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Dec 17, 2025 - World

WASHINGTON — Turns out, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aren’t very good actors.Congress doesn’t agree on much, but when it comes to Venezuela and U.S. military strikes on purported drug smugglers, on Tuesday Congress was basically all questions, even after receiving classified briefings from the two members of the Trump cabinet.Only after President Donald Trump took to Truth Social in the evening, to announce "a total and complete" blockade of oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, did Congress finally get the clarity lawmakers had demanded. Now members of Congress say they know the real goal of U.S. intervention in Venezuela — and lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol are vowing to hold President Trump accountable. ‘More questions than answers’ Rubio and Hegseth, along with a phalanx of aides and security, traversed the U.S. Capitol, trying to sell Congress on President Trump’s war footing in the waters off Venezuela. “This briefing left me with more questions than answers,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told reporters after a classified briefing. It was the same on the other side of the Capitol, where lawmakers complained the two powerful secretaries provided “no real answers about whether or not what we’re about to enter into is a war in Venezuela,” Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters after his own chamber’s briefing. “If this is about regime change, it seems to me that the administration should say that’s what it is, and should come to Congress to ask for that authorization, which has not taken place.” It wasn’t just Democrats who were left confused as to what the Trump administration is trying to accomplish with regards to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “Most Americans want to know what’s gonna happen next. I want to know what’s gonna happen next. Is it the policy to take Maduro down? It should be,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters. “If it’s not, and if he goes, what’s gonna happen next? I’d like a better answer as to what happens when Maduro goes.” For his part, Secretary Rubio told the congressional press corps the briefings were on the “counter-drug mission” that is “killing Americans, poisoning Americans.” For his part, Secretary Hegseth tried to tamp down criticism as he promised to let members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees view a controversial video of a second missile strike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea, on Sept. 2. “This is the 22nd bipartisan briefing on a highly successful mission to counter designated terrorist organizations, cartels, bringing weapons — weapons meaning drugs — to the American people and poisoning the American people for far too long,” Hegseth told reporters. But last night, when President Trump announced a blockade of Venezuelan oil — arguing the South American nation is “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America” — lawmakers got the clarity they’d been seeking. And many weren’t happy. ‘Unquestionably an act of war’ While Congress is demanding answers to more questions, many members also feel lied to, if not duped. “Trump is threatening a naval blockade of Venezuelan oil, an act of War,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) wrote on X. “We have seen this playbook before. This is not about drugs or making America safer; it’s about regime change.“Americans do not want war with Venezuela. Congress must act now and stop this.” While the administration likened targeting alleged drug smugglers to going after pirates of old — thus evoking all the lenient maritime laws regarding marauders on the high seas — Democrats say the gig is up.They’re demanding the administration halt intervention unless Congress explicitly grants the president war powers. “A naval blockade is unquestionably an act of war,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) wrote. “A war that the Congress never authorized and the American people do not want. “On Thursday, the House will vote on Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and my resolution directing the President to end hostilities with Venezuela.“Every member of the House of Representatives will have the opportunity to decide if they support sending Americans into yet another regime change war.”

Dec 17, 2025 - World

Researcher in Kerala rainforest sounds alarm after being told frogs had died after being handled by humansA group of endangered “galaxy frogs” are missing, presumed dead, after trespassing photographers reportedly destroyed their microhabitats for photos.Melanobatrachus indicus, each the size of a fingertip, is the only species in its family, and lives under logs in the lush rainforest in Kerala, India. Their miraculous spots do not indicate poison, as people sometimes assume, but are thought to be used as a mode of communication, according to Rajkumar K P, a Zoological Society of London fellow and researcher. Continue reading...

Dec 16, 2025 - World

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will give a primetime address to the nation on Wednesday night and speculation started rolling in over what he has planned to announce. Trump did not reveal the topic for the address or if it would be broadcast from the Oval Office, posting the following on his Truth Social platform: "My Fellow Americans: I will be giving an ADDRESS TO THE NATION tomorrow night, LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, at 9 P.M. EST.," he wrote on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon. "I look forward to 'seeing' you then. It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"Although it's not immediately clear what he has planned to say, people suggested several topics could be discussed: 1. Trump could announce escalating military action. As the U.S. steps up pressure on Venezuela and recent lethal boat strikes have come under question over legality, some anticipated that Trump could announce a full military escalation against the country. And despite the administration's reluctance to release the Sept. 2 attack and video in question, some have suggested the move could be to distract from the looming Epstein files deadline this week. "Will you be invading a new country to distract from Epstein files?" User Cameron wrote on X in response to the White House's announcement.2. Trump could disclose more changes to his immigration policies.Trump's unpopular immigration policy has come under fire over aggressive ICE tactics, separating families and harsh deportations. In recent weeks, the president and his administration have pushed to remove visas that critics have called discriminatory moves to push out people from countries he — and his immigration policy architect Stephen Miller — don't like. 3. Trump could tout the economy, despite a less-than-stellar jobs report.A new jobs report dropped Tuesday, showing that the U.S. economy has hit a rough patch. Unemployment reached 4.6% in November, the highest it has been since September 2021, according to NBC News.Trump could use the speech on Wednesday night to tout the economy, following Vice President JD Vance's speech in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, where he also rated the economy an "A+++.""The Trump-Vance economy is hurting Pennsylvanians. Rising prices and a national economy with a net job loss over the last two months. Unless he will address the struggles of everyday Pennsylvanians and changes they are making, this is just a taxpayer funded campaign event," Eugene DePasquale, chair of the Pennsylvania Democrats, wrote on X.4. Trump could reveal his 2026 policy focus. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday that the president could share a preview of policies to expect in the new year, what he has perceived as successes — and possibly a Christmas celebration. "He will be addressing the country about all of his historic accomplishments over the past year and maybe teasing some policy that will be coming in the new year as well as we head into this Christmas season," Leavitt said. 5. Trump could drop a wildcard — or reveal nothing new at all.Multiple people anticipated that the address announcement would not shed much information on anything surprising. Some suggested it could be a way for the president to get people's attention. Others signaled he could announce his resignation, launch another business, or an entirely new topic he hasn't mentioned before. It's all yet to come. "My humble advice: don’t read much into it," journalist Olga Nesterova wrote on Bluesky.

Dec 16, 2025 - World

British Indian Ocean Territory commissioner’s appeal against decision last year rejected by judges in LondonAppeal court judges have backed a decision that dozens of asylum seekers were unlawfully detained on one of the world’s most remote islands, rejecting an appeal on Tuesday by the commissioner for the territory.Exactly a year ago, on 16 December 2024, a judge ruled that Tamils who arrived on the island of Diego Garcia, a UK and US military base, after a shipwreck while they were trying to reach Canada to seek asylum, were unlawfully detained there for three years in conditions described as “hell on Earth”. Continue reading...

Dec 16, 2025 - World

Since Trump’s second term began in January, global healthcare, especially for sexual and reproductive health, has been under constant attackThis time last year, women’s rights organisations were bracing themselves for a second Trump term. Few were prepared for the chaos that would be unleashed in January. The volume and speed of executive orders coming out of the White House were seen as a deliberate tactic to overwhelm and create panic. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as organisations scrambled to fill the gap left by the USAID freeze. But that was just the beginning.The US administration has been the key driver, supported by intense advocacy work by ultra-conservative groups using the moment to strengthen global ties with political allies. Continue reading...