The Latest: 4 Republicans join Democrats on extending ACA subsidies, defying Speaker Johnson

Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans.

House Republican leaders have instead pushed a GOP health care bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums people will soon endure as the tax credits for those who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire.

Trump says he will address the nation on Wednesday night: Trump announced his plans in a post on his social media site, saying he will speak live from the White House at 9 p.m. EST. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president will discuss what he accomplished this year, the first of his second term, and his plans for the next three years.

And the West Wing went into damage control after Trump's understated but influential chief of staff, Susie Wiles, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and others in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair

Here's the latest:

Senate passes $901 billion defense bill that pushes Hegseth for boat strike video

The Senate gave final passage to an annual military policy bill Wednesday that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela.

The bill pushes back on recent moves by the Pentagon. It demands more information on boat strikes in the Caribbean, requires that the U.S. keep its troop levels in Europe at current levels and sends some military aid to Ukraine.

But overall, the bill represents a compromise between the parties.

Meet the 4 Republicans who defied Speaker Johnson on ACA subsidies

—Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania. Fitzpatrick, who has been part of several bipartisan pushes this year, amassed bipartisan signatures for his own discharge petition related to ACA subsidy extension.

—Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Pennsylvania. Bresnahan and Mackenzie won in November by some of the smallest margins in all of Congress.

—Rep. Mike Lawler, New York. Lawler's district has been considered a crucial swing seat in recent elections, and Democrats are expected to again dedicate heavy resources to flip it next year.

Venezuela urges UN Security Council to publicly condemn US act of ‘piracy' against Venezuelan tanker

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil demanded in a letter to the council obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday that the U.S. immediately release the ''kidnapped crew'' and return the oil illegally confiscated on the high seas.

U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region

In addition to urging the Security Council to condemn the taking of the tanker, Gil urged the U.N.'s most powerful body for a written council statement stating that the council hasn't authorized actions against Venezuela, ''or against the international commercialization of its oil.''

The three-judge panel for U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Trump may prevail in his argument that in D.C., a federal district, the president ''possesses a unique power'' to mobilize the Guard.

The ruling stays a lower court decision that had ordered an end to the deployment.

Wednesday's ruling is not final, but it acknowledged that the Trump administration has a strong case for its appeal.

FCC leader disputes agency's own website, says broadcast regulator is not independent

Senate Democrats grilled FCC Chairman Brendan Carr during an oversight hearing, suggesting he was politicizing an independent agency.

''The FCC is not an independent agency, formally speaking,'' Carr said.

Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján pointed to the FCC's own website, which says that it is an ''independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress.''

US, Qatar hold strategic dialogue talks as Trump pushes implementation of Gaza peace plan

The United State and Qatar have held annual strategic dialogue talks as President Donald Trump continues to press for the full implementation of his peace plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani led Wednesday's discussions at the State Department, which came as Qatar is playing an increasingly important role in organizing Trump's so-called ''Board of Peace'' for the territory and an international force to provide security there.

In late September, Trump signed an executive order committing the U.S. to broad security guarantees for Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity. That took place after Israel launched military strikes against Hamas operatives in Doha, outraging the Qataris and other Arab nations.

US civilian killed in Syria was ‘a courageous interpreter,' daughter says

Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter who was killed alongside two Iowa National Guard members in an attack in Syria Saturday, was a seasoned professional.

His 25-year-old daughter, Dina Qiryaqoz, was in Delaware Wednesday to attend his dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, where Trump will witness the return of their remains.

Qiryaqoz said in a statement Wednesday that Sakat was from a small Catholic village outside Mosul and worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army during the invasion of Iraq from 2003 to 2007. The family immigrated to the U.S. in 2007 on a special visa and settled in Macomb, Michigan. He is survived by his wife and four adult children.

Speaker Johnson reacts to defiance in his GOP conference

House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked if he's lost control of the House after four Republicans signed on to a Democratic-led petition to force a vote on extending health care subsidies that expire at the end of this year.

''I have not lost control of the House,'' Johnson insisted.

He noted that Republicans have a razor-thin majority that allows a small number of members to employ procedures that would not normally be successful in getting around leadership.

''These are not normal times,'' he remarked.

Secretary Scott Bessent has announced a 50-state initiative to recruit more philanthropists to further seed a Trump administration initiative to provide tax-advantaged savings accounts for children.

