FACT FOCUS: Trump repeats false claims as he discusses US raid to extract Venezuela's president

President Donald Trump on Saturday held an extended news conference to explain theU.S. raid on Venezuelato extract President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, at times veering off topic and repeating false claims around his initiatives.

In praising the military, Trump highlighted National Guard deployments into U.S. cities, making erroneous claims about crime in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles.

Here's a closer look at the facts.

TRUMP, discussing the impact of U.S. strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela: "Each boat kills on average, 25,000 people."

THE FACTS: Trump has previously made this claim suggesting that 25,000 American lives are saved with every alleged drug boat U.S strikes "take out." But the numbers don't add up and sometimes don't exist. For example, people in the U.S. who die from drug overdoses each year are far fewer than the number of people Trump suggests have been saved by the boat strikes his administration has carried out since September.

According to thelatest preliminary datafrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics System, there were up to 76,516 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during the 12-month period that ended in April 2025, down 24.5% from the up to 101,363 for the previous 12-month period.

The U.S. military has attackedat least 35 boatsin the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since strikes began on Sept. 2, most recently on Dec. 31. Using Trump's numbers, that would mean the strikes have prevented 875,000 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S — far more than the number of overdose deaths that have occurred in recent 12-month periods. This essentially implies that the administration is saving more lives than would have ever been lost.

Opioids accounted for 73.4% of drug overdose deaths in 2024,according to the CDC's State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. That includes 65.1% from illegally made fentanyls. But while the boat strikes have targeted vessels largely in the Caribbean Sea, fentanyl is typically trafficked to the U.S.overland from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.

TRUMP, discussing the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C.: "We haven't had a killing. We had the terrorist attack a few weeks ago, a little bit of a different kind of threat. But we haven't had a killing in a long period of time. Six, seven months."

THE FACTS: Trump has alsomade this false claimbefore. There have been59 homicidesin the past seven months, including two last week, according to the latest Metropolitan Police Department statistics.

That number also includes thefatal shootingof a West Virginia National Guard member on Nov. 26 by an Afghan national. Another Guard member was injured in the shooting, which FBI Director Kash Patel said was being investigated as anact of terrorism.

The city saw126 homicidesin 2025, 29 of whichoccurred afterNational Guard troops were deployed to the nation's capital on Aug. 11.

In launching the deployment, Trumpdeclared a public safety emergencyand said his administration also would be removing homeless encampments. He said he aimed to reduce crime, but the city's attorney general said violent crime in the district reached 30-year lows in 2024 and was down an additional 26% in 2025.

TRUMP, discussing National Guard deployments in Chicago and Los Angeles: "We also helped, as you know, in Chicago. Then crime went down a little bit there ... And likewise, Los Angeles, where — we saved Los Angeles early on."

THE FACTS: Guard members were never on the streetsin Chicagoas legal challenges played out. When the Chicago deployment was challenged in court, a Justice Department lawyer said the Guard's mission would be to protect federal properties and government agents in the field, not "solving all of crime in Chicago."

Between 2020 and 2024, homicides in Chicago were down 25%. However, rape increased 27%, while robbery went up 17% and aggravated assault up 11%.

Trump deployed about 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June to guard federal buildings and, later, to protect federal agents as they carried out immigration arrests.

The number of troops slowly dwindled until just several hundred were left. They were removed from the streets by Dec. 15 after a lower court ruling that also ordered control to be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom. But an appeals court had paused the second part of the order, meaning control remained with Trump. In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to Newsom.

Find AP Fact Checks here:https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

FACT FOCUS: Trump repeats false claims as he discusses US raid to extract Venezuela's president

President Donald Trump on Saturday held an extended news conference to explain theU.S. raid on Venezuelato extract Presid...

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Trump says Cuba 'something we'll be talking about' after Maduro ouster

PALM BEACH — WithNicolás Maduro in U.S. custodyand American authorities running Venezuela, which is next? Cuba? Colombia? The Panama Canal?

The Havana regime is in his sights,President Donald Trumpsaid Jan. 3.

"Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, very badly failing nation, and we want to help the people," the president said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago a day after a U.S. military operation removed Maduro from Venezuela. "It's very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country."

The president also reiterated aggressive comments toward Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, who last month denigrated the Trump administration as a "clan of pedophiles" citing investigatory files from sex abuser and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump said Petro also is presiding over a state interwoven with the narcotics trade. The president then said he stood by assertions he made late last month that the South American leader needs to "watch his ass."

The globally strategic passageway in the Panama isthmus did not come up during the press gathering in the Winter White House but Trump has cajoled the Panamanian government about alleged Chinese domination of the canal. However, the Central American country's president, José Raúl Mulino, said on Jan. 2 that the brewing break with Washington was over and his government was actively cooperating with the United States to address grievances.

So it was mostly Cuba that Trump was interested in addressing in Palm Beach in discussing Operation Absolute Resolve to remove Maduro from the seat of power in Caracas.

"We want to surround ourselves with good neighbors," Trump said. "We want to surround ourselves with stability."

The communist regime in Havana, now being led by Miguel Díaz-Canel, has been in power for 67 years. It celebrated another anniversary of the Fidel Castro-led revolution on New Year's Day.

"Cuba is, you know, not doing very well right now," Trump said. "That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years."

Asked by Trump to speak about the situation in the Caribbean island 90 miles from U.S. shores, Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that Cuba is a "disaster."

"It's run by incompetent, senile men, but incompetent, nonetheless," he said. "It has no economy. It's in total collapse."

Earlier, Rubio had said the administration "will talk with anybody" but warned adversaries against gamesmanship.

"Don't play games with this president because it's not going to turn out well," the former U.S. senator from Florida and son of Cuban exiles said. "I guess that lesson was learned last night and we hope it'll be instructive going forward."

Trump has long been engaged in Cuba foreign policy, and domestic U.S. politics. He is the only presidential candidate ever endorsed by the Bay of Pigs veterans organization, the Brigade 2506 Association, first in 2016 and then in 2020 and 2024.

During his first term, Trump traveled to the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami, Florida, to give a speech to announce he was rolling back the Obama administration's engagement policies and reopening of tourism and trade ties with the Cuban regime led at the time by Raúl Castro, Fidel's younger brother.

"The previous administration's easing of restrictions on travel and trade does not help the Cuban people — they only enrich the Cuban regime," Trump said during a June 16, 2017 speech at the Manuel Artime Theater. "The outcome of the last administration's executive action has been only more repression and a move to crush the peaceful, democratic movement."

The then-45th president added: "Therefore, effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba."

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him atafins@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post:After Venezuela raid, has Trump sets sight on regime change in Cuba?

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

Trump says Cuba 'something we'll be talking about' after Maduro ouster

PALM BEACH — WithNicolás Maduro in U.S. custodyand American authorities running Venezuela, which is next? Cuba? Colombia?...

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Venezuelans in South Florida mark Maduro's ouster as 'day of freedom'

Miriam Hidalgowoke at 3 a.m. on Jan. 3to the phone call the 66-year-oldVenezuelan-Americanhas waited decades to receive: The U.S. had taken Nicolás Maduro, her homeland's president, into custody.

The move filled the Palm Beach County, Florida, resident — who moved to the U.S. in 1995 to raise her two daughters away from the instability she felt brewing in the place she was born — with relief and joy.

"After 30 years living in this country, to see the government doing something so wonderful, it makes me so happy," Hidalgo said as she stood hours later with other supporters near Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate where PresidentDonald Trumpgave the order to make the military action happen.

Hidalgo was one of thousands of people across South Florida to stop and celebrate the ouster of a man whose government they say is marked by corruption, authoritarian tactics, widespread food shortages, the collapse of public services, hyperinflation and, U.S. prosecutors say, narco-terrorism.

'Today is the day of freedom'

Edgar Rodriguez got his call about the operation in Caracas two hours before Hildago. He stood in a sea of Venezuela's colors — red, blue and yellow — outside the El Arepazo restaurant in Doral, Florida, and said the ouster of the South American nation's strongman had him hoping that one day, he might return home.

