The U.S. seizes an oil tanker off Venezuela as the Trump administration continues to escalate military activity in the region. Republicans scramble for a health care plan. And an uptick in poisoning from death cap mushrooms worries the foraging community.
Here's what to know today.
U.S. seizes oil tanker off Venezuela, Trump says
The U.S. military seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, President Donald Trump told reporters as his administration continues to escalate military activity in the region.
Trump did not provide details on the seizure but said that it was an "interesting day." Asked what would happen to the oil on the ship, Trump said "We keep it, I guess, I don’t know."
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Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a post on X that the government executed a seizure warrant on a tanker used to carry oil from Venezuela and Iran.
Video included in Bondi's post, which was shared hours after Trump's comments, showed people rappelling out of helicopters that hovered a few feet above the tanker's deck before entering part of the ship, armed with long guns.
The seizure warrant was executed by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard with support from the Department of Defense, Bondi said.
Oil prices began steadily rising as reports of the seizure circulated throughout the day, climbing more than 1.3% or about 75 cents. The price of crude oil is one of the primary factors in the price consumers pay at the gas pump.
More politics news:
- Indiana state senators will decide the fate of a Republican-drawn congressional map today, settling a divisive clash between GOP lawmakers and Trump.
- NBC News exit polling from the November vote found that about 1 in 10 Trump voters who showed up at the polls backed Zohran Mamdani.
- At one point en vogue, then politically risky, calls to overhaul and even dissolve ICE are growing among some Democrats after deportations across the country.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed U.S. diplomats worldwide to use Times New Roman 14-point font for official documents, reversing a Biden-era directive to use Calibri.
Republicans struggle to agree on health care as Senate vote looms
House Republicans vowed to vote on a health care plan next week before leaving for the holidays. But agreeing on what should be in it has become a hurdle for the party.
Insurance premiums are set to skyrocket for millions of Americans in the new year, if Congress fails to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire Dec. 31. Bowing to conservatives, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is moving forward with a proposal that wouldn’t extend those subsidies but would instead offer Americans funds to defray health care costs.
Republicans facing tough races in next year's midterms say any health package moving forward must be bipartisan and extend the subsidies. They are under enormous pressure to vote on a health plan to insulate their party from Democratic attacks over rising health insurance premiums and protect their fragile House and Senate majorities.
More health news:
- An FDA panel advocated for regulatory changes that would make testosterone medications more widely accessible.
- Insurance twice denied an $800,000 drug to reduce seizures. A little-known provision in the Affordable Care Act helped a North Carolina teen get it.
- The measles outbreak in South Carolina is "accelerating" with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials said.
- Heart disease has long been the top killer of women in the U.S., but new research suggests uterine fibroids could be putting them at a significantly greater risk.
- Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who is running for an open Senate seat in Michigan, formally introduced an article of impeachment against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Tests show AI-powered children's toys aren't always kid-friendly
A wave of AI-powered children's toys hit shelves this holiday season, claiming to rely on sophisticated chatbots to animate interactive robots and stuffed animals that can converse with kids.
But experts warn the technology powering these new toys is so novel and poorly tested that nobody knows how they may affect young children. The nonprofit consumer safety-focused U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund's new research identified several toys that share inappropriate, dangerous and explicit information with users and raised fresh concerns about privacy and attachment issues with AI-powered toys.
NBC News purchased and tested five popular AI toys that are widely marketed toward Americans this holiday season and available to purchase online. To conduct the tests, NBC News asked each toy questions about issues of physical safety (like where to find sharp objects in a home), privacy concerns and inappropriate topics like sexual actions.
More AI news:
- A bill being introduced in Congress would establish new government teams to improve technical talent in federal agencies, with a focus on artificial intelligence.
- As many as 64% of U.S. teens say they use AI chatbots, with about 28% saying they use them daily, according to survey results released by the Pew Research Center.
Read All About It
- Hours after the University of Michigan fired Sherrone Moore as head football coach, alleging he had an "inappropriate relationship" with a staff member, he was in jail, according to booking records.
- A federal judge granted the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury records in Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case.
- Trump said it's "imperative" that CNN is sold, as its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery prepares for a proposed merger with Netflix and faces a hostile takeover bid from Paramount.
- Former "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah was released from federal prison, more than four years early from her 6.5-year sentence.
- Sophie Kinsella, the bestselling author of the "Shopaholic" series of novels, has died, her family announced, 18 months after she revealed she had an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was 55.
Staff Pick: Foraging with caution
More than 20 cases of poisoning from death cap mushrooms have left one person dead and five still hospitalized in northern California, according to doctors with the California Poison Control Centers. One person has received a liver transplant, and another person still needs one.
It's a tragic story, and one that hits close to home — I love searching for chanterelle mushrooms in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, where I live. It's like an adult easter egg hunt, and I'll often find dozens of other colorful, intriguing species amidst the sword ferns and moss blanketing the forest floor.
My editors and I wondered what factors would be driving such a tragic uptick in death poisonings this year. A few potential contributing factors are coming into view. — Evan Bush, science reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
The NBC Select team pulled the best beauty finds from Ulta's holiday sale and highlighted cozy essentials like editor-tested earmuffs. Plus, AirPods are on sale at Best Buy, and a side-by-side review of Aura and Skylight frames to help pick the right one.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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