Venezuela's government has accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in the capital, Caracas.

The Pentagon referred requests for comment to the White House, which has not yet commented. The Federal Aviation Authority banned US commercial flights in Venezuela airspace over "ongoing military activity" ahead of explosions in Caracas, which began about 1.50am on Saturday (5.50pm AEDT).

"One was so strong, my window was shaking after it," CNN correspondent Osmary Hernandez said.

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Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

"The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance," said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling.

She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party.

"We felt like the air was hitting us."

Venezuela's government has called on its supporters to take to the streets.

"People to the streets!" the government said in a statement.

"The Bolivarian government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilisation plans and repudiate this imperialist attack."

The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had "ordered all national defence plans to be implemented" and declared "a state of external disturbance".

Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for the United Nations to "meet immediately".

"Right now they are bombing Caracas. Alert the world, they have attacked Venezuela," Petro wrote on X.

Petro did not specify how he knew bombing had occurred or who "they" were. Colombia is one hour behind Venezuela's capital Caracas.

The blasts come as the US military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the US to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pre-taped interview aired on Thursday that the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the US. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.

US President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The US has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's economy.

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed was at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation's most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US and asserted that the US is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels.

More to come

– Reported with Associated Press and CNN

After about a year of planning, an 18-year-old was arrested on New Year's Eve in a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, accused by federal prosecutors and the FBI of intending to carry out a terror attack using knives and hammers that same day.

Christian Sturdivant was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, Russ Ferguson, US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced in a joint news conference with the FBI.

The teen was communicating online with someone he thought was a member of the violent extremist group, ISIS, Ferguson said. Instead, he was chatting with an undercover NYPD agent.

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Sturdivant, a US citizen, was arrested before any such plan could commence on New Year's Eve as he was being released from a medical facility, James C. Barnacle Jr., FBI special agent in charge, said.

While the teen planned to carry out an attack that day, it was not tied to a specific New Year's event.

Sturdivant is currently being held at Gaston County Jail on a federal hold, jail records show. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years if convicted, Ferguson said.

The teen appeared in court for the first time Friday and another hearing is set for January 7.

CNN has reached out to his attorney but has not heard back.

This appears to be at least the second known alleged attack plot disrupted during the New Year holiday this year, following a separate incident in Los Angeles, where the FBI arrested four people for allegedly working together on a bomb plot that was set to take place around the city on New Year's Eve.

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Teen plotted to 'do Jihad soon,' authorities said

From conversations with two undercover agents, Ferguson said it became clear Sturdivant was planning to "do Jihad soon," clearly outlining to agents the venue for his alleged attack: a local grocery store and a fast food restaurant in Mint Hill, a Charlotte suburb more than 16 kilometres outside the city.

During a search warrant executed at Sturdivant's home, FBI agents found hammers and knives hidden under his bed, handwritten notes about the alleged plot and a list of targets along with details about what he'd wear during and how he would execute it.

From what authorities described as a manifesto, titled "New Year's Attack 2026," investigators gathered that Sturdivant was targeting Jews, Christians and the LGBTQ community to stab "as many civilians as possible," authorities said.

The note also had a section headlined as "martyrdom op," which described a plan to attack any law enforcement that responded to the attack with the intent that Sturdivant would die a martyr, the FBI said.

Ferguson called the attack "very well planned," adding that Sturdivant "was preparing for Jihad and innocent people were going to die, and we were very, very fortunate they did not".

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Known to FBI since the age of 14

The FBI first learned of Sturdivant in January 2022 when he "was in contact via social media with an unidentified ISIS member overseas," Barnacle said.

That member, the FBI said, directed the then 14-year-old to dress in all black, knock on doors and attack people with a hammer, guidance Sturdivant followed closely before a family member stepped in.

No charges were filed at the time, Barnacle said, and Sturdivant was referred for psychological care with no access to social media, the FBI was told.

A week before Christmas, the Charlotte FBI field office learned he was back online posting pro-ISIS TikToks under a pseudonym authorities verified belonged to him and a two-week investigation into Sturdivant's activities ensued.

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A respected dentist and his wife were gunned down in their upscale Ohio home in the US while two young children were inside, authorities said, as the killer remains on the loose.

The bodies of Monique Tepe, 39, and her husband Spencer Tepe, 37, were found on Tuesday after a welfare check at their home in the 1400 block of N. 4th Street, Columbus police said.

"Two small children were also found in the residence unharmed," police said.

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Officers found no obvious signs of forced entry, and no firearm was found at the scene, CNN affiliate WSYX reported.

Police have not released any details about a possible suspect or motive and are asking the public for any information on the case.

Detectives are investigating the deaths as a double homicide, not as a murder-suicide.

Their direction is not surprising, CNN Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem said.

"If there's no gun, there would have been no way to do murder-suicide," she said.

"So that's why they excluded that relatively quickly.

"The other clue is, of course, the children are left safe."

