The Latest: Trump says US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela
President Donald Trump reported Wednesday that the U S has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid mounting tensions with the authorities of Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro It s the Trump administration s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U S 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 A day earlier the U S military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country s airspace since the start of the administration s pressure campaign Trump has previously noted land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location The Latest Oil companies offer M for Gulf of Mexico drilling rights A Department of Interior auction Wednesday was the first of sales planned for the Gulf under Republican efforts to ramp up U S fossil fuel production The sale came after Trump s administration broadcasted plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades drawing bipartisan pushback about impacts on tourism Thirty companies submitted bids including industry giants Chevron Shell and BP An industry official explained the takeaway from the sale was that under Trump the Gulf is open for business in contrast to the Biden administration which limited new oil leases to address situation change Read more about the planned oil lease sale House passes defense bill to set Pentagon budget and raise troop pay The House has voted to pass a sweeping defense agenda bill that authorizes billion in military programs 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 s administration has handled the military The White House has signaled strong patronage for the must-pass regulation and says it is in line with Trump s national defense agenda Yet tucked into the over- -page bill are several measures that push back on the Department of Defense Read more about the bill USS Gerald R Ford plays role in US effort to seize oil tanker 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 ratified to The Associated Press The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity 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 Trump certified to reporters that U S forces seized a large tanker Petitioned what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker Trump disclosed Well we keep it I guess By Konstantin Toropin Zeldin says he s finalizing a MAHA agenda for the EPA The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing an agenda of priorities to align with Wellbeing Secretary Robert F Kennedy J s Make America Healthy Again movement EPA director Lee Zeldin teased that the framework would include replacing lead pipes cleaning up the nation s majority of contaminated sites and combating food waste among other initiatives Wednesday s announcement was made on a call with MAHA activists It comes as particular of Kennedy s supporters have been criticizing the EPA s up-to-date actions related to pesticides Particular issued a petition last week calling for Trump to fire Zeldin Zeldin declared 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 yearned to help craft his agency s MAHA agenda Tony Lyons head of the advocacy group MAHA Action complimented Zeldin and blamed the media for the latest tensions So multiple people are trying to drive wedges and we want to build bridges Lyons commented Trump muses on narrow House majority while praising Johnson The president disclosed Speaker Mike Johnson who has been under fire from his rank-and-file as of late is doing a great job despite his circumstances I think Mike Johnson is great Trump revealed Commenting on the GOP s majority he continued He s had a majority of two three four and back to two votes We certainly had one So we were one heart attack away from calamity Trump also commented I think inadequate people could ve done that job Trump threatens president of Colombia Trump was appealed if he has spoken to Colombian president Gustavo Petro after having conversations in fresh weeks with the leaders of Mexico and Venezuela amid his pressure campaign and push to combat drug trafficking but Trump dismissed the idea Trump announced Petro has been fairly hostile to the United States He better wise up or he ll be next He ll be next Trump declared I hope he s listening He s going to be next Trump expects to speak with Thailand Cambodia leaders on Thursday as truce crumbles I think I can get them to stop fighting Who else can do that Trump revealed in an exchange with reporters in which he also repeated his exaggerated claim of settling eight wars around the globe including a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia since his return to the White House Every 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 re going to put it out again Renewed boundary fighting between Thailand and Cambodia established no signs of abating Wednesday with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters The latest fighting was triggered by longstanding territorial disputes and it followed a skirmish Sunday that wounded two Thai soldiers Trump meeting with Warsh in hunt for new Fed chair The president revealed he ll meet with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as Trump looks to appoint the next Fed chair Trump added that he wants someone who will lower interest rates Our rates should be the lowest rates in the world he stated Warsh is among a short list of candidates to replace Chairman Jerome Powell after his term ends in May Trump says Zelenskyy has to be realistic President Trump mentioned Wednesday that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has to be realistic about the war in Ukraine and mused about when Ukraine was next holding elections The comments came after Trump spoke with the leaders of France Germany and the United Kingdom who discussed Ukraine in pretty strong terms the U S president commented Trump revealed European leaders would like a meeting this weekend with both the U S and Ukraine and we ll make a determination depending on what they come back with In up-to-date days