’s record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his figures on crime like many of the other ‘Blue States’ are doing,” Trump wrote, as he cited a pejorative nickname he uses frequently for the California governor. “But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime.”Moore said he invited Trump to Maryland “because he seems to enjoy living in this blissful ignorance” about improving crime rates in Baltimore. After a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide trends, Baltimore’s violent crime rate has fallen. The 200 homicides reported last year were down 24% from the prior year and 42% since 2021, according to city data. Between 2023 and 2024, overall violent crime was down nearly 8% and property crimes down 20%.”The president is spending all of his time talking about me,” Moore said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I’m spending my time talking about the people I serve.”Trump is “spouting off a bunch of lies about public safety in Maryland,” Moore said in a fundraising email. In Washington, where Trump is surging National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers, a patchwork of protests popped up throughout the city over the weekend, while some normally bustling corners were noticeably quiet. In some of the most populated areas, residents walked by small groups of national guardsmen, often talking among themselves. Videos of arrests and detainments circulated on social media.Trump has said Chicago and New York are most likely his next targets, eliciting strong pushback from Democratic leaders in both states. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon has spent weeks preparing for an operation in Chicago that would include National Guard troops and potentially active-duty forces.Asked about the Post report, the White House pointed to Trump’s earlier comments discussing his desire to expand his use of military forces to target local crime.”I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”Trump has repeatedly described some of the nation’s largest cities — run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority populations — as dangerous and filthy. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is Black, as is Moore. The District of Columbia and New York also have Black mayors.The Rev. Al Sharpton, speaking during a religious event Sunday at Howard University in Washington, said the Guard’s presence in the nation’s capital was not about crime: “This is about profiling us.””This is laced with bigotry and racism,” he later elaborated to reporters. “Not one white mayor has been designated. And I think this is a civil rights issue, a race issue, and an issue of D.C. statehood.”Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said there is no emergency warranting the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.”Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families,” Pritzker wrote on X. “We’ll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect Illinoisans.”Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city doesn’t need “a military occupation” and would sue to block one. He said there has been no communication from the White House about a possible military deployment.”We’re not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant,” Johnson said Sunday on MSNBC. “I can tell you this, the city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny, resisting those who wish to undermine the interests of working people.” Cooper reported from Phoenix.

WASHINGTON —

Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary.

A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.

Video above: President Trump greets, thanks National Guard and federal agents during trip into D.C.

An Associated Press photographer on Sunday saw members of the South Carolina National Guard outside Union Station with holstered handguns.

A statement from the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation’s capital said units began carrying their service weapons on Sunday and that the military’s rules say force should be used “only as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.” It said the force is committed to protecting “the safety and wellbeing” of Washington’s residents.

The defense official who spoke to The Associated Press said only troops on certain missions would carry guns, and that would include those patrolling to establish a law enforcement presence throughout the capital. Those working in transportation or administration would likely remain unarmed.

The development in Trump’s extraordinary effort to override the law enforcement authority of state and local governments comes as he is considering expanding the deployments to other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York.

Earlier Sunday, the president threatened to expand his military deployments to more Democratic-led cities, responding to an offer by Maryland’s governor to join him in a tour of Baltimore by saying he might instead “send in the ‘troops.’” He earlier said he was considering deploying troops to Chicago and New York.

Thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now patrolling the district’s streets, drawing sporadic protests from local residents.

Trump made the threat to Baltimore in a spat with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat who has criticized Trump’s unprecedented flex of federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington. Moore last week invited Trump to visit his state to discuss public safety and walk the streets.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Moore asked “in a rather nasty and provocative tone,” and then raised the specter of repeating the National Guard deployment he made in Los Angeles over the objections of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.

Video below: National Guard deployment increases in Washington, D.C.

“Wes Moore’s record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his figures on crime like many of the other ‘Blue States’ are doing,” Trump wrote, as he cited a pejorative nickname he uses frequently for the California governor. “But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime.”