"It's 26 years of a nightmare," Rodriguez, a coordinator for Vente Venezuela, the political party many say ousted Maduro from the presidency in the 2024 election. "So many innocent people have died. There are so many tortured political prisoners and families separated by people being forced to flee the country."

"Today is the day of freedom," Rodriguez added. "Today, that nightmare finally comes to an end."

The scene around Rodriguez grew more festive as more than 100 people descended on the restaurant, a landmark that stands about a mile northwest of Trump National Doral Miami golf club.

Some draped the Venezuelan flag on their backs, others held posters saying "Freedom for Venezuela" and "Until the end," and much of the crowd of more than 100 put their hands on their chests and sang their nation's anthem, "Gloria Al Bravo Pueblo," in unison.

"USA! USA! USA!" they chanted as they finished.

Even a timbalero showed up to entertain the crowd, ending his percussion show by screaming, "Que viva Venezuela libre!"Long live a free Venezuela.

"Que viva Venezuela," the crowd answered.

Opponents say Congress should have OK'd Trump Maduro plan

Not everyone who gathered near Mar-a-Lago did so to support President Donald Trump's decision. Some thought he should have sought the approval of Congress before ousting a foreign head of state. Trump in his remarks Jan. 3 said informing Congress could have led to the operation being leaked to reporters.

Paula McCleese, 74, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was one of nine protesters outside Trump's Palm Beach estate. They stood across the street from a crowd of Trump supporters about three times their size who wore MAGA hats and waved Venezuelan flags.

The group of nine joked that while they opposed Trump, they wouldn't mind if the leader of another country took a page from his book and brought the U.S. president into custody.

"I am resisting this fascist regime that I've been forced to live under since 2016, with a little break from PresidentJoe Biden," McCleese said, holding a "Fight fascism" sign. "We are resisting the lawlessness of this presidency."

McCleese said her parents, whom she described as World War II survivors and Republicans, shaped her sense of civic responsibility and are "rolling in their graves." She added she was disappointed by the size of the demonstration but not surprised.

"I think people are in La La Land," she said. "They don't feel the threat."

Asked about the Venezuelan-Americans across the street who said they welcomed the recent development as a chance for peace for the country, McCleese disagreed.

"No, no, Venezuelan people should be fighting," she said. "What our leader did is break our own laws. Two wrongs do not make a right."

She added that, had Congress voted to approve the move, she likely would have supported it.

"We hate Trump!" shouted a man standing beside her. A passing driver shouted back: "We hate you!"

Some Venezuelans would return to a free, prosperous nation

By noon, two groups of Trump supporters had appeared outside of Mar-a-Lago. One waved American flags, wore MAGA hats and screamed invectives at the small gathering of protestors across the street. The protesters screamed back, trading insults and curses as cars honked between them.

The other group, a minute's walk west, showed less anger and more euphoria. They held Venezuelan flags, laughed, embraced, sang in Spanish and chanted: "Free Venezuela, free Venezuela, finally Venezuela is free!"

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals had fled to the United States, receiving Temporary Protected Status to live and work here. Trump's administration is in the process of removing that status, potentially leaving many of them without valid work permits and subject to deportation.

Some said they would be glad to go home to a free and safe Venezuela. Lisbeth Garcia stood outside of El Arepazo holding a banner of Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who many believe defeated Maduro in the 2024 election. It read: "Venezuela is our only option."

"We are all in jubilee here in Doral," Garcia said. "We have renewed hope that we will have a prosperous Venezuela that will welcome all of us who left home."

Hidalgo credited President Donald Trump for what she described as decisive action against Maduro's government. She urged Americans who oppose U.S. involvement abroad to reconsider.

"Without this help, there will be no change," she said. "Without help, Venezuela will never be free. Just like Cuba."

Valentina Palm covers immigration and the western communities of Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her atvpalm@pbpost.com.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her athphillips@pbpost.com.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him atafins@pbpost.com.Support local journalism:Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post:Venezuelans in South Florida mark Maduro's ouster as 'day of freedom'

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

Venezuelans in South Florida mark Maduro's ouster as 'day of freedom'

Miriam Hidalgowoke at 3 a.m. on Jan. 3to the phone call the 66-year-oldVenezuelan-Americanhas waited decades to receive: ...

