President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he ordered “a total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Trump made the announcement after the United States government seized a Venezuelan oil tanker last Wednesday, and as the president has ramped up a pressure campaign targeting Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Now, the president has zeroed in on Venezuela’s oil industry, its main source of funding. “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday night. “The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump said, adding: “The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace. America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Roughly 80% of Venezuelan oil exports go to Chinese buyers, according to The New York Times. Chevron operates in Venezuela using a waiver from the Treasury Department that allows the company to conduct business with  Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant PDVSA to develop the country’s massive oil reserves. Chevron gives a portion of its oil to the Venezuelan government in order to drill in the South American country. Chevron responded to Trump’s latest actions Tuesday evening, saying “operations in Venezuela continue without disruption and in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government,” according to The New York Times. For months, the Trump administration has focused its efforts on destroying alleged drug boats off the Venezuelan coast. The U.S. military has taken out over 20 alleged boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration’s larger campaign to destabilize the region and take out the cartels operating there. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles and supporting the Tren de Aragua prison gang, placing a $50 million bounty on information that leads to the socialist leader’s arrest. The president of Belarus has offered Maduro refuge in his country if he decides to cave to the pressure.

A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, widely respected for his work in plasma physics and fusion energy, was fatally shot in his home in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, authorities said this week, in a killing that has stunned the academic community and remains under investigation. The professor, Nuno F. G. Loureiro, 47, was found late Monday night at his residence with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Tuesday, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. No arrests have been announced, and prosecutors said the homicide investigation was ongoing. At the MIT Alumni Forum, Professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro shared groundbreaking research from the @MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center: https://t.co/qa95fCcM37 pic.twitter.com/aaESXlt9F7 — MIT Alumni (@MIT_alumni) December 18, 2024 Law enforcement officials said they had examined whether the killing could be connected to a separate mass shooting at Brown University over the weekend, but a senior official briefed on both cases said there was no indication the incidents were related. The FBI echoed that assessment. Dr. Loureiro, a native of Portugal, joined the MIT faculty in 2016 and rose quickly through the ranks, becoming director of the university’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024. The center, one of MIT’s largest research laboratories, employs more than 250 scientists, engineers, and students working on the development of fusion energy and related technologies. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships In a statement, MIT’s president Sally Kornbluth described Dr. Loureiro as an “imaginative scholar, gifted administrator, and enthusiastic mentor,” calling his death a “shocking loss” for the university. “Our hearts go out to his wife and family, and to his many devoted students, friends, and colleagues,” she said. Dr. Loureiro grew up in central Portugal and studied physics in Lisbon before earning a doctorate at Imperial College London. He conducted research at leading fusion laboratories in the United States, Britain, and Portugal before arriving at MIT. His work focused on magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence, and he published widely in scientific journals. In January 2025, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Students and colleagues gathered quietly near his home on Tuesday to pay their respects, local news outlets reported. The U.S. ambassador to Portugal, John J. Arrigo, also issued a statement honoring Dr. Loureiro’s leadership and contributions to science. “It’s not hyperbole to say MIT is where you go to find solutions to humanity’s biggest problems,” Dr. Loureiro said last year when he was named to lead the plasma science center. “Fusion energy will change the course of human history.”

Authorities have arrested a fifth person in connection with a plot to bomb immigration agents on New Year’s Eve. Law enforcement arrested Micah James Legnon in Louisiana on Saturday after messages tied him to alleged members of the radical leftist group Turtle Island Liberation Front, according to the New York Post. Four alleged members of the front, described by authorities as anti-government and anti-capitalist, were arrested last week in connection with a plot to bomb five sites in Los Angeles and Orange County. Legnon participated in chat groups under the monikers “Kateri TheWitch” and “DarkWitch She/Her.” Prosecutors produced messages that they said showed Legnon planned to bomb sites in New Orleans at the same time that bombs were set to go off in California. Legnon “was previously a member of the Marines with training in combat.” A raid on Legnon’s home in Louisiana produced “sniper training manuals, SWAT training manuals, assault rifles, and multiple rounds of ammunition,” the criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday said. Legnon has been charged with one count of making threats in interstate commerce, according to CBS News. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Last week, authorities arrested Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai in Lucerne Valley, California. All are alleged members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front and face charges of conspiracy and possession of a destructive device. The four defendants allegedly plotted to bomb sites in California, in particular targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Two of the group, Page and Carroll, allegedly discussed plans to bomb ICE vehicles during the months of January and February. The foiled terror plot and arrests come as ICE agents have faced an 8,000% increase in death threats since President Donald Trump commenced his crackdown on illegal immigration. The Department of Homeland Security has also reported a roughly 1,100% jump in assaults against ICE agents.

