A mother says goodbye to her son as Swiss community grieves after deadly fire

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — A Mass was held Sunday for victims of theNew Year's Eve fireat a bar in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, which left 40 dead and many severely injured, as distressed parents waited for news of their children or began the long process of mourning.

Gray-haired parents, teenagers and members of the police were seen comforting one another during the service, which took place at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana. Mass was set to be followed by a silent march to the site of the tragedy.

In the crowded pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped tightly and sometimes clasping rosary beads, as speakers delivered readings in German, French and Italian. Despite freezing weather, several hundreds followed the Mass on the screen installed outside the church.

The Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the "terrible uncertainty" for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured. "We pray for their friends hard hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship," he said.

Forty people died and 119 were injured in the blaze that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday atLe Constellation bar. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

By Sunday morning, Swiss authorities identified 24 out of the 40 fatalities. They include 18 Swiss citizens aged 14 to 31 years, two Italians 16 years old, one dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates also 16 years old, an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old French and a Turkish citizen, 18.

A grieving mother

One of the victims was 16-year old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.

"Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise," a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night, speaking to camera. "We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light."

Brodard's frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people disappeared during the fire, who did not know whether their loved ones were dead or in the hospital.

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims was particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Brodard also had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.

In her Facebook post, Brodard thanked those who "testified their compassion, their love" and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son. Other parents and siblings are still waiting in anguish.

Bar managers face a criminal investigation

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation of the bar managers.

The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais region's chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters Saturday. The announcement of the investigation did not name the managers.

Investigators said Friday they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottlesignited the firewhen they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Officials said they also would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced a national day of mourning for the victims on Jan. 9.

France's Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said 17 patients have received care in France, out of a total of 35 transferred from Switzerland to five European countries. Other patients were planned to be transferred to Germany, Italy and Belgium.

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw contributed to this report.

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January 04, 2026

A mother says goodbye to her son as Swiss community grieves after deadly fire

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — A Mass was held Sunday for victims of theNew Year's Eve fireat a bar in the Swiss A...

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A new Trump foreign policy doctrine emphasizes threats of regime change

President Donald Trump built his political appeal over the past decade partly by vowing to extricate America from military quagmires overseas, promising to avoid "nation building" and wars designed to topple regimes.

But hours after the American military executed a daring attack on Venezuelan soil — capturing its president, Nicolás Maduro — Trump said the U.S. would temporarily run the country and build up its oil industry, as he and his top Cabinet members put other world leaders on notice.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a Maduro ally, is "making cocaine" and sending it to the U.S., Trump alleged at a news conference Saturday. "So he does have to watch his ass."

In an interview earlier with Fox News, Trump expressed impatience with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over how to fight drug cartels that are "running" the country. He said, "Something's going to have to be done with Mexico," without elaborating.

Cuba, he said, is "going to be something we'll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was even blunter. "Look, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned at least a little bit," Rubio said, standing alongside Trump at the news conference.

"We'll talk and meet with anybody, but don't play games. Don't play games while this president's in office," he said. "It's not going to turn out well."

Trump's use of the U.S. military to oust Venezuela's president and his threats of potentially similar operations to come elsewhere are a dramatic shift from his past "America First" rhetoric, underscoring his pursuit of a more interventionist foreign policy in his second term. His remarks Saturday outlined a new foreign policy doctrine for a president who has demonstrated an increasing willingness to wield military force on multiple fronts.

It's an approach that could carry risk for a president who said in his inaugural address last January that he hoped to be remembered as a "peacemaker."

"We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end and, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into," Trump said at the time.

Former Defense Department official Seth Jones, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump and his national security team will own the results of whatever follows in Venezuela.

"This is theirs," Jones said. "If this goes south, there is no one else you can blame."

As a candidate in 2016, Trump blasted fellow Republicans and previous presidents for backing troubled military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. "Our current strategy of nation-building and regime change is a proven, absolute failure," he said.

