A Washington trooper was injured in a crash caused by a rear-end collision on SR 512, prompting a safety warning.

A Washington State Patrol trooper was hospitalized with minor injuries after his patrol car was rear-ended on SR 512 in Pierce County, prompting a crash investigation and a warning to drivers to maintain safe distances behind emergency vehicles. Meanwhile, federal authorities added new charges in a drug trafficking case involving Marquis Jackson, a Seattle nonprofit leader linked to a federally funded violence intervention group. The U.S. also captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in New York on January 5, sparking debate over executive power and legal justification. In Washington state, health officials criticized a federal decision to reduce childhood vaccine recommendations, calling it a public health risk. In Auburn, two men pleaded guilty to an attempted home invasion where they impersonated police officers. In Ohio, police released surveillance footage of a person of interest in the unsolved killings of Spencer and Monique Tepe in Columbus.