US intercepts Venezuelan tanker; Ukraine responds to peace proposal
The U.S. has seized a large Venezuelan oil tanker, intensifying Washington’s pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and raising new questions about whether the administration is moving closer to a ground strike in the region.
Plus, a relentless atmospheric river is flooding the Pacific Northwest, causing dangerous water levels across Washington state.
And a blockbuster battle for Warner Bros. Discovery heats up as President Donald Trump says he may help decide who wins.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, December 11, 2025.
US intercepts tanker off Venezuela coast, Trump calls it the ‘largest one ever seized’
The Trump administration has seized what the president calls the largest oil tanker ever taken off the coast of Venezuela. During an event at the White House on Wednesday, the president confirmed the seizure and hinted at more to come.
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said. “And other things are happening, so.”
When asked to provide more details on the seizure, the president said. “Well, I’ll let the people do it, but you see the result, and I guess they probably have released the pictures by now or pretty soon. You’ll discuss that with the appropriate people later on, but no, it was seized for a very good reason.”
A short time later, Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video on X. She said the tanker had been moving sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, and was part of an illicit shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.
She says the FBI, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Coast Guard carried out the operation, with support from the Department of Defense. She added that it was done safely and securely.
U.S. officials say the ship, identified as the skipper, was intercepted in international waters on Wednesday morning.
They say it was carrying Venezuelan crude from PDVSA and had been previously linked to smuggling Iranian oil.
A federal judge signed the seizure warrant about two weeks ago, citing the vessel’s past involvement in a global smuggling network.
Venezuela’s government is blasting the seizure, calling it a “barefaced robbery and an act of international piracy” aimed at stripping the country of its oil and wealth.
Caracas has repeatedly accused the U.S. of trying to strangle Venezuela’s oil industry.
This comes after more than 20 U.S. strikes on boats the administration says were moving drugs for the Venezuelan military. The operations have killed more than 80 people since September.
Ukraine responds to new peace plan, Trump sets Christmas deadline
Ukraine has formally responded to the latest U.S.-backed peace plan meant to end the war with Russia, and President Trump has set a Christmas deadline for a deal.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials told CNN that Kyiv has sent back its feedback on the 20-point draft proposal. It’s a plan that the U.S. crafted, and Russia has signaled it could entertain.
This comes as leaders of the “Coalition of the Willing,” Ukraine’s close European partners, hold a video call on Thursday to discuss whether and how a final agreement can be reached.
Trump told reporters he “discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words” with his British, French and German counterparts, but he did not give any specifics.
European leaders have been negotiating security guarantees for Ukraine if a deal is struck, and they’re pushing for a meeting with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days.
The president, however, indicated he may skip it.
“We said before we go to a meeting, we wanna know some things. You know, they wanna they would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we’ll make a determination depending on what they come back with,” Trump said. “We don’t wanna be wasting time. Sometimes you have to let people fight it out.”
On the ground, the war is still active.
Ukraine says its sea drones disabled a Russian-linked oil tanker moving through the black sea.
And overnight, Russia claimed it shot down at least 287 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, with more than 40 over Moscow alone.
Evacuations underway in Washington State as historic flood causes rivers to surge
In the Pacific Northwest, evacuations are underway as parts of Washington state face historic flooding.
An atmospheric river is parked over western Washington, unloading torrential rain and creating life-threatening conditions.
Governor Bob Ferguson has declared a state of emergency and requested National Guard support as first responders race to handle water rescues, road washouts and mudslides.
At least 18 river points are forecasted to hit the major flood stage.
The Skagit River, one of the region’s most monitored waterways, is expected to rise six feet above its previous record, according to the governor.
More than 17,000 customers are without power, and level 3 evacuation orders are in effect for several communities. Level three means leave now and seek higher ground.
The heavy rain is expected to last into Friday morning, and NOAA warns that floodwaters might linger for days as rivers remain swollen and unstable.
Trump signals role in WBD deal, says CNN must be sold as media giants battle for parent company
The fight to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and the future of CNN is growing more intense, and Trump is now speaking out.
