The first weekend of 2026 began with overnight breaking news of U.S. military action in Venezuela. This action led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, early Saturday morning.
The couple, alongside their son, were charged with federal criminal offenses tied to alleged drug trafficking and related crimes and are expected to be prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
News outlets immediately switched to breaking news mode, covering the initial strikes in Caracas and ongoing developments throughout the weekend. They also provided live coverage of President Donald Trump’s press conference from Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Saturday morning.
Here’s a breakdown of how each network responded to the breaking news situation and how their coverage evolved throughout the weekend. (All times ET.)
ABC News
ABC News had special reports of the breaking news at 3:56 a.m. and 4:29 a.m., anchored by Alison Kosik with additional reporting by Martha Raddatz, Selina Wang, Matt Rivers, Lama Hasan, and contributor Steve Ganyard.
CBS News
It was the first broadcast network with a special report at 2:42 a.m., anchored by Carissa Lawson. It also aired another special report at 4:43 a.m. Newly minted CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil anchored a special edition of the evening news program on Saturday evening. His 10-city inaugural tour has been postponed to a later date, and he will anchor his first regular Monday edition from New York.
CNN
CNN was the first network to report the military strikes in Venezuela, with Elex Michaelson anchoring at 1:42 a.m. Polo Sandoval, Ben Hunte, and Frederik Pleitgen anchored overnight coverage. Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, and Sara Sidner anchored the network’s mid-morning and afternoon coverage.
.@Elex_Michaelson has earned his stripes with his perfect handling of this REAL Breaking News
Well done !
1.3.26 1:42 am ET pic.twitter.com/JT0wFza28W
— Jeff Storobinsky (@JeffStorobinsky) January 3, 2026
Fox News
FNC’s overnight anchor Chanley Painter reported on the strikes at 1:49 a.m. She was later joined by Eric Shawn throughout the early morning hours. Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Griff Jenkins took over at 5 a.m., leading up to Fox & Friends Weekend at 6 a.m. Bret Baier was on at 11 a.m., anchoring President Trump’s news conference. Mike Emanuel anchored from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., followed by a special extended edition of The Fox Report anchored by Jon Scott from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