Trump has pushed Zelenskyy to get on board with a proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine that Russia started in I think he has to be realistic Trump noted of Zelenskyy during a question-and-answer session with reporters I do wonder about you know how long is it going to be until they have an electoral process Trump says he s not involved in Warner Bros Discovery bids but that he may be involved in decisions The president was demanded about Paramount Skydance s hostile takeover bid for the company behind CNN including the fact that Trump s 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 Trump noted that he thinks CNN has been spreading poison and that you have several good companies bidding on it I will be maybe involved maybe involved in the decision It depends Trump mentioned Trump wished interest rate cut at least double what Fed opted for The president reported the Fed s latest quarter-point reduction was a rather small number and should have been at least twice that He complained that the Fed is killing economic enhancement by keeping interest rates higher than he would like They re so afraid of inflation Trump explained That s what they re doing they kill the advancement Trump mentioned rates should be driven down further to boost economic development beyond its latest expansion If there is inflation that s OK then we can slow it down But we should be able to do a lot better than or he noted Maduro tells supporters Venezuela is prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro s remark came during a speech before a ruling-party organized demonstration in Caracas Venezuela s capital He did not address the U S seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela Maduro flanked by senior personnel reported that only the ruling party can guarantee peace stability and the harmonious enhancement of Venezuela South America and the Caribbean And the only president who has the preparation the history and the unwavering backing of the people and the armed forces is named Nicol s Maduro he added Trump unrolls gold card visa aimed at keeping foreign talent 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 Trump stated 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 stated you ll be able to buy a card and keep that person in the United States A card costs million for individuals and million for companies It comes even as the Trump administration presses particular colleges to reduce foreign enrollment Numbers of new foreign students coming to the U S fell sharply this year amid a federal crackdown Private funeral held for West Virginia National Guard member shot in DC Spc Sarah Beckstrom was laid to rest with full military honors Tuesday at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton Gov Patrick Morrisey declared in a news release Beckstrom and Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe were ambushed as they patrolled a subway station three blocks from the White House on Nov Beckstrom died from her injuries the next day Wolfe s family expects he will be in acute care for another limited weeks the governor noted Rahmanullah Lakanwal a -year-old Afghan national who was also shot during the confrontation has been charged with murder He has pleaded not guilty Trump says US seized oil tanker off coast of Venezuela The president recounted reporters about the seizure as he appeared at an unrelated White House roundtable Wednesday afternoon He did not right now offer additional details 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 What would the Miami mayor-elect tell Trump Democrat Eileen Higgins win in Miami s mayoral ballot deals a blow to Trump The Republican president has appeared dismissive on economic worries blaming Democrats for using the term affordability as a hoax Higgins explained she would tell Trump to think deeply and that the concerns are real 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 Read more on what Higgins win means for Trump The New York Times says it won t be deterred from writing about Trump s medical The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic in recent months including an opinion column that announced Trump is starting to give President Joe Biden vibes In a Truth Social post Trump disclosed it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do FAKE reports about his wellness and we should do something about it The news outlet revealed Wednesday it won t be deterred by Trump s false and inflammatory language from writing about the -year-old president s soundness Read more about The Times and Trump Oil companies offer M for Gulf drilling rights It s the first offshore lease sale in the region since Wednesday s Department of Interior auction was the first of sales planned for the Gulf under Republican efforts to ramp up U S fossil fuel production The sale came after the Trump administration declared 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 Wednesday s sale was mandated by the sweeping tax-and-spending bill approved by Republicans over the summer Thirty companies submitted bids including industry giants Chevron Shell and BP Bove faces judicial ethics complaint over attending Trump s Pennsylvania speech Judge Emil Bove s attendance at Trump s speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania violated the federal Code of Judicial Conduct a courts ethics watchdog commented in a complaint filed Wednesday Gabe Roth executive director of Fix the Court declared in the complaint that Bove s presence at the event that included charged partisan attacks violated the code s admonitions to judges to refrain from political activity and avoid even the appearance of impropriety It 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 Roth s complaint mentioned Trump appointed Bove the president s former lawyer to a lifetime seat on the Philadelphia-based rd U S Circuit Court of Appeals The complaint was filed with the rd Circuit s judicial council Fed cuts key interest rate but signals higher bar for future reductions The move that could attract ire from Trump who has demanded