In the 2024 presidential campaign, he pledged to fire "warmongers" serving in the government and chose a running mate, JD Vance, who championed his skepticism of waging wars in foreign countries.

Yet in his first year back in office, Trump has ordered military strikes on targets in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, Iran — and now in Venezuela to capture Maduro and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump is fulfilling his campaign promises by going after Maduro and that the operation was in keeping with his "America First" agenda.

"President Trump is a decisive and strong leader who does EXACTLY what he says he's going to do," Leavittwrote on X.

"During his historic campaign in 2024, President Trump explicitly promised that he would work to 'demolish foreign drug cartels' to keep our citizens safe and that's exactly what he did today through an unprecedented display of speed, precision, and power," Leavitt wrote.

White House officials also have cited Trump's role in brokering an elusive ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as proof that his tough approach can defuse conflicts.

The operation in Caracas early Saturday followed a U.S. air campaign that began in September against dozens of alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.

Those strikes, which, like the operation against Maduro, have not been authorized by Congress, have killed at least 114 people, according to the Pentagon. They have received both support from Trump's allies in Congress and criticism from lawmakers, former military lawyers and allied governments that the attacks violate U.S. and international law.

U.S. airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sitesin June, which featured the first use of a massive bunker-busting bomb, prompted criticism and concern among some of Trump's supporters and political allies that he was straying from his original anti-interventionist vision.

Trump is now threatening to attack Iran again unless the regime's leaders comply with his latest warning that they must not kill protesters massing in Tehran's streets over economic conditions.

"We are locked and loaded and ready to go,"Trump wrote Friday in a social media postpledging to come to the protesters' rescue if needed.

After Trump announced the capture of Maduro, most Republican lawmakers publicly endorsed the move, while Democrats and a handful of GOP members expressed doubts about the legal basis for the operation and the potential for an open-ended, risky U.S. commitment in Venezuela.

Outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, a staunch supporter of Trump-turned-critic,said on Xthat Trump's Make America Great Again supporters shared a "disgust" with "never ending" military adventures abroad.

"This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong," she wrote.

Trump's focus on foreign policy, either as a commander in chief presiding over airstrikes or as a "peacemaker" pushing for diplomatic deals, poses a potential political risk. Hisapproval ratingshave slipped as voters who hoped to see economic conditions brighten on his watch struggle to pay their bills.

Mark Mitchell, head pollster at Rasmussen Reports, who briefed Trump and senior White House officials privately in November, said that when voters are asked whether the government's focus needs to be on domestic or foreign policy, "everyone says domestic."

Mitchell said he told Trump that "the optics of spending too much time on foreign policy were hurting him."

In his remarks Saturday, Trump repeatedly referred to Venezuela's oil as a prize Americans gained in the operation against Maduro. Dissatisfied with the quantity of oil that Venezuela is pumping, he said, U.S. companies will now go in, boost supplies and sell the product.

A U.S. official elaborated later in the day, saying the administration will work with oil executives to begin expanding the country's oil output.

Trump did not rule out additional military strikes in Venezuela if he determines they are needed.

In 2002, as President George W. Bush weighed a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq, his secretary of state, Colin Powell, warned him of the potential risks of regime change.

"Once you break it, you are going to own it,"Powell told him, "and we're going to be responsible for 26 million people standing there looking at us."

Bush eventually opted to go ahead with the invasion and soon learned the harsh lessons of what was dubbed the "Pottery Barn rule."

Trump suggested Saturday that Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine will manage Venezuela's government transition.

Jones, the former Defense Department official, said the biggest problem Trump will face is creating the conditions for a government that has the support of the people of Venezuela.

"The entire success of the mission will hinge on whether the population views its government as legitimate," Jones said. "This was the fundamental problem the U.S. faced in Iraq."

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A new Trump foreign policy doctrine emphasizes threats of regime change

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What's next in Venezuela? Panama raid that ousted Noriega offers clues.

