AI Summary
5 min readNPR News Now: December 11, 2025 — 6 PM EST
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela directly to President Trump, telling a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that the operation was "directed by the President to ensure that we're pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing our next generation of Americans." Venezuela's government has called the seizure an act of international piracy.
Health Care Subsidies on the Brink
Affordable Care Act tax credits expanded during the pandemic are set to expire at the end of the month, and competing plans from both parties to address health care costs both failed to advance in the Senate. Senate Democrats proposed extending existing health care subsidies for three years. Four Republicans backed that bill, but it failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance. A Republican bill to give consumers up to $1,500 to use in health savings accounts also failed to advance. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blamed Republicans for blocking action weeks before people will face spikes in health care costs, saying "Republicans have all but guaranteed that tens of millions of people will see their premiums double or triple or more next year." House Speaker Mike Johnson is vowing the House will vote on some health ca
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:21) **Homeland Security Secretary Links Oil Tanker Seizure to Trump** - Christy Gnome testifies before a House committee, defending the unusual seizure of a merchant ship off Venezuela as a pushback against drug trafficking.
- 2 (00:57) **ACA Tax Credits Set to Expire; Senate Fails to Act** - Pandemic-era health care subsidies expire at month's end as competing Democratic and Republican bills both fail to advance in the Senate.
- 3 (02:08) **Washington State Flooding Forces Evacuations** - Residents in Mount Vernon, WA, flee rising waters from the Skagit River, with shelters struggling to secure food as roads flood.
- 4 (03:02) **Aid Groups Say Israel Has Not Met Ceasefire Aid Target** - UN agency warns of increased illness risk in Gaza due to cold, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions.
- 5 (03:17) **Judge Orders Release of Man Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador** - Kilmar Obrego Garcia, a symbol of mass deportations, is granted release from ICE custody; the administration appeals.
- 6 (03:35) **Ancient Plants Used Infrared Glow to Attract Pollinators** - New research in *Science* shows that cycads, ancient heat-producing plants, attract nocturnal beetles with infrared radiation, predating colorful flowers.
- 7 (04:33) **Disney Invests $1 Billion in OpenAI for Character Licensing** - Disney partners with OpenAI to bring over 200 characters to the Sora video tool; also sends Google a cease and desist over unauthorized AI training.
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