By STEPHEN GROVES and JOEY CAPPELLETTI

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.

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Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on a 52-47 vote and ensure a vote next week on final passage. It has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it if it were to pass the Republican-controlled House. Still, it was a significant gesture that showed unease among some Republicans after the U.S. military seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.

Trump’s administration is now seeking to control Venezuela’s oil resources and its government, but the war powers resolution would require congressional approval for any further attacks on the South American country.

“To me, this is all about going forward,” said Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the five Republican votes. “If the president should determine, ‘You know what? I need to put troops on the ground of Venezuela.’ I think that would require Congress to weigh in.”

The other Republicans who backed the resolution were Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana.

Democrats had failed to pass several such resolutions in the months that Trump escalated his campaign against Venezuela. But lawmakers argued that now that Trump has captured Maduro and set his sights to other conquests such as Greenland, the vote presents the Republican-controlled Congress with an opportunity.

“It’s time for Congress to assert its control over military action of this kind, and it’s time to get this out of secrecy and put it in the light,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who forced the vote.

Lawmakers’ response to the Venezuela operation

Republican leaders have said they had no advance notification of the raid early morning Saturday to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, but mostly expressed satisfaction this week as top administration officials provided classified briefings on the operation.

The administration has used an evolving set of legal justifications for the monthslong campaign in Central and South America, from destroying alleged drug boats under authorizations for the global fight against terrorism to seizing Maduro in what was ostensibly a law enforcement operation to put him on trial in the United States.

Republican leaders have backed Trump.

“I think the president has demonstrated at least already a very strong commitment to peace through strength, especially in this hemisphere,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “I think Venezuela got that message loudly and clearly.”

A vote on a similar resolution in November narrowly failed to gain the majority needed for passage. Paul and Murkowski were the only Republicans voting in favor then.

Paul, an outspoken proponent of war powers resolutions, acknowledged that Maduro is seen as a “bad guy” and “a socialist and an autocrat.” But, Paul added, “The question is about who has the power to take the country to war?”

Some progressive Democrats have suggested inserting language in a defense appropriations bill to limit certain military actions, but that idea met resistance from more pragmatic members of the caucus. Democratic leaders have tried to cast Trump’s foreign ambitions as a distraction from the issues that voters face at home.

“The American people are asking what the hell is going on in Venezuela and why is this president, who campaigned on ‘America First,’ now spending all his time and energy on escapades overseas?” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a floor speech.

House Democrats were also introducing a similar resolution on Thursday.

The rarely enforced War Powers Act

Congress was once again left in the dark during the military operation in Venezuela, with Trump later confirming that he talked to oil executives but not leaders on Capitol Hill. That reflects a broader pattern in Trump’s second term, unfolding under a Republican-controlled Congress that has shown little appetite for reasserting its constitutional authority to declare war.

Under the Constitution, Congress declares war while the president serves as commander in chief. But lawmakers have not formally declared war since World War II, granting presidents broad latitude to act unilaterally.

Congress attempted to rein in that authority after the Vietnam War with the War Powers Resolution, passed over Republican President Richard Nixon’s veto. The law requires presidents to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces and to end military action within 60 to 90 days absent authorization — limits that presidents of both parties have routinely stretched.

Democrats argue those limits are being pushed further than ever. Some Republicans have gone further still, contending congressional approval is unnecessary altogether.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally who traveled with the president aboard Air Force One on Sunday, said he would be comfortable with Trump taking over other countries without congressional approval, including Greenland.

“The commander in chief is the commander in chief. They can use military force,” Graham said.

Greenland may further test the limits

Graham’s comments come as the administration weighs not only its next steps in Venezuela, but also Greenland. The White House has said the “military is always an option” when it comes to a potential American takeover of the world’s largest island.

While Republicans have cited Greenland’s strategic value, most have balked at the idea of using the military to take the country, instead favoring a potential deal to purchase the country.

Democrats want to get out in front of any military action and are already preparing to respond. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said he is working on a resolution “to block Trump from invading Greenland.”

“We must stop him before he invades another country on a whim,” Gallego wrote on X. “No more forever wars.”

Kaine also said Wednesday that a resolution on Greenland would soon be filed, in addition to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Nigeria.

Greenland belongs to a NATO ally, Denmark, which has prompted a much different response from Republican senators than the situation in Venezuela. Paul said Republicans discussed Trump’s plans for Greenland at their Wednesday luncheon and he heard “zero support” for taking military action to seize it.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, used a Senate floor speech to criticize White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller for comments this week that the U.S. should take control of Greenland. Tillis said such remarks were “amateurish” and “absurd.”