The Tepes' children, ages four and one, are now in the care of relatives, the couple's brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, told CNN.

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"We are heartbroken beyond words," reads a statement provided to CNN on behalf of the Tepe family.

"While no outcome can ever undo this loss, our family is committed to seeing this tragedy fully and fairly brought to justice, and to honoring Spencer and Monique by protecting the future of the children they loved so deeply."

The couple "shared a beautiful, strong and deeply happy relationship," the statement said.

"They loved to travel, to laugh, and to build a life rooted in love."

Missed work arrival spurred concern

The owner of the practice where Spencer Tepe worked called 911 on Tuesday morning when Tepe uncharacteristically missed work.

"He is always on time, and he would contact us if there was any issues," Dr Mark Valrose of Athens Dental Depot told dispatchers.

"I don't know how else to say this, but we are very, very concerned.

"This is very out of character for him.

"We can't get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing."

An officer responded at 9.22am, but did not get an answer, WSYX reported, citing police records.

Colleagues also drove to the Tepes' home, and one friend heard children crying inside.

But no one answered the door.

The friend called police about 9.56am.

"I can hear kids inside, and I think I heard one yell," the caller said, according to dispatch audio. "But we can't get in."

About 10.03am, an audibly distressed man called 911.

"There's a body," he said.

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Type of crime is 'exceptionally rare'

Either of two scenarios for how the crime unfolded seems to be most likely, Kayyem said: a "stranger at the door who just happens to kill this couple, or some narrative that might explain why they were targeted."

To help zero in on a motive, investigators will examine forensics, the possible entry of the killer, whether anything was stolen and "the history of the family or the couple to determine whether … there's any threat to the rest of the community," she said.

Columbus police have not responded to CNN's questions about a motive for the killings or whether the couple was targeted.

Regardless of the motive, this type of crime is "exceptionally rare," Kayyem said.

"Given the fact that this doesn't happen often, and there was no signs of forced entry/burglary, you're going to look at people who they may have known or people who knew where they lived, unfortunately, and begin there," she said.

"Maybe this was random. But the … national data suggests both how uncommon this is as well as the likelihood that there may be someone who knew them who was involved with this."

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Family remembers couple as 'extraordinary people'

Athens Dental Depot announced its closure for the rest of this week.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share the sudden passing of our dear colleague and friend, Dr Spencer Tepe, as well as his wife Monique," the office posted on Thursday on Facebook.

"He will be deeply missed by our team and the many patients he cared for over the years.

"Our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with their families and loved ones during this very difficult time."

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The couple were "extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and a deep connection to others," said the Tepe family's statement.

A graduate of Ohio State University, Spencer Tepe was a member of the American Dental Association who was "deeply committed to serving others," the family said.

Monique Tepe was a "loving, patient, and joyful mother whose warmth defined her", the statement said.

She had a background in childhood education and brought "care and attention" into everything she did.

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The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made her first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum, a step that experts say bolstered her status as her father's potential heir.

The visit, which occurred on New Year's Day, even sparked speculation that the girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 13, could be named a high-level official at the upcoming ruling Workers' Party congress.

Images carried by North Korea's state media on Friday showed Kim Ju Ae standing in the front row with her parents and deeply bowing at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather are on display.

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The palace is "a place that symbolises legitimacy of the North Korean regime", and her visit there ahead of the Workers' Party congress is a politically orchestrated move, said Cheong Seong-Chang, deputy head of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.

Kim Jong Un, 41, is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea since the country's foundation in 1948.

He often marks key state anniversaries by visiting the Kumsusan palace and paying respect to his father, Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

Cheong predicted that Kim Jong Un could give his daughter the first secretary post at the Workers' Party, the party's No. 2 job, at the congress.

Other experts say she is too young to accept such a high-profile post and might be provided with lower-level jobs.

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The congress, the first of its kind in five years, is meant to establish new priorities in state policies and reshuffle officials.

North Korea hasn't said when it will hold it, but the National Intelligence Service, South Korea's spy agency, said it likely will be held either in January or February.

Since first appearing in state media in November 2022, Kim Ju Ae has accompanied her father at a slew of events, including military parades and missile launches.

In September, Kim Jong Un brought her on his trip to Beijing. During New Year's Day celebrations this week, she kissed her father on the cheek, showing their closeness.

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In January 2024, the NIS said it viewed Kim Ju Ae as her father's likely heir.

Some outside experts disagree with that assessment, citing Kim Jong Un's relatively young age and the extremely male-dominated nature of North Korea's power hierarchy.

The NIS told lawmakers in November that Kim appeared to have no major health problems.

Revealing the young Kim Ju Ae was a surprise to foreign experts because neither Kim Jong Un nor Kim Jong Il were mentioned in North Korean state media before they became adults.

Some observers say Kim Jong Un likely aimed to shore up public support for his plan to extend the family's rule by repeatedly disclosing Kim Ju Ae in public events.

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