steep reductions to borrowing costs In a set of quarterly economic projections Fed executives signaled they expect to lower rates just once next year Wednesday s cut reduced the rate to about the lowest it has been in nearly three years Miami mayor-elect calls anti-immigrant rhetoric distressing Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor s race on Tuesday defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump to end her party s nearly three-decade losing streak and give Democrats a boost in one of the last electoral battles ahead of the midterms In a briefing the day after her historic win as the first woman elected mayor of the south Florida metropolis Eileen Higgins decried elected leaders use of language that is demeaning that is cruel that is disrespectful about the people who live in the city of Miami She also called Miami the tip of the spear of the affordability dilemma in America Campaigning as a Democrat in the officially nonpartisan race Higgins on Tuesday defeated a Republican endorsed by Trump ending Democrats nearly three-decade losing streak leading the Hispanic-majority city Higgins announced she has heard of countless people in Miami who were worried about family members being detained UK Australia are full steam ahead on submarine deal with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has kicked off a series of meetings with British and Australian counterparts in Washington that are aimed at moving forward with the large nuclear submarine building and system sharing pact between the three nations known as known as AUKUS Ahead of the meetings the British defense minister revealed he s all in following a U S review of the deal Those reviews are now done U K Defense Secretary John Healey notified reporters Wednesday He added that all three of us are now determined to reboot AUKUS with a new commitment and a new determination in particular to deliver The deal was originally inked in The Pentagon not long ago determined that the agreement was in the U S national precaution interest It includes the sale of three U S -built nuclear-powered submarines to Australia starting in Crockett running for Senate is greatest thing for GOP Speaker Johnson says Speaker Mike Johnson R-La talks to reporters outside his office in the Capitol Thursday Dec in Washington AP Photo Kevin Wolf I m absolutely delighted that Jasmine Crockett is running for Senate in Texas Johnson disclosed eagerly rubbing his hands together The House GOP speaker called the liberal firebrand the face of the Democratic Party and compared Crockett to New York s new mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani Good luck with that he reported What Jasmine is trying to sell will not be purchased by the folks in Texas that is my prediction He explained I want her to have the largest loudest microphone that she can every single day he noted and we look forward to having that electoral process down there Speaker Mike Johnson has yet to see boat strike video The Republican speaker stated he missed the classified briefing with Hegseth and Rubio this week because he was working with House GOP lawmakers on their emerging fitness care proposals Johnson would not say if the video should be widely circulated in part because he revealed he had not viewed it We ll see he explained Because of his timing conflict with the classified briefing he commented Hegseth and Rubio would meet with him separately at a later date US secretary of state rules out woke Calibri font Marco Rubio has ordered that all diplomatic correspondence must return to the more traditional Times New Roman font It reverses a Biden-era shift to the less formal typeface that Rubio commented was wasteful confusing and unbefitting the dignity of official U S authorities documents His cable sent to all U S embassies and consulates Tuesday explained the shift to the sans serif Calibri font was the upshot of misguided diversity equity and inclusion policies pursued by his predecessor Antony Blinken Rubio s cable obtained by The Associated Press noted Blinken s switch was promised to mitigate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities It says the change had cost the department but offered no supporting evidence The cable was first broadcasted by The New York Times Budget office puts cost of physical condition subsidy extension at nearly billion over years A three-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits would increase federal deficits by nearly billion over the next decade according to a new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office The Senate will vote on competing soundness plans on Thursday The three-year extension of the subsidy is being pitched by Senate Democrats but it is not expected to pass The CBO also estimates that enacting the Democratic plan would increase the number of people with wellbeing insurance by about next year million in and million in Gross premiums the amount consumers would pay before a tax credit is applied have already been set for But CBO says they would fall by in and in because people who enroll in ACA plans would be healthier than they would be without the extension Judge orders Trump to end California National Guard troop deployment in Los Angeles The Trump administration must return control of the troops to the state U S District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled Wednesday Breyer granted a preliminary injunction against Trump s extraordinary move to use state Guard troops without the governor s approval He put the decision on hold until Monday California argued that conditions in Los Angeles had changed since Trump first took command of the troops and deployed them in June The administration initially called up more than California National Guard troops By late October only a or so remained in the Los Angeles area Justice Department lawyers noted they are still needed to protect federal personnel and property The Republican administration extended the deployment until February while also trying to use California Guard members in Portland Oregon Source
