Wednesday morning news: January 7, 2026

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Debate over Maduro operation » Debate continues on Capitol hill over the operation in Venezuela that captured dictator Nicolas Maduro.

While Republicans defend the action, Democrats continue to criticize the operation and voice concerns going forward.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

SCHUMER:  When the United States engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation building, it always ends up hurting the United States. I left the briefing feeling that it would again.

But fellow Democratic Sen. Jean Shaheen has a different take, saying she does not see this as traditional forced regime change.

SHAHEEN:   Despite removing Maduro, this was not regime change. We haven't seen the, the people around Maduro have been removed or that they're gonna behave differently. So that's the question. What's gonna happen next?

The Trump administration says this was a law enforcement action to bring Maduro to justice. And as for the future of Venezuela, the United States will use continued pressure —and the threat of possible further force— to compel the Venezuelan regime to change its behavior.

GOP retreat » The huddled with Republican lawmakers at GOP retreat Tuesday to strategize ahead of this year’s midterm election.

There he laid out what he called “a roadmap to victory” GOP lawmakers, calling on them to highlight successes from the past year. Among them, he said, was that weekend operation in Venezuela.

TRUMP:  But the United States proved once again that we have the most powerful, most lethal, most sophisticated, and most fearsome. It's a fearsome military on planet Earth, and it's not even close.

US forces captured Maduro and his wife at a Venezuelan military base over the weekend. They now face federal drug trafficking charges in the United States.

Congressman dies » President Trump also remarked on the death of GOP Congressman Doug LaMalfa of California. He reportedly died during an unspecified emergency surgery.

TRUMP:  He was a fantastic person, man, that that was a quick one. I don't know. I don't know quite yet what happened, but boy, it's a tough one. He was, he was just with us. He was our friend. All of us, every one of us.

The 65-year-old congressman served seven terms, representing Northern California’s 1st District.

His death further trims the narrow GOP majority in the House from six seats to five.

LaMalfa was a former state lawmaker and rice farmer.

California’s governor will call a special election to fill the seat.

Ukraine latest » In France:

SOUND: Paris talks

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have gathered in Paris with other allies of Ukraine. They're there to talk about possible security guarantees for Kyiv in the event a peace deal is reached with Russia.

Witkoff had one message for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others in attendance:

WITKOFF: President Trump's mandate is that he wants peace in Ukraine. And we are determined to do everything possible on his behalf to obtain that peace.

But so far Moscow has shown no signs of budging from its demands.

The Kremlin insists there can be no ceasefire before Ukraine agrees to a comprehensive settlement.

Moscow wants Kyiv to cede Ukrainian territory that Russia now occupies, something Ukraine has said is out of the question.

Wyoming top court strikes down pro-life protections » Abortion will remain legal in Wyoming after the state Supreme Court struck down two pro-life laws. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The court ruled the laws violated Wyoming’s constitution, siding with the state’s only abortion clinic and abortion-rights groups.

The justices said a voter-approved health-care amendment gives adults broad authority over medical decisions, even though it was not written with abortion in mind. They added that lawmakers could ask voters to clarify the constitution.

Republican Governor Mark Gordon criticized the ruling and urged legislators to pursue a constitutional amendment.

And some state lawmakers say the matter is far from settled, and they do intend to give voters the last word.

One of the blocked laws would have protected the unborn except in limited cases. Another would have banned abortion pills.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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