The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela called it blatant piracy, exposing how U.S. pressure has always been about controlling the country’s vast oil reserves.
Congress is now scrutinizing President Donald Trump ’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. Trump has said the deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats will expand to attacks on land. Maduro told supporters in Caracas that Venezuela is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”
Trump’s approval on the economy and immigration have fallen substantially since March, according to a new AP-NORC poll, the latest indication that two signature issues that got him elected barely a year ago could be turning into liabilities as his party begins to gear up for the 2026 midterms.
And Trump’s tariffs have cost U.S. households $1,200 each so far, Democrats say. The members of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee tallied the costs of sweeping taxes on imports. Their report found that they’ve cost American consumers nearly $159 billion — or $1,198 per household — from February through November.
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First of 30 oil lease sales planned for Gulf of Mexico draws $300 million from companies
Oil companies offered $300 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday in the first of 30 sales planned for the region under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production.
The sale came after Trump’s administration recently announced plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades. That’s drawn pushback, including from Republicans worried about impacts to tourism.
Wednesday’s sale was mandated by the sweeping tax-and-spending bill approved by Republicans over the summer. Under that legislation, companies will pay a 12.5% royalty on oil produced from the leases. That’s the lowest royalty level for deep-water drilling since 2007.
Thirty companies submitted bids on parcels covering 1,600 square miles (4,142 square kilometers). Total high bids were down from $382 million offered in the most recent lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico under former President Joe Biden in December 2023.
▶ Read more about the sales
Trump wants to keep farmers happy with cash. They’re still worried about the future
When Trump promised new tariffs while running for president, Gene Stehly worried that trade disputes would jeopardize his international sales of corn, soybeans and wheat.
A little more than a year later, Stehly said his fears have become a reality, and Trump’s latest promise of federal assistance is insufficient to cover farmers’ losses.
Trump announced Monday that his administration would distribute $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers, who have suffered from persistently low commodity prices, rising costs and declining sales after China cut off all agricultural purchases from America during the trade war.
While rural areas remain conservative bastions, farmers’ patience with Washington is wearing thin. Several of them described the government bailout, an echo of similar policies during Trump’s first term, as a welcome stopgap but one that won’t solve the agricultural industry’s problems.
“It’s a bridge. It’s not the ultimate solution we’re looking for,” said Charlie Radman, a fourth-generation farmer. “What we really want to have is a little more certainty and not have to rely on these ad hoc payments.”
▶ Read more about farmers’ concerns
Trump’s tariffs have cost U.S. households $1,200 each, Democrats say
Sweeping taxes on imports have cost the average American household nearly $1,200 since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, according to calculations by Democrats on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.
Using Treasury Department numbers on revenue from tariffs and Goldman Sachs estimates of who ends up paying for them, the Democrats’ report Thursday found that American consumers’ share of the bill came to nearly $159 billion — or $1,198 per household — from February through November.
In his second term, Trump has reversed decades of U.S. policy that favored free trade. He’s imposed double-digit tariffs on almost every country on earth. According to Yale University’s Budget Lab, the average U.S. tariff has shot up from 2.4% at the beginning of the year to 16.8%, the highest since 1935.
The president argues that the import taxes will protect U.S. industries from unfair foreign competition, bring factories to the United States and raise money for the Treasury.
▶ Read more about the Democrats’ report
Trump’s handling of the economy is at its lowest point in AP-NORC polling
Trump’s approval on the economy and immigration have fallen substantially since March, according to a new AP-NORC poll, the latest indication that two signature issues that got him elected barely a year ago could be turning into liabilities as his party begins to gear up for the 2026 midterms.
Only 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how Trump is handling the economy, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. That is down from 40% in March and marks the lowest economic approval he’s registered in an AP-NORC poll in his first or second term. Trump has also struggled to recover from public blowback on other issues, such as his management of the federal government, and has not seen an approval bump even after congressional Democrats effectively capitulated to end a record-long government shutdown last month.
Just a few months ago, 53% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of crime, but that’s fallen to 43% in the new poll. There’s been a similar decline on immigration, from 49% approval in March to 38% now.
▶ Read more about the poll’s findings
