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VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of the NROL-105 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for a 35-minute launch window beginning at 8:18 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

A backup launch window has been designated for the following day beginning at 8:04 p.m.

A live webcast of the launch will begin about ten minutes before liftoff that you can watch here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.

According to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the mission will add to the existing constellation of reconnaissance satellites, the largest government-operated one in existence, and is one of many launches planned through 2029.

"Having hundreds of small satellites on orbit is invaluable to the NRO’s mission," explained Dr. Chris Scolese, Director of the NRO. "They will provide greater revisit rates, increased coverage, more timely delivery of information—and ultimately help us deliver more of what our customers need even faster."

Following first-stage separation, the booster assigned to this mission will return to Earth to land at Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

A depiction of that launch sequence is shown in the image below.

There is the potential for one or more sonic booms across the local area during the launch, but how far the sound travels will depend on weather and other factors at the time.

This will be the second mission launched by the Falcon 9 assigned to this mission which previously launched a Starlink mission.

The post NROL-105 Mission Scheduled for Launch from Vandenberg SFB Friday Evening appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Katelyn Polantz, Devan Cole, CNN

(CNN) — The longtime government contractor whose activity prompted the controversial search of a Washington Post reporter’s home acknowledged he mishandled classified information, prosecutors said, according to a court hearing transcript obtained by CNN.

Aurelio Perez-Lugones told federal investigators he was angry about “recent government activity,” Assistant US Attorney Patricia McLane said during a detention hearing Monday.

“He admitted to federal officers that he mishandled classified information,” McLane added.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that an alleged leaker of information about Venezuela was in custody, although the Justice Department has not said it was in connection to Venezuela in court filings.

Perez-Lugones, a former member of the US Navy, had long been a rule-follower until he intentionally put classified information on papers in a lunchbox in his car and in his home beginning in October of last year until last week, when he was searched, McLane said.

He was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawful retention of national defense information late last week. He currently remains behind bars but is challenging his ongoing detention and appeared in court Thursday. He hasn’t been formally indicted and thus hasn’t entered a plea in response to the allegations. CNN has reached out to his attorneys for comment on his alleged comments to federal agents.

Perez-Lugones’ attorneys pushed back Thursday on the government’s assertions that he needed to be locked up because he is in their view a threat to national security, arguing that the charges are over the narrow allegation that he retained classified documents and do not, at this time, include allegations that he shared any classified information.

“Indeed, there are no allegations that Mr. Perez-Lugones – during his decades-long career in positions requiring a security clearance – has ever inappropriately used information that he had knowledge of,” they wrote in court papers.

The criminal investigation into Perez-Lugones has raised significant questions around the Justice Department’s reasoning for subsequently searching the Post reporter’s home and seizing her electronics – a step rarely taken and widely criticized by both executive branch and congressional figures in past administrations.

The Justice Department said that Perez-Lugones could be motivated to continue leaking information out of his unhappiness with US policy.

“He has expressed exasperation for the current conditions in America,” McLane said at Monday’s hearing, according to the transcript.

“Even if the court restricted his use of electronics and cell phones, he could communicate the information stored in his head. And the defendant has demonstrated not just the ability, but the motive to do so,” she added.

More details on why the Justice Department was prompted this week to search a Washington Post reporter’s home and seize her personal laptop, work laptop, a Garmin watch and her cell phone, extreme steps that have alarmed press freedom advocates, are still not available.

But one influential First Amendment advocacy group, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, asked a

By Chris Isidore, Adam Cancryn, CNN

(CNN) — Hundreds of millions of dollars that the United States is raising from the sale of Venezuelan oil is being sequestered in Qatar. It’s an indirect path that could speed the flow of much-needed money to Venezuela, but it also raises questions about the transparency surrounding those funds.

The Trump administration confirmed the first sale of Venezuelan oil Wednesday, saying it raised $500 million. It is just the first of numerous sales expected to bring in billions of dollars in the months – and potentially years – to come.

The funds were sent to Qatar, rather than being held in US banks or sent directly to Venezuela, according to a former administration official familiar with the matter. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax Wednesday evening that the cash from the oil sales would start to flow into Venezuela as soon as Thursday. Venezuelan banks have started advertising cash, suggesting the oil proceeds have arrived in the country, two sources with knowledge of Venezuela’s financial system said.

Venezuela has been sanctioned by Western governments across the globe, essentially cut off from the global banking system for years. Its authoritarian government seized oil assets over the past decades for which foreign energy companies have demanded compensation.

President Donald Trump has complained about Venezuela “stealing” American oil assets there, but he has also said it’s important that proceeds from the oil sales directly benefit Venezuela and prevent those with claims on Venezuelan oil revenue from getting access to the money that the US is now generating from those sales.

Trump issued an executive order Friday in which he said any such attempts to put liens, garnishments or other legal judgments claiming those funds are blocked. The order said if the funds were not free from such legal entanglements it would “substantially interfere with our critical efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela.”

Placing the money into an account in Qatar – potentially out of the reach of western businesses and creditors who have claims for money they say they’re owed – is one way to achieve the administration’s goals.

Ensuring the funds benefit Venezuela

The fact that Venezuela’s creditors could slow such payments would pose a problem for both that country and the Trump administration.

“It’s a real big problem. Venezuela owes money to everyone,” said one expert on foreign relations and Venezuela who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely.

The expert said that Qatar has long served as a facilitator between the United States and the Venezuelan government, even before the US seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro opened up more direct communications between the two governments.

And other experts told CNN that Qatari banks have served a similar intermediary role during the Biden administration when it allowed some funds from oil sales to again flow to Iran during a loosening of the sanctions on that country.

The Qatari banks holding the funds have been instructed to auction the money to Venezuelan banks, giving priority to food, medicine and small businesses, according to Alejandro Grisanti, founding director of Ecoanalitica, a Latin and South American consultant that operates in Venezuela, among other countries. That money will be collected by the Central Bank of Venezuela and allocated according to the requirements set by the United States, Grisanti said.

Bessent told Newsmax the proceeds will fund Venezuela’s government operations, security and food provisions.

The White House would not comment directly

SANTA MARIA, Cailf. (KEYT) - The Santa Maria Valley Chamber will unveil plans Thursday afternoon that are currently being developed to help in boost tourism in the region in the coming years.

The plans will be announced during a Chamber event called "Santa Maria Valley Tourism Celebration," which is scheduled to take place at the recently renovated Homewood Suites by Hilton Santa Maria.

In addition, the Chamber will also present the current state of tourism in the valley, as well as reveal key market insights and performance data.

"Tourism is a powerful engine for our local economy, supporting jobs and enhancing the quality of life for all residents,” said Jennifer Harrison, Vice President of Marketing & Communications for the Santa Maria Valley Chamber. "This event is an opportunity to not only celebrate the incredible hard work of our partners but also to share critical market insights and unveil the strategic initiatives that will drive Santa Maria Valley forward."

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