The U.S. Coast Guard is reportedly attempting to seize a third Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, escalating its pressure campaign against the Nicholas Maduro regime.

The Cook Islands—population 15,000—are being courted by the two superpowers as they hunt for rare earths, and could stand to reap a windfall.

The following is the Dec. 16, 2025, Congressional Research Service in focus report, China: Nuclear and Missile Proliferation.  From the Report The U.S. government has for decades expressed concerns about China’s proliferation of nuclear- and missile-related technologies to other countries,

The annual U.S. deficit with Mexico would be the United States’ largest for the first time were it not for the surge of U.S. imports from China in January.

The U.S. Trade Representative said tariffs on Chinese semiconductors, now at zero, are set to increase in June 2027.

For China, President Trump’s moves to loosen chip controls, soften U.S. rhetoric and stay silent on tensions with Japan amount to a rare string of strategic gains.

The Trump administration accused China of employing unfair trade practices in the semiconductor industry but said it would hold off on imposing additional tariffs.

Delayed trade data has started to flow out from the US Census Bureau. More than a month behind schedule, the latest data on trade between the US and China is for September 2025.