Moore said he invited Trump to Maryland “because he seems to enjoy living in this blissful ignorance” about improving crime rates in Baltimore. After a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide trends, Baltimore’s violent crime rate has fallen. The 200 homicides reported last year were down 24% from the prior year and 42% since 2021, according to city data. Between 2023 and 2024, overall violent crime was down nearly 8% and property crimes down 20%.

“The president is spending all of his time talking about me,” Moore said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I’m spending my time talking about the people I serve.”

Trump is “spouting off a bunch of lies about public safety in Maryland,” Moore said in a fundraising email.

In Washington, where Trump is surging National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers, a patchwork of protests popped up throughout the city over the weekend, while some normally bustling corners were noticeably quiet. In some of the most populated areas, residents walked by small groups of national guardsmen, often talking among themselves. Videos of arrests and detainments circulated on social media.

Trump has said Chicago and New York are most likely his next targets, eliciting strong pushback from Democratic leaders in both states. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon has spent weeks preparing for an operation in Chicago that would include National Guard troops and potentially active-duty forces.

Asked about the Post report, the White House pointed to Trump’s earlier comments discussing his desire to expand his use of military forces to target local crime.

“I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”

Trump has repeatedly described some of the nation’s largest cities — run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority populations — as dangerous and filthy. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is Black, as is Moore. The District of Columbia and New York also have Black mayors.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, speaking during a religious event Sunday at Howard University in Washington, said the Guard’s presence in the nation’s capital was not about crime: “This is about profiling us.”

“This is laced with bigotry and racism,” he later elaborated to reporters. “Not one white mayor has been designated. And I think this is a civil rights issue, a race issue, and an issue of D.C. statehood.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said there is no emergency warranting the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.

“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families,” Pritzker wrote on X. “We’ll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect Illinoisans.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city doesn’t need “a military occupation” and would sue to block one. He said there has been no communication from the White House about a possible military deployment.

“We’re not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant,” Johnson said Sunday on MSNBC. “I can tell you this, the city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny, resisting those who wish to undermine the interests of working people.”

Cooper reported from Phoenix.

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August 24, 2025
Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital targeting Iran-backed rebels, local TV station says

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Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, early on Sunday, just days after the country’s Iran-backed rebels fired cluster munitions toward Israel, according to a local media report.The rebel Houthi-run al-Masirah channel reported the strikes, the first to hit the rebel-held Sanaa since Aug. 17, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels. Israel has not confirmed Sunday’s attack.The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.They are usually intercepted before landing in Israel.An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the projectile fired from Yemen towards Israel on Friday night marked a new threat. The missile was a cluster munition — a projectile that is supposed to detonate into multiple explosives.It was the first time the Houthis had launched a cluster bomb at Israel since the militant group began launching rockets towards Israel in 2023, the official said. The use of cluster bombs makes it harder for Israel to intercept and also represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official said.The Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passes each year.From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war and later became the target of an intense, weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.In May, the United States announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

CAIRO —

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, early on Sunday, just days after the country’s Iran-backed rebels fired cluster munitions toward Israel, according to a local media report.

The rebel Houthi-run al-Masirah channel reported the strikes, the first to hit the rebel-held Sanaa since Aug. 17, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels. Israel has not confirmed Sunday’s attack.

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.

They are usually intercepted before landing in Israel.

An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the projectile fired from Yemen towards Israel on Friday night marked a new threat. The missile was a cluster munition — a projectile that is supposed to detonate into multiple explosives.

It was the first time the Houthis had launched a cluster bomb at Israel since the militant group began launching rockets towards Israel in 2023, the official said. The use of cluster bombs makes it harder for Israel to intercept and also represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official said.

The Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passes each year.

From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war and later became the target of an intense, weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In May, the United States announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.

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August 24, 2025
After passing stress tests, big banks plan to increase dividends

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JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup were among the big banks that announced plans to increase their dividends following the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests.
Bloomberg

The nation’s eight largest banks will all increase their dividends following affirmation from the Federal Reserve that they would have plenty of capital to power through a worst-case economic scenario.