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Trump sheds more light on Venezuela strike, Maduro capture

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump shed more light on the strikes on Venezuela and the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

During an interview on Fox News Saturday morning, the president said he didn't think any U.S. troops were killed during the operation overnight; however, he said a couple of troops were hit, including a helicopter.

He added that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are en route to New York after being taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima, which is deployed in the Caribbean. Earlier, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the couple had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and would be tried on American soil.

The president said the operation was originally planned to take place four days prior, but was postponed due to the weather.

He said he watched the operation unfold from Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Palm Beach, Fla.

"The team did an incredible job…There's no other country on Earth that can do such a maneuver," said the president. "I've never seen anything like this. I was able to watch it in real time, and I watched every aspect of it."

Trump added that the U.S. was prepared to carry out a second wave, but that it wasn't necessary.

"We were all set – and this was so lethal, this was so powerful, that we didn't have to … We were out there with an armada like nobody's ever seen before," said the president.

He said that Maduro and his wife were captured in a highly secured fortress.

Trump was asked what he thinks is next for Venezuela and its people.

"We're making that decision now. We can't take a chance on letting somebody else run it and just take over where he left off," Trump added.

In support of the president's actions, Vice President JD Vance defended the administration's actions in a social media post, saying that Maduro was "offered multiple off ramps" from Trump. Still, the president "was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States."

"And PSA for everyone saying this was 'illegal': Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don't get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas," Vance posted.

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

Trump sheds more light on Venezuela strike, Maduro capture

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump shed more light on the strikes on Venezuela and the operation to capture Venezuelan President ...

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With capture of Maduro, Trump claims successful operation as he treads into uncharted territory

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the capture ofVenezuela's Nicolás Maduro, PresidentDonald Trumpand his allies are calling theaudacious military operationa major success as the U.S. leader once again demonstrated a willingness to use U.S. forces for risky missions that come with a potential big payoff.

The operation has ousted a South American strongman blasted by Trump's administration as an "illegitimate" dictator and a "narco-terrorist," a scourge responsible for a steady of stream of illegal drugs poisoning U.S. and Europe.

"It was a brilliant operation, actually," Trump told The New York Times shortly after U.S. forces were cleared from Venezuelan airspace. He later added in an appearance on "Fox & Friends" that some U.S. troops were injured in the strike but none were killed.

But the path ahead could certainly be treacherous as the White House faces a series of difficult questions.

Who will fill the power vacuum now that Maduro is gone? How do you maintain stability in a country that's already endured years of hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages and brain drain despite its vast oil wealth?

What lessons will U.S. adversaries take from Trump's decision to demonstrate American might in its sphere of influence asChina's Xi Jinpingvows to annex the self-ruled island of Taiwan andRussia's Vladimir Putinhas designs on neighbor Ukraine and diminishing NATO's eastern flank?

Trump takes a big risk

The operation to remove Maduro certainly marks another big moment for Trump's foreign policy in his second term, as he hasn't shied away from flexing U.S. military might even as he has vowed tokeep America out of war.

Trump has now twice used U.S. forces to carry out risky operations against American adversaries. In June, he directedU.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites.

Saturday's action stirred fresh anxiety in capitals around the world that have sought to adjust to a new normal in Trump 2.0, where the idea of the U.S. trying to find global consensus on issues of war and peace is now passe. On Friday, Trump issued a new threat to Iran that if it "violently kills peaceful protesters" — in protests sparked by the collapse of Iran's currency — the United States "will come to their rescue."

With the Venezuela operation, Trump followed through on a promise, spelled out in hisNational Security Strategypublished last month, to assert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

More questions than answers

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery said the immediate path ahead for Trump in Venezuela could be more difficult to navigate than what he faced after the Iran strikes.

"Unlike the (Iran) strikes where Trump did the action and then said 'fights over,' he will not have that luxury here in Venezuela," said Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish think tank in Washington. "He needs to stay engaged in Venezuela to make sure that Maduro's cronies — equally guilty of any crime he is — are also pushed out of power, and they may want to stay and fight as they don't have too many places to run."

