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The Blockade Of Venezuela & Trump's Holiday Address

Our Last Newsletter Of The Year 🎄

Author

Marcus Gee-Lim
December 18, 2025

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Hi readers, happy Thursday! Today we’re covering rising tensions with Venezuela, Trump’s holiday address, China’s plan for contraceptives, the aftermath of the Bondi Beach shooting, a resignation at the FBI, a surprise in the House, and the puma-penguin relationship.

In other news, this will be our last email for the year — Daily Pnut will return your inbox on January 6 to kick off the new year. Enjoy the holidays and thank you for reading our newsletter!

“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.” ― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Cruising For Crude In Venezuela

“Buque ICARO en el Lago de Maracaibo” by Wilfredor. CC0 1.0 Universal.

A week after the U.S. Coast Guard commandeered an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela,  tensions between the two countries have ratcheted up yet another notch. On Tuesday, the White House ordered a “complete blockade” on sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of Venezuela. Normally, setting up a blockade around a country would understandably be considered an act of war, but Trump’s specification that the blockade only applies to sanctioned oil tankers means it's a step down the “escalatory ladder” of military force. The next day, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded by ordering his country’s navy to provide escorts to all ships carrying petroleum products in and out of Venezuela's waters.

Venezuela’s economy is heavily reliant on oil exports, and the country sits atop the largest oil reserves in the entire world. Roughly 80% of that oil goes to Chinese private buyers, but the U.S. has slapped sanctions on about 40% of all Venezuelan oil tankers over the past few years because those ships have been used to bring oil to countries sanctioned by Washington.

According to a former State Department sanctions specialist, Trump’s blockade has moved the U.S. concerningly close to war with Venezuela. “It’s fundamentally much more aggressive, much more confrontational and much riskier,” he told the New York Times. “Once you impose a naval blockade, you’re only a stone’s throw away from using kinetic force.” Venezuela has appealed to the U.N. in the face of the U.S. blockade, calling on the U.N. Security Council to address “ongoing U.S. aggression.” A Security Council meeting will likely be held next Tuesday, according to a U.N. diplomat, but it’s unlikely to amount to anything as the U.S. is a permanent member of the council. 

A Holiday Address With No Holiday Cheer

Yesterday night, Trump addressed the nation before a backdrop of holiday lights and garlands. In his prime-time speech, the president speed-talked through a laundry list of issues; these included his many political grievances, some of the successes of his second term, and also a few policies that he’s planning to implement. 

“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I am fixing it,” Trump said to kick off his speech. He blamed the country’s ongoing economic struggles on Joe Biden and immigrants, before promising that America is “poised for an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen.” Meanwhile, economic data suggests things aren’t improving – after reaching a 4-year low of just 2.3% in April, inflation has continued to trend upwards over the past few months, and unemployment has risen to its highest level in four years. Trump’s economic approval rating reflects that reality – according to recent polls, just 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s economic policy.

In terms of concrete policy decisions, Trump announced that his government will be sending all of America’s 1.45 million military service members a “special warrior dividend,” a one-time payment of $1,776 that will hit their accounts “before Christmas.” He also promised that the White House will unveil “some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history,” and claimed that many Americans should expect to see tax refunds next year as a result of his “big, beautiful bill.” All of these promises seem like a bid to give the president’s approval rating a bump, but the reality of the matter is that Trump will need to seriously address the country’s affordability issues if Republicans want a chance in next year’s midterm elections.

7 Actionable Ways to Achieve a Comfortable Retirement

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China’s Contra-Contraceptive Campaign

  • As birth rates continue to decline in wealthier countries across the globe, governments are coming up with creative new ways to encourage their citizens to have babies. While most of these pronatalist policies are more incentive-based (think matchmaking services, childcare subsidies, and tax breaks for families with kids), China has decided to try out a different approach.

  • Next year, Beijing will implement a tax on contraceptives. Condoms, Plan B-style pills, and other forms of contraception will be slapped with a 13% value-added tax starting January 1, 2026, in the government’s attempt to stop people from stopping themselves from having kids.

