AP -The Morning Wire - December 17, 2025 - President Donald Trump orders a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela and more...

 

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By Bridget Brown December 17, 2025

In the news today: President Donald Trump orders a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela; House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a health care bill that excludes efforts to address soaring monthly premiums for Affordable Care Act recipients; and how severe foreign aid cuts have crushed the lives of Rohingya children. Also, a new church altar featuring a homeless man goes on display at the Vatican. President Donald Trump speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) WORLD NEWS Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy. Read more.

What to know: In a post on social media Tuesday night announcing the blockade, Trump alleged Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue the military buildup until the country gave the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the U.S. had a claim. Venezuela’s government released a statement Tuesday accusing Trump of “violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation” with “a reckless and grave threat” against the South American country. Maduro’s government plans to denounce the situation before the United Nations.   Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels per day, has long relied on oil revenue as a lifeblood of its economy. Since the Trump administration began imposing oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, Maduro’s government has relied on a shadowy fleet of unflagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump expands travel ban and restrictions to include an additional 20 countries The US labels another Latin American cartel a terrorist group as the anti-drug war escalates POLITICS House Speaker Johnson rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year’s end. Read more.

What to know: Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed the prospect of allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on their amendment that would temporarily extend pandemic-era subsidies for ACA coverage. But after days of private talks, leadership sided with the more conservative wing of the conference, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up a failed ACA marketplace.   The maneuvering surrounding the health care vote all but guarantees that many Americans will see substantially higher insurance costs in 2026. In the Senate, a bipartisan group was still trying to come up with a compromise to extend the subsidies, which fueled this year’s government shutdown. But senators made clear that any potential legislation would likely wait until January, after the holiday break.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Takeaways: Susie Wiles pulls back the curtain on the Trump administration in revealing interviews Sen. Mark Kelly calls Pentagon investigation into his remarks a move to chill military dissent Trump will go to Delaware for the dignified transfer of the 2 National Guard members killed in Syria Jack Smith set for private interview with lawmakers about Trump investigations Georgia Senate set to question Fani Willis over Trump prosecution Federal judge says he’s inclined to deny preservationists’ request to halt Trump’s ballroom project Former NIH scientist sues Trump administration, claims illegal firing over research cuts Jared Kushner pulls out of Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery FCC leader Brendan Carr to face Senate questioning for first time since Kimmel controversy Maryland to consider slavery reparations after Gov. Wes Moore’s veto is overridden FAA head vows to maintain safety measures implemented after tragic DC plane crash Cannabis entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez joins the race for New Mexico governor Virginia Roberts Guiffre’s memoir sells 1M copies worldwide Last U.S. cents sold at auction for a sum of $16.76 million were worth a pretty penny WORLD NEWS Trafficked, exploited, married off: Rohingya children’s lives crushed by foreign aid cuts The sudden and severe foreign aid cuts imposed this year by President Trump, along with funding reductions from other countries, have shuttered thousands of schools and youth training centers and crippled child protection programs for Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority in Bangladesh. Read more.

What to know: With no safe space to play or learn, children are left to wander the labyrinthine refugee camps, making them increasingly easy targets for kidnappers. As a result, scores of children as young as 10 are forced into backbreaking manual labor, and girls as young as 12 are forced into prostitution.    Violations against children in the camps have risen sharply this year, according to UNICEF. Between January and mid-November, reported cases of abduction and kidnapping more than quadrupled over the same time period last year, to 560 children. In a statement to The Associated Press, the State Department said the U.S. has provided more than $168 million to the Rohingya since the beginning of Trump’s term, although data from the U.N.’s financial tracking service show the U.S. contribution in 2025 is $156 million. Asked about the disparity, the State Department said the U.N.’s financial tracking service had not been recently updated and “generally does not show the latest information on all U.S. funding.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Rohingya child marriages on the rise after Trump's foreign aid cuts   Millions facing acute food insecurity in Afghanistan as winter looms, UN warns ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Bondi Beach: Suspected gunman charged with 15 counts of murder Homicide investigation: MIT professor fatally shot at his home  Measles: Absences at this Texas school system soared when outbreak hit Matthew Perry: Doctor who helped sell ketamine to actor before his overdose death avoids prison time Joe Ely: Songwriter whose legacy touched rock and punk, dies age 78 World Cup: FIFA slashes price of some tickets to $60 after global fan backlash Today in History: In 1903, the Wright Brothers conducted the first successful manned powered-airplane flights near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina WATCH Cuba: Skaters take to Havana streets in annual event that blends sport, spectacle and community Praising a hero: Syrian cousin of Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed Sydney attacker, recalls heroic act with pride A CHANGE OF PACE Burkhard Scheffler, second from right, a homeless man who died from the cold in 2022 on the edge of St. Peter's Square, is portrayed as St. Peter in a painting, the central of the triptych, by German artist Michael Triegel and displayed in the chapel of the Teutonic College at the Vatican Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Church altar featuring homeless man goes on display a stone’s throw from his grave at the Vatican In 2018, German artist Michael Triegel asked a homeless man in Rome to pose for a drawing, thinking that he would make an ideal model for St. Peter if he ever needed to paint the first pope. Seven years on, the man’s likeness has gone on display in the Vatican, a reunion of sorts that came about by improbable chance.

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