Bank of America , Citigroup , Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase , Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial Services Group, U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo

each announced late Friday that they plan to add to the size of shareholders payouts. Bank of New York Mellon, State Street Corp. and Fifth Third Bancorp, which are also among the country’s 25 largest banks, signaled the same.

The announcements come on the heels of the Wednesday release of the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test results. The Fed found that the 31 large and midsize banks it tested could maintain capital levels above regulatory minimums when run through a recession scenario, but not without strain.

The tests, which modeled a severe global recession with high unemployment and a real estate crisis, found that banks could see losses of nearly $685 billion. Some banks’ balance sheets took a bigger hypothetical hit than others.

The annual stress tests results guide the Fed in setting banks’ so-called stress capital buffers, which are added on top of a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5% to calculate minimum capital requirements. Some of the largest banks — including Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan, and Wells — are on the hook for an additional capital surcharge of at least 1%.

In practice, minimum current capital requirements range from 7% to nearly 14%, though many banks maintain levels far above their compliance baselines, especially amid policy uncertainty. The so-called Basel III endgame, a proposal from the Fed, could boost the big banks’ minimum capital requirements by about 16%, but movement on the rule is on pause.

Roughly half of the 31 banks that were stress-tested this year released statements after the stock market closed on Friday about their preliminary stress capital buffers. Nine of those companies said that their preliminary stress capital buffer is larger than last year’s, while the buffer was smaller at four banks, and it was unchanged at three more.

The Fed is expected to finalize the final stress capital buffers for the stress-tested banks by Aug. 31.

What the big banks said

Goldman Sachs reported one of the biggest increases in its stress capital buffer, as that number rose from 5.5% last year to 6.4%.

“This increase does not seem to reflect the strategic evolution of our business and the continuous progress we’ve made to reduce our stress loss intensity, which the Federal Reserve had recognized in the last three tests,” Chairman and CEO David Solomon said in a press release. “We will engage with our regulator to better understand their determinations.”

BofA also said that its stress capital buffer will rise this autumn. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based megabank is planning for a buffer of 3.2%, up from 2.5% currently. Wells Fargo said that it expects its stress capital buffer to rise from 2.9% to 3.8%, while JPMorgan announced that it anticipates that its buffer will increase from 2.9% to 3.3%.

The new stress capital buffers at all of the affected banks will be effective from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30 of next year.

Among the four U.S. megabanks, only Citi’s buffer is expected to decrease, moving from 4.3% to 4.1%. The decrease comes amid Citi’s “ongoing efforts to simplify” itself, CEO Jane Fraser noted in a press release Friday.

Under Fraser, the New York-based bank, which has far-flung operations, is working on a massive, multiyear restructuring that involves selling or winding down lagging businesses and eliminating 20,000 jobs, or about 10% of its total workforce, by the end of 2026.

Citi is planning to hike its quarterly dividend from 53 cents to 56 cents, but it did not commit Friday to restarting share buybacks. Instead, the bank said that it will “continue to assess share repurchases on a quarter-to-quarter basis.”

JPMorgan was the lone bank that announced plans Friday to both increase its dividend and authorize a new share buyback plan. The $4.1 trillion-asset bank said it would raise its dividend by 10 cents, to $1.25 per share, for the third quarter.

“The board’s intended dividend increase, our second this year, would represent a sustainable level of capital distribution to our shareholders, which is supported by our strong financial performance and continuous investments in our business,” Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a prepared statement.

He added that the share repurchase program, which could total $30 billion, provides “additional flexibility to return excess capital to our shareholders over time, as and when appropriate.”

The outlook for regional banks

Among the 16 banks that released information about their stress capital buffers on Friday, Truist Financial is one of the four whose buffer will decrease. The $535 billion-asset company said its preliminary buffer — 2.9%, down from 2.8% currently — does not include the impact of the recent sale of its insurance arm or a balance sheet repositioning that took place in early May.

Truist plans to keep its common stock dividend flat, but the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company also announced that its board of directors has authorized a $5 billion share repurchase program through 2026 that will commence during the third quarter of this year. In April, Truist executives said they hoped to “resume meaningful share repurchases later in the year.“

Citizens Financial Group, which passed the Fed’s stress test with the second-lowest projected capital level out of the 31 banks tested, announced it would more than double the size of its share buyback plan. The Providence, Rhode Island-based company also said that its stress capital buffer increased from 4% to 4.5%.