What's next for Venezuela?

European allies had expressed concern as Trump built up a massive presence of troops in the Caribbean in recent months andcarried out dozens of lethal strikeson suspected drug smugglers — many that the administration claimed were effectively an arm of the Maduro government.

Maduro was hardly viewed as a choir boy by the international community.His 2018and 2024 elections were seen as riddled with irregularities and viewed as illegitimate.

But many U.S. allies greeted news of Maduro's capture with a measure of trepidation.

European Commission President António Costa said he had "great concern" about the situation in Venezuela following the U.S. operation.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas added on X. "Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint."

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said "the military operation that led to the capture of Maduro infringes the principle of the non-use of force that underpins international law."

"France recalls that no lasting political solution can be imposed from outside and that sovereign peoples alone decide their future," he said in a statement posted on X.

The criticism from some Democrats over Trump's military action to oust Maduro was immediate.

"This war is illegal, it's embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year." Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona wrote on X. "There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela."

Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a U.S. "act of armed aggression" against Venezuela in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Saturday. The ouster of Maduro, who was backed by the Russians, comes as Trump is urging Putin to end his nearly four-year brutal war on Ukraine.

"Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention," the statement said.

Similarly, China's foreign ministry in a statement condemned the U.S. operation, saying it violates international law and Venezuela's sovereignty.

Capture follows months of pressure

The operation was the culmination of a push inside the administration led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other like-minded foes of Maduro who have been urging Trump to take action against the Venezuelan leader for years dating back to Trump's first administration.

In south Florida — the epicenter of the Venezuelan diaspora opposition to Maduro that has influenced Rubio's thinking — Saturday's operation was cheered as an era-changing moment for democracy.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, said he had spoken to Rubio and thanked Trump for having "changed the course of history in our hemisphere. Our country & the world are safer for it," he wrote on X, comparing Maduro's ouster to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Maduro had sought a pathway to exit from power, while saving face.

Venezuelan government officials hadfloated a planin whichMadurowould eventually leave office, The Associated Press reported in October.

The proposal, which was rejected by the White House, called for Maduro to step down in three years and hand over to his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who would complete Maduro's six-year term that ends in January 2031. Rodriguez would not run for reelection under the plan.

But the White House had rejected the proposal because the administration questioned the legitimacy of Maduro's rule and accused him of overseeing a narco-terrorist state.

Maduro earlier this week said Venezuela wasopen to negotiatingan agreement with the United States tocombat drug traffickingand work with Washington on promoting U.S. further investment in the Venezuelan oil industry.

But Trump for months has insisted that Maduro's days in power were numbered.

Shorty after Trump announced Maduro's capture, the White House posted video on one of its social media accounts of Trump in October explicitly telling reporters that Maduro was feeling pressure fromthe U.S. campaignand trying to cut a deal.

"He doesn't want to f—- around with the United States," Trump said.

Elliot Abrams, who served as U.S. special representative for Iran and Venezuela in the first Trump administration, said the president now must decide how invested his administration will be in shaping the next government in Caracas. Venezuela's opposition says the rightful president is the exiled politicianEdmundo González.

"I think the real question is whether Trump will claim victory and be satisfied with Delcy Rodriguez making some promises or engaging in negotiations," Abrams said. "Or will he insist on Gonzalez."

Trump in an appearance on Fox & Friends on Saturday morning said he wasn't ready to commit to a certain leader but pledged his administration would be "very involved" in Venezuela.

"We can't take a chance of letting somebody else run it — just take over where (Maduro) left," Trump said.

AP writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Kanis Leung in Hong Kong, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, and Elise Morton in London contributed reporting.

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

With capture of Maduro, Trump claims successful operation as he treads into uncharted territory

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the capture ofVenezuela's Nicolás Maduro, PresidentDonald Trumpand his allies are calling thea...