“This nonsense on what’s going on with Greenland is a distraction from the good work he’s doing,” Tillis said of the president. “And the amateurs who said it was a good idea should lose their jobs.”

By TODD RICHMOND

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man accused of killing his parents and stealing their money to fund a plan to assassinate President Donald Trump pleaded guilty to two homicide counts in a deal with prosecutors Thursday, locking himself into two life prison sentences.

Nikita Casap, 18, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in Waukesha County Circuit Court in connection with the deaths of his stepfather, Donald Mayer, and his mother, Tatiana Casap, last year. In exchange, prosecutors dropped seven other charges, including two counts of hiding a corpse and theft.

Each homicide count carries a mandatory life prison sentence. Judge Ralph Ramirez could choose to make Casap eligible for parole after he serves 20 years on each count when he is sentenced on March 5.

Casap trembled in his seat at the defense table as Ramirez asked him if he understood the ramifications of his pleas and whether he shot his mother and Mayer. He responded “Yes, your honor” to everything.

Casap’s attorney, public defender Joseph Rifelj, spoke only to confirm the terms of the plea agreement with Ramirez and to say that he had sufficient time to speak with Casap about it. Rifelj left the hearing without speaking to reporters.

District Attorney Lesli Boese told reporters outside court that her goal was to force Casap to accept responsibility for his parents’ deaths and two mandatory life sentences amount to sufficient punishment.

She said she will push Ramirez to deny Casap any chance at parole. She said Casap is a “danger to the community and that she didn’t want to take any chances that he could be rehabilitated.

According to a criminal complaint, investigators believe Casap shot his stepfather and mother at their home in the village of Waukesha on or around Feb. 11.

He lived with the decomposing bodies for weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather’s SUV with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather’s gun and the family dog, according to the complaint. He was eventually arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28.

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Federal authorities have accused Casap of planning his parents’ murders, buying a drone and explosives and sharing his plans with others, including a Russian speaker. They said in a federal search warrant that he wrote a manifest calling for Trump’s assassination and was in touch with others about his plan to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.

“The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan,” that warrant said.

Detectives found several messages on Casap’s cellphone from January 2025 in which Casap asks how long he will have to hide before he is moved to Ukraine. An unknown individual responded in Russian, the complaint said, but the document doesn’t say what that person told Casap. In another message Casap asks: “So while in Ukraine, I’ll be able to live a normal life? Even if it’s found out I did it?”

With the Vikings comfortably ahead of the Green Bay Packers last weekend, quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a swing pass to star receiver Justin Jefferson for a short gain.

What looked like a rather innocuous play at the time ended up being the final snap McCarthy took in a season defined by its endless stream of ups and downs.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) runs past Green Bay Packers linebacker Jamon Johnson (48) on his way to a 1000 yards for the season in the second quarter of an NFL game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Jan 4, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

As soon as Jefferson got tackled, McCarthy signaled to the sideline, then left the game for good. He had been working through a small hairline fracture in his right hand and said after the game that he was worried about his ability to grip the ball.

“It killed me to pull myself out,” McCarthy said. “I’ve never done that before.”

The fact that McCarthy’s final throw went to Jefferson is almost poetic in that it perfectly encapsulates 1) the meat they feel was left on the bone this season and 2) the strides they hope to take together in the future.

“There’s so much room for us to grow by very simply throwing more routes together,” McCarthy said. “I love hanging out with him off the field, too. So, we’ll get really close there and be ready to go.”

Jefferson finished the season with 84 receptions for 1,048 yards and a pair of touchdowns, subpar by his standards. And that doesn’t sit right with him.

“We’re going to go to work,” Jefferson said. “That connection is going to grow more and more and more as we continue on.”

In the season finale, McCarthy seemed determined to get Jefferson the ball as much as possible. Asked if there was a throw from the game that he was most proud of, McCarthy highlighted a 12-yard completion to Jefferson on which he rolled to his right and fired downfield.

“That’s something we’ve been working on,” McCarthy said. “Just trust that he’s going to make the play if I put it to the spot.”

There seemed to be a lack of chemistry between McCarthy and Jefferson throughout the season. That partially stemmed from the fact that Jefferson missed most of training camp with strained hamstring.

“It impacted it,” Jefferson said. “Just because it’s less time to connect with each other.”

It was noticeable on the field as Jefferson averaged only 53.7 receiving yards per game with McCarthy as the starter. That also doesn’t include the pair of games that McCarthy left early due to a hairline fracture in his right hand.