CEO John Woods said in a statement that the Fed’s test modeled a decline in pre-provision net revenue, a common profit metric in the industry, that was much worse than what Citizens projected in its own self-exam. The $220.4 billion-asset asset bank said that it expects its upcoming second-quarter CET1 ratio to be 160 basis points above its regulatory minimum of 9%.

Citizens didn’t mention a shift on dividends, but said it will “assess potential changes to its capital distributions as conditions warrant.”

Also on Friday, Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third announced that it plans to recommend a two-cent per share increase to its quarterly cash dividend on its common stock in September, “consistent with its planned capital actions submitted to the Federal Reserve.”

Fifth Third’s stress capital buffer ticked up from 2.5% to 3.2%, but the $214.5 billion-asset bank noted that its CET1 ratio of 10.5% is well above its required minimum, which as of last year was 7%.

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Catherine Leffert

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June 28, 2024
Navigating the Complexities of Cannabis Capital – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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Navigating the Complexities of Cannabis Capital – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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Sundie Seefried

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May 1, 2024
Housing Cannabis: A Talk with NewLake CEO Anthony Coniglio – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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Housing Cannabis: A Talk with NewLake CEO Anthony Coniglio – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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Tom Hymes

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March 5, 2024
Oaktree Capital calls commercial real estate ‘most acute area of risk’ right now

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Distressed-debt giant Oaktree Capital sees big opportunities in credit unfolding over the next few years as a wall of debt comes due.

Oaktree’s incoming co-chief executives Armen Panossian, head of performing credit, and Bob O’Leary, portfolio manager for global opportunities, see a roughly $13 trillion market that will be ripe for the picking.

Within that realm is high-yield bonds, BBB-rated bonds, leveraged loans and private credit — four areas of the market that have only mushroomed from their nearly $3 trillion size right before the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.

“Clearly, the most acute area of risk right now is commercial real estate,” the co-CEOs said in a Wednesday client note. “That’s because the maturity wall is already upon us and it’s not going to abate for several years.”

More than $1 trillion of commercial real-estate loans are set to come due in 2024 and 2025, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A retreat in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y,
to about 4.1% on Wednesday from a 5% peak in October, has provided some relief even though many borrowers likely will still struggle to refinance.

Related: Commercial real estate a top threat to financial system in 2024, U.S. regulators say

“There’s a need for capital, especially for office properties where there are vacancies, rental growth hasn’t materialized, or the rate of borrowing has gone up materially over the last three years. This capital may or may not be readily available, and for certain types of office properties, it absolutely isn’t available,” the Oaktree team said.

With that backdrop, the firm expects to dust off its playbook from the financial crisis and acquire portfolios of commercial real-estate loans from banks, but also plans to participate in “credit-risk transfer” deals that help lenders reduce exposure.

Oaktree also sees opportunities brewing in private credit, as well as in high-yield and leveraged loans, where “several hundred” of the estimated 1,500 companies that have issued such debt are likely “to be just fine” even if defaults rise, they said.

Another area to watch will be the roughly $26 trillion Treasury market, where Oaktree has some concerns “about where the 10-year Treasury yield goes from here” — given not only the U.S. budget deficit and the deluge of supply that investors face, but also how foreign buyers, once the “largest owners in prior years, may be tapped out.”

Related: Here are two reasons why the 10-year Treasury yield is back above 4%

U.S. stocks
SPX

DJIA

COMP
fell Wednesday after strong retail-sales data for December pointed to a resilient U.S. economy, despite the Federal Reserve having kept its policy rate at a 22-year high since July.

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January 17, 2024
Fed could be the Grinch who 'stole' cash earning 5%. What a Powell pivot means for investors.

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Yields on 3-month
BX:TMUBMUSD03M
and 6-month
BX:TMUBMUSD06M
Treasury bills have been seeing yields north of 5% since March when Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse ignited fears of a broader instability in the U.S. banking sector from rapid-fire Fed rate hikes.

