The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Congress is now scrutinizing President Donald Trump ’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. Trump has said the deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats will expand to attacks on land. Maduro told supporters in Caracas that Venezuela is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”
The Latest White House News:
Ukraine meets urgently with European coalition on latest peace proposals
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would give its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators ahead of his urgent talks Thursday with a coalition of about 30 countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms. The White House did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on whether that happened.
Negotiations are at “a critical moment,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement.
Washington’s goal of a swift compromise to stop the fighting that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 is reducing Kyiv’s room for maneuvering. Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests. Zelenskyy’s allies are backing his effort, seeking a fair settlement that will deters future Russian attacks and defend Europe.
Senate to reject extending health care subsidies as costs rise for many
The Senate is poised on Thursday to reject legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for millions of Americans, a potentially unceremonious end to a monthslong Democratic effort to prevent the COVID-era subsidies from expiring on Jan. 1.
Republicans and Democrats have never engaged in meaningful or high-level negotiations. The Senate is expected to vote on two partisan bills and defeat them both — essentially guaranteeing that many who buy their health insurance on the ACA marketplaces see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year.
“It’s too complicated and too difficult to get done in the limited time that we have left,” said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who has unsuccessfully pushed his Republican colleagues to extend the tax credits for a short time so they can find agreement on the issue next year. Neither side has seemed interested in compromise.
Trump’s National Guard deployments face Senate questioning
Senators for the first time are poised to question military leaders over Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities.
The hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors.
First of 30 oil lease sales planned for Gulf of America draws $300 million from companies
Oil companies offered $300 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of America on Wednesday in the first of 30 sales planned for the region under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production.
The sale came after Trump’s administration recently announced plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades. That’s drawn pushback, including from Republicans worried about impacts to tourism.
Wednesday’s sale was mandated by the sweeping tax-cut bill approved by Republicans over the summer. Under that legislation, companies will pay a 12.5% royalty on oil produced from the leases. That’s the lowest royalty level for deep-water drilling since 2007.
Thirty companies submitted bids on parcels covering 1,600 square miles (4,142 square kilometers). Total high bids were down from $382 million offered in the most recent lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico under former President Joe Biden in December 2023.
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