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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Steve Guyger

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Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Philadelphia harmonica player Steve Guyger. Enjoy!

^{Steve Guyger - Country Girl}

"If you weren’t having enough Iraq flashbacks lately, Trump just signed an executive order naming the drug fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction”. The Trump administration has been accusing the Venezuelan government of trafficking the dangerous narcotic despite the US government being fully aware that Venezuela doesn’t produce fentanyl."

-- Caitlin Johnstone

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News and Opinion

Trump Moves Closer To War With Venezuela

President Trump announced a “total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela” on Truth Social on Tuesday, saying that “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”

Trump told the press on Wednesday that Venezuela “took all our oil from not that long ago, and we want it back. But they took it. They illegally took it.”

Of course, this is complete nonsense; Venezuela has done no such thing. These empire managers really believe the global south’s resources are their property, and that setting their own energy policy in their own interest is an act of theft.

Venezuela has ordered its navy to escort the nation’s oil tankers to protect them from acts of piracy by US forces like the one we saw last week, which places the US and Venezuelan militaries on a collision course.

We’ll see what happens, but as things sit right now it’s not looking good for peace.

COL. Lawrence Wilkerson : A Disaster to Invade Venezuela

Trump Doesn’t Mention Venezuela War Plans in Evening Address

President Trump did not discuss plans for war with Venezuela during an evening address he gave on Wednesday. Earlier, Antiwar.com had reported, citing a high-placed source on Capitol Hill, that he would announce plans for military action against the country.

The address focused on criticism of the Biden administration and claims about the economy under the current administration. It came a day after he announced a “total and complete” blockade on “sanctioned tankers” going into and out of Venezuela, which came after US forces boarded and seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil.

The Trump administration has made clear that its goal is to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. According to earlier media reports, he has been briefed on several options, including strikes on government targets, sending in a special operations force to kill or capture Maduro, or deploying a larger force to capture airbases and oil fields.

Thomas Massie, Ro Khanna BLAST Trump Venezuela Lies

House Republicans Kill Venezuela War Powers Resolutions

House Republicans on Wednesday defeated a pair of war powers resolutions aimed at reining in US President Donald Trump's airstrikes on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean and his increasingly aggressive provocations that critics fear are leading to a war on Venezuela.

The first resolution, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), demanded that the US refrain from armed hostilities "with any presidentially designated terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere, unless authorized by a declaration of war or a specific congressional authorization for use of military force.”

Trump dubiously designated drug cartels—including the Venezuela-based group Tren de Aragua—as foreign terrorist organizations in an executive order signed on his first day back in the White House.

The resolution was defeated 210-216, with seven lawmakers not voting. Two Republicans—Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—voted in favor of the measure. Democratic Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez joined their GOP colleagues in voting down the proposal.

The second resolution, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), would have directed Trump to "remove the use of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force."

The resolution failed by a vote of 211-213, with nine members not voting. Republicans Bacon, Massie, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia voted "yes" on the legislation, while Cuellar voted against the proposal.

The Venezuela War Powers resolution has failed in a vote of 211-213, with nine members not voting. An absolute dereliction of duty from Congress. pic.twitter.com/vHf2sXoYfO

— Dave DeCamp (@DecampDave) December 17, 2025

"The Trump administration's ongoing lethal US military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Western Hemisphere are legally questionable, and ineffective," Meeks and Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—all members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee—said in a statement following the vote.

"Under existing US law, these vessels could have been interdicted and their occupants subjected to judicial process," the lawmakers noted. "Instead of pursuing prosecutions, this administration has deliberately avoided judicial scrutiny by conducting lethal strikes, repatriating survivors, and in at least one instance, carrying out a second strike on defenseless persons."

The Democrats continued:

The president has failed to demonstrate the necessary authority under US or international law to conduct lethal military strikes on these boats. No one can credibly claim that these vessels, in some cases not even traveling to the United States and located thousands of miles from US soil, posed an imminent threat to the American people warranting the use of military force. Our war powers resolution sought to terminate these extrajudicial strikes, yet most Republicans chose loyalty to Donald Trump over their oath to the Constitution. By not reining in Trump’s gross abuse of power, they are sending a dangerous signal that any president can unilaterally commit US armed forces to hostilities without congressional authorization. We hope our Republican colleagues find their courage in the face of President Trump’s threats to expand this military operation into Venezuela. Should he be allowed to do so, he will no doubt provoke another forever war that the American people do not support and Congress has certainly not authorized.

The House votes follow two failed Senate attempts to stop Trump from continuing military action against alleged drug cartels without congressional approval. A vote on a war powers resolution introduced earlier this month by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is expected this week. Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) on Monday announced a separate resolution to stop US forces from launching more boat strikes.

