Top Stories: Venezuela Oil Blockade, Capitol Hill Tensions, and Global Flashpoints

President Trump has ordered a sweeping blockade of sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela, authorizing U.S. forces to interdict ships carrying crude tied to the Maduro government — a move the White House calls a major escalation of economic pressure.

On Capitol Hill, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she expects President Trump to take a tougher stance against Republican leadership, urging full support for conservative priorities on spending, border security, and party discipline.

Lawmakers are also advancing key legislation, with a GOP-backed health-care bill heading to the House floor and the Senate taking up the National Defense Authorization Act, before Congress recesses until early January.

In Rhode Island, the search for the suspected Brown University shooter has entered its fifth day, as police release an enhanced image of the suspect.

Overseas, Russian President Vladimir Putin is accusing the West of “war hysteria” as the European Union debates using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, ahead of scheduled meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida this weekend.