Gunfire in the streets of a Latin American capital. U.S. military troops swooping in by helicopter. A foreign leader, accused of drug trafficking, hauled off to America in handcuffs.

The Trump administration's Jan. 3capture of President Nicolás Madurobore some familiar echoes to the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama that ousted military strongman Manuel Noriega — and marked the most direct U.S. intervention in Latin America since.

But experts say that despite some similarities, the two key moments in America's long and checkered history of interventions differ in major ways that could make achieving U.S. goals more challenging this time following a raid that has revived regional anxiety.

PresidentDonald Trumpsaid Jan. 3 that his administration will "run the country" for a time and described an apparent nation-building effort. He said it would be funded by Venezuela's vast oil reserves to be tapped by American oil companies, some of which were forced out in the 2000s.

While many in Panama view Noriega's ouster as setting it on a path to become a growing and stable democracy, despite the deaths and trauma, that result is far less certain in a much bigger and complex nation beset by poverty, crime and lingering resistance, experts said.

Shaping a post-invasion future was a much easier task in relatively tiny Panama, in part because existing American troops linked to the Panama Canal were present before and after the invasion, said Will Freeman, a Latin America fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

While details remain scant, Freeman said he doubts the U.S. will field a full Iraq-style occupation force.

"This is not going to be so simple in Venezuela," he said. "One, it's not even likely that we get to democracy. And two, many of the problems that were there with Maduro are going to remain."

Leaders seek in vain to avoid capture

Trump's announcement of the raid came 36 years after the U.S. took Manuel Noriega into custody.

The famously acne-pocked military strongman was once a U.S. ally who had been recruited by the CIA to stanch the spread of communism. But he drew increasing U.S. ire for growing hostility and actions such as annulling an election and cracking down violently on opposition.

Exactly 36 years before the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an early morning military operation in Venezuela, U.S. forces took Panamanian General Manuel Noriega on Jan. 3, 1990. The arrest of Noriega shares more similarities with the Trump administration's alleged capture of Maduro than just a date on the calendar. See the impact of the U.S. operation in Panama.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Thousands of Panamanians marched towards the Vatican Embassy where Manuel Noriega has been seeking asylum on January 3, 1990. Noriega was first a CIA asset before he rose to power as Panama's military strongman leader. The U.S. indicted him on drug trafficking charges, and in late 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush dispatched tens of thousands of troops to Panama to capture Noriega and bring him to face trial in the U.S.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

See photos of the US invasion of Panama, capture of Manuel Noriega

Exactly 36 years before the U.S.captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduroin an early morning military operation in Venezuela, U.S. forces took Panamanian General Manuel Noriega on Jan. 3, 1990. The arrest of Noriega shares more similarities with the Trump administration's alleged capture of Maduro than just a date on the calendar. See the impact of the U.S. operation in Panama.

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush, citing authoritarian rule, concerns about the security of the Panama Canal and U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering charges, ordered "Operation Just Cause." It tapped more than 20,000 U.S. troops, many already in Panama, to seize control of military and infrastructure sites. A new president was sworn in soon after.

Maduro's capture also stems from a history of conflict with the United States.

Maduro came to power as the successor to President Hugo Chávez, a socialist leader who gained leadership in the late 1990s. The nation has since faced a mix of authoritarianism and skyrocketing poverty, crime and inflation.

Like Noriega, Maduro was indicted by U.S. prosecutors in 2020 on drug trafficking charges. But he was a less significant figure in drugs than Noriega or Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, who Trump recently pardoned, said Michael Shifter, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Pressure to oust Maduro gained steam since Trump's reelection last year. And in recent months, U.S. military buildup in the region included the deployment of aircraft carriers and fatal military strikes on small boats alleged to be carrying drugs.

Air Force Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. authorities spent time tracking Maduro's daily routines and moves before the military raid in which Maduro was captured by U.S. Special forces at his compound.