Warner Bros Discovery’s board could announce a decision as early as Wednesday on Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion takeover bid, with the board likely to advise shareholders to vote against the offer, according to sources familiar with the matter. The decision to recommit to Netflix’s buyout offer would mark the latest twist in the race for assets that include Warner Bros’ storied film and TV studio, and its extensive film and television library, whose portfolio includes classics ranging from “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane” to contemporary favorites like “Harry Potter” and “Friends,” HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. A Warner Bros Discovery spokesman declined to comment. The winner will gain a big advantage in the streaming wars by locking up a deep content library that has long been an acquisition target. Netflix earlier this month emerged victorious with a $27 cash-and-stock bid for Warner Bros’ non-cable assets. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Paramount CEO David Ellison then went directly to Warner Bros’ shareholders with a $30-a-share, all-cash bid for the whole company. In regulatory filings, Paramount has said its bid is superior to Netflix’s offer and would enjoy a clearer path to regulatory approval. Its offer is financed by $41 billion in new equity, which is backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, and $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo. Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, which was one of Paramount’s financing partners, is exiting the battle, according to Bloomberg. Paramount and Affinity Partners did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los AngelesEditing by Ken Li, Dawn Kopecki and Nick Zieminski)

Senator Josh Hawley and his wife, Erin, launched a nonprofit to promote family values and encourage Americans to embrace a culture of life.  The nonprofit, called the Love Life Initiative, will run pro-family national ad campaigns to encourage Americans to raise families and defend life at all stages of development. The group will promote pro-life ballot campaigns and fight against pro-abortion ballot petitions.   “We believe there needs to be a strong voice advocating for life and making it easier to start a family,” Senator Hawley said. “That is fundamental to who we are as Americans and the future of our country. And it is how we will be judged as a society. This is a generational project, not just about the next election cycle.” The nonprofit’s webpage pointed to polling that over 50% of Americans identify as pro-choice and a spate of state ballot petition defeats across the country. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, 11 states have passed pro-abortion ballot initiatives, while two states have voted against pro-life petitions.  “The Love Life Initiative will fight to reverse this trend through thoughtful, far-reaching advertising campaigns that promote the sanctity of life, advance referendums that protect life, and identify and defeat harmful proposals in statehouses across the nation,” the nonprofit’s webpage says. “The Love Life Initiative will remind Americans that life is sacred, life is good, and life is worth protecting.” In many of the states, spending in favor of abortion has widely outpaced spending by pro-life advocates. In a 2023 referendum on abortion in Ohio, abortion proponents outspent pro-life advocates $18 million to $7 million in the final months leading up to the vote.  “For years, Democrats have drowned out the pro-life narrative and overwhelmed the pro-life agenda. They’ve raised and spent hundreds of millions on infrastructure, advocacy, and advertising—and it’s taken a toll,” the website says.  Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Erin Hawley, a constitutional lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said that their group wanted to help women choose life instead of ending the life of their unborn children. The Hawleys have three young children.  “Most women have an abortion because of a lack of support. We want to change that. We want to build a culture that is pro-life and pro-family, and we can do that by providing broader support for women in need,” she said.  Some advisors close to President Donald Trump were upset with the launch of the nonprofit, Axios reported. They believe that focusing on the pro-life issue would hurt the GOP at the ballot box. Polling viewed by The Daily Wire shows that many Americans value family formation and would like to see some limits on abortion.  In recent days, pro-life groups and lawmakers have pressured the Food and Drug Administration to roll back Biden-era rules that allowed for the abortion drug to be shipped through the mail.