In the space of just one week, President Donald Trump ordered the seizure and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, asserted control over the country’s government, and took over its crude oil industry.
According to Venezuela’s interior minister, 100 people died during the U.S. abduction of Maduro. Since September, the administration has killed at least 115 people in 30 boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
These military actions in the region are raising questions about the nature of U.S. intervention abroad. Last week, the Senate advanced a measure limiting Trump’s power to take further military action in Venezuela.
Now, the president is threatening intervention in Iran amid crackdowns on protests across the country. And here in the U.S., federal agents shot three civilians last week, injuring a man and woman in Portland and killing a woman in Minneapolis.
What does President Trump’s military intervention abroad mean for issues at home? And for our allies and enemies abroad?
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PBS News Hour - World - Iran protests escalate as regime crackdown leaves more than 500 dead
Protests in Iran continue to grow and security forces are now estimated to have killed at least 500 protesters. In addition to renewed military threats from President Trump, he said countries doing business with Iran will face tariffs. Nick Schifrin reports on the latest. A warning: some images in this story may disturb viewers. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
The Gist - Séamus McElearney on the End of Omertà as a Business Model
Former FBI agent Séamus McElearney, author of Flipping Capo: How the FBI Dismantled the Real Sopranos, walks through the case that shattered the DeCavalcante crime family. He explains the mob's quiet tax on regular people via unions—no-show jobs, pension skims, and an asbestos local run by guys who couldn't pass the test (so they had someone take it for them). He also gets into the overlap with The Sopranos and contrasts real life with the one premise he says flatly wouldn't happen: a boss talking mob business to a shrink. Plus, the Renee Good shooting and the way "objectively reasonable" ends up riding on an officer's story; and in the Spiel, Iran's protests and "semi-official" media; and how the fake Fed investigation is Trump's own attempt at an autocrat-like crackdown.
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Consider This from NPR - What do we know about what’s happening in Iran?
What do we know about what's happening in Iran?
The country has been rocked by days of large antigovernment protests. First, sparked by the crippling economy, now anger at the theocratic regime.
More than 500 people have been killed, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. NPR is unable to independently confirm that figure.
And now President Trump is considering whether to weigh in – and how.
Sanctions. Cyber attacks. Military strikes.
President Trump keeps suggesting the United States may get involved. If so, when and how?
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This episode was produced by Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Becky Brown and Josephine Nyounai.
It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Rebekah Metzler and Courtney Dorning.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Big Technology Podcast - AI’s Steve Jobs?, Big Tech AI Chaos Ladder, 2026 Crystal Ball
M.G. Siegler of Spyglass is back for our monthly tech news discussion. Today we discuss whether AI needs a Steve Jobs, whether the technology lends itself to that type of leader, and who it might be of the current crop. We also discuss which Big Tech companies are actually winning in the AI race and why so few have a standout AI product. Then we look at the year ahead and get some of Siegler's boldest predictions. Tune in for a fun, deep discussion on the current state of AI and what's missing.
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CBS News Roundup - 01/12/2026 | Evening Update
The state of Minnesota announced today it's suing the federal government to stop a surge of federal immigration officers into the state. A group of former Federal Reserve chairs and other top economists released a statement denouncing the criminal investigation launched against Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. Iran is experiencing nationwide anti-government protests which have become increasingly violent...and CBS's Norah O'Donnell sat down with Iran's exiled crown prince.
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Newshour - Iran’s foreign minister: protests brought under ‘total control’
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has hailed a day of rallies in support of the government, as estimates of the number of anti- regime protesters killed by his security forces continue to rise. The Ayatollah said it was a historic day which had thwarted Iran's enemies. He described the rallies as a warning to the United States and what he called its domestic mercenaries. A Norway- based Iranian rights group (Iran Human Rights) says it's now confirmed almost 650 victims of his government's violent crackdown on dissent. But it warned that some estimates exceed 6,000 dead. Witnesses have told the BBC the scale of the use of force was unprecedented.
Also in the programme: Three former chairs of the US Federal Reserve have come to the defence of the current incumbent, Jerome Powell, who says he has been threatened by the Justice Department; and could a robot soon be doing your dishes?
(Photo: Mourners carry a coffin during a funeral procession for members of security forces and civilians said to be killed in protests on Sunday, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab from a video released on January 11, 2026. Credit: IRIB/Handout via Reuters)
WSJ What’s News - Trump Has Been Complaining About Attorney General Pam Bondi
P.M. Edition for Jan. 12. President Trump has complained to aides repeatedly in recent weeks about Pam Bondi, describing her as weak and an ineffective enforcer of his agenda, according to administration officials and other people familiar with his complaints. Plus, Google parent Alphabet has become the latest company to cross the $4 trillion mark as investors are optimistic about the company’s AI business. And dozens of Silicon Valley elite are part of a Signal chat called “Save California” where they exchange criticism and tips about a proposed wealth tax in the state. WSJ enterprise reporter Emily Glazer takes us inside the group chat. Alex Ossola hosts.
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WSJ Minute Briefing - Stocks Edge Higher While Dollar Weakens
The Fed Chair revived concerns about central bank independence. Plus: Synchrony Financial drops after the President calls for a cap on credit card interest rates. Katherine Sullivan hosts.
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State of the World from NPR - Even Amid Violent Crackdowns, Iran’s Protests Continue
In Iran, popular protests continue to sweep the country. Rights groups say hundreds of Iranians have been killed in the government crackdown on the protests, which are seen as a challenge to the theocratic regime. President Trump has warned he may hit Iran “very hard” for the violence against protesters. He also said the U.S. was set to meet with Iranian officials. Iran has said channels of communication with the U.S. remain “open”. Our reporter brings us up to speed on what we know about events inside Iran. And an we hear from an Iranian-American analyst about why the protests in Iran this time are different.
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