As U.S. forces cut power and descended on Maduro, the military encountered some resistance, including a helicopter struck by a bullet, and returned fire. Maduro did not make it to a reinforced steel safe room he was trying to reach, Caine said.Images and videoshowed explosions, burning vehicles, plumes of smoke rising over the capital city of Caracas, and a swarm of low-flying helicopters.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife landed in New York on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 to face several criminal charges after the United States conducted a large-scale operation in Caracas that captured the couple.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Nicolás Maduro lands in US: See the captured Venezuela leader's arrival

Venezuelan leaderNicolás Maduro and his wifelanded in New York on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026to face several criminal chargesafter the United Statesconducted a large-scale operationin Caracas that captured the couple.

By that night, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were in New York, where he stands accused of trafficking in cocaine during a 25-year career in public posts.

More than three decades earlier, Noriega also tried to slip away, driving through the streets to evade capture and eventually hiding in the Vatican embassy on Dec. 24.

Surrounded by U.S. forces, who couldn't storm the site, the U.S. military blasted constant music by Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath on loudspeakers, according toofficial accounts. He surrendered on Jan. 3, 1990.

Noriega was convicted, spending the rest of his life in U.S., French and Panamanian prisons before dying in 2017.

Interventions bring criticism and challenges

Both attacks were part of a century-long history of U.S. intervention – directly and indirectly – in the politics of Latin American countries such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

In the 1950s for example, the U.S. sought to remove Guatemala's democratically elected president amid land reforms that were affecting the U.S.-based United Fruit Company's exploitative labor practices.

The U.S. helped install a military dictatorship whose policies eventually triggered a civil war and led to mass human rights abuses during which more than 200,000 Guatemalans were killed or forcibly disappeared.

During the Panama invasion, at least 514 Panamanian soldiers and civilians were killed. However, some local reports have put the figure at double that. Twenty-three U.S. military personnel were killed. And the event was viewed by critics as yet another example of the U.S. ignoring sovereignty.

At that time, the U.S. sought to have a relatively quick intervention at a time when leaders were keen to avoid a quagmire, said Eduardo Gamarra, a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University.

In contrast, the Trump administration has turned away from the post-Cold War international order in actions and policies that have also drawn comparison toPresident Theodore Roosevelt's takeon the Monroe Doctrine that the U.S. should "exercise international police power" to end what Roosevelt called "chronic unrest or wrongdoing" in the hemisphere.

And it comes as some countries in Latin America have made a move to right-leaning governments. More were heading away from authoritarian leadership during the time of the Panama invasion, Gamarra said.

Trump has criticized Venezuela, which nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s, for added expropriations and other changes in the 2000s that forced many major U.S. oil companies out and led to legal battles over compensation.

While Trump said his administration plans to oversee Venezuela, U.S. forces have no control over the country itself, Reuters reported, though Trump didn't rule out having some "boots on the ground."

"We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said during a Jan. 3 press conference.

While Trump said Venezuelan Vice PresidentDelcy Rodriguezhad no choice but to be cooperative, Rodriguez appeared on Venezuelan television Saturday afternoon with other top officials to decry what she called a kidnapping.

Those efforts will face complexities not present in Panama decades ago, such as the presence of large oil reserves and security challenges from criminal groups to illegal mining interests, Shifter said.