Philanthropists Ray and Barbara Dalio of Connecticut will be the first to join the initiative aimed at bolstering what the White House has dubbed the '' Trump Accounts '' program, which aims to deposit $1,000 into investment accounts for American children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028.

Dalio Philanthropies announced it will seed an additional $250 per child for approximately 300,000 children in Connecticut. Ray Dalio is the founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates.

Earlier this month, billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion for 25 million American children 10 and under as an incentive to claim the investment accounts created as part of Trump's tax and spending legislation.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar grills FCC chairman over his anti-Kimmel comments

Klobuchar highlighted comments Carr made earlier this year, when he said Jimmy Kimmel had made ''truly sick'' comments about Charlie Kirk's death and warned broadcasters, ''We can do this the easy way or the hard way.''

Among the first Democrats to question Carr at the oversight hearing, Klobuchar took an aggressive line of questioning.

Smith tells GOP inquisitors that he would do it again, regardless of party

''I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,'' Smith said. ''We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.''

He said that if asked whether he would ''prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.''

The former Justice Department special counsel told lawmakers in a closed-door interview on Wednesday that the evidence his investigators gathered proved Trump had criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by The Associated Press.

He also said investigators had ''powerful evidence'' Trump broke the law by hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after his first term, and by obstructing government efforts to recover the records.

''I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,'' Smith said. ''We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.''

He said that if asked whether he would ''prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.''

Trafficked, exploited, married off: Rohingya children's lives crushed by US aid cuts

In interviews with 37 children, family members, teachers, community leaders and aid workers, the AP has documented an increase in child marriage, child labor, kidnapping and other violations against children since Trump decided to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development.

▶ Read more about the AP's report and see a photo gallery on the fallout from the aid cuts.

Rep. Dan Newhouse says he won't seek reelection

The Washington State Republican made his announcement in a social media post on Wednesday, saying he's confident ''there are now qualified and serious people expressing interest in this office.''

Newhouse had been among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, violence at the U.S. Capitol.

Others retired or were defeated by Trump-endorsed primary challengers.

Four Republicans defy their speaker, signing a Democratic petition to force vote on ACA subsidies

Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans.

The move comes after House Republican leaders pushed ahead with a GOP health care bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums that many Americans will soon endure as the tax credits for those who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year's end.

Democrats needed 218 signatures to force a floor vote on their bill, which would extend the subsidies for three years. They reached the magic number with the signatures of Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, all from Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler of New York.

Claudia Sheinbaum called on the United Nations Wednesday to ''prevent any bloodshed'' as tensions rise.

Speaking in response to Trump's comments the day before ordering a blockade of all ''sanctioned oil tankers'' into Venezuela, Sheinbaum criticized the U.N., saying it ''has not been seen'' mediating ongoing hostilities.

''We stand for non-interference, self-determination of peoples, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. We call for dialogue and peace, not intervention, in any international dispute,'' she said.

Former special counsel Jack Smith arrives for closed-door testimony on Trump investigation

Smith, the former DOJ prosecutor, declined to comment as he entered the House Judiciary Committee hearing room for the briefing he had sought to make public.

Major unions oppose merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern

Trump has said the proposed $85 billion deal to create the nation's first transcontinental railroad sounds good to him. But the merger has lost the support of two unions that represent more than half their workers over concerns it will jeopardize safety and jobs, raise shipping rates and consumer prices, and cause significant disruptions.

When they officially announce their decision Wednesday, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division will join the American Chemistry Council, an assortment of agricultural groups and competing railroad BNSF in raising concerns the merger would hurt competition.

The deal has the support of the nation's largest rail union, which represents conductors and hundreds of individual shippers. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board will weigh stakeholders' opinions to determine whether the merger is in the public interest after the railroads file their formal application, expected later this week.

Georgia senators to question Fani Willis over her prosecution of Trump

The Republican-led Special Committee on Investigation has been eager to examine allegations of misconduct against Willis since she sought criminal convictions for efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in Georgia.

Willis' reelection campaign accused the committee of ''trying to dig up dirt, slow us down, and distract Fani Willis from her job'' in an email to supporters Wednesday morning. It urged people to pack the hearing room or send a donation.