Wednesday's votes came after Trump escalated US aggression toward Venezuela by ordering a “total and complete blockade" on "all sanctioned oil tankers" approaching and leaving the South American country. In a social media post divorced from historical fact, Trump accused Venezuela of stealing "oil, land, and other assets" from the United States.

Richard Wolff & Michael Hudson: Trump Wants Venezuela — Here’s Why

Sheinbaum urges UN to ‘prevent bloodshed’ after Trump orders Venezuela blockade

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has urged the United Nations to “prevent any bloodshed” in Venezuela, as Donald Trump piled more pressure on the South American country.

“The United Nations has been conspicuously absent. It must assume its role to prevent any bloodshed and to always seek the peaceful resolution of conflicts,” the leftwing president told reporters the morning after Washington announced a blockade of “sanctioned oil tankers” entering or leaving Venezuela. ...

Sheinbaum called for de-escalation and offered Mexico as a venue for any potential negotiations or meetings between Venezuela and the US. “The entire world must ensure that there is no intervention and that there is a peaceful solution,” she added.

China also expressed support, as foreign minister Wang Yi told his Venezuelan counterpart that Beijing opposes “unilateral bullying” and supports countries in safeguarding their own sovereignty. China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude, buying about 80% of its exports – although Venezuelan supply accounts for only about 4% of its total crude imports.

Game Over, Trump: Venezuela Oil War Just BACKFIRED | Larry Johnson & Col. Wilkerson

Prof. John Mearsheimer : Unintended Consequences of a Meaningless War

Putin calls European leaders 'little pigs' as he insists Russia will achieve its goals in Ukraine by diplomacy or force

Speaking at an annual meeting with the defence ministry, Putin said the aims of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” would be met “unconditionally”.

“If they do not want a substantive discussion,” he said, “then Russia will liberate its historical lands on the battlefield.”

Putin claimed that the previous US administration had “deliberately steered the situation towards an armed conflict”, adding that Washington believed Russia could be weakened or even destroyed in a short period of time.

He then lashed out at European leaders, accusing them of joining in with Joe Biden’s administration. “Europe’s little pigs immediately joined in the work of the previous American administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country,” Putin said. ...

The Russian leader on Wednesday also denied that Moscow was planning to invade Nato territory, claiming instead that the alliance had begun preparing for a possible military confrontation with Russia, with a view to 2030.

EU determined to keep Ukraine afloat

Pranksters Trick Former US Official Into Admitting Ukraine War Was Preventable

A former senior Biden administration official admitted during a recent interview with who she thought were aides to Ukraine's president that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could have been averted if Kyiv had agreed to stop seeking NATO membership.

Amanda Sloat—a former special assistant to then-President Joe Biden and senior director for Europe at the National Security Council—believed she was speaking with aides to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week when she sat down for a phone interview with who turned out to be the Russian prankster duo known as Vovan and Lexus.

“We had some conversations even before the war started about, what if Ukraine comes out and just says to Russia, ‘Fine, you know, we won’t go into NATO, you know, if that stops the war, if that stops the invasion’—which at that point it may well have done,” Sloat said. “There is certainly a question, three years on now, you know, would that have been better to do before the war started, would that have been better to do [at the] Istanbul talks? It certainly would have prevented the destruction and loss of life.”

However, Biden officials chose not to address Russia's main concerns regarding Ukraine and NATO—with disastrous results.

Sloat explained that she "was uncomfortable with the idea of the US pushing Ukraine" against pursuing NATO membership, "and sort of implicitly giving Russia some sort of sphere of influence or veto power on that."

"I don’t think [then-President Joe] Biden felt like it was his place to tell Ukraine what to do then, to tell Ukraine not to pursue NATO," she said.

Absolut MUST Watch!

Joe Biden's top official for Europe Amanda Sloat casually admitting explosive facts that the Blob not only suppressed for years, but you would have been accused of being a Putin apologist if you ever raised.

Remember the energy expended to silence and… pic.twitter.com/8caof42O1D

— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) December 12, 2025

Sloat is the latest in a series of former US officials who have fallen victim to Vovan and Lexus' pranks, including ex-Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Mike Pompeo, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, and senior State Department official Victoria Nuland—who played a key role in a plot to overthrow the pro-Moscow government of then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych during the Euromaidan uprising of 2013-14.

Sloat's remarks during the interview implicitly belied the prevalent Western prewar narrative of an unprovoked Russian invasion—an assertion that ignored decades of provocation, beginning with the betrayal of a 1990 assurance by then-US Secretary of State James Baker to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand "one inch eastward" if the Soviets cooperated on German reunification.

