WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against U.S. President Donald Trump, said that the Republican had acknowledged to others that he lost the 2020 election against former President Joe Biden, according to a transcript of a testimony by Smith.

An emboldened President Donald Trump declared Sunday night that the US is “in charge” of Venezuela after detaining President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid over the weekend, as he issued stark warnings to other countries that they could be next.

President Donald Trump's military intervention in Venezuela is testing his ability to hold the Republican coalition together.

President Trump said Venezuela must be restored to “law and order” and economic discipline before any talk of elections, following the dramatic US operation that ended with the arrest of leader Nicholas Maduro.

Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his decision to bring charges twice against President Donald Trump -- telling lawmakers in a closed-door deposition earlier this month that his team "had proof beyond reasonable doubt in both cases" that Trump was guilty of the charges in the 2020 election interference and classified documents cases.

In his celebratory news conference on the U.S. capture of Venezuelan strongman leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump set out an extraordinarily forthright view of the use of U.S. power in Latin America that exposed political divisions from Mexico to Argentina as Trump-friendly leaders rise across the region.

Democrats immediately argued that U.S. military action in Venezuela was an abandonment of the president’s promise to focus on improving lives at home.

If history is a guide, Republicans stand a good chance of losing control of the House of Representatives in 2026. They have just a slim majority in the chamber, and the incumbent party usually gives up seats in midterm elections.

Elon Musk joined Donald Trump for dinner during the weekend that the White House announced a US military operation in Venezuela.

Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder & CIO of Marcellus Investment Managers says the downward pressure on Indian rupee persists unless the U.S. and India can reach a free trade agreement, which he doesn't think is likely to happen due to U.

Trump seized on Mamdani’s rise as one of the left’s leading figures to warn he spelled disaster for NYC. Then he won, and Trump changed his tune.

Washington Examiner’s investigations editor Sarah Bedford said President Donald Trump has delivered on his campaign promises ahead of the 2026 elections, which could motivate Trump supporters ahead of a tough election cycle.