The Daily Populous

Monday January 12nd, 2026 day edition

image for Trump posts picture of himself as ‘Acting President of Venezuela’

US President Donald Trump took to the social media platform TRUTH on Sunday (local time) to post a picture showing himself as the ‘Acting President of Venezuela.’.

In what seemed to be an edited Wikipedia page, Donald Trump was positioned as the incumbent Venezuelan president as of January 2026.

The new Venezuelan govt The US toppled the government in Venezuela in early January by launching "large-scale" strikes and capturing the president of the country, Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores in a military operation.

While Trump maintained that the US will "run" the Venezuelan government until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" can be ensured, the country's Supreme Court appointed Delcy Rodriguez as the interim president of Venezuela.

Trump had then reportedly allowed Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control.

According to Reuters, Trump warned of further military operations against Venezuela if members of Maduro's inner circle who have stepped in to lead the country do not cooperate with his demands, which largely focus on obtaining Venezuelan oil.

Trump said the US would refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, as US forces continued seizing oil tankers linked to Venezuela on Wednesday. »

Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

Authored by federalreserve.gov

On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June.

That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings.

This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. »

Several monkeys loose in St. Louis and authorities have no clue how they got there

Authored by dexerto.com

The St. Louis Department of Health and Animal Care and Control confirmed on January 9 that multiple monkeys were spotted roaming a north St. Louis neighborhood near O’Fallon Park.

Owning exotic animals is prohibited under St. Louis ordinances, and authorities have not identified any licensed facility or legal owner connected to the animals.

With assistance from the Saint Louis Zoo, the monkeys were identified as vervet monkeys, also known as green monkeys. »

Mass killings reported as security forces use live fire on Iran protesters

Authored by iranintl.com

The demonstrations followed massive rallies the previous night that was described as among the largest since the unrest began.

In Isfahan, video verified by Iran International showed a large crowd chanting “Khamenei is a murderer, his rule is illegitimate,” alongside monarchist slogans including “Long live the King.”.

Several witnesses told Iran International that security forces appeared overstretched in some areas, relying on intimidation tactics, warning shots and use of force. »

The Xbox Developer Direct will feature a secret fourth game

Authored by videogameschronicle.com

The upcoming Xbox Developer Direct will feature a currently unannounced fourth game.

VGC can corroborate this and understands that the fourth game is a smaller-scale original game from one of Xbox Game Studios’ first-party developers.

The Xbox Developer Direct will also include “the first in-depth look” at Beast of Reincarnation, the new game from Game Freak. »