Six months later, the Fed, in its final meeting of the year, opted to keep its policy rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5%, a 22-year high, but Powell also finally signaled that enough was likely enough, and that a policy pivot to interest rate cuts was likely next year.

Importantly, the central bank chair also said he doesn’t want to make the mistake of keeping borrowing costs too high for too long. Powell’s comments helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
above 37,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday, while the blue-chip index on Friday scored a third record close in a row.

“People were really shocked by Powell’s comments,” said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist, at PGIM Fixed Income. Rather than dampen rate-cut exuberance building in markets, Powell instead opened the door to rate cuts by midyear, he said.

New York Fed President John Williams on Friday tried to temper speculation about rate cuts, but as Tipp argued, Williams also affirmed the central bank’s new “dot plot” reflecting a path to lower rates.

“Eventually, you end up with a lower fed-funds rate,” Tipp said in an interview. The risk is that cuts come suddenly, and can erase 5% yields on T-bills, money-market funds and other “cash-like” investments in the blink of an eye.

Swift pace of Fed cuts

When the Fed cut rates in the past 30 years it has been swift about it, often bringing them down quickly.

Fed rate-cutting cycles since the ’90s trace the sharp pullback also seen in 3-month T-bill rates, as shown below. They fell to about 1% from 6.5% after the early 2000 dot-com stock bust. They also dropped to almost zero from 5% in the teeth of the global financial crisis in 2008, and raced back down to a bottom during the COVID crisis in 2020.

Rates on 3-month Treasury bills dropped suddenly in past Fed rate-cutting cycles

FRED data

“I don’t think we are moving, in any way, back to a zero interest-rate world,” said Tim Horan, chief investment officer fixed income at Chilton Trust. “We are going to still be in a world where real interest rates matter.”

Burt Horan also said the market has reacted to Powell’s pivot signal by “partying on,” pointing to stocks that were back to record territory and benchmark 10-year Treasury yield’s
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
that has dropped from a 5% peak in October to 3.927% Friday, the lowest yield in about five months.

“The question now, in my mind,” Horan said, is how does the Fed orchestrate a pivot to rate cuts if financial conditions continue to loosen meanwhile.

“When they begin, the are going to continue with rate cuts,” said Horan, a former Fed staffer. With that, he expects the Fed to remain very cautious before pulling the trigger on the first cut of the cycle.

“What we are witnessing,” he said, “is a repositioning for that.”

Pivoting on the pivot

The most recent data for money-market funds shows a shift, even if temporary, out of “cash-like” assets.

The rush into money-market funds, which continued to attract record levels of assets this year after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, fell in the past week by about $11.6 billion to roughly $5.9 trillion through Dec. 13, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Investors also pulled about $2.6 billion out of short and intermediate government and Treasury fixed income exchange-traded funds in the past week, according to the latest LSEG Lipper data.

Tipp at PGIM Fixed Income said he expects to see another “ping pong” year in long-term yields, akin to the volatility of 2023, with the 10-year yield likely to hinge on economic data, and what it means for the Fed as it works on the last leg of getting inflation down to its 2% annual target.

“The big driver in bonds is going to be the yield,” Tipp said. “If you are extending duration in bonds, you have a lot more assurance of earning an income stream over people who stay in cash.”

Molly McGown, U.S. rates strategist at TD Securities, said that economic data will continue to be a driving force in signaling if the Fed’s first rate cut of this cycle happens sooner or later.

With that backdrop, she expects next Friday’s reading of the personal-consumption expenditures price index, or PCE, for November to be a focus for markets, especially with Wall Street likely to be more sparsely staffed in the final week before the Christmas holiday.

The PCE is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, and it eased to a 3% annual rate in October from 3.4% a month before, but still sits above the Fed’s 2% annual target.

“Our view is that the Fed will hold rates at these levels in first half of 2024, before starting cutting rates in second half and 2025,” said Sid Vaidya, U.S. Wealth Chief Investment Strategist at TD Wealth.

