By Arit John, CNN

(CNN) — Democrats are grappling with how best to respond to the Trump administration’s military intervention in Venezuela, as the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro highlighted foreign policy differences within the party and distracted from its focus on affordability issues.

Maduro’s capture has forced Democrats to consider how much to criticize the way the Trump administration deposed the Venezuelan president, even if many are glad to see him out of office.

Many Democrats in Congress have ripped President Donald Trump for conducting the raid without notifying lawmakers while also criticizing Maduro, who has long drawn bipartisan condemnation.

“The Constitution isn’t a matter of inconvenience. It’s a requirement,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday. “There is no Trump exception to the United States Constitution.”

The Senate is expected this week to vote on a resolution to limit Trump’s war powers against Venezuela amid his administration’s lethal strikes on alleged drug boats.

Several Democrats have sought to tie the Venezuela operation to health care costs and other cost-of-living concerns, arguing that Trump is more focused on foreign affairs than domestic policy after campaigning against wars abroad.

“Do we want to start more regime change, oil-focused wars, or do we actually want healthcare for the American people?” Rep. Patrick Ryan, a New York Democrat and Army combat veteran, told CNN’s Dana Bash on Monday. “That’s the choice that was just made with no consultation by the people or the Congress on January 3 that many of us woke up to that morning.”

Potential 2028 presidential candidates have focused on the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans on January 1, which has led to millions of Americans facing higher health care costs. But they’ve also sought to stress their opposition to Maduro.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an interview with a local radio station that Maduro is “bad guy” who stole elections, oppressed his people and had allied himself with US adversaries. But Shapiro also raised concerns about the amount of work that needs to be done domestically.

“We are seeing thousands of people drop their health care coverage here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “The idea that we’re going to go get entangled in foreign wars instead of fixing the problems here at home, that’s my biggest beef with this.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on X that Americans “deserve a President focused on making their lives more affordable.”

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been floated as a potential future presidential candidate, wrote on X that the Maduro trial was meant to “distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs,” a reference to the release of Department of Justice files on the disgraced late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Democrats, particularly veterans, have pointed to Trump’s frequent references to Venezuela’s oil supplies to draw parallels to the US invasion of Iraq and raise fears about another deadly and costly “forever war.”

Americans were closely split in their initial reactions to the US military operation that captured Maduro, according to a Washington Post poll conducted over the weekend.

In that poll, 40% of US adults approved of the US having sent military forces into Venezuela to capture Maduro, with 42% disapproving and 18% unsure.

A 63% majority said that the operation should have required approval from Congress, with 37% saying it was appropriate for President Trump to order it on his own.

For Democrats, making a domestic policy case may be easier than asserting themselves on the foreign policy front.

Joel Rubin, a Democratic strategist and former deputy assistant secretary

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

One person is in custody for allegedly causing property damage at Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home, including breaking windows. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on Monday and comes amid heightened concern over political violence in the US.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ Capitol riot anniversary

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. On that grim day, a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters violently stormed the historic building in an attempt to stop the counting of electoral votes confirming Joe Biden’s victory. Several chaotic hours of lockdown ensued before the Capitol was secured and Biden’s election was certified. In the aftermath, hundreds of rioters were charged with federal crimes, including assault, seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. The House later voted to impeach Trump — for a second time — charging him with “incitement of insurrection.” Despite facing numerous legal challenges, Trump remained eligible for office and won reelection in 2024.

2⃣ Nicolás Maduro

Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges Monday in their first court appearance since being captured by US forces in Caracas. At a New York City courthouse, Maduro insisted: “I am still president of my country.” Meanwhile, Maduro ally Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president, even as President Trump has repeatedly asserted that the US is in charge of Venezuela’s transition and has not ruled out broader military intervention if the regime fails to cooperate. Trump has also issued warnings to other governments he deems uncooperative: He said he could take military action in Colombia, told Mexico to get its “act together” on drugs, and said the US “needs Greenland.”

3⃣ Immigration

About 2,000 federal agents are being deployed to Minneapolis as part of the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown. This comes as the city grapples with a welfare fraud scandal after a conservative content creator posted a video accusing Somali-run day care centers in Minneapolis of misusing child care funds. In response, the administration froze federal child care funding and stepped up rhetoric targeting the Somali community, whom Trump has previously called “garbage.” The mobilization of federal agents follows Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s announcement on Monday that he will not seek reelection.

4⃣ Swiss bar fire

The Swiss bar devastated by a deadly fire on New Year’s Eve had not been inspected in five years, local authorities said today. Le Constellation, where 40 people died in the blaze, had not undergone a fire inspection since 2020, according to Nicolas Féraud, the president of the Crans-Montana council. Féraud said the council “bitterly regrets” the lapse and added, “We will shoulder all the responsibility that the justice system attributes to us.” The investigation in

Por CNN en Español

Venezuela ordena arrestar a quien apoye el ataque de Estados Unidos. De Colombia a Groenlandia, los países y territorios a los que Trump lanzó advertencias tras la captura de Maduro. Trump dice que Venezuela le “robó” el petróleo a Estados Unidos. ¿Qué pasó realmente? Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.

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• Escucha las 5 cosas de CNN

El depuesto presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, se declaró inocente de los cargos por drogas y armas que enfrenta en Estados Unidos durante su primera comparecencia ante Alvin K. Hellerstein, juez federal de Nueva York. Su esposa, Cilia Flores, también se declaró inocente ante el tribunal. ¿Qué sigue ahora? Lee aquí cuatro claves sobre los escenarios para Venezuela y las actualizaciones de la información minuto a minuto.

