NATIONAL NEWS

Trump invites Colombian president to White House days after threatening it with military strike

Jan 7, 2026, 4:13 PM

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro attend a rally he called to protest comments by U.S...

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro attend a rally he called to protest comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying the two had exchanged a friendly phone call and that he’d invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.

“It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump posted on his social media site Wednesday night. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.” He said that meeting would take place at the White House.

That came mere days after Trump said in the wake of the U.S. operation in Venezuela over the weekend that “Colombia is very sick too” and accused Petro of ”making cocaine and selling it to the United States” before adding: “He’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” Asked whether U.S intervention was possible, Trump responded, ”Sounds good to me.”

National News

A banner on the front end of a bus features images of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and China...

Associated Press

Trump has a China problem in Venezuela: What to do with Beijing’s debt and oil stakes

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to claiming that Venezuelan oil is now under his control, President Donald Trump is mincing no words. But no small part of that oil belongs to China under contracts it struck with Caracas years ago, setting the stage for a delicate diplomatic dance in the next few weeks. Some […]

22 minutes ago

Federal agents and police clash with protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building i...

Associated Press

Fatal ICE shooting sparks jurisdiction clash between state and federal authorities

A day after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, the case escalated sharply Thursday when federal authorities blocked state investigators from accessing evidence and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to investigate the killing. Legal experts said the dispute highlights a central question raised repeatedly as federal agents are deployed into […]

39 minutes ago

United National Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended an event to mark the end of the U.N. po...

Associated Press

UN forecasts global economic growth of 2.7% this year, down slightly from 2025

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations is forecasting that the global economy will grow by 2.7% this year, slightly lower than last year’s estimate, citing the impact of higher U.S. tariffs, economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions. U.N. economists predicted that growth would edge up to 2.9% in 2027. That’s still well below the average […]

56 minutes ago

Associated Press

Federal immigration officers shoot and wound 2 people in Portland, Oregon, authorities say

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, authorities said. The FBI’s Portland office said it was investigating an “agent involved shooting” that happened around 2:15 p.m. “involving Customs and Border Patrol Agents in which 2 individuals were wounded.” The Portland Police Bureau said its officers […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Man wielding sharp object shot by police in Brooklyn hospital

NEW YORK (AP) — Police shot a man wielding a sharp object in a hospital in Brooklyn on Thursday. New York City police say the incident happened around 5:30 p.m. at the NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Officers responded to a report of a man armed with a sharp object inside the facility in Brooklyn’s Park […]

1 hour ago

FILE - A pumpjack operates in the foreground while a wind turbine at the Buckeye Wind Energy wind f...

Associated Press

Experts say Trump pullout from UN climate fighting will hurt world and leave US out of green surge

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the entire United Nations climate-fighting apparatus takes America’s environmental isolation to another level and is likely to damage both the United States and the world as the planet flirts with ecological tipping points, experts say. Leaders from around the world say the United States will be left […]

2 hours ago

Trump invites Colombian president to White House days after threatening it with military strike