Machado presents

prize to Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump. She described it as a recognition of his commitment to Venezuela’s freedom.

The White House hasn’t confirmed if Trump accepted the medal. Machado met with Trump on Thursday to discuss Venezuela’s future, despite his doubts about her leadership. She greeted supporters after the meeting, expressing confidence in Trump’s support.

The meeting comes amid U.S. efforts to control Venezuela’s oil following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Machado has been a key figure in opposing Venezuela’s ruling party since 2004.

US issues

warning to Iran

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. and Iranian officials faced each other at the U.N. Security Council, where America’s envoy renewed threats against the Islamic Republic despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower the temperature between the two adversaries.

The U.S. was joined Thursday by Iranian dissidents to rebuke the government’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say has killed at least 2,637 people. Mike Waltz is the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. He said Trump has made it clear that all options are still on the table to stop the slaughter.

Iranian ambassador Hossein Darzi blasted the U.S. for what it claimed was America’s “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence.”

Gaza ceasefire

questions remain

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed nine people, including three women, following the U.S. announcement of a second phase in the fragile ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ceasefire largely symbolic, questioning its implementation.

The announcement marked progress but left many questions unanswered, including the composition of a proposed Palestinian governing committee and the deployment of international forces.

Palestinians in Gaza expressed skepticism about changes on the ground, citing ongoing violence and hardships. The second phase of the ceasefire faces challenges, including disarming Hamas and transitioning governance. Reconstruction is expected to take years and cost over $50 billion.

Sporting events

exempt from ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has identified a host of athletic competitions it classifies as “major sporting events” — aside from soccer’s 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games — that athletes and coaches will be allowed to travel to the U.S. to take part in despite a broad visa ban on nearly 40 countries.

In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates Wednesday, the State Department said athletes, coaches and support staff for the World Cup, the Olympics and events endorsed or run by a long list of collegiate and professional sporting leagues and associations would not be subject to the full and partial travel bans that apply to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.

However, the cable made clear that foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors planning to attend the same events would still be banned unless they qualify for another exemption.

Senate passes

spending bills

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is halfway home in approving government funding for the current budget year that began Oct. 1 after the Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a three-bill package.

Now comes the hard part. Lawmakers still must negotiate a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security amid soaring tensions on Capitol Hill after the shooting of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Lawmakers are working to complete passage of all 12 annual spending bills before Jan. 30, the deadline set in a funding patch that ended a 43-day government shutdown in November. With the Senate’s action on Thursday, six of those bills have now passed through both chambers of Congress. The measure before the Senate passed by a broadly bipartisan vote of 82-15. It now goes to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

That recent success would greatly reduce the impact of a shutdown, in the unlikely event that there is one at the end of January, since lawmakers have now provided full-year funding for such agencies as the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior and Justice.