U.S. housing data due on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week also will be a focus for investors, particularly with 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling below 7% for the first time since August.

The major U.S. stock indexes logged a seventh straight week of gains. The Dow advanced 2.9% for the week, while the S&P 500
SPX
gained 2.5%, ending 1.6% away from its Jan. 3, 2022 record close, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP
advanced 2.9% for the week and the small-cap Russell 2000 index
RUT
outperformed, gaining 5.6% for the week.

Read: Russell 2000 on pace for best month versus S&P 500 in nearly 3 years

Year Ahead: The VIX says stocks are ‘reliably in a bull market’ heading into 2024. Here’s how to read it.

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December 17, 2023
'Smidcap' companies are becoming a big deal. Here's a look at some of the best.

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The stocks of long-neglected small companies are finally showing signs of life as the market rally broadens. But these tiny companies still remain vastly undervalued. So, they are one of the best buys in the stock market right now.

Small- and medium-cap companies, or smidcaps, have not been this cheap since the Great Financial Crisis 15 years ago. “Smidcaps relative to large caps look very attractive,” says says portfolio manager Aram Green, at the ClearBridge Select Fund LBFIX, which specializes in this space. “Over the long term you will be rewarded.”

Green is worth listening to because he is one of the better fund managers in the smidcap arena. ClearBridge Select beats both its midcap growth category and Morningstar U.S. midcap growth index over the past five- and 10 years, says Morningstar Direct. This is no easy feat, in a mutual fund world where so many funds lag their benchmarks.

The timing for smidcap outperformance seems about right, since these stocks do well coming out of recessions. Technically, we have not recently had a recession. But there was an economic slowdown in the first half of the year, and the U.S. did have an earnings recession earlier this year. So that may count.

To get smidcap exposure, consider the funds of outperforming managers like Green, and if you want to throw in some individual stocks, Green is a great guide on how to find the best names in this space.

I recently caught up with him to see what we can learn about analyzing smidcaps. Below are four tactics that contribute to his fund’s outperformance, with nine company examples to consider.

1. Look for an entrepreneurial mindset: Green’s background gives him an edge in investing. He’s an entrepreneur who co-founded a software company called iCollege in 1997. It was bought out by BlackBoard in 2001. He knows how to understand innovative trends, identify a good idea, secure capital and quickly ramp up a business. This experience gives him a “private market mindset” that helps him pick stocks to this day.

“Founder-run companies regularly outperform.”

Green looks for managers with an entrepreneurial mindset. You can glean this from company calls and filings, but it helps a lot to meet management — something most individual investors cannot do. But Green offers a shortcut, one which I regularly use, as well. Look for companies that are run by founders. This will give you exposure to managers with entrepreneurial spirit.

Here, Green cites the marketing software company HubSpot
HUBS,
+0.79%,
a 1.9% fund position as of the end of the third quarter. It was founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology college buddies Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. They’re on the company’s board, and Shah is chief technology officer.

Academic studies confirm founder-run companies regularly outperform. My guess is this is because many founders never lose the entrepreneurial spirit, no matter how easy it would be to quit and sip Mai Tai’s on a beach after making a bundle.

In the private market, Green cites Databricks, a data management and analytics company with an AI angle. This competitor of Snowflake
SNOW,
-0.92%
is likely to go public in 2024. If you feel like an outsider because you lack access to private market investing, note that Green says he typically buys more exposure to private companies on the initial public offering (IPO), and then in the market. “We like to spend time with them when they are private so we can pounce when they are public,” Green says.

2. Look for organic growth: When companies make acquisitions their stocks often decline, and for good reason. Managers make mistakes in acquisitions because they overestimate “synergies.” Or they get wrapped up in ego-enhancing empire building.

“We favor entrepreneurial management teams that do not make a lot of acquisitions to grow, but use their resources to develop new products to keep extending the runway,” says Green.

Here, he cites ServiceNow
NOW,
+2.62%,
which has grown by “extending the runway” with new offerings developed internally. It started off supporting information technology service desks, and has expanded into operations management of servers and security, onboarding employees, data analytics, and software that powers 911 emergency call systems. Green obviously thinks there is a lot more upside to come, given that this is an overweight position, at 4.6% of the portfolio (the fund’s biggest holding).