Not only did NATO admit 13 new nations between then and the start of Russia's 2022 invasion, all of the new members were countries formerly in Moscow's orbit, and three—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—were ex-Soviet republics. The Biden administration's public pronouncements of an "open door" to Ukrainian NATO membership continued right up to Russia's invasion, and were particularly intolerable for Moscow—even if Russian leaders understood that the US was actually more opposed to Kyiv joining the alliance than in favor of such a potentially fraught outcome.

Responding to the prank, French political commentator Arnaud Bertrand said on X that "this is as close to a smoking gun as I've ever seen on Ukraine."

"Hundreds of thousands dead, a country in ruins, and the justification is America being 'uncomfortable' about not preserving optionality," he added. "Not even an actual gain—just the theoretical possibility of one day pulling Ukraine into NATO. The banality of evil."

Sloat's comments, noted Norwegian political scientist Glenn Diesen, come "after our political-media establishment has for four years smeared, censored, and cancelled anyone who claimed that NATO expansion triggered the war."

Referring to Sloat's acknowledgment that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could have been averted with a guarantee of Ukrainian neutrality, Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic wrote for Responsible Statecraft Tuesday that she "is not the first to have made this admission."

"As I documented two years ago, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and former Biden Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines both likewise explicitly said that NATO’s potential expansion into Ukraine was the core grievance that motivated Putin’s decision to invade, and that, at least according to Stoltenberg, NATO rejected compromising on it."

"Zelensky has now publicly agreed to this concession to advance peace talks—only three years later, with Ukraine now in physical ruins, its economy destroyed, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and survivors traumatized and disabled on a mass scale," he lamented.

"All of this will surely go down as one of the great missed opportunities of history," Marcetic added. "Critics of the war and NATO policy have long said the war and its devastating impact could have been avoided by explicitly ruling out Ukrainian entry into NATO, only to be told they were spreading Kremlin propaganda. It turns out they were simply spreading Biden officials' own private thoughts."

"Divorced from Reality": Economist Dean Baker Fact-Checks Trump's Primetime Speech

Congress passes $901bn defense bill that includes support for Ukraine and Europe

The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a $901bn bill setting policy for the Pentagon, sending the big piece of legislation to the White House, which has said Donald Trump will sign it into law.

The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is a compromise between separate measures passed earlier this year in the House of Representatives and Senate. It authorizes a record $901bn in annual military spending, with a 4% pay raise for the troops, purchases of military equipment and efforts to boost competitiveness with US archrivals China and Russia.

The Senate backed the bill by 77 to 20, with strong support from both parties. The House passed the bill last week. In a break with Trump, whose fellow Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate, this year’s NDAA includes several provisions to boost security in Europe, despite Trump early this month releasing a national security strategy seen as friendly to Russia and a reassessment of the US relationship with Europe.

The fiscal 2026 NDAA provides $800m for Ukraine – $400m in each of the next two years – as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays US companies for weapons for Ukraine’s military.

It also authorizes the Baltic Security Initiative and provides $175m to support Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia’s defense. And it limits the Department of Defense’s ability to drop the number of US forces in Europe to fewer than 76,000 and bars the US European commander from giving up the title of Nato supreme commander.

US judge says Trump officials cannot ban surprise lawmaker visits to ICE facilities

A federal judge on Wednesday said Donald Trump’s administration cannot bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to immigrant detention facilities. US district judge Jia Cobb in Washington DC said US Department of Homeland Security policies deeming Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices “off-limits for congressional oversight” and requiring seven days’ notice for visits violated federal law.

Cobb blocked the policies DHS adopted in June pending the outcome of a lawsuit by twelve Democratic members of the US House of Representatives. ... The representatives who sued come from California, Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi, New York and Texas. ...

The Democrats who filed the lawsuit say their unannounced visits, without interference from ICE, remain necessary because detention facilities have often failed to afford basic standards of care. They said denying such visits amid continued reports of maltreatment, overcrowding and poor sanitation, violates a federal law adopted in 2020 during Trump’s first White House term.

Congress FLEES As Epstein Files Set For Release

US judge will block hundreds of Trump administration layoffs, citing shutdown law

A federal judge on Wednesday said she would block Donald Trump’s administration from laying off hundreds of federal employees, the latest legal setback for the president’s efforts to downsize the US government workforce. US district judge Susan Illston during a hearing in San Francisco said hundreds of layoffs at four agencies were likely not allowed under a law Congress passed last month to end a 43-day government shutdown.

“The chaotic nature of these has been continuing and has affected employees of the government in many ways, including loss of potential alternative jobs and loss of healthcare coverage,” Illston said. Illston, an appointee of Democratic former president Bill Clinton, said she would block the US state department and education department from laying off about 250 and 150 employees respectively, pending the outcome of a lawsuit by unions.

She also said she intended to order state, the defense department, the General Services Administration, and the Small Business Administration to reinstate roughly 300 people who lost their jobs during the shutdown. Illston said she would issue a written order later on Wednesday detailing her decision.