''We want to make today — the day they tried to tear her down — our single biggest fundraising day of the year,'' it says. ''Let's turn their political stunt into a massive show of grassroots strength.''

FCC chair to face Senate questioning for first time since Kimmel controversy

The Senate Commerce committee is expected to question Brendan Carr Wednesday about how he pressured broadcasters to take ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air.

ABC announced Kimmel's suspension hours after Carr's ''We can do this the easy way or the hard way'' warning. The show returned to air within a week amid bipartisan criticism.

''It is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying ‘we're going to decide what speech we like and what we don't','' Senate Commerce chair Ted Cruz said.

Some at Brown say lack of gun control makes security an illusion

Trump isn't alone in questioning the lack of video that might clearly identify the gunman who fatally shot two students and wounded nine others in a building at the edge of Brown University 's campus before escaping into the surrounding neighborhood. Both authorities and community members are raising questions about campus security.

But some others say the attention on security measures does little to address the real issue.

Trump questions number of cameras at Brown after shooting

In his latest commentary on the Brown University shooting that killed two students, the president suggests the campus should have had more video surveillance.

''Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras? There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn't get worse!!!'' Trump posted on Truth Social.

Brown President Christina Paxson said the campus has 1,200 cameras, though none captured the shooter clearly. ''I have been deeply saddened by people questioning that,'' she said Tuesday. ''As time goes on, there is a natural instinct to assign responsibility for tragic events like this ... but the shooter is responsible.''

Authorities released a video timeline potentially showing the shooter; they're seeking additional footage from the public. No arrests have been made.

House Speaker rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies, pushing ahead with GOP plan

House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year's end.

Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed the prospect of allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on their amendment that would temporarily extend pandemic-era subsidies for ACA coverage. But after days of private talks, leadership sided with the more conservative wing of the conference, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up a failed ACA marketplace.

The maneuvering surrounding the health care vote all but guarantees that many Americans will see substantially higher insurance costs in 2026. In the Senate, a bipartisan group was still trying to come up with a compromise to extend the subsidies, which fueled this year's government shutdown. But senators made clear that any potential legislation would likely wait until January, after the holiday break.

▶ Read more about the GOP's plan

Trump has said for weeks said that the U.S. will move its military pressure campaign beyond the water and start strikes on land. His announcement Tuesday night he's ordering a naval blockade of all ''sanctioned oil tankers'' is ramping up pressure on Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

Trump accused Venezuela of using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue military pressure. ''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.''

''On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela's oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property,'' Venezuela's government responded in a statement. ''Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches. The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the wealth that belongs to our nation.''

Congress is divided over supporting or challenging the U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that have killed at least 95 people.

▶ Read more about the blockade

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is set for a closed-door interview with House Republicans on Wednesday after lawmakers rebuffed his offer to testify publicly about his investigations into President Trump.

The private deposition is part of an ongoing investigation by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee into the Justice Department's criminal inquiries of Trump during the Biden administration. Smith was subpoenaed earlier this month to provide both testimony and documents, and his lawyers indicated that he would cooperate with the congressional demand despite having volunteered more than a month earlier to answer questions publicly before the committee.

Smith is expected to discuss both of his investigations of Trump but will not answer questions that call for grand jury materials, which are restricted by law, according to a person familiar with the investigation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the interview. He is also expected to correct what he regards as mischaracterizations from Republicans about his work, including about his team's use of cellphone records belonging to certain GOP lawmakers, the person said.

▶ Read more about the closed-door interview

Warner Bros asks investors to reject takeover bid from Paramount Skydance

Paramount is offering $30 per Warner share to Netflix's $27.75. Paramount seeks control of the entire company — including cable stalwarts CNN and Discovery — while the Netflix bid, if approved by regulators and shareholders, will close only after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations.

In its appeal to shareholders, Paramount noted its offer also contains more cash than Netflix's bid — $18 billion more — and argued that it's more likely to pass scrutiny from the Trump administration, a big concern given his habit of injecting himself in American business decisions.

Paramount is run by David Ellison, the son of Oracle CEO and close Trump ally Larry Ellison. A private equity firm owned by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is no longer backing the Paramount deal, the firm confirmed Tuesday.

Trump will go to Delaware for the dignified transfer of the 2 National Guard members killed in Syria

President Donald Trump is going to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a dignified transfer for the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert.