<\/p>\n
By The Associated Press<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump<\/a> said Wednesday that the U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela<\/a> amid mounting tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the Trump administration\u2019s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S.<\/p>\n The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n A day earlier, the U.S. military flew a pair of fighter jets<\/a> over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country\u2019s airspace since the start of the administration\u2019s pressure campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump has previously said land attacks are coming soon<\/a> but has not offered any details on location.<\/p>\n The Latest:<\/p>\n The seized tanker was identified as the Skipper by a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n The ship departed Venezuela around Dec. 2 with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude, roughly half of it belonging to a Cuban state-run oil importer, according to documents from the state-owned company Petr\u00f3leos de Venezuela S.A., commonly known as PDVSA. The documents were provided on the condition of anonymity because the official did not have permission to share them.<\/p>\n The Skipper was previously known as the M\/T Adisa, according to ship tracking data. The Adisa was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 over accusations of belonging to a sophisticated network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude oil on behalf of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah militant group.<\/p>\n The network was reportedly run by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader, the U.S. Treasury Department said at the time.<\/p>\n The Coast Guard members<\/a> were taken to the oil tanker by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n The Ford is in the Caribbean Sea after arriving last month in a major show of force, joining a fleet of other warships.<\/p>\n Video posted to social media<\/a> by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fast-roping from one of the helicopters involved in the operation as it hovers just feet from the deck.<\/p>\n The Coast Guard members can be seen later in the video moving throughout the superstructure of the ship with their weapons drawn.<\/p>\n Bondi wrote that \u201cfor multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s government in a statement said the seizure \u201cconstitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnder these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed\u2026 It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n A Department of Interior auction Wednesday was the first of 30 sales planned for the Gulf under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production.<\/p>\n The sale came after Trump\u2019s administration announced plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades, drawing bipartisan pushback about impacts on tourism.<\/p>\n Thirty companies submitted bids, including industry giants Chevron, Shell and BP. An industry official said the takeaway from the sale was that under Trump, the Gulf \u201cis open\u201d for business, in contrast to the Biden administration, which limited new oil leases to address climate change.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the planned oil lease sale<\/a><\/p>\n The House has voted to pass a sweeping defense policy bill that authorizes $900 billion in military programs.<\/p>\n The bill includes a pay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Department of Defense buys weapons. It comes at a time of increasing friction between the Republican-controlled Congress and how Trump\u2019s administration has handled the military.<\/p>\n The White House has signaled \u201cstrong support\u201d for the must-pass legislation and says it is in line with Trump\u2019s national security agenda. Yet tucked into the over-3,000-page bill are several measures that push back on the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the bill<\/a><\/p>\n The Coast Guard members that seized the tanker were taken to that ship by a helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n The Ford is operating in the Caribbean Sea and arrived last month in a major show of force, joining a fleet of other warships that have been increasing pressure on Maduro.<\/p>\n Trump confirmed to reporters that U.S. forces seized a \u201clarge tanker.\u201d Asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, \u201cWell, we keep it, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 By Konstantin Toropin<\/p>\n The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing an agenda of priorities to align with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy J.\u2019s Make America Healthy Again movement.<\/p>\n EPA director Lee Zeldin teased that the framework would include replacing lead pipes, cleaning up the nation\u2019s most contaminated sites and combating food waste, among other initiatives.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s announcement was made on a call with MAHA activists. It comes as some of Kennedy\u2019s supporters have been criticizing the EPA\u2019s recent actions related to pesticides. Some released a petition last week calling for Trump to fire Zeldin.<\/p>\n Zeldin said he attended a MAHA holiday party this week and has since held an hourlong meeting with a group of MAHA activists at the EPA headquarters. He implored the activists to reach out if they wanted to help craft his agency\u2019s MAHA agenda.<\/p>\n Tony Lyons, head of the advocacy group MAHA Action, complimented Zeldin and blamed the media for the recent tensions.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many people are trying to drive wedges and we want to build bridges,\u201d Lyons said.<\/p>\n The president said Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been under fire from his rank-and-file as of late, is doing a great job despite his circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Mike Johnson is great,\u201d Trump said. Commenting on the GOP\u2019s majority, he continued: \u201cHe\u2019s had a majority of two, three, four, and back to two (votes). We actually had one. So we were one heart attack away from disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also said, \u201cI think few people could\u2019ve done that job.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump was asked if he has spoken to Colombian president Gustavo Petro after having conversations in recent weeks with the leaders of Mexico and Venezuela amid his pressure campaign and push to combat drug trafficking, but Trump dismissed the idea.<\/p>\n Trump said Petro has been \u201cfairly hostile to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe better wise up or he\u2019ll be next. He\u2019ll be next,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI hope he\u2019s listening. He\u2019s going to be next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?\u201d Trump said in an exchange with reporters in which he also repeated his exaggerated claim<\/a> of settling eight wars around the globe, including a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, since his return to the White House. \u201cEvery once in a while, one will flame up again and I have to put out that little flame. I have to put it out, but we\u2019re going to put it out again.\u201d<\/p>\n Renewed border fighting between Thailand<\/a> and Cambodia<\/a> showed no signs of abating Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people<\/a> in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters<\/a>.<\/p>\n The latest fighting was triggered by longstanding territorial disputes and it followed a skirmish Sunday that wounded two Thai soldiers.<\/p>\n The president said he\u2019ll meet with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as Trump looks to appoint the next Fed chair.<\/p>\n Trump added that he wants someone who will lower interest rates. \u201cOur rates should be the lowest rates in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Warsh is among a short list of candidates to replace Chairman Jerome Powell after his term ends in May.<\/p>\n President Trump said Wednesday that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy \u201chas to be realistic\u201d about the war in Ukraine and mused about when Ukraine was next holding elections.<\/p>\n The comments came after Trump spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, who discussed Ukraine \u201cin pretty strong terms,\u201d the U.S. president said.<\/p>\n Trump said European leaders would like a meeting this weekend with both the U.S. and Ukraine, and \u201cwe\u2019ll make a determination depending on what they come back with.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent days, Trump has pushed Zelenskyy to get on board with a proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine that Russia started in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he has to be realistic,\u201d Trump said of Zelenskyy during a question-and-answer session with reporters. \u201cI do wonder about, you know, how long is it going to be until they have an election?\u201d<\/p>\n The president was asked about Paramount Skydance\u2019s hostile takeover bid<\/a> for the company behind celebrity.land, including the fact that Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has also been involved in several peace negotiations on behalf of the Trump administration, is one of the investors behind the bid.<\/p>\n Trump said that he thinks celebrity.land has been \u201cspreading poison\u201d and that \u201cyou have some good companies bidding on it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will be probably involved, maybe involved in the decision. It depends,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n The president said the Fed\u2019s latest quarter-point reduction was a \u201crather small number\u201d and should have been at least twice that.<\/p>\n He complained that the Fed is killing economic growth by keeping interest rates higher than he would like.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re so afraid of inflation,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThat\u2019s what they\u2019re doing, they kill the growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said rates should be driven down further to boost economic growth beyond its latest expansion.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is inflation, that\u2019s OK, then we can slow it down. But we should be able to do a lot better than 3 or 4%,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s remark came during a speech before a ruling-party organized demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela\u2019s capital. He did not address the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.<\/p>\n Maduro, flanked by senior officials, said that only the ruling party can \u201cguarantee peace, stability, and the harmonious development of Venezuela, South America, and the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the only president who has the preparation, the history, and the unwavering support of the people and the armed forces \u2026 is named Nicol\u00e1s Maduro,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The White House started taking online applications for the new path to citizenship, which the president pitched as a tool for U.S. companies hoping to hire foreign students.<\/p>\n Trump said business chiefs including Apple CEO Tim Cook complained it was too risky to hire foreign students without certainty they can stay in the country. With the new card, he said, \u201cyou\u2019ll be able to buy a card and keep that person in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n A card costs $1 million for individuals and $2 million for companies.<\/p>\n It comes even as the Trump administration presses some colleges to reduce foreign enrollment. Numbers of new foreign students coming to the U.S. fell sharply<\/a> this year amid a federal crackdown<\/p>\n Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was laid to rest with full military honors Tuesday at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a news release.<\/p>\n Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe<\/a> were ambushed as they patrolled a subway station three blocks from the White House on Nov. 26. Beckstrom died from her injuries<\/a> the next day.<\/p>\n Wolfe\u2019s family expects he will be in acute care for another few weeks, the governor said.