The briefing for Friday, January 9.

President Trump told the New York Times that 'only time will tell' how long the US will 'oversee' Venezuela following last weekend's seizure of Nicolás Maduro by US forces. The White House announced Wednesday that the US would control sales of sanctioned Venezuelan oil 'indefinitely,' with Energy Secretary Chris Wright arguing the administration needs leverage over the interim government in Caracas led by Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodríguez. Trump acknowledged it would 'take a while' to restore Venezuela's oil production, which has plummeted due to mismanagement and US sanctions.

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio is 'in constant communication' with Rodríguez and that she is 'giving us everything that we feel is necessary.' The interim government has reportedly agreed to use oil sale proceeds to buy only US-made goods. Trump was dismissive of opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting democracy in Venezuela, alleging she lacks the 'respect' and support to lead the country.

Machado, speaking to Venezuelan opposition media, insisted the ousting of Maduro set Venezuela on an 'irreversible path towards freedom.' She described the interim government as 'the same regime it was under Maduro' but said it is 'being given instructions to dismantle itself.' Many analysts had expected the opposition's Edmundo González, who appears to have won the 2024 presidential election by a landslide based on independently verified voting tallies, would be recognized as leader. González remains in exile while Machado's current whereabouts are unknown, though she says she plans to return to Venezuela soon.

Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and New York filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration after it froze approximately $10 billion in social safety net funding. The administration cited concerns about fraud in programs designed to help low-income families, though officials provided no evidence to support allegations that states were providing benefits to people in the US illegally. New York Attorney General Letitia James, leading the lawsuit, said the administration is overstepping its authority by freezing funds already approved by Congress.

The frozen funding affects three federal programs: the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes child care for low-income families; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program providing cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant. About half of the $10 billion targeted supports California programs, according to state Attorney General Rob Bonta. The Department of Health and Human Services requested extensive data from the states, including names and Social Security numbers of all benefit recipients, with only 14 days to comply.

The government intensified focus on the child care subsidy program after a conservative YouTuber claimed day care centers in Minneapolis, run by members of the Somali community, had committed up to $100 million in fraud. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz defended his state's response and said Minnesota is taking aggressive action to prevent further fraud. The lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York asks courts to halt the freeze and release the funds.

President Trump sent defense contractor stocks on a volatile ride this week, first criticizing companies for paying billions in dividends and stock buybacks while production lags, then proposing a massive budget increase. On Truth Social, Trump stated defense contractors are 'issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment,' adding he would not permit such payments 'until such time as these problems are rectified.'

Trump also targeted executive compensation in the defense industry, calling pay packages 'exorbitant and unjustifiable.' He demanded that executives build new and modern production plants for delivering and maintaining military equipment, stating that 'no Executive should be allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars' until they do so. He singled out Raytheon parent company RTX in his criticism of production delays and maintenance failures.

Following the criticism, Trump proposed increasing the 2027 military budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion to build a 'Dream Military' that would keep the country 'SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.' Shares of major defense contractors fell after the initial criticism but surged on the budget proposal. Lockheed Martin rose 4.3% after dropping 4.8%, Northrop Grumman gained 2.4% after falling 5.5%, and General Dynamics added 1.7% after losing 4.2%.

Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, killing at least four people in Kyiv and marking only the second use of its new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. Ukrainian officials reported four deaths and at least 22 wounded in the capital as apartment buildings were struck, including an emergency medical aid worker. Five rescue workers sustained injuries while responding to the attacks, according to Ukraine's security service.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the attack was retaliation for what Moscow claims was a Ukrainian drone strike on President Putin's residence last month, a claim both Ukraine and President Trump have rejected. Russian media and military bloggers reported the Oreshnik targeted a huge underground natural gas storage facility in Ukraine's western Lviv region. Putin has previously claimed the Oreshnik streaks to its target at Mach 10 'like a meteorite' and is immune to any missile defense system, warning that several used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.

The attack damaged the Qatari Embassy in Kyiv, with President Zelenskyy noting Qatar's key role in mediating prisoner exchanges and calling for a 'clear response' from the international community, particularly the United States. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine would initiate international action including an urgent UN Security Council meeting and a Ukraine-NATO Council meeting. The attack comes as US-led peace efforts have failed to stop the fighting, despite Zelenskyy reporting significant progress on terms of a possible peace settlement in talks with Washington envoys.

Huge crowds of protesters marched through Tehran and other Iranian cities Thursday evening in what is described as the largest show of force by opponents of the clerical establishment in years. Videos verified by BBC Persian show large peaceful demonstrations in Tehran and the second city of Mashhad that were not dispersed by security forces. Protesters called for the overthrow of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, chanting 'Long live the shah' and 'This is the final battle! Pahlavi will return.'

The demonstrations followed a call from Reza Pahlavi, son of the late former shah overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution, urging supporters to take to the streets. The protests mark the 12th consecutive day of unrest sparked by anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency and have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across all 31 of Iran's provinces. The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency reports at least 34 protesters, including five children, and eight security personnel have been killed, with 2,270 protesters arrested.

Following the evening protests, internet watchdog NetBlocks reported Iran was 'in the midst of a nationwide internet blackout,' warning the incident 'hinders the public's right to communicate at a critical moment.' Iranian state media downplayed the scale of the unrest, in some cases denying protests occurred and posting videos of empty streets. Earlier Thursday, footage showed shuttered shops in predominantly Kurdish cities and towns following calls for a general strike. The protests initially focused on food prices and inflation but have evolved to include anti-government statements.

Elon Musk's platform X has limited image editing with its AI tool Grok to paying users after the chatbot faced global backlash for allowing people to create sexualized deepfakes without consent. Grok is now telling users that only paid subscribers can edit images, meaning their name and payment information must be on file. The move comes after governments around the world condemned the platform, with the UK government threatening to use all powers up to and including an effective ban against X.

The problem emerged after the launch of Grok Imagine, which includes a 'spicy mode' that can generate adult content. The situation escalated when Grok began granting requests to modify images posted by others, including requests to 'put her in a transparent bikini.' Nonprofit AI Forensics analyzed 20,000 images generated by Grok between December 25 and January 1, finding that 2% depicted people who appeared to be 18 or younger, including images of young women or girls in bikinis or transparent clothes.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the content 'disgraceful' and 'disgusting,' saying it was unlawful and would not be tolerated. The Internet Watch Foundation said its analysts discovered 'criminal imagery' of girls aged 11 to 13 that appeared to have been created using Grok. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said X must 'urgently' address the problem, calling it 'absolutely appalling, and unacceptable in decent society.' Those without subscriptions can still use Grok to edit images on its separate app and website, though experts say the limitation 'does not undo the harm which has been done.'