The Evening: Trump pressures oil executives

January 9, 2026

	By Matthew Cullen

Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.

Trump pressures oil executives
Protests spread across Iran
Plus, Shawn Levy takes on ‘Star Wars’

President Trump sitting at a long table with other suited men and pointing at a crowd of people raising their hands.

President Trump with oil executives in the East Room at the White House. Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

Trump pushes oil giants to invest in Venezuela

President Trump sat down with more than a dozen oil executives this afternoon and told them that he expected their companies to spend at least $100 billion rebuilding Venezuela’s dilapidated oil infrastructure. It was left unclear whether the companies would follow through.

Some smaller businesses have indicated an eagerness to tap into Venezuela’s oil reserves, thought to be the world’s largest. But oil giants like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips that have the money and expertise needed to meaningfully increase production have privately expressed reservations about returning.

Exxon’s chief executive told Trump during today’s meeting that “pretty significant changes” would be needed in Venezuela before the company could commit significant resources there. He called the country’s oil industry, which has undergone waves of nationalization, “uninvestable.”

The president also said he could have “obliterated” Venezuela had it not cooperated, but added that his administration was getting along “extremely well” with its people and new leadership. Venezuela’s interim government said today that it was beginning a process to possibly re-establish diplomatic relations with the U.S., and American officials arrived in Caracas to explore reopening the embassy there, which has been closed for seven years.

For more:

Early today, the U.S. military said it had boarded another tanker in the Caribbean carrying Venezuelan oil, the fifth that U.S. forces have boarded or seized in the past month.
China, which has built a major strategic position in Latin America, is watching Trump’s next moves closely.
Trump said he was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.”

An elderly cleric with a white beard and black turban sits in a wooden chair. Two microphones are positioned in front of him.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, in a picture made available by his office. Office of The Iranian Supreme Leader, via Reuters

Iran threatens to crack down on swelling protests

Fierce anti-government protests have spread to dozens of Iranian cities, fueled by the country’s currency crisis and spiraling inflation. Videos from last night showed government buildings on fire and thousands of demonstrators flooding the streets.

Today, in an address to the nation, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said his government would “not back down” in the face of the protests. Hours later, Iran’s National Security Council said that “saboteurs” would be shown “no leniency.” These were among several official statements that indicated that the government would resort to its playbook of suppressing demonstrations using mass arrests and violence.

Amnesty International said that at least 28 protesters had been killed in recent days. Other human rights groups estimated higher tolls. President Trump has said that the U.S. would aid the protesters if Iran’s leaders use lethal force against them.

A man in a flak jacket and mask ties police tape around a tree as a police officer directs traffic.

Federal agents tape off a street after the shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Minnesota officials demand role in ICE shooting investigation

Two days after a federal agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in her car in Minneapolis, ICE agents remained in the city, schools remained closed and a small group of protesters clashed with federal officers outside a government building. In a news conference today, state officials asked the federal government to allow them to jointly investigate the shooting.

In related news, the Trump administration said it was reopening thousands of refugee cases in Minnesota amid an intense federal crackdown on immigrants in the state.

In Portland, Ore., federal authorities released the names of two people who were shot by immigration agents yesterday during a traffic stop. Here’s what we know.

Andria Lo for The New York Times

Elon Musk’s A.I. is generating sexualized images of real people

On X, Elon Musk’s popular social media platform, users can make requests of a chatbot called Grok. Recently, users have used the tool to generate a flood of manipulated images depicting real women and children in sexually suggestive ways.

The pictures have outraged some of the subjects, as well as government officials around the world, who questioned their legality. In a statement, Musk’s social media company said it would remove illegal content depicting children and permanently suspend accounts requesting such images.

More top news

Economy: Employers continued to hire at a modest pace in December, but for the full year of 2025, U.S. employment growth was the weakest since the recession in 2020.
Arts: The Washington National Opera is leaving the Kennedy Center after Trump’s intervention upset artists and donors.
Ukraine: Russia said it had used a nuclear-capable missile to strike the country’s west, a possible message to Europe. Here’s what to know about it.
California: Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have reduced their business and personal ties to the state, potentially underscoring the impact of a proposed wealth tax.
Government: The Trump administration shrank the federal work force by about 220,000 workers through November, about a 10 percent cut.
Europe: The E.U. and four South American countries signed a pact that would create one of the largest free-trade zones in the world, covering some 700 million people.
Court: Swamped by emergencies, the Supreme Court today issued the first decision of a term that began in October, a historically long lag.
Myanmar: The country’s junta created its strange capital, Naypyidaw, as a gilded fortress. Times journalists got a look inside.
Space: Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google, and his wife, Wendy, are trying to build four major new telescopes in just four years. Here’s how.

TIME TO UNWIND

A man in a burgundy sweater rides on the back of a man in a green outfit with his arms outstretched.

Zach Braff, top, and Donald Faison in the “Scrubs” revival. Jeff Weddell/Disney

TV shows turn back the clock this winter

New episodes of “Scrubs” and “Malcolm in the Middle” are coming soon, and Patrick Dempsey is starring on network television. Don’t worry, you weren’t suddenly transported back to 2005 — networks and streaming services are banking on nostalgia-fueled spinoffs.

My colleague Mike Hale, a television critic, picked out 33 TV series to watch over the next few months. Some of his choices include Season 2 of Hulu’s “Paradise” and a new chapter in the “Game of Thrones” universe called “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”

In a similar portrait but with a greenish cast, a man in a dark sweater and pants reclines with his knees up.

Max Miechowski for The New York Times

Can Shawn Levy make ‘Star Wars’ relevant again?

After a few less than stellar “Star Wars” spinoffs, Lucasfilm tapped the director Shawn Levy to revive the franchise. Levy — who made “Deadpool and Wolverine” and helped make “Stranger Things” — has a reputation as a reliable, easygoing filmmaker who is well attuned to audiences, if not critics.

His entry into the galaxy, “Star Wars: Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling, is set to release in 2027. Our writer Calum Marsh recently visited the set, and during a conversation with Levy, the filmmaker had a breakthrough about how his difficult childhood influenced his work.

A living room with bright pink walls, a rainbow rug and orange and mauve furniture.

Brittany Ambridge

Dinner table topics

Color palette: For a cohesive home design, find one thing you love and use it as inspiration. Here are some examples.
“Common Sense”: Almost exactly 250 years ago, Thomas Paine helped ignite the drive for American independence. That wasn’t the end of his story.
Winter Olympics: The U.S. speedskating team has perhaps its strongest squad in years. Meet the skaters.
Red carpet hair: Helena Jhong built a business making custom wigs, including some for Hollywood stars, largely by word of mouth.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEKEND

A plate with a browned piece of salmon, white rice, green beans and a fork.

Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Kaitlin Wayne.

Cook: Honey mustard is always great. It makes this salmon recipe shine.

Watch: “Magellan” is one of the movies that got our critics talking this week.

Read: Take a vicarious vacation with these romance novels.

Save: Our columnist has advice for making, and keeping, New Year's financial resolutions.

Consider: Doctors and researchers offered tips for improving your gut health.

Test yourself: Take this week’s news quiz.

Play: Here are today’s