<\/p>\n Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national<\/a> who was also shot during the confrontation, has been charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n The president told reporters about the seizure as he appeared at an unrelated White House roundtable Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n He did not immediately offer additional details.<\/p>\n The announcement comes as the administration has undertaken a large military buildup and a series of deadly strikes on boats that it has alleged are carrying drugs in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n Democrat Eileen Higgins\u2019 victory in Miami\u2019s mayoral election deals a blow to Trump.<\/p>\n The Republican president has appeared dismissive on economic worries, blaming Democrats for using the term \u201caffordability\u201d as a \u201choax.\u201d Higgins said she would tell Trump to \u201cthink deeply\u201d and that the concerns are real.<\/p>\n Higgins has been very critical of Trump on immigration and is vowing to look at legal options to end an agreement between city police and federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more on what Higgins\u2019 win means for Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is \u201cstarting to give President Joe Biden vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do \u201cFAKE\u201d reports about his health and \u201cwe should do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n The news outlet said Wednesday it won\u2019t be deterred by Trump\u2019s \u201cfalse and inflammatory language\u201d from writing about the 79-year-old president\u2019s health.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about The Times and Trump<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s the first offshore lease sale<\/a> in the region since 2023.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s Department of Interior auction was the first of 30 sales planned for the Gulf under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production.<\/p>\n The sale came after the Trump administration announced plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades, drawing pushback including from Republicans worried about impacts on tourism.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s sale was mandated by the sweeping tax-and-spending bill approved by Republicans over the summer.<\/p>\n Thirty companies submitted bids, including industry giants Chevron, Shell and BP.<\/p>\n Judge Emil Bove\u2019s attendance at Trump\u2019s speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania violated the federal Code of Judicial Conduct, a courts ethics watchdog said in a complaint filed Wednesday.<\/p>\n Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, said in the complaint that Bove\u2019s presence at the event that included charged partisan attacks violated the code\u2019s admonitions to judges to refrain from political activity and avoid even the appearance of impropriety.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should have been obvious to Judge Bove, either at the start of the rally or fairly close to it, that this was a highly charged, highly political event that no federal judge should have been within shouting distance of,\u201d Roth\u2019s complaint said.<\/p>\n Trump appointed Bove, the president\u2019s former lawyer, to a lifetime seat on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n The complaint was filed with the 3rd Circuit\u2019s judicial council.<\/p>\n The move that could attract ire from Trump, who has demanded steep reductions to borrowing costs.<\/p>\n In a set of quarterly economic projections, Fed officials signaled they expect to lower rates just once next year.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s cut reduced the rate to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years.<\/p>\n Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor\u2019s race on Tuesday, defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump to end her party\u2019s nearly three-decade losing streak and give Democrats a boost in one of the last electoral battles ahead of the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n In a briefing the day after her historic win<\/a> as the first woman elected mayor of the south Florida metropolis, Eileen Higgins decried elected officials\u2019 use of \u201clanguage that is demeaning, that is cruel, that is disrespectful about the people who live in the city of Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n She also called Miami \u201cthe tip of the spear of the affordability crisis in America.\u201d<\/p>\nHalf of the seized ship\u2019s oil is tied to a Cuban importer<\/h4>\n
How US Coast Guard members stormed the oil tanker<\/h4>\n
Venezuela\u2019s government calls oil tanker seizure \u2018an act of international piracy\u2019<\/h4>\n
Oil companies offer $279M for Gulf of Mexico drilling rights<\/h4>\n
House passes defense bill to set Pentagon budget and raise troop pay<\/h4>\n
USS Gerald R Ford plays role in US effort <\/h4>\n
to seize oil tanker<\/h4>\n
Zeldin says he\u2019s finalizing a MAHA agenda for the EPA<\/h4>\n
Trump muses on narrow House majority while praising Johnson<\/h4>\n
Trump threatens president of Colombia<\/h4>\n
Trump expects to speak with Thailand, Cambodia leaders on Thursday as truce crumbles<\/h4>\n
Trump meeting with Warsh in hunt for new Fed chair<\/h4>\n
Trump says Zelenskyy \u2018has to be realistic\u2019<\/h4>\n
Trump says he\u2019s \u2018not involved\u2019 in Warner Bros. Discovery bids but that he may be involved in decisions<\/h4>\n
Trump wanted interest rate cut \u2018at least double\u2019 what Fed opted for<\/h4>\n
Maduro tells supporters Venezuela is \u2018prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary\u2019<\/h4>\n
Trump unrolls \u2018gold card\u2019 visa aimed at keeping foreign talent<\/h4>\n
Private funeral held for West Virginia National Guard member shot in DC<\/h4>\n
Trump says US seized oil tanker off coast of Venezuela<\/h4>\n
What would the Miami mayor-elect tell Trump?<\/h4>\n
The New York Times says it won\u2019t be deterred from writing about Trump\u2019s health<\/h4>\n
Oil companies offer $278M for Gulf drilling rights<\/h4>\n
Bove faces judicial ethics complaint over attending Trump\u2019s Pennsylvania speech<\/h4>\n
Fed cuts key interest rate but signals higher bar for future reductions<\/h4>\n
Miami mayor-elect calls anti-immigrant rhetoric \u2018distressing\u2019<\/h4>\n