U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright expanded on President Donald Trump’s plan to control Venezuelan oil on Wednesday, saying the United States would soon begin selling Venezuelan crude “into the marketplace” and use the sales as “leverage” to push the Venezuelan government toward lasting “change.” Wright addressed the situation in Venezuela at the annual Goldman Sachs energy conference in Miami, saying the Trump administration’s goal is to get Venezuelan crude “moving again and sell it.” The U.S.-controlled oil would be sold to buyers in the United States and around the world, with the revenue “deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S.,” according to Wright. “If we control the flow of oil, the sales of that oil, and the flow of the cash that comes from those sales, we have large leverage,” he said. “But without large leverage … you don’t get change.” “This should be a wealthy, prosperous, peaceful energy powerhouse,” Wright said of Venezuela. “That’s the plan.” President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Venezuela would turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States following the U.S. strikes on the country and the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately.” Wright, a former oil and gas CEO, said Wednesday that Venezuela’s oil infrastructure is in poor condition, adding that he’s been speaking to the leaders of energy companies about how it could be improved. “The history is bad, but what are the necessary conditions it would take you to kind of help nudge things along?” Wright said he asked of the energy companies. “What are the necessary conditions it would take you to put billions of dollars in to develop fields and build infrastructure?” The United States continues enforcing a naval blockade around Venezuela, blocking sanctioned tankers from transporting oil to other countries. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that had evaded the blockade after being linked to Venezuelan oil shipments, officials said. LIVE UPDATES: U.S. Military Seizes Sanctioned Oil Tanker Sailing Under Russian Flag Venezuela’s oil production dropped significantly after the country was taken over by socialist dictators. At its peak in the 1970s, Venezuela produced about 3.5 million barrels per day, but as of last year, it had plunged to roughly 1.1 million barrels per day, Reuters reported. “We could get several hundred thousand barrels a day of additional production in short to medium term if the conditions are there for just small capital deployments,” Wright said. He added that it will “take tens of billions of dollars and significant time” for the United States to return Venezuela to its “historical numbers” of crude output, but said it would be worth the effort. “Don’t we want a better world? A better world for Americans, a better world for Western Hemisphere, a better world for Venezuelans?” he asked.

The Trump administration has officially pulled back the curtain on the staggering amount of foreign influence-buying occurring on American college campuses. This week, the Department of Education launched a new transparency portal — foreignfundinghighered.gov — revealing that adversarial and “illiberal” regimes have funneled billions into the very institutions currently serving as ground zero for anti-American and anti-Israel radicalism. The data is damning. China, including Hong Kong, has pumped nearly $6 billion into U.S. higher education, targeting elite institutions like Harvard, New York University, and Stanford. According to House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, this isn’t philanthropy — it’s a calculated effort to “transfer critical research, influence, and academic talent” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). While the Trump administration is now prioritizing enforcement, the report highlights a catastrophic lapse under the previous administration. Data has revealed that foreign donations surged during the Biden years, with the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) noting that the “floodgates opened,” creating what experts call a “national security crisis.” Furthermore, the scale of the deception is massive. While the portal lists billions in disclosed funds, previous reports suggest that hundreds of universities have illegally withheld information on an estimated $13 billion in additional contributions. It is no coincidence that the universities receiving the most cash from hostile actors are the same ones currently exploding with antisemitic protests and “illiberal” faculty agendas. Qatar, a nation that harbored Hamas leadership, remains the top contributor with over $6.5 billion in total funding. Cornell University alone took $2.3 billion from the Qatari regime. Northwestern and Texas A&M have also raked in hundreds of millions from the Middle Eastern state. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April 2025 that required institutions of higher education to “report significant sources of foreign funding,” while noting, “But, because section 117 has not been robustly enforced, the true amounts, sources, and purposes of foreign money flowing to American campuses are unknown. From 2010 to 2016, according to one study, universities failed to disclose more than half of reportable foreign gifts. Even when foreign funding is reported, its true sources are often hidden.” Trump pointed out that during his first term, “the Department of Education opened investigations on 19 campuses from 2019-2021, which led universities to report $6.5 billion in previously undisclosed foreign funds. Yet the prior administration undid this work, moving the Department of Education’s specialized investigatory work on foreign funds to a unit ill-equipped to perform it, undermining investigations, and hindering public access to information on foreign gifts and contracts.”

Comedian Nikki Glaser, who is hosting the Golden Globes again this year, said the audience would be too clueless to understand jokes about the situation in Venezuela. The stand-up performer has given several interviews about how she plans to approach her monologue after receiving generally positive reviews last year. Glaser said she’s been trying out jokes in local bars and has noticed that bits about current events aren’t landing. “You can’t even anticipate things a week away as being relevant enough,” she said during an interview with the Associated Press. “You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela.’ People aren’t getting the news like we all are.” The comedian also said she plans to avoid roasting a particular celebrity due to poor reception. “I’m trying out my monologue around L.A. at the clubs here and just even any joke about Julia Roberts, they are not there for,” she told Gayle King during an interview on CBS. “You cannot make fun of America’s sweetheart. Whatever I end up saying about her, that is the most fine-tuned joke that I’ve worked on so hard, because it is very delicate.” “I mean, they were booing, and I was like, ‘Is she here?’” Glaser said. “It’s insane.” Roberts is up for Best Actress in a Drama for her leading role in “After the Hunt.” “I’ve been running the jokes constantly,” she told the AP. “I live and die by those crowds. They really tell me what to keep and what not to. Things that I think will kill will just be nothing and things that I think are just a throwaway are like the best joke.” Glaser revealed one joke she ditched. “I was going to make a joke about ‘Pluribus’ where I said like, ‘Have you seen it? Pluribly not.’ But we could not find a place for ‘pluribly not’ and so that one is in the graveyard. Probably rightfully so.” As for her overall strategy for hosting the Golden Globes, Glaser said she wants it to be entertaining and edgy without offending anyone.  “You have to be very delicate about making jokes that aren’t going to ruin anyone’s night, but you also want to give the people at home something to laugh at, and you want to poke fun at the people that they’re dying for you to make fun of,” she told King. “Like people at home want you to make fun of the A-listers.” “They want you to make them feel a little bit uncomfortable,” Glaser said. “So, it’s covert in the sense that I want to get away with those jokes without just ruining the vibe in the room. So, it’s really strategic, and it’s one of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever had is picking the perfect jokes.” The 2026 Golden Globes will air live on Sunday, January 11, from 8-11 p.m. ET / 5-8 p.m. PT on CBS. The broadcast will also be available to stream on Paramount+.

Maine is set to become a de-facto sanctuary state for illegal immigrants in the final year of Democratic Governor Janet Mills’ term. Mills, a two-term governor vying to defeat Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins during November’s midterm elections, declined to veto a bill limiting local law enforcement’s collaboration with federal immigration authorities in December. Republicans […]

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Trump might have just set the stage for one hell of an offseason.

'It's concerning to me also to have heard some of the xenophobia'

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'We are aware of a shooting involving federal law enforcement.'