The people of Venezuela have spent years learning resilience in the face of censorship, disinformation, and repression. They now rely on those tools more than ever. In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 3, the roar of bombs dropping from the sky announced the US military attack on Venezuela, waking the sleeping residents of La Carlota, in Caracas, a neighborhood adjacent to the air base that was a target of Operation Absolute Resolve. Marina G.'s first thought, as the floors, walls, and windows of her second-story apartment shook, was that it was an earthquake. Her cat scrambled and hid for hours, while the neighbors' dogs began to bark incessantly.

MAGA's'Manifest Destiny' Coalition Has Arrived Warring factions of right-wing influencers and MAGA pundits can finally agree on something: American imperialism. For the past few months, some of the most influential figures in MAGA politics have been locked in bitter infighting . But with a new year comes new priorities, and the warring factions are reuniting around a new cause: a new era of American "manifest destiny." Major players, from influencers to politicians, have been arguing over the Trump administration's plans on issues like H-1B visas, Jeffrey Epstein document dumps, AI regulation, Israel's war with Hamas, and even white nationalist Nick Fuentes. But in recent weeks, these feuds have faded into background noise as the US raided Venezuela, arresting president Nicolás Maduro, and, more recently, as President Donald Trump publicly toys with invading Greenland and destroying NATO as we know it.

The news is a blow for Thinking Machines Lab. Two narratives are already emerging about what happened. Thinking Machines cofounders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz are leaving the fledgling AI lab and rejoining OpenAI, the ChatGPT-maker announced on Thursday. OpenAI's CEO of applications, Fidji Simo, shared the news in a memo to staff Thursday afternoon. The news was first reported on X by technology reporter Kylie Robison, who wrote that Zoph was fired for "unethical conduct."

January 3 marked the return of US military intervention in Latin America. While the events unfolded between Caracas and Brooklyn, social networks had already fabricated their own reality. A fire is seen in the distance at Fort Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, following a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Geopolitics are being reduced to videos lasting just a few minutes. Social media has surpassed traditional media, not only in the speed with which it is created and shared, but also in its ability to frame our reality. People have the illusion of knowing what is happening and why within just a few hours--or less--of major world events. But reality is more complicated.

The US military action in Venezuela was the right thing to do morally, Kemi Badenoch has said. The Conservative leader told the BBC that while she did not understand the legal basis for Donald Trump's operation to remove President Nicolás Maduro from the country, he was overseeing a brutal regime and she was glad he's gone. However, she added that the move did raise serious questions about the rules-based order. The UK government has so far avoided criticising the US move or saying whether it breached international law, instead arguing that Maduro was an illegitimate president. However, some Labour MPs and opposition parties including the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and SNP have called on the government to condemn Trump's actions and brand them illegal.

A supporter of Maduro holds a painting of him in Caracas. A supporter of Maduro holds a painting of him in Caracas. Minutes after Donald Trump announced a "large-scale strike" against Venezuela early on Saturday morning, false and misleading AI-generated images began flooding social media. There were fake photos of Nicolás Maduro being escorted off a plane by US law enforcement agents, images of jubilant Venezuelans pouring into the streets of Caracas and videos of missiles raining down on the city - all fake. The fabricated content intermixed with real videos and photos of US aircraft flying over the Venezuelan capital and explosions lighting up the dark sky.

The information war will be fought through chatbots. Hours before President Donald Trump announced Nicolás Maduro's capture, on Saturday morning, people had questions for Grok, Elon Musk's chatbot. Footage was circulating on X of explosions in Venezuela, and some users assumed the United States was responsible: "Hey @grok why is Trump sending US airstrikes to bomb Venezuela. Do you think they deserve it or not?"one "@grok what is the reason why America is bombing Venezuela," another asked.

American Airlines' AI system delays flights to help passengers make connections, expanding testing from Dallas-Fort Worth to Los Angeles, Charlotte, Miami and elsewhere.

The US military action in Venezuela breaches international law and the UK should make clear it is unacceptable, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has said. Dame Emily Thornberry is the most senior Labour MP so far to criticise Donald Trump's strikes on the country over the weekend, which saw President Nicolas Maduro and his wife captured. The UK government has so far refused to say whether the move was illegal, insisting it is for the Americans to lay out the legal basis for the action. But the US president's actions have been criticised by some Labour MPs, as well as the leaders of the Lib Dems, Greens and the SNP. Dame Emily told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour the strikes were not a legal action and she cannot think of anything that could be a proper justification.

Some major retailers and independent stores have introduced AI body scans, CCTV or facial recognition equipment to identify crimes like shoplifting.