The dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has handed President Donald Trump a rare strategic opening — one that could reshape Venezuela’s crippled oil industry, redirect global crude flows and weaken the foothold that rivals like Russia, China and Iran have built in the Western Hemisphere. But unlocking the world’s largest oil reserves won’t be easy. Years of political turmoil, sanctions and infrastructure collapse mean U.S. energy companies face steep risks — and any...
The U.S. seizure of the tanker formerly known as Bella I marks a rare escalation in sanctions enforcement against Russia’s so-called ‘dark fleet,’ but experts say the move is unlikely to trigger a broader confrontation with Moscow, at least in the near term. Analysts largely agree that the interdiction — one of the most direct U.S. actions against a vessel Russia claims was operating under its flag — comes at a moment when the Kremlin has...
A Senate Republican intends to block President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominees until Secretary Kristi Noem appears on Capitol Hill. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters that he was putting holds on future nominees for the agency because Noem had not yet committed to appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. ‘My chairman has made two requests in this Congress to have the Homeland Security Secretary [Kristi Noem] come before the committee, and...
The entire Senate GOP demanded that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz provide a paper trail on the state’s role in the Minnesota fraud scandal, cranking up the scrutiny in Washington, D.C. in the process. In a letter led by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Republicans reiterated that Congress controls the flow of taxpayer dollars that are alleged to be used in the unfurling scandal, where federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion was stolen through a...
President Donald Trump announced in an early Friday morning Truth Social post that he has ‘cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks’ against Venezuela in light of the ‘cooperation’ between the foreign nation and the U.S. ‘Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of ‘Seeking Peace.’ This is a very important and smart gesture. The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a...
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he plans to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in Washington next week. During an appearance on Fox News’ ‘Hannity,’ Trump was asked if he intends to meet with Machado after the U.S. struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. ‘Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,’ Trump said. This will be Trump’s first...
The House of Representatives passed a bill to revive and extend COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies in a major victory for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Seventeen House Republicans broke ranks with GOP leaders to support the legislation after Democrats were successful in forcing a vote via a mechanism called a privileged resolution. The bill passed 230-196. A discharge petition is a mechanism for getting legislation considered on the House floor even if the majority’s...
Dozens of House Republicans voted alongside Democrats on Thursday in a failed attempt to override the first — and so far, only — vetoes of President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump has only issued two vetoes thus far since taking office in January 2025. Both veto override efforts failed, but it’s significant that more than 20 Republicans voted to defy Trump’s wishes on each measure. It’s a rare rebuke of Trump’s actions while in office,...
National security experts are sounding the alarm over a report that the Chinese Communist Party’s reach inside the United States could include two golf courses located right on the doorstep of one of the country’s most critical military bases. News this week that a Chinese intelligence officer is the owner of two golf courses on both sides of Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base, which controls aspects of the U.S. nuclear trial, raised concerns from several China...
The Trump administration is considering paying each Greenland resident thousands of dollars as part of a bid to encourage the territory to secede from Denmark and join the United States, according to Reuters. U.S. officials, including White House aides, have discussed payment figures ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the outlet reported, citing sources. For an island with a population of roughly 57,000, the total cost could range from more than half a billion dollars to...
