SHIP SEIZED: The US seized an oil tanker off the coast of  Venezuela, President Trump revealed yesterday without giving too many details. “A large tanker, very large,” Trump said. “Largest one ever seized, actually, and other things are happening.”

  The ship was taken by a Coast Guard special operations team that roped down from a helicopter meeting no opposition.

  The vessel was reported to have been carrying Venezuelan oil. A warrant was issued against the ship for shipping oil to sanctioned Iran. The NY Times reports that the ship had been broadcasting false tracking data to conceal its true routes.

  This is both directly and indirectly connected to Trump’s war on drugs coming out of Venezuela. That country has the world’s largest oil reserves. The President has been vocal about wanting to topple the regime of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, labelled by Trump as a terrorist drug cartel leader.

  The Pentagon has been blowing up suspected drug boats coming out of Venezuela and the seizure of an oil tanker may be an application of economic pressure on Maduro. Asked what will happen to the oil in the seized ship Trump said, “We’ll keep it.”

  Trump also issued a warning to neighboring Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose country is a major cocaine producer. “He better wise up or he’ll be next,” Trump told reporters. “I hope he’s listening: He’s going to be next.” 

ECON 101: The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point yesterday in a split decision by the board revealing internal strife. The vote was 9-3.

  Stephen Miran, a member of the Board of Governors appointed by Donald Trump, pushed for a larger half-point reduction for the third meeting in a row. Trump has been demanding lower rates. 

THE EPSTEIN FILES: Rulings by two federal judges this week could result in the biggest revelations so far coming from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case. The judges said grand jury records and testimony involving Epstein and his cohort, the imprisoned Ghislaine Maxwell, may be released in accordance with the law passed by Congress calling for release of all the files.

THE REGIME: 

— In further efforts to control immigration and tourism, the Trump administration has a plan to require citizens of 42 countries to reveal five years’ worth of social media content if they want to come to the US. That includes US allies, Britain, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan.

  At the same time Trump has launched his “Gold Card” fast-track citizenship for people who can pay $1 million. Of course the card has Trump’s picture and signature on it.

— The House approved a $900 billion defense policy bill that would codify much of President Trump’s national security agenda while also attempting to curb his inclination to withdraw from Europe. 

  The bill  includes provisions that put Trump’s ideological stamp on the military, including a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the Defense Department. Reflecting congressional frustration with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the bill pressures him to release full videos of strikes on suspected drug boats off South America.

— A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must end its deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles. The Trump administration is expected to appeal. 

— Federal appeals court Judge Emil Bove III, a former personal lawyer for Donald Trump, is the target of an ethics complaint after he attended a campaign-style rally Tuesday night held by President Trump at a Pennsylvania casino resort. The advocacy group Fix the Court says in its complaint that Judge Bove’s attendance at the rally violated rules prohibiting judges from “the appearance of impropriety” and engaging in “political activity.”

— President Trump has weighed in with executives on the big Hollywood mergers and said he would be “probably involved” in talks over a potential sale of CNN should it be spun off by its owner, Warner Bros. Discovery. 

  Like other news outlets, Trump has attacked CNN for coverage he believes is unfair to him. “I think CNN should be sold,” Trump said. “Because the people that are running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent.”

CHANGING CHANNEL: CBS News has named Morning News host Tony Dokoupil as the next anchor of the third-place CBS Evening news replacing co-hosts Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson who have served less than a year.

  Dokoupil is a handsome and personable reporter … a real journalist … but he joins a long line of anchors who have tried to recover the dominance and gravitas of the late Walter Cronkite.

    Dokoupil joined CBS in 2016 and is married to MSNOW host Katy Tur.

   Naming Dokoupil is the most public move made by the network’s new editorial chief Bari Weiss, who has only months of experience in television news. “We live in a time in which many people have lost trust in the media; Tony Dokoupil is the person to win it back,” Weiss said in a statement. “That’s because he believes in old-school journalistic values: asking the hard questions, following the facts wherever they lead and holding power to account.”

  That also describes anchors who have come and gone before him without moving the needle for CBS.

THE SPIN RACK: University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member then arrested hours later as a suspect in an assault. Moore has been head coach for two years earning $5.5 million a year.  — A lawsuit claims that a Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger died after being served at least 33 alcoholic drinks. He had an “all you can drink” pass.

BELOW THE FOLD:  Gun rights activist Kyle Rittenhouse, who in 2020 as a 17-year old killed two people during rioting in Kenosha, Wisconsin claiming self-defense, announced that he’s married. In a wedding photo he’s brandishing a pistol and she’s carrying an assault rifle. They’re made for each other.

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