Friday January 9th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Illegal criminals released into US by Biden admin ID’d as Portland Tren de Aragua gangbangers shot while trying to mow down feds
The married Tren de Aragua gangbangers who were shot after they tried
to mow down ICE agents in Portland were let loose by the Biden
administration despite lengthy rap sheets, Homeland Security officials
said.
A CBP agent opened fire on Venezuelan gangsters Luis David Nico Moncada
and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras after they “weaponized” their
car fleeing a traffic stop Thursday, said a DHS statement.
Moncada, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, entered the US
illegally in 2022 but was released by the Biden administration, the
Department of Homeland Security announced Friday.
Since being cut loose, he’s been busted for drunk driving, unauthorized
use of a vehicle and has a final order of removal, the agency said.
Zambrano-Contreras allegedly “played an active role in a Tren de Aragua
prostitution ring,” according to DHS. She entered the US in 2023 near
El Paso, Texas, and was also let go by the Biden administration. She
was involved in a previous shooting in Portland, DHS said.
Renee Nicole Good part of 'ICE Watch' group, DHS sources say
Renee Nicole Good was member of ICE Watch group that monitors and interferes with immigration enforcement operations
Renee Nicole Good, the mother of three shot and killed by a federal
agent after allegedly swerving her car toward him, worked as a
Minneapolis-based immigration activist serving as a member of "ICE
Watch," federal sources told Fox News.
Good died on Wednesday after allegedly moving her car toward agents in
what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described as an act of
"self-defense."
Homeland Security sources told Fox News that the group aims to monitor,
track, interfere and oppose ongoing federal immigration enforcement
operations. The group is present in multiple sanctuary cities across
the country.
While the group typically refers to themselves as "legal observers,"
sources said members will often attempt to interfere with federal
operations.
Iran regime cuts nationwide internet access as protests claim 44 lives across major cities
President Trump renewed his warning to Iran over its treatment of protesters
Iran has been plunged into a nationwide internet blackout as
anti-regime protests intensify, severely restricting communication
across the country as demonstrations enter their second week and the
death toll reaches 44, according to reports.
Live network data from NetBlocks showed internet traffic collapsing in
the troubled nation on Thursday evening, shortly after calls circulated
for mass protests at 8 p.m. local time.
Before news of the latest killings came in, President Donald Trump, in
an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, once again warned the regime
if it starts killing people, "they will be hit very hard."
Iran's Supreme Leader: Protesters 'Ruining Their Own Streets' to Please Trump
Iran's supreme leader signaled Friday that security forces would crack
down on protesters after they screamed from windows and marched through
the streets overnight, directly challenging President Donald Trump's
pledge to support those peacefully demonstrating.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump as having hands
"stained with the blood of Iranians" as supporters shouted "Death to
America!" in footage aired by Iranian state television. State media
later repeatedly referred to demonstrators as "terrorists," setting the
stage for a violent crackdown like those that have followed other
nationwide protests in recent years.
Protesters are "ruining their own streets ... in order to please the
president of the United States," Khamenei said to a crowd at his
compound in Tehran. "Because he said that he would come to their aid.
He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead."
Trump Meets with Oil Executives at the White House on Friday, Seeking Investments in Venezuela
President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White
House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to
revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of
petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in
a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader
Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the
move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing three
tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the
sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned
Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.
It's also part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low.
At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the
incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential
powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he
can bring down energy prices.
Trump Halts Venezuela Strikes After Prisoner Releases
President Donald Trump said he has "canceled the previously expected
second Wave of Attacks" on Venezuela due to the country's release of
political prisoners and its cooperation in rebuilding its oil and gas
infrastructure.
In a Truth Social post early Friday, Trump said Venezuela's decision to
free "large numbers of political prisoners" is a sign the country is
"Seeking Peace," calling it "a very important and smart gesture."
Trump added that Washington and Caracas are "working well together,"
particularly on rebuilding the oil-and-gas infrastructure in a "much
bigger, better, and more modern form."
Because of that cooperation, Trump said he has called off the
"previously expected second Wave of Attacks," though he emphasized that
U.S. ships "will stay in place for safety and security purposes."
Russia Used New Oreshnik Ballistic Missile in Major Attack on Ukraine
Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles
in a large-scale overnight attack, officials said Friday, killing at
least four people. For only the second time, it used a new ballistic
missile that it says flies at 10 times the speed of sound and is
unstoppable.
The intense barrage and the launching of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik
missile came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress
toward agreeing on how to defend the country from further Moscow
aggression if a peace deal is struck to end Russia's almost 4-year-old
invasion.
Months of U.S.-led peace efforts have failed to stop the fighting,
however. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has made
significant progress on the terms of a possible peace settlement in
talks with Washington envoys. But Moscow has given no public signal it
is willing to budge from its demands.
Trump suggests US military will hit cartels on 'land' in Mexico
President Donald Trump suggested in a new interview that the United
States military could launch land strikes on drug cartels in Mexico.
"We've knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water. And we are
going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels," Trump
told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview aired Thursday night.
"The cartels are running Mexico, it's very sad to watch and see what's happened to that country," Trump said.
Trump's comment comes less than a week after U.S. forces struck
Venezuela and captured its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, and
his wife, Cilia Flores.
With Trump on board, Congress needs to pass tough Russia sanctions NOW
Yay: President Donald Trump has come out in support of the bipartisan
bill to impose “secondary sanctions” on Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, take
note: This is a chance for fast bipartisan action that could ease the
bitter divisions in Washington.
The White House has confirmed Sen. Lindsey Graham’s report that Trump now backs the toughened sanctions bill.
Whatever straw finally broke the president’s patience with Putin —
whether Moscow’s blistering rejection of his Ukraine peace plan or the
Kremlin’s efforts to help a “ghost fleet” oil tanker evade US forces —
Congress can finally make Vlad feel enough pain to find making peace
his best option.
MIKE POMPEO: Trump can win it all in Venezuela and stop a Maduro-like sequel
White House needs to be careful working with Venezuela's interim president
The capture of Venezuelan tyrant and narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro is
a triumph for the United States, and one for which President Donald
Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the great warriors who
executed last Saturday’s mission deserve every plaudit. Thanks to this
administration, we could be looking at a future in which Venezuelan
drugs are off American streets, migrants return home to build a better
future in a free and prosperous Venezuela, and Maduro’s authoritarian
allies in Beijing, Tehran and Moscow no longer have a beachhead from
which to wreak havoc throughout the Americas.
But that immense achievement could evaporate if we don’t get the next part right.
According to reports, the administration is demanding that interim
President Delcy Rodriguez commit to cracking down on drug trafficking;
kicking out foreign operatives hostile to the United States; ending the
sale of oil to U.S. adversaries; and, eventually, facilitating free
elections.