Green also puts the “Amazon.com of Latin America” MercadoLibre
MELI,
+0.17%
in this category, because it continues to expand geographically and in areas such as logistics and payment systems. “They have really morphed into a fintech company,” Green says. He puts HubSpot and the marketing software company Klaviyo
KVYO,
-5.73%
in this category, too.

3. Look for differentiated business models: Green likes companies with offerings that are special and different. That means they’ll take market share, and face minimal competition. They’ll also enjoy pricing power. “This leads to high margins. You don’t have someone beating you up on price,” he says.

Green cites the decking company Trex
TREX,
+0.10%,
which offers composite decking and railing made from recycled materials. This gives it an eco-friendly allure. Compared to wood, composite material lasts longer and requires less maintenance. It costs more up front but less over the long term. Says Green: “The alternative decking market has taken about 20% of the market and that can get to 50%.”

Of course, entrepreneurs notice success, and try to imitate it. That’s a risk here. But Trex has an edge in its understanding of how to make the composite material. It has a strong brand. And it is building relationships with big-box retailers Home Depot and Lowe’s. These qualities may keep competitors at bay.

4. Put some ballast in your portfolio: Green likes to keep the fund’s portfolio balanced by sector, size, and business dynamic. So the portfolio includes the food distributor Performance Food Group
PFGC,
-1.69%.
The company is posting mid-single digit sale growth, expanding market share and paying down debt. Energy drinks company Monster
MNST,
-0.85%
also offers ballast. Monster’s popular product line up helps the company to take share and enjoy pricing power, Green says.

It’s admittedly unusual to see a food companies in a portfolio loaded with high-growth tech innovators. But for Green, it’s all part of the game plan. “Rapid growth, disrupting businesses are not going to work year in year out. There are times they fall out of favor, like 2022. So, having that balance is important because it keeps you invested in the equity market.”

In other words, keeping some ballast means you’re less likely to get shaken out by sharp declines in high-growth and high-beta tech innovators when trouble strikes the market.

Michael Brush is a columnist for MarketWatch. At the time of publication, he owned AMZN, TSLA and MELI. Brush has suggested AMZN, TSLA, NOW, MELI, HD and LOW in his stock newsletter, Brush Up on Stocks. Follow him on X @mbrushstocks

More: Nvidia, Disney and Tesla are among 2023’s buzziest stocks. Can they continue to sizzle in 2024?

Also read: Presidential election years like 2024 are usually winners for U.S. stocks

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December 17, 2023
UiPath’s stock soars after profit, revenue and ARR rise above forecasts

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Shares of UiPath Inc. soared late Thursday after the automation-software company reported fiscal-third-quarter earnings and revenue that rose above expectations, amid strength in the licenses and subscription-services businesses.

The stock
PATH,
-0.55%
shot up 11% in after-hours trading, putting it on a path to trade at the highest closing levels seen since April 2022.

Net losses for the quarter to Oct. 31 narrowed to $31.5 million, or 6 cents a share, from $57.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as stock-based compensation expenses, adjusted earnings per share rose to 12 cents from 5 cents to beat the FactSet consensus of 7 cents.

Total revenue grew 24% to $325.9 million, above the FactSet consensus of $315.6 million.

Licenses revenue jumped 25.3% to $148.1 million, well above the FactSet consensus of $137.5 million, and subscription-services revenue climbed 28.7% to $167.5 million to top expectations of $166.9 million. Meanwhile, professional services and other revenue dropped 28.4% to $10.3 million, to miss forecasts of $11.2 million.

Annual recurring revenue increased 24% to $1.38 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.36 billion.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of $381 million to $386 million, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $383 million.

The stock, which fell 0.6% during Thursday’s regular session after closing the previous session at a 15-month high, has run up 26.6% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF
XSW,
-0.60%
has tacked on 1.3% and the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.38%
has edged up 1.2%.

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November 30, 2023