This file photo shows a group of U.S. sailors from the battleship Connecticut and a gun they captured at Cape Haitien during the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Officers at Jacmel, Haiti, during the U.S. occupation in 1915.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A group of Cuban revolutionaries with Fidel Castro are seen with artillery after routing the U.S.-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Children cheer on the U.S. Marines following offensive in Vecca Monte west of Panama City, during "Operation Just Cause," the U.S. invasion to remove Manuel Noriega, which lasted from December 1989 through January 1990.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A U.S. Marine corps crew takes up position on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, on May 2, 1965, during the Dominican Civil War.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The U.S. Army Airborne troops drive down a street in Santo Domingo during the occupation of the Dominican Republic in 1965.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> U.S. troops in full combat gear run on the docks of Port-au-Prince harbor, on Sept. 19, 1994, after arriving on an assault helicopter. Thousands of U.S. soldiers arrived in Haiti on Sept. 19, 1994, as part of "Operation Uphold Democracy," to pave the way for the restoration of the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Hundreds of local residents run towards the U.S. Chinook helicopters, on Sept. 24, 1994, as a detachment of over 100 U.S. troops arrive in this small southern coastal town, 120 km south of Port-au-Prince, as part of the "Operation Uphold Democracy."

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

From Cuba to Panama: US interventions that shaped Latin America

This file photo shows a group of U.S. sailors from the battleship Connecticut and a gun they captured at Cape Haitien during the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915.

Uncertainty also stems from mixed reactions – some celebrating hopes for new freedom and others saying a line had been crossed – in a region where the military action revived anxieties about past U.S. interventions.

In Panama, which has drawn the spotlight of the Trump administration over immigration and canal oversight, Panama's president, José Raúl Mulino, weighed in onsocial mediathat included support of the "democratic process and the acceptance of the legitimate wishes of the Venezuelan people."

While the invasion of Panama 36 years ago wasn't widely seen as a precursor to other interventions, Trump's rhetoric aimed atColombia, Mexico and Cubaover various issues including illegal drugs has left some countries on edge.

"U.S. military intervention in the region has not always had a very happy record. And so I think that creates a lot of anxiety and a lot of apprehension," Shifter said. "If there are no limits and no rules, you know, why can't Trump do the same to them?"

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard of USA TODAY, Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Venezuela raid echoes Panama invasion that captured Manuel Noriega

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January 04, 2026

What's next in Venezuela? Panama raid that ousted Noriega offers clues.

Gunfire in the streets of a Latin American capital. U.S. military troops swooping in by helicopter. A foreign leader, acc...

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Today’s NYT ‘Strands’ Hints, Spangram and Answers for Sunday, January 4, 2026

Move over,Wordle,Connections, andMini Crossword—there's a new NYT word game in town! The New York Times's recent game, "Strands," is becoming more and more popular as another daily activity fans can find on the NYT website and app.

With daily themes and "spangrams" to discover, this is the latest addicting game to cross off your to-do list before a new one pops up 24 hours later.

We'll cover exactly how to play Strands, hints for today's Spangram, and all of the answers for Strands #672 on Sunday,January4.

How To Play Strands

According to the New York Times, here's exactly how to play Strands:

Find theme words to fill the board.

• Theme words stay highlighted in blue when found.

• Drag or tap letters to create words. If tapping, double-tap the last letter to submit.

• Theme words fill the board entirely. No theme words overlap.

Find the "spangram."

• The spangram describes the puzzle's theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. It may be two words.

• The spangram highlights in yellow when found.

• An example spangram with corresponding theme words: PEAR, FRUIT, BANANA, APPLE, etc.

Need a hint?

• Find non-theme words to get hints.

• For every three non-theme words you find, you earn a hint.

• Hints show the letters of a theme word. If there is already an active hint on the board, a hint will show that word's letter order.

What Is Today's Strands Hint for the Theme: "I just know..."

A hint for today's Strands game: Professor X.

What Are Today's NYT Strands Hints?

Warning: Spoilers ahead!In today's puzzle, there aresixtheme words to find (including the spangram). Here are the first two letters for each word:

• OR

• PS

• ME

• CL

• TE

• BR (SPANGRAM)

NYT Strands Spangram Hint: Is It Vertical or Horizontal?

Today's Spangram is mostly diagonal.

NYT Strands Spangram Answer Today

Today's Spangram answer on Today's NYT 'Strands' Hints, Spangram and Answers for Sunday, January 4, 2026, isSIXTHSENSE.

