President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela takes part in a civic military march in Caracas on Nov. 25, 2025. Maduro is expected to face charges in the Southern District of New York, where prosecutors had targeted him for years, the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, announced on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Alejandro Cegarra/The New York Times) By JONAH E. BROMWICH, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and BENJAMIN WEISER Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela captured in a military raid on Caracas

President Donald Trump at the White House on Dec. 16, 2025. In a call with The New York Times, Trump called the U.S. operation in Venezuela “brilliant” but did not address whether he had consulted Congress. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times) By ANTON TROIANOVSKI While he was out of office, President Donald Trump mused about what would have happened if the United States had taken control of Venezuela. “We would have gotten all that oil,” he said in a speech at the North Caroli

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March, speaks to supporters as he arrives for his immigration check-in, in Baltimore on Aug. 25, 2025. The release of several emails raised serious questions about whether the Justice Department had misled a judge in telling him that local prosecutors had acted alone in charging Abrego Garcia. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times) By Alan Feuer Federal prosecutors in Nashville, Tennessee

Afghan refugees arrivie at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington on Aug. 24, 2021. The Trump administration has also taken steps to end programs that extend temporary protections to Afghan citizens. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times) By Megan Mineiro and Adam Sella Back in 2021, as Kabul fell to the Taliban following the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, Republicans in Congress were among the loudest voices in Washington arguing that the United S

The old City Hall subway station in lower Mangattan on April 10, 2019. The station, which has been out of commission since 1945, is famous for its arches. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times) By JEFFERY C. MAYS As hundreds of thousands of people amass in Times Square for the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop, a much smaller gathering of historical importance will begin underground at a long-abandoned subway station. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn into office at the old

Then Vice President Dick Cheney walks off stage after delivering remarks at a Chamber of Commerce event in Washington, March 29, 2004. For decades, Dick Cheney, who died at 84, loomed over American life as the archetypical conservative power player: stern, unflashy, grimly effective. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) By WILLIAM McDONALD One after another they fell, towering names that needed no introduction. Pope Francis. Robert Redford. Diane Keaton. Dick Cheney. Brian Wilson.

A guard and prisoners at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), where the Trump administration sent about 300 Venezuelans in the U.S. that they accused of being gang members, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 11, 2025. New details of deliberations show how aides with overlapping agendas drove the U.S. toward a militarized confrontation with Venezuela. (Fred Ramos/The New York Times) By EDWARD WONG, TYLER PAGER, CHARLIE SAVAGE, JULIAN E. BARNES and MARIA ABI-HABIB O

Savino Del Bene warehouse, which moves fashion and luxury goods and was raided by immigration officials in October, in Avenel, N.J., on Dec. 22, 2025. Workers at facilities that stock shipped goods say customs officers who inspect merchandise are helping immigration agents arrest migrants. (Juan Arredondo/The New York Times) By ANA LEY At a warehouse in Avenel, New Jersey, workers assigned to stock Versace dresses, Swarovski crystals and Louis Vuitton sneakers had settled int

April Flakne, a philosophy professor at New College in Sarasota, Fla., on Dec. 6, 2025. Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies vowed to turn New College, the tiny public university in Sarasota, into a bastion of conservatism. (Michael Adno/The New York Times) By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS April Flakne strides into the classroom to teach a course on “The Odyssey,” a new requirement at New College of Florida. She has taught philosophy at the small state college for 25 years, but this class

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in her office at the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, Dec. 18, 2025. “We feel bad, actually, for the president,” Omar said of herself and other members of the Somali-American community. “We also know we’re not garbage. We have not been broken by the life experiences that we’ve gone through. Words are not really that hurtful when you’ve survived war.” (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By ANNIE KARNI When Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., became an A