Not that Jefferson seems too concerned about their connection in the long term. He’s been McCarthy’s biggest defender at times, and seems to have faith in the young signal caller’s potential.

“We need to get J.J. out of the real small bad habits that he had,” Jefferson said. “He’s still young. He still has room to grow. He still has time to blossom as a quarterback.”

Though he acknowledged that he has a lot of room to improve physically, mentally and emotionally, McCarthy maintained that his confidence was never shaken amid his struggles.

“I feel like confidence is something that’s innate,” McCarthy said. “You can’t let external factors shake it because then that’s not confidence.”

That mentality from McCarthy is easy for Jefferson to appreciate because that’s how the star receiver carries himself every time he steps on the field.

“He’s our guy right now,” Jefferson said. “My job is to connect with him during the offseason and get him to where we need to go.”

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Aside from the obvious, Governor Tim Walz’s decision to forgo a third term gives him the opportunity to focus entirely on the road ahead without the constraints of partisan considerations. We are now a month away from the opening of our next legislative session, and there is an absence of discussion relative to where we are going.

Both nationally and in Minnesota , there has been a shift away from intelligent discussion of public policy to endless partisan warfare with a deadening impact on the public. Just consider this: Only 17% of Americans trust their government and 85% do not believe elected officials care about “what people like them think” (Pew Research).

The upcoming State of the State speech gives Walz a unique opportunity to set a new tone in Minnesota. One that minimizes partisan conflict and builds partnerships for success. While the fraud controversy dominates, it is imperative to restore competence and integrity, and a first step would be to work with our state’s business community and create another LEAP (Loaned Executive Action Program) whereby business experts work with the state’s management to improve efficiency and competency, as was done by Gov. Wendell Anderson in the 1970s.

A necessary second step is to restore honesty to state government, and this means the abolition of legislative caucus fundraising, which involves the granting of special favors to wealthy donors as outlined in a University of Minnesota study released in May, 2021. Among those favors is the opportunity for special interests to “shape” legislation. This is both corrupt and illegal.

Gov. Walz can utilize the upcoming State of the State speech to bring Minnesotans together and restore both competence and honesty to our governance.

A bit of history may be helpful. Our Constitution requires the governor to report to the Legislature on the condition of the state, although it does not specify content or time. Gov. Harold LeVander, in 1969, transformed that minor happening into the dominant political event of the year by bringing all three branches of government together and, with all the appropriate pomp and formality, having the governor deliver a true State of the State speech outlining a clear vision for Minnesota’s future. Television and radio carried the message statewide while newspapers analyzed it in depth. That moment helped the public understand that principled policy inevitably produced good politics. And, perhaps, its greatest strength was that it focused on the betterment of Minnesota.

This attention to quality of life, captured in the State of the State address, helped rally Minnesotans around common goals.

On August 13, 1973, TIME magazine featured a smiling Gov. Wendell Anderson in a red lumber jacket, proudly holding a freshly caught fish against a sparkling Minnesota lake. Across the cover was the headline, “The Good Life in Minnesota”, and inside was a story titled, “The State That Works”, which praised Anderson’s leadership and the spirit of Minnesota governance during a time when the nation was mired in the Watergate scandal. Specifically cited were clean government, educational funding reforms (the “Minnesota Miracle”), low dropout rates, and open governance.

That success was no accident. It came from a meaningful partnership with leaders from business, labor, academia, media, the arts, non-profits and government all working together toward shared goals.

A key catalyst was the governor’s State of the State Address, which served as our roadmap to a better tomorrow. For the next 40-plus years, it compelled the political system to elevate public policy above partisanship and vision above cynicism.

Sadly, that focus has faded. The timing of the address has drifted into March or April, and, too often, it serves little purpose beyond partisan theater. This decline reflects a deeper erosion in that it has created a culture of mediocrity that has seeped into too many corners of our government and weakened our collective will to improve.

Today, Minnesota must once again choose the Road to Excellence, and that begins with the governor delivering a substantive and unifying State of the State Address at the opening of the legislative session. This would involve defining a vision that brings Minnesota together and fully committed to betterment.

As Robert Frost reminded us, two roads diverge before us. One sustains the status quo; the other requires courage, clarity and commitment. Let us take the road to excellence — and make all the difference.

Arne Carlson, a former Independent Republican governor of Minnesota, wrote this column on behalf of himself, retired DFL legislators Tom Berkelman of Duluth and Janet Entzel of Minneapolis and Duke Skorich, president of Zenith Research, Duluth.

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