Amidst a fierce bidding war, questions are circulating regarding his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s financial involvement. The president was also asked how much influence he plans to exert and what changes he would like to see at CNN.
“Well, I’m not involved in that. I will be probably involved, maybe involved in the decision. It depends. You have some good companies bidding on it. I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace. I think it’s imperative that CNN be sold because you certainly wouldn’t want to put people, just leave those people with some money, good money, and CNN so that, you know, they can spend even more money spreading poison because it’s lies.”
— President Donald Trump
Trump’s comments come as Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison, launches a hostile takeover bid to acquire the entire Warner Bros. company.
This bid directly rivals Netflix, which recently struck a deal with Warner Bros. studio and streaming services, but not CNN. Under that plan, CNN and the Turner networks would be separated into a new company.
One point of concern: Paramount’s offer includes financing from Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, though Trump says he has not discussed it with Kushner.
Ellison also indicated he would make major editorial changes at CNN if he wins, a shift Trump has publicly praised. And one that could become important as the White House considers the deal.
Trump admin ends SAVE, 7 million borrowers lose Biden-era benefits
Labeling it a “deceptive scheme,” the Trump administration is terminating a widely used student loan relief plan supported by former President Joe Biden, called the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan.
This week, the Education Department announced a settlement with Missouri that effectively terminates SAVE. Originally established under Biden, this program has assisted approximately 7 million borrowers.
SAVE offered zero-dollar payments to people earning $16 an hour or less, lower monthly payments for many others and protections against interest balloons, provided borrowers made their payments.
Missouri sued to block the program, and the settlement now ends it.
Opponents of loan forgiveness, including Trump, argue that borrowers should repay what they owe rather than pass the cost on to taxpayers.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on X that Biden’s plan was illegal and would have cost taxpayers more than $342 billion over 10 years, writing, “We won’t tolerate it.”
‘Star Wars’ painting sells for $3.9M, tops record held by Darth Vader’s lightsaber
One of the most iconic images of the 20th century has just sold for a record-breaking price.
The original painting that introduced the world to “Star Wars” sold Wednesday for just under $3.9 million, setting a new record not only for Star Wars memorabilia, but for any movie artwork ever sold.
The piece first appeared in newspaper ads on May 13th, 1977, a couple of weeks before the film’s release. It hung for decades in the office of producer Gary Kurtz, who later passed it down to his daughter, and the family eventually put it up for auction.
Bidding opened at $1 million and quickly surpassed the previous record.
Until now, the spot belonged to Darth Vader’s lightsaber, which sold for 3.6 million back in September.
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Texas crypto mines consumed more power than 1 million homes: Exclusive
A Straight Arrow News investigation found that in 2024, large cryptocurrency operations in Texas consumed more electricity mining virtual currencies such as Bitcoin than residential utility customers in the cities of San Antonio and El Paso combined. The footprint of crypto mines is expected to keep growing in the coming years.
As of mid-November, 22 cryptocurrency mining facilities had registered with the Public Utilities Commission of Texas. In 2024, those facilities combined to consume more than 14.7 million megawatt hours of electricity, according to public records obtained by SAN. That corresponds to about 3% of all electricity produced on the state’s power grid in 2024.
The cryptocurrency mines consumed enough electricity to power more than a million Texas homes for a year. Insiders from the Bitcoin industry told SAN it is misleading to compare their electricity consumption to Texas cities because cryptocurrency mines turn off when electricity prices are high. But not all electricity market analysts outside the cryptomining industry are convinced; some said Bitcoin is a factor in rising consumer prices.
Texas has become a major hub of the Bitcoin mining industry, and the state government has even purchased $5 million of Bitcoin. The energy-intensive process uses computers to guess a random string of numbers, which verifies a set of virtual currency transactions, known as a block. It’s a lucrative business: For each block of transactions a mining company correctly verifies, it earns a reward of 3.125 Bitcoin. However, as the industry has grown, so too have concerns among residents and state lawmakers over rising demand on the power grid. Read the full story now>
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
