Top 5 US news stories
January 8 2026
Trump Seeks Yearslong Control of Venezuelan Oil to Drive Prices Down to $50 Per Barrel
Gulf Coast Refineries Run Best on Venezuelan Heavy Crude
Falling Oil Prices Deliver Consumer Relief While Threatening to Slash New Drilling and Reduce Future Supply
Federal Agent's Fatal Shooting of Woman Ignites Minnesota-Trump Administration Confrontation
Iran Protest Crackdown Fuels Polymarket Bets on Regime Collapse by June
Trump Seeks Yearslong Control of Venezuelan Oil to Drive Prices Down to $50 Per Barrel
President Trump and his advisers are developing plans for a sweeping, multi-year initiative to dominate Venezuela's oil industry, including exerting control over the state-run company Petróleos de Venezuela SA by acquiring and marketing most of its production, according to people familiar with the matter. The long-term initiative could give the United States stewardship of most Western Hemisphere oil reserves for years to come and fulfill two administration goals: excluding Russia and China from Venezuela while pushing energy prices lower for American consumers, with Trump repeatedly targeting $50 per barrel as his preferred price level.
WSJ
Gulf Coast Refineries Run Best on Venezuelan Heavy Crude
American refineries require Venezuelan crude because approximately 70 percent of U.S. refining capacity runs most efficiently with heavier grades of oil, not the lighter crude produced by domestic shale operations in West Texas and North Dakota. Gulf Coast refineries, which include nine of the country's ten largest facilities, were designed decades ago to process heavier and more sour grades imported from countries including Canada, Mexico and Venezuela, creating strong industry demand if the administration enables renewed access to Venezuelan supplies.
WSJ
Falling Oil Prices Deliver Consumer Relief While Threatening to Slash New Drilling and Reduce Future Supply
Oil prices have dropped from $78 per barrel when President Trump took office to around $56 on Wednesday, delivering cheaper fuel to consumers who now pay an average of $2.80 at the pump, the lowest level since early 2021. The decline stems largely from OPEC's decision to boost production last spring, creating particular relief for low- and middle-income Americans who spend a larger share of their income on fuel. However, prices are already approaching the $50 per barrel threshold that many U.S. producers consider unprofitable for drilling operations, forcing companies to pause new projects and reducing future domestic supply as smaller independent producers struggle to generate sufficient cash flow to drill their next wells. Trump's announcement that the U.S. would receive 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela and invest billions to restore the country's output could push prices even lower, potentially devastating the domestic shale industry that has been a key supporter of the president and curtailing new drilling activity, even as he struggles to persuade oil-and-gas companies to increase production to help achieve his political goals of lower consumer prices.
WSJ
Federal Agent's Fatal Shooting of Woman Ignites Minnesota-Trump Administration Confrontation
A federal immigration agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, prompting Mayor Jacob Frey to call the government's account "bullshit" and Governor Tim Walz to describe the incident as "totally predictable" and "totally avoidable," while federal officials defended the shooting as necessary and lawful. The incident marks an escalation in tensions that have built for weeks, fueled by long-standing animosity between Trump and Walz dating to the 2020 George Floyd riots, the 2024 vice presidential campaign, and recent federal criticism of Minnesota's handling of a massive fraud scheme targeting social service programs that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, with the Trump administration deploying approximately 2,000 agents to Minneapolis in what it called its "largest operation to date" to crack down on fraud and target illegal immigrants.
NYT
BREAKING: Another angle of the Ice shooting in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/wpIdZw1v3Y
— StrandenOSINT (@StrandenOSINT) January 7, 2026
Iran Protest Crackdown Fuels Polymarket Bets on Regime Collapse by June
Protests and strikes spread to multiple Iranian cities on Wednesday as merchants closed traditional bazaars in Tabriz, Isfahan, Mashhad and Kerman to protest the failing economy and plunging currency, while Tehran's bazaar remained shuttered for an eleventh day amid security forces deploying tear gas and beating demonstrators. The head of Iran's judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, and security chief General Ahmad Reza Radan promised stern measures and prosecution of protesters, contrasting with President Masoud Pezeshkian's government spokesperson who struck a conciliatory tone, calling protesters "our children" and expressing pain over bloodshed. The escalating unrest has driven increased betting activity on Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market, where traders now see a 36 percent chance that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will be removed by June 30, up from less than 20 percent before U.S. military action in Venezuela. The shift in betting patterns reflects growing speculation on geopolitical contracts as investors reassess the Trump administration's emboldened foreign policy approach.
NYT, WSJ
January 8 1815: The Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought after the war had technically ended because the peace treaty—Treaty of Ghent—was signed on December 24, 1814, but news hadn’t reached the Gulf Coast yet. Without fast communication, British forces attacked and Andrew Jackson’s entrenched Americans won a decisive victory even though the treaty had already restored peace.
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