3 Things To Know Today

1 US Intercepts Second Oil Tanker Off Venezuela, Chases A Third

The U.S. Coast Guard seized a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, just days after taking control of another vessel in the region. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the operation in a post on social media, saying the U.S. would continue to go after ships moving sanctioned oil that funds what she called narco-terrorism. A White House spokesperson said the tanker held oil from PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, and was operating as part of a shadow fleet to help the Maduro government. Venezuela's interior minister condemned the seizure, calling it theft and accusing the U.S. of kidnapping the crew. In addition to capturing a second tanker, the Coast Guard was “in pursuit” of a third tanker yesterday.

2 Widespread Power Outage Leads To Weekend Of Chaos In San Francisco

A fire at an electrical substation left about 130-thousand customers in San Francisco without power on Saturday, one of the busiest shopping days before Christmas. The outages began around 1 pm, and PG&E said the grid was stabilized by 4:30 pm, and firefighters brought the blaze under control by 6 pm. By yesterday morning, power had been restored to about 110,000 customers. PG&E said the damage to the substation was significant and repairs would be complex, but no workers or members of the public were hurt. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

3 Rep. Ro Khanna Says Epstein Files Release Was "Slap In The Face" Of Survivors

Two lawmakers are blasting the Justice Department over its partial release of Jeffrey Epstein files, calling it a "slap in the face" to survivors. Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie said the DOJ is not following the law by holding back many, including key, documents. All files were supposed to be released by Friday. The files released on Friday included photos and grand jury transcripts, but over 550 pages were completely blacked out. Khanna said survivors want to know who abused young girls on Epstein's island and why they're getting away with it. The two lawmakers are now working on a plan to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt if she doesn't release the full files.