  • The plan has already been met with backlash from Chinese citizens. “What is wrong with modern society? They are truly going to extreme lengths just to make us have children,” wrote one person on Weibo, a social media platform similar to Twitter. “Now that China’s birth policy has shifted to encouraging births and no longer promotes contraception, it is reasonable to resume taxing contraceptives,” said one Chinese demographer. “However, this measure is unlikely to have a significant effect on increasing the fertility rate.”

Seeking Justice In Sydney

  • Yesterday, Australian authorities filed charges against the surviving suspect in last weekend’s Bondi Beach shooting. That suspect, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, emerged from a coma on Tuesday; he’s currently being held under police surveillance at a hospital in Sydney.

  • The suspect has been charged with a total of 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder, terrorism, and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. According to court documents, the suspect participated in a bail hearing yesterday, though there was no bail requested during the appointment.

  • Local police have stated that the mass shooting – the worst in the last three decades in Australia – was likely motivated by Islamic State-inspired antisemitism. Meanwhile, Sydney’s tight-knit Jewish community continues to mourn its massive loss of life. Three funerals took place on Wednesday, including one honoring the life of Matilda, the youngest victim of the shooting.

Additional World News

Back To Podcasting For Bongino

  • Dan Bongino, the Deputy Director of the FBI, announced on Wednesday that he plans to resign from his post next month. Bongino is a former podcaster/radio host who miraculously landed a job as the second-in-command at the FBI. His boss, FBI Director Kash Patel, is also a former podcaster whose show was broadcast by The Epoch Times, a “news” company run by the Falun Gong, a Chinese cult.

  • During his time as a podcaster, Bongino was known for his calls to reform the FBI as well as questioning the idea that Jeffrey Epstein had killed himself after his 2019 arrest. Once inside the belly of the beast, though, Bongino struggled to make the changes he’d spent years calling for. He also publicly clashed with the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi over his desire to release files related to the Epstein case, earning himself an unpleasant TruthSocial post from the president.

  • “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show,” said President Trump after Bongino announced his plans to step down. In a tweet, Bongino said he appreciated the “opportunity to serve with purpose” – he will leave his job sometime in January, though the exact date hasn’t been confirmed yet. 

A Surprise In The House

  • Yesterday, four House Republicans split with their party in the Congressional battle over Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax subsidies. The Republicans provided the decisive signatures on a petition that will force the House to vote on an extension to the ACA subsidies, though the vote will likely only take place in January when the subsidies have already expired. Without those tax credits, people who receive health insurance through ACA marketplaces could see their costs more than double for 2026.

  • Putting the ACA subsidies to a House vote will put many Republicans in an awkward place. If they vote against the extension, political challengers will be able to blame them for making voters’ health insurance costs skyrocket, but they’ll need to balance those electoral consequences with their need to work with the GOP. Even if the measure passes the House, though, it’s unlikely to pass the Republican-held Senate, where lawmakers are less sensitive to consequences at the ballot box thanks to the Senate’s six-year terms.

Additional USA News

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Pumas vs. Penguins In Patagonia

  • In the 1800s, sheep ranching became an increasingly common way for people to make a living in Argentina. The growth of the industry eventually led to the eradication of pumas from the country’s Patagonia region, as ranchers killed off the big cats due to the threat they posed to livestock herds. Since then, Magellanic penguins (which normally live on islands off the coast of Patagonia) established massive colonies on the Argentinian mainland.

  • Human attitudes towards nature have changed since the 20th century. In recent years, conservation efforts have brought pumas back to Patagonia, putting the aquatic birds on a collision course with one of the deadliest predators in the Americas. On Wednesday, researchers published a report in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B observing that new penguin-puma relationship.

  • According to the paper, the new food source has made Argentine pumas more social, prompting them to hold smaller than usual territories and making them more amenable to the presence of other pumas. The study’s authors theorize that the reintroduction of pumas might force penguins back to their islands, and they also note that the big cats adapting to penguins might change their predator-prey relationships with other food sources as well.

Additional Reads

Peanut For Your Thoughts

If you want some interesting insights into the White House, you should read both part 1 and part 2 of this Vanity Fair piece on Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. You can bypass the paywall by disabling Javascript in your browser … but you’ll have to figure that part out on your own.

Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella