News to Know: U.S. Seizes “Shadow Fleet” & Top Skaters Await Fate

U.S. Officials Announce Seizure of Two Sanctioned Oil Tankers

“In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two “ghost fleet” tanker ships— one in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a post on X on Wednesday morning. The Coast Guard seized one ship in the North Atlantic with support from the UK Ministry of Defence. U.S. officials say they’ve pursued the ship since late December. The second tanker was seized in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. officials say the ships belong to a “shadow fleet,” in which ships secretly transport sanctioned goods. The seizures follow President Donald Trump’s order imposing a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Four sanctioned oil ships have now been seized by the U.S.

While Democrats have not specifically addressed the ship seizures on the record (yet), they have raised concerns about the Trump administration’s broader actions in Venezuela. On Thursday, all Senate Democrats — along with 5 Republicans — voted to advance a war powers resolution that would restrict further U.S. action in Venezuela without congressional approval: “The procedural motion Thursday sets up a full Senate vote on the measure next week; that will also require a simple majority and is expected to pass. It is subject to House approval and a presidential signature, making it unlikely to become law. But it sends a significant message to Trump that could impact his foreign policy moves going forward — in Venezuela and other countries.” (NBC News)

Learn More: 

• U.S. seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela after weekslong pursuit (NBC) 
• US seeks to assert its control over Venezuelan oil with tanker seizures and sales worldwide (AP) 
• WATCH LIVE: Senate expected to vote on war powers resolution to limit Trump after Venezuela raid (PBS) 

Citizenship Requirement Clouds Olympic Path for U.S. Figure Skating Pair

“We’re hoping maybe a last-minute miracle might happen.”

Figure skater Misha Mitrofanov, speaking on the immigration status of his wife and figure skating partner, Alisa Efimova. Mitrofanov is a U.S. citizen, but Efimova was born in Finland and has a green card. In order to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics, Efimova must be a U.S. citizen, which would require the government to waive the standard three-year waiting period approximately 1 year early; she received her green card in 2024 – the same year the skating pair married. The pair placed first with a season-best score for U.S. pairs *short program* at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday night and they will compete again on Friday for the national championship before the U.S. Olympic team is announced on Sunday.

Related: Champion figure skater Amber Glenn set a new scoring record in the women’s short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday night. Glenn said of her performance: “My grandma passed last year and she was with me from day one, and I just felt it today, and I’m not usually one of those people that says it, but I felt like I had something help me today.”

Learn More: Amber Glenn sets record at U.S. Figure Skating Championships, leads over world champ Alysa Liu (AP)