The judge said she would likely pause all or part of her ruling until next week to give the government time to appeal. Illston said she did not want to worsen the “whiplash” for federal workers, some of whom have been laid off and reinstated numerous times this year.

Healthcare Premiums OFFICIALLY SPIKE As Republicans Panic

Four Republicans join Democrats to force vote on bill that would extend Obamacare subsidies

In a major setback for Mike Johnson and the House GOP, four Republicans have joined with the Democrats to sign a petition forcing a vote on legislation that will extend for three years premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act healthcare plans. The rebellion underscores the nervousness among Republicans over an increase in healthcare costs before the 2026 midterm elections, in which the party will be defending its slim control of the House.

Democrats have for months united around extending the subsidies, but Donald Trump and Congress’s Republican leaders have refused, citing their longstanding opposition to the Affordable Care Act. But the party’s moderates have argued that allowing the credits to expire will betray the promise of lower costs they made to their constituents last year. After failing to negotiate a compromise with GOP leaders, the four Republican opted to sign a discharge petition sponsored by House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries that will compel a vote on the Democrats’ bill.

“We have worked for months to craft a two-party solution to address these expiring healthcare credits. We’ve worked for months with both parties, in both chambers, and with the White House, all in good faith, to balance all equities and offer a responsible bridge that successfully threaded the needle,” said Pennsylvania congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, the first Republican to sign the petition.

Fitzpatrick noted that he tried to insert an extension of the credits into a Republican-backed health bill that the chamber is voting on today, but was refused. “As I’ve stated many times before, the only policy that is worse than a clean three-year extension without any reforms, is a policy of complete expiration without any bridge. Unfortunately, it is House leadership themselves that have forced this outcome.” His signature, with those of Pennsylvania Republicans Robert Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, as well as Mike Lawler of New York, brought the petition to the 218 total it needed to succeed. ...

While the discharge petition’s success augurs well for the bill’s chances of passing the House, its prospects in the Senate are unclear. The upper chamber last week voted on a Democratic proposal to extend the credits for three years, but it failed to receive enough Republican support to advance.

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Heart attacks increased after Los Angeles wildfires

In the first 90 days after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires that destroyed entire Los Angeles neighborhoods, there was a 46% increase in ER visits for heart attack symptoms at LA’s Cedars-Sinai hospital, according to a newly released study.

“Rates of heart attacks in January 2025 actually surpassed heart attack rates during all the prior Januaries, even during the Covid years,” Dr Susan Cheng, director of public health research at Cedars-Sinai and the study’s senior author, told the Guardian.

Residents in the zip codes directly affected by the January wildfires or located adjacent to a fire-affected area also reported a 24% increase in pulmonary illness and a staggering 118% increase in blood test abnormalities.

“What we saw during the wildfires was an excess of respiratory illness showing up in our ER that matched the worst years of Covid,” Cheng said. “And that was striking.” While some increased respiratory illness was expected due to the effects of wildfire smoke,Cheng said she was surprised not only by the percentage of increase, but also by the jump in heart attack incidences and blood test abnormalities.

“For a very large number of people, the January wildfire exposures led to a biochemical or metabolic stress on the body that likely affected, not just one, but multiple organ systems,” she said.

Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center in Colorado

The Trump administration is breaking up a research center praised as a “crown jewel” of climate research after accusing it of spreading “alarmism” about climate change. Russell Vought, the director of the White House’s office and management budget, said the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, would be dismantled under the supervision of the National Science Foundation.

“This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country,” he wrote in a social media post. “A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.”

The announcement was the latest in a series of climate-sceptic moves by the administration, which has vowed to eliminate what it calls “green new scam research activities”.

It drew fierce condemnation from climate experts, who said the Colorado centre was renowned for advances in the study of weather patterns, including tropical cyclones.

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Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Patrick Lawrence: Trump’s ‘End of History’ Moment

The Turtle Island Liberation Front Warning for Activists

Assange Sues Nobel Foundation to Stop War-Promoting Machado From Receiving Peace Prize Cash

On Dirty British Intel And Other Stuff

US residents say wood-pellet plant harming their town

Trump attacks Democratic foes in White House presidential portraits

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A Little Night Music

Steve Guyger - Cool In The Evening

Steve Guyger - Blues With a Feeling

Steve Guyger - That's Right

Steve Guyger - I Just Keep Loving Her

Steve Guyger - Mystery Train

Steve Guyger - Honest I Do

Steve Guyger - I Tried So Hard

Steve Guyger - Mighty Long Time

Steve Guyger & the Excellos - My Babe

Steve Guyger & The King Bees - Why Do You Act Like That

Steve Guyger Band - Mellow Down Easy

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