What Are Today's NYT Strands Answers, Word List for Sunday, January 4?

• ORACLE

• PSYCHIC

• MEDIUM

• CLAIRVOYANT

• TELEPATH

• SPANGRAM: SIXTHSENSE

Related: This Best-Selling Skincare Line Just Launched at Target and Shoppers Are Calling It Their 'Holy Grail'

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Today’s NYT ‘Strands’ Hints, Spangram and Answers for Sunday, January 4, 2026

Move over,Wordle,Connections, andMini Crossword—there's a new NYT word game in town! The New York Times's recent ...

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NYT Connections Sports Edition Today: Hints and Answers for Sunday, January 4, 2026

Get excited—there's another New York Times game to add to your daily routine! Those of us word game addicts who alreadyWordle,Connections,Strandsand theMini Crosswordnow haveConnections Sports Editionto add to the mix.So, if you're looking for some hints and answers for today's Connections Sports Edition on Sunday,January4, 2026, you've come to the right place.

🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox

What Is Connections Sports Edition?

Connections Sports Edition is just like the regular Connections word puzzle, in that it's a game that resets at 12 a.m. EST each day and has 16 different words listed. It's up to you to figure out each group of four words that belong to a certain category, with four categories in total.

This new version is sports-specific, however, as a partnership between The New York Times and The Athletic.

As the NYT site instructs, for Connections Sports Edition, you "group sports terms that share a common thread."

Related:The 26 Funniest NYT Connections Game Memes You'll Appreciate if You Do This Daily Word Puzzle

Hints for Today's Connections Sports Edition Categories on January 4, 2026

Here are some hints about the four categories to help you figure out the word groupings.

• Yellow: Color of bananas.

• Green: Fans own the team.

• Blue: North Carolina educational institution.

• Purple: Royal color.

Here Are Today's Connections Sports Edition Categories

OK, time for a second hint…we'll give you the actual categories now. Spoilers below!

• Yellow: THINGS THAT ARE YELLOW

• Green: ASSOCIATED WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS

• Blue: ASSOCIATED WITH THE DUKE BLUE DEVILS

• Purple: TEAMS THAT WEAR PURPLE

If you're looking for the answers, no worries—we've got them below. So, don't scroll any further if you don't want to see the solutions!The answers to today's Connections Sports Edition #468 are coming up next.Related:15 Fun Games Like Connections to Play Every Day

What Are the Answers to Connections Sports Edition Today?

• THINGS THAT ARE YELLOW: FOUL POLE, GEORGIA TECH, SOFTBALL, TOUR DE FRANCE LEADER

• ASSOCIATED WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS: CHEESEHEAD, FROZEN TUNDRA, LAMBEAU, TITLETOWN

• ASSOCIATED WITH THE DUKE BLUE DEVILS: CROWN, KRZYZEWSKIVILLE, THE SHOT, TOBACCO ROAD

• TEAMS THAT WEAR PURPLE: NORTHWESTERN, RAVENS, ROCKIES, VIKINGS

Don't worry if you didn't get them this time—we've all been there.

Up next,catch up on the answers to recent Wordle puzzles.

Related: Ikea Is Selling This Sleek Grilling Season Staple for an Unbelievable Price

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NYT Connections Sports Edition Today: Hints and Answers for Sunday, January 4, 2026

Get excited—there's another New York Times game to add to your daily routine! Those of us word game addicts who alrea...

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Wendi McLendon-Covey Says She ‘Goes Hard’ for the Holidays: ‘That’s My Season’ (Exclusive)

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NEED TO KNOW

• Wendi McLendon-Covey told PEOPLE how she prepares for the winter holidays: "I go hard"

• The actress admitted that once Halloween is over, "we're going straight to Christmas"

• McLendon-Covey can be seen in season 2 of the NBC comedy St. Denis Medical

Wendi McLendon-Coveydoesn't take the holidays lightly.

