☕ Who owns Venezuela's oil?

Good morning,

It’s been exactly 12 months since the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, claiming the lives of 31 people and destroying about 13,000 homes. As the rebuild continues - for some in the area, it is yet to begin - daily examples of community cooperation continue to reverberate around the nation. Today, we hold the victims and survivors of the fires in our thoughts.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• The White House said yesterday the "U.S. military is always an option" when asked about plans to take control of Greenland. The administration renewed calls for Denmark to hand over Greenland after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration is considering a "range of options" for taking Greenland, citing its strategic value. Danish officials have rejected the demands and noted that Greenland is a NATO ally of the U.S.

• A federal judge has ordered Trump administration ally Lindsey Halligan to explain why she continues using the title of U.S. Attorney despite a court order disqualifying her from the position. Halligan was appointed by President Trump as Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after her predecessor stepped down when asked to prosecute Trump's political enemies. U.S. District Judge David Novak ruled that the administration cannot appoint interim U.S. Attorneys in succession without Congressional approval while Halligan was prosecuting those cases. Halligan has seven days to respond before Novak takes judicial action.

• The man who killed two Brown University students and an MIT professor planned the attack for years and left behind videos confessing to the shootings, according to the Justice Department. Claudio Neves Valente was found dead in a storage facility after the shooting. In videos found at the storage facility, Valente confessed to the shootings and said he had been planning them for several semesters. Justice Department officials said the videos contain no clear motivation, though Valente denied media reports that he said "Allahu akbar" during the Brown shooting.

• Nick Reiner will be arraigned today on charges of killing his parents, filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. The youngest of Rob Reiner's four children will be asked to plead guilty or not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Reiner, 70, were found dead in their home with multiple stab wounds in December. Nick Reiner had been open about his struggles with mental health and addiction before his arrest, raising questions about whether mental competence will be a factor if the case goes to trial.

I’ve got 1 minute

Days after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over in what President Trump called a "large-scale strike", the White House now says American oil companies will take over the South American nation’s oil production.

Venezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves - 300 billion barrels, or 17% of all known global oil. However, the country produces only 1% of the world's daily oil supply due to sanctions and outdated infrastructure.

Some context

U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday during a military operation Trump announced from the White House.

Maduro has since appeared in a New York federal court, where he pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges. These charges relate to allegations that he used terrorist tactics to traffic drugs into the U.S.

The Trump administration has refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president since the 2024 election, which opposition leaders said was stolen through fraud. Trump said the U.S. will "run" Venezuela until there is a transition of power.

Trump’s plan

Trump said major U.S. oil companies will now move into Venezuela to rebuild the country's oil infrastructure.

"We're going to have our very large U.S. oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure," Trump said Saturday. "And start making money for the country."

Trump did not provide details on timing or how this would work legally. Venezuela's government has already said publicly it will not cooperate with U.S. control.

What happens next?

Because Venezuela supplies only 1% of global oil, experts say the situation is unlikely to cause dramatic changes at U.S. gas pumps in the short term.

If U.S. companies successfully increase Venezuela's production, more oil would enter the global market. This would typically push prices down.

However, some economists warn that regional instability could trigger panic buying in other countries. Trump has issued threats to other South American leaders since Maduro's arrest, raising concerns about broader instability that could drive prices up.

It remains unclear how the U.S. plans to legally control Venezuela's oil industry or when American companies would begin operations.

I’ve got 2 minutes

Former astronaut Senator Mark Kelly faces Pentagon censure for appearing in a video about refusing illegal orders. It's the first time the Defense Department has targeted a sitting Senator this way. Here’s what you need to know.

Mark Kelly

Kelly has served as Arizona's Democratic Senator since 2020. He represents a swing state that narrowly voted for President Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024.

Before politics, Kelly flew as a Navy pilot for over 5,000 hours across 50 different aircraft types. He later joined NASA as an astronaut, completing four space missions over 50 days and traveling more than 20 million miles.

What happened?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a formal censure of Senator Mark Kelly on Tuesday. The Arizona Democrat appeared in a November video alongside five other Democratic lawmakers who served in the military.

In the 90-second clip, the group reminded service members they can refuse illegal orders. Kelly said: "Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders."

The video came after U.S. forces conducted military strikes on boats off Venezuela's coast.

Why Kelly is being targeted

The Pentagon claims Kelly "characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders." Officials say this violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the legal framework governing military conduct.

Kelly is the only lawmaker in the video who formally retired from the military. Hegseth argues this places Kelly under Pentagon jurisdiction, unlike the five other participants who left military service without retiring.

If successful, the censure will strip Kelly of his Navy Captain rank and reduce his military pension.

The administration’s response

President Trump and Hegseth accused the lawmakers of "seditious" behavior when the video first appeared. Trump shared a social media post calling for the group to be hanged.

The Pentagon's censure letter represents the first formal step in a process that could take months.

Kelly’s response

"This sends a chilling message," Kelly said. He called the move "un-American" and vowed to fight it in military and civilian courts.

Appearing on Good Morning America with his wife, Kelly said the administration is using him to intimidate other service members from speaking out.

He has until mid-February to submit his formal response to the Pentagon.

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