Venezuela's top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said that over 400 people had been freed from prison as part of an ongoing release process, although rights groups say the real figure is much lower.

Caracas

Venezuelan families continue to demand information and the release of relatives detained as political prisoners, despite government announcements of mass prisoner releases. Rights groups and families report that the actual number of releases is much lower than official figures, and many remain in the dark about the fate of their loved ones.

The Venezuelan government has denied holding political prisoners and claims to have released most detainees from the 2024 election protests. However, organizations such as Foro Penal and families of detainees highlight slow progress, lack of transparency, and reports of mistreatment, including denial of medical care and legal counsel.

Families left in dark as Venezuela prisoner releases fall short

Through tears, Reydelith Rurio calls for the release of her brother, Renny, one of the many alleged political prisoners held in jails across Venezuela. Her plea came as the country's top lawmaker, Jorge Rodriguez, said Tuesday that over 400 people had been freed. The claimed mass release follows last week's announcement by Rodriguez and U.S. President Donald Trump. They said a large number of prisoners would be freed as a peace gesture after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Paduro. For the opposition, freeing political prisoners has been a long-standing demand. The Venezuelan government denies holding anyone for political reasons and says it has already released most of the 2,000 people detained after protests over the contested 2024 election. On Monday, the country's penitentiary authority said that 116 people had been freed, but Gonzalo Gimíob of local NGO Foro Penal says the actual number is far lower. The government's announcement was an announcement of mass releases from prison, and this must be refuted immediately. These mass releases have not taken place. Let us remember that the base figure we had established in the penal forum at the time of the announcement was 806 political prisoners. And if you compare this number with the number of releases, which today stands at 56, the truth is that there have been very few releases during this period. The organization also denounced the slow pace and lack of information surrounding the releases. For families, the uncertainty is agonizing. Sonia Martínez, aunt of detainee Victor Borges, says they're left wondering about his status every day. It's as if they turned off the light. Every day is the same, the same thought. Where is he? How is he? What have they done to him? Is he alive or not? And living like this every day, every day is the same, because we still have the same lack of information. Mexican leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has been one of the leading voices demanding prisoner releases, with some of her close allies among those still detained. She's expected to meet with Trump on Thursday. Families and rights groups have denounced what they say is abusive treatment of detainees. They say this includes the denial of medical care, the use of solitary confinement, a lack of access to legal counsel, and even torture.

At least 25 people were killed and about 80 injured when a train derailed in northeastern Thailand on January 14 after a construction crane collapsed onto three carriages.

Sikhio District

At least 25 killed, dozens injured in Thailand train derailment

United States President Donald Trump says he has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and has told protesters to “take over your institutions” amid Tehran’s crackdown.

Tehran

Trump cancels Iran meetings, urges protesters to take on institutions

Around 2,000 people including security personnel have been killed in protests in Iran, an Iranian official said, the first time authorities have acknowledged the high death toll from an intense crackdown on two weeks of nationwide unrest.

Iran official says 2,000 killed in nationwide unrest

Former President Bill Clinton is refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion has more.

Washington

Bill Clinton skips Epstein deposition on Capitol Hill

Former Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni, who also served as the president of soccer club AC Ajaccio, was shot dead in Corsica on January 11 during his mother’s funeral. He was 71. Alain Orsoni was one of the leaders of the Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) in the 1980s. He later founded and led the Movement for Self-Determination (MPA).

Vero

Ex-Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni killed at mother's funeral

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who needs to have a graft conviction overturned to seize her best chance at the French presidency, risks seeing her life's work upended if she loses her appeal. It comes after a French court last year barred her from running for office for five years over a European Parliament fake-jobs scam involving her and other officials from her National Rally party.

Paris

Marine Le Pen's appeal in EU fund embezzlement case opens in Paris

British regulators are investigating X for lewd AI images generated by Grok, the AI arm of Elon Musk's social platform. Michael Goodyear, an associate professor at New York Law School, joins CBS News with more.

London

UK investigating Musk's X over Grok's AI-generated images

As U.S. President Donald Trump weighs a response to Iran's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, Iranian leaders say they are still keeping communications open with the Americans. But on January 12, large pro-government rallies took place across Iran, and the U.S. was clearly framed as the enemy and instigator of the protests.

Iranian leaders mobilise supporters as U.S. weighs intervention

Last week an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent shot and killed Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother who was observing a law enforcement action carried out by the agency.

Minnesota

Minnesota sues federal government to prevent further ICE deployment

The demonstrations are the biggest Iran has seen in years. Protests spurred by the Iranian currency collapse have morphed into a larger test of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rule.

Trump weighs military action against Iran over protest crackdown

President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to safeguard Mexican sovereignty while cooperating with the US on key issues.

Mexico City

Mexico’s Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s threat of strikes on drug cartels

President Donald Trump said that any country which does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the U.S., as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

Trump says nations trading with Iran will face 25% U.S. tariffs

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country is ready for war but also for dialogue, after US President Donald Trump said the US is considering ‘very strong options’ in response to Iran’s crackdown on antigovernment protests.

Iran FM Araghchi warns ready for war if U.S. wants to ‘test’ it

Britain will bring into effect a law criminalizing the creation of non-consensual intimate images this week, technology minister Liz Kendall told parliament after regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X.

UK investigates Musk's X over Grok sexual deepfakes

Iran's internet was cut off late last Thursday, apparently in an attempt by government authorities to prevent protesters from organizing and uploading videos for the outside world to see.

Iran enforcing nationwide internet blackout amid protests

Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, amid concerns that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.

Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on a two-day visit. Merz is traveling with a large business delegation as Germany seeks to deepen economic and security ties.

New Delhi

Germany's Merz makes first official visit to India

At the first major awards show of the season, "One Battle After Another" and "Adolescence" both won four awards. In a surprise win, "Hamnet" upset "Sinners" for best motion picture for a drama.

Los Angeles

"One Battle After Another," "Adolescence" win big at Golden Globes

Fallout from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement officer in Minneapolis continues with government officials standing by the action and ordering more ICE officers into the city.

Minneapolis

Hundreds more ICE agents headed to Minneapolis after fatal shooting

Powell said the investigation, linked to a testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Fed buildings, was an attempt to limit central bank independence.

U.S. opens criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Protests continue in Iran amid a violent government crackdown. Activists say hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. President Trump says Iran now wants to negotiate to prevent a U.S. military response.

Trump says Iran 'wants to negotiate' as protests intensify

President Trump says Iranian leaders have reached out to the U.S. to negotiate, as massive protests continue and more deaths are reported by activists.

Trump weighs military option in Iran amid rising death toll

President Trump has been briefed on new military options for a strike against Iran amid widespread protests and a government crackdown on communications for Iranians, a senior U.S. official tells CBS News. "We'll be hitting them very hard where it hurts," he said at the White House.

Trump briefed on new military options for Iran strikes amid protests

Demonstrations in Iran are now entering their third week and the death toll is surging with hundreds killed, according to a human rights group. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that the Islamic regime will "not back down" in the face of the growing social unrest and calls for regime change.

Protests in Iran intensifying despite threat of death for dissidents

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcased a wide array of AI-powered innovations, including paper-thin televisions, interactive Lego, and binoculars that can identify bird species in real time. Notable breakthroughs included .Lumen's AI glasses for the visually impaired and Roborock's Saros Rover, a robotic vacuum cleaner capable of navigating stairs and various surfaces autonomously.

Las Vegas

Rise of AI

AI-powered innovation dominates Consumer Electronics show

Human remains were found in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swaths of bushland, police said. The blazes are burning out of control during a summer heat wave in Victoria state.

Victoria

'Gut-wrenching': Australian bushfires expected to burn for weeks

Anti-government protests in Iran show no sign of stopping. Human rights groups are putting the death toll at 116 with 2600 detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed U.S. support for the protesters.

Protests in Iran defy government crackdown

Iran's army is threatening to join the crackdown on protesters as demonstrations against the regime grow and the death toll mounts. Huge crowds have taken to the streets across the Islamic Republic. Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls them "terrorists." Haley Ott has more details.

Iran's army threatens to join crackdown against protesters

President Trump said, "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not," earlier this week. But Greenland, a territory of Denmark and a NATO ally, is rejecting the threats.

Nuuk

Greenland rejects Trump's threats

Trump, who often cites national security interests as the reason for taking Greenland, said that if the US does not do something, 'Russia or China will take over Greenland'.

Breakdown