The actress, 56, recently sat down with PEOPLE to chat about season 2 of her sitcomSt. Denis Medical. In the process, she shared an exclusive glimpse into her plans for the most wonderful time of the year — and they've been in the works for months.

"I've scaled it to where when Halloween's over, we're going to go straight into Christmas," McLendon-Covey said. "So all I have to do is take down some pumpkins, change some lights, take down the witch hats, put up the sugar plum whatevers. I go hard. From September to Jan. 1, that's my season for decorating."

Byron Cohen/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

After all, theGoldbergsactress has deemed the holiday season the "best time of the year" because, as she put it, "when it gets dark early, you want to look at something pretty."

McLendon-Covey has also been known to create an extravagant Halloween display at "Covey Manor" when the spooky holiday rolls around. And while she often dons an elaborate costume herself, she's always delighted to find other people dressed up as her own iconic characters.

"Well, Clemy, Deputy Johnson [fromReno 911]. I see a lot of those around Halloween," she told PEOPLE. "A lot of Beverlys [fromThe Goldbergs]. And just a lot of crazy cat ladies because that is what I am. But people send me pictures, 'Thought of you, you were my inspiration.' So that's really fun."

While there are few very things that spark as much joy as decorating or dressing up for the holidays, McLendon-Covey also opened up about herpassion for rescuing cats.

"When they show up in your yard and they need you, we can't look away," she admitted of herself and her husband,Greg Covey. "I think my first pet was a kitty, and she was just so grateful to be rescued. And it's just such a small thing, but it's an important thing to show, 'Okay, someone's looking out for the little creatures.' "

Richard Cartwright/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

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"Everything else is going to hell in a handbasket, but we found this little life, and we're going to nurture it and give it a good home, and maybe in some small way that's making a difference somewhere. I don't know," she continued.

"They're cuddly, they're cute, they're hilarious," she added. "They all have their different personalities and they have their little meetings and their little way of talking to each other, and it's just fascinating to watch. So that's a hot Friday night for me — just throwing treats to the cats."

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January 04, 2026

Wendi McLendon-Covey Says She ‘Goes Hard’ for the Holidays: ‘That’s My Season’ (Exclusive)

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Maduro arrives in US after stunning capture in operation that Trump says will let US 'run' Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — DeposedVenezuelan leader Nicolás Maduroarrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in anaudacious nighttime military operationthat President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to "run" the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Maduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-nightoperation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital city of Caracas — an act that Maduro's government called "imperialist." The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic action capped anintensive Trump administration pressure campaignon Venezuela's autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Legal experts raised questionsabout the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro andcalled him the country's rightful leaderas her nation's high court named her interim president.

Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn't give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none were killed.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro's capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to "fix" the country's oil infrastructure and sell "large amounts" of oil to other countries.

Trump says US will 'run the country'

The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this "extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives."

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a "corrupt, illegitimate government" fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country's leader.

The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind adrone strikeat a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

Early morning attack

Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off "almost all of the lights" in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

"We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again," Caine said. "Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong."

Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro's government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an "imperialist attack" and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts —sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela's high court ordered that she become interim president.

"There is only one president in Venezuela," Rodriguez said, "and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros."

Some streets in Caracas fill up

Venezuela's ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gatheredoverwhelming evidence that he lostby a more than 2-to-1 margin.

In a demonstration of how polarizing Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture, while others celebrated it. At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro's return.

"Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!" the crowd chanted. "We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!"

In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.

"How do I feel? Scared, like everyone," said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. "Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn't sleep."

In Doral, Florida, home to the largestVenezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted "Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!"

Questions of legality linger

Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. "There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro," said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning. That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.

Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on "its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision."

Toropin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

byAdministrator

in

January 04, 2026

Maduro arrives in US after stunning capture in operation that Trump says will let US 'run' Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — DeposedVenezuelan leader Nicolás Maduroarrived in the United States to face criminal charges af...

Read More