• Quién es Barry Pollack, el abogado de Maduro que asistió a Juli

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN

(CNN) — To get to Rolls Royce’s New York “Private Office,” a VIP design studio for bespoke projects, a customer must make their way to an unmarked building in lower Manhattan. Then they’ll take the elevator to the 8th floor, possible only through key card access by an attendant. There, they’ll discover a nicely appointed space with a kitchenette, a high-end sound system with stacks of vinyl records, a balcony, and a view toward the Hudson River.

The customers who enter here — by appointment only — know Rolls-Royce well. They’re among the ultraluxury automaker’s best customers. They come to discuss just how they want their cars: the colors — literally any color — the leathers, the woodwork rendition of their dog, the carved landscape with a gold river.

“This is real gold that’s painted with a brush after carving it out,” explained Cara Vitry, a designer for Rolls-Royce’s bespoke cars, as she traced the course of the miniature golden watercourse on a piece of dark wood with her finger.

This is one part of a growing industry trend catering to those who can have nearly anything they want in their cars. This sort of extreme customization has existed as long as cars have, but growing global wealth is bringing it into more automakers in more places, not just Rolls-Royce.

For these customers, there are no option packages, no boxes to check. There are in-house designers like Vitry to help guide grand ideas toward genuinely beautiful creations.

In many of these cases, buying a car becomes like commissioning artwork, said Vitry. Take the Spectre Bailey, for instance: someone wanted their electric Rolls-Royce coupé to capture the spirit and personality of their Labrador-Golden Retriever mix. Tucked into a small break in the pinstripes along each side of the tan-colored car is a hand-painted reproduction of Bailey’s paw print. Inside, there’s a wood veneer portrait of Bailey mounted between the two back seats.

Bailey’s marquetry portrait took more than 4 months to make, using 180 different pieces of veneer, according to Rolls-Royce. With more customers requesting this sort of thing, time has become an issue. So, Rolls-Royce is expanding its Goodwood factory in the UK, not to build more cars but to allow more time on each one.

Aston Martin also has its own customization studio in Manhattan, but this one makes no attempt to be coy. The space, called Q New York, sits on Park Avenue. There’s an Aston Martin sign on it, and there’s always an Aston Martin car parked behind its big windows. The little shop’s name comes from the quartermaster character, Q, who provides the gadgets and, more to the point, Aston Martin cars for James Bond in the famous movies.

Inside, there’s a room that can’t be seen from the street, where customers come to sit down with Aston Martin designers to discuss what they want on their particular cars.

It’s not just about making their car unique, insisted Aston Martin’s chief creative officer Marek Reichman. Anyone can do that without even trying. With the British automaker’s “standard” selection of interior and exterior colors, contrast stitching, trim materials and wheels, he estimates the various possible combinations come to hundreds of millions.

When people want to go beyond this, it’s because they want a story, not just a car. One buyer commissioned his 2025 Vanquish as a tribute to a late uncle, who owned a classic Aston Martin DB6

Por Amarachi Orie, CNN

Evangeline Lilly dice que tiene daño cerebral, meses después de desmayarse y golpearse la cabeza contra una roca mientras estaba en la playa.

“Es tarde el 1 de enero. El primer día de 2026. Y estoy entrando en este nuevo año, el Año del Caballo, con algunas malas noticias sobre mi conmoción cerebral”, dijo la estrella de Marvel en un video publicado en Instagram el viernes.

Dijo que recibió los resultados de sus escáneres cerebrales y “casi todas las áreas de mi cerebro están funcionando a una capacidad reducida”.

“Así que sí, tengo daño cerebral por el TBI”, o lesión cerebral traumática, “y posiblemente otros factores en juego”, continuó Lilly.

“Pero ahora, mi trabajo es llegar al fondo de eso con los médicos y luego embarcarme en el arduo trabajo de arreglarlo, lo cual no me entusiasma porque siento que el trabajo duro es todo lo que hago”, agregó la actriz de 46 años, con una risa.

“Pero está bien. Mi deterioro cognitivo desde que me abrí la cara me ha ayudado a desacelerar y a tener un final de 2025 más tranquilo. Creo que estas fueron las vacaciones de Navidad más calmadas y descansadas que he tenido, tal vez desde que tuve hijos, hace 14 años. Así que eso es algo bueno”, continuó Lilly.

“Me siento extraordinariamente agradecida y bendecida de poder jugar un día más, un año más en este hermoso planeta viviente”, dijo antes de agradecer a sus seguidores “por preocuparse”.

“Eres una guerrera”, comentó su coprotagonista de “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, Michelle Pfeiffer, bajo la publicación, añadiendo un emoji de corazón. “Nada; ni siquiera esto te vencerá, amiga mía”.

“Gracias, mamá”, respondió Lilly, quien interpreta a la hija de Pfeiffer, Hope, en la franquicia de “Ant-Man”.

“Te envío todo mi amor y un abrazo enorme”, escribió la también actriz de “Lost”, Rebecca Mader.

Lilly reveló previamente en una publicación de blog en Substack en mayo que “se desmayó en la playa. Y cayó de cara contra una roca”, añadiendo que ha experimentado “episodios de desmayo desde que era niña”.

La estrella de “The Hobbit” ha estado actualizando a sus seguidores en Instagram sobre su recuperación de lo que describió como “una gran lesión en la cabeza” y “conmoción cerebral” en una publicación de junio.

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