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Watch Anderson Cooper react to Taylor Swift's 'Wood' during NYE event

Taylor SwifthadAnderson Coopergiggling like a teenage girl on New Year's Eve as he read the lyrics to the singer-songwriter's spicy song "Wood" from her recent album "The Life of a Showgirl."

During CNN's annual "New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen,"Cooper, 58, could be seen raising his eyebrows and expressing his astonishment over the song's lyrics as his co-hostCohen, 57, sipped his drink, chuckled at the camera and encouraged the popular broadcaster to keep reading.

"You're probably familiar with this song, I was not," Cooper said about the song, to which Cohen responded, "Sweetie, yeah."

As Cooper read the song's lyrics, which include "Redwood tree his love was the key that opened my thighs" and "New Heights of manhood," he continued to giggle with Cohen, leaving no chance to tease his pal.

View this post on Instagram

What haveTaylor Swiftand Travis Kelce said about 'Wood'?

"Wood," which is part of Swift's 12th studio album, is clearly about Swift's fiancé,Travis Kelce, with mentions of hispodcast "New Heights"and getting a "hard rock," presumably herengagement ring.

While discussing the song on"The Tonight Show,"Swift joked that her writing process for the song started "in a very innocent place," but that she doesn't know "what happened, man."

"I got in there, we started vibing, and I don't know how we got here," the singer told "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon.

Swift turns superstitions on their head in "Wood" with the line, "Seems to me that / you and me, we / make our own luck," before rounding out the bumping beat with "his love was the key that opened my thighs."

When asked onSiriusXM's "Morning Mash Up" what it was like to play "Wood" for her mom, Swift joked: "I think that she thinks that that song is about superstitions, which it absolutely is."

"That's the joy of the double entendre," she continued. "You can play that song for people, and it just goes right over their head. You see in that song what you want to see in that song."

Need a news break?Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

Pop star Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Aug. 26, 2025. The couple began dating in the summer of 2023. Look back at their time together, including here, at the game between Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers during the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 12, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Kelce react after the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 26, 2025 in Kansas City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> (Top Row L-R) Swift and Travis Kelce attend the men's final match between Italy's Jannik Sinner and USA's Taylor Fritz on day fourteen of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on Sept. 8, 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Kelce watch game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 14, 2024 in Bronx, N.Y.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift watches the action during the first half between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 29, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Donna Kelce arrive prior to a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 29, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kelce celebrates with Swift after a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game at M&T Bank Stadium on Jan. 28, 2024, in Baltimore, Md.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift reacts after Kelce (not pictured) scores a touchdown against the Bills during an AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 22, 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Jerrod Carmichael watch the 2024 AFC divisional round game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Jan. 21, 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift reacts during the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 10, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Lyndsay Bell, from left, Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes react in a suite during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Brittany Mahomes cheer during the second half of the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 22, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Donna Kelce look on before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 12, 2023.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Donna Kelce look on before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 12, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and actor Blake Lively cheer prior to the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 1, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift cheers prior to the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 1, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift reacts while sitting next to Donna Kelce watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium on Sep 24, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Swift and Kelce (87) react after the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Mo.

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

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged! See the couple's love story in photos

Pop star Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelceannounced their engagement on Aug. 26, 2025. The couple began dating in the summer of 2023. Look back at their time together, including here, at the game between Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers during the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 12, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla.

Kelce also spoke about the viral song on his own "New Heights" podcast.

In a playful exchange, when Kelce's brother, Jason, asked him for his thoughts on the song, theKansas City Chiefstight end responded that "Wood" is a "great song." When his older brother pressed him further and alluded to the fact that the lyrics are presumably referencing the NFL tight end's manhood, Travis feigned innocence.

"Any song that she references me in…" Travis began before Jason interrupted, "That's not just any song. This is a very specific you." He added, "It's not just you, though. It's an appendage."

"What?" Travis replied, pretending not to get the double meaning of the lyrics. "I think you're not understanding the song."

Internet loves CNN's NYE duo

Besides blushing over Swift's new song, Cooper and Cohen appeared to be having great fun during the NYE special, taking multiple shots on air, playing with puppets made in their likeness and FaceTiming TV host Stephen Colbert. Social media users, meanwhile, could not get enough of the two getting tipsy on-air and giggling through the night.

Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper need to be in a Christmas Hallmark movie.The best energy.#NYE2026#CNNNYEpic.twitter.com/a2bvAVHnIQ

— CHRIS TORELLO 𝕏 (@TorelloSports)January 1, 2026

The world could be actively burning, but Anderson Cooper cackling while drunk on NYE will forever heal every wound 🥹#CNNNYE

— liv (@sophaaachi)January 1, 2026

From January 1st, I count the days until I get to see Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen drunk again!And that Anderson giggle and Andy while drunk out of his mind still so protective of Anderson.Andy and Anderson friendship goals!#CNNNYEpic.twitter.com/P3TEqTZxdx

— Carmella (@Sussex5525)January 1, 2026

The real New Year's Eve tradition is watching Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper get drunk on live television.@andy#CNNNYE#HappyNewYearpic.twitter.com/U53XUZsfS5

— Erika (@erikaxtc)January 1, 2026

I will never get tired of watching Anderson Cooper take a shot#CNNNYE#NewYearsEvepic.twitter.com/hupLFRH7GC

— Christine Galea (@chrisgalea)January 1, 2026

Cooper, during the show, also delivered a heartfelt message about grief, reminding people they are not alone and encouraging them to end the year with hope.

'Wherever you are in the world, or in your grief, you are not alone," Cooper said. "You are here with us, and I am grateful that we are together."

Contributing: Bryan West, USA TODAY NETWORK

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Anderson Cooper in awe after reading lyrics to Taylor Swift's 'Wood'

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

Watch Anderson Cooper react to Taylor Swift's 'Wood' during NYE event

Taylor SwifthadAnderson Coopergiggling like a teenage girl on New Year's Eve as he read the lyrics to the singer-song...

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Family of Tommy Lee Jones’ Daughter Victoria Speaks Out After Her Death at 34

Hiroko Tanaka/NurPhoto via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Victoria Jones, daughter of actor Tommy Lee Jones, was found dead at age 34 on Jan. 1

• "We appreciate all of the kind words, thoughts, and prayers," the family in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 2

• Victoria died of a suspected overdose, according to dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE

Tommy Lee Jones' family is speaking out after the tragiclossof hisdaughterVictoria.

"We appreciate all of the kind words, thoughts, and prayers," the family shared in a statement with PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 2. "Please respect our privacy during this difficult time. Thank you."

Victoria was 34 when she was found unresponsive early on Thursday, Jan. 1 at the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel and pronounced dead,PEOPLEpreviously reported. She was the daughter of theMen in Blackstar and his ex-wife Kimberlea Cloughley, who also share son Austin Jones, 43.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE, the call for the incident involving Victoria was classified as a "code 3 for the overdose, color change." In drug overdose cases, "color change" refers to cyanosis — low oxygen levels in the blood, often linked to heart or lung issues, perCleveland Clinic— which causes a blue or purple discoloration of skin, lips, and nails.

Victoria followed in her father's acting footsteps in his 2002 filmMen in Black II, plusThe Three Burials of Meliquiades Estradain 2005 and an appearance in an episode ofOne Tree Hillin 2003.

At least two times in the past year she was arrested, according to court dockets reviewed by PEOPLE, including an arrest for drug possession.

A police source toldNBC Bay Areathat they do not suspect foul play in relation to Victoria's death. The official cause of her death has not yet been determined.

"We are deeply saddened by an incident that occurred at the hotel on January 1, 2026. Our heartfelt condolences are with the family and loved ones during this very difficult time," Fairmont San Francisco press director Michelle Hestontold PEOPLEin a statement. "The hotel team is actively cooperating and supporting police authorities within the framework of the ongoing investigation."

Read the original article onPeople

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 03, 2026

Family of Tommy Lee Jones’ Daughter Victoria Speaks Out After Her Death at 34

Hiroko Tanaka/NurPhoto via Getty NEED TO KNOW Victoria Jones, daughter of actor Tommy Lee Jones, was found dead at age 34 on Jan. 1 ...

Read More