PBS Headlines

Trump’s pressure on Venezuelan President Maduro mounted Sunday as the Coast Guard went after another oil tanker that U.S. officials accused of helping Venezuela circumvent sanctions. Last week, Trump announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned tankers heading to and from Venezuela.” John Yang speaks with Reuters national security correspondent Idrees Ali for more.

In our news wrap Sunday, at least 16 of the Epstein files released Friday have disappeared from the Justice Department’s website, gunmen opened fire and killed at least nine people at a South African pub, mourners held a moment of silence for victims of last week’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia, and people around the world celebrated the winter solstice.

The rising cost of health care is among Americans’ biggest worries, according to recent year-end polls. Insurance coverage for prescription drugs has been decreasing as their prices have been increasing. As PBS Wisconsin’s Marisa Wojcik reports, not all health plans are created equal.

Nationwide, schools are looking for better ways to connect with students and support their emotional well-being. A Baltimore-based organization called “We Do It 4 the Culture” is using hip-hop and storytelling to help students learn empathy and express themselves. Ali Rogin speaks with founder Jamila Sams to learn more.

From twinkling Christmas markets across Europe to vibrant displays of poinsettia in Mexico City, the Christmas spirit takes many forms. John Yang takes a look at how Christians around the world are celebrating the season.

Rapper Nicki Minaj on Sunday made a surprise appearance at a gathering of conservatives in Arizona that was memorializing late activist Charlie Kirk, and used her time on stage to praise President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “role models” for young men.

In a break from tradition, President Donald Trump decorated a White House walkway with bronze plaques for each U.S. president. In an even sharper break with tradition, the plaques were written in a style echoing Trump’s Truth Social posts, with misleading or false descriptions of recent Democratic presidents.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to Venezuelan government.

A Kremlin envoy said peace talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were pressing on “constructively” in Florida, while the Ukrainian president said they were moving “quickly.”

Israel’s Cabinet has approved a proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the far-right finance minister said Sunday, as the government pushes ahead with a construction binge in the territory that further threatens the possibility of a Palestinian state.

After a weekend of debates about whether the “Make America Great Again” movement should exclude figures such as antisemitic podcaster Nick Fuentes, Vance came down on the side of open debate during the convention's closing speech on Sunday.

Nine people have died and at least 10 others were wounded after a group of gunmen carried out a shooting at a South African pub during the early hours of Sunday, authorities said.

At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard with help from the Defense Department stopped the oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.

Overnight, the Justice Department released hundreds more heavily redacted pages of material it had gathered on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They come in addition to the thousands of pages released Friday, but what has been made public so far falls short of the full disclosure required by the law Congress passed last month. John Yang speaks with Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason for more.

In our news wrap Saturday, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued amid U.S. efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, the Israeli army struck a school in Gaza that was sheltering displaced people, U.S. Central Command released video of Friday’s strikes in Syria, and an engineer from Germany became the first person who uses a wheelchair to go to space.

If you’re going online to buy some last-minute gifts this holiday season, there’s a chance the price you pay will be influenced by what’s known as “surveillance pricing.” Some retailers are using artificial intelligence to set individualized prices online by sifting through personal data, including age, gender, location and browsing history. Ali Rogin speaks with Jay Stanley at the ACLU for more.

Four new portraits have gone up at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, showcasing this year’s recipients of the Portrait of a Nation award for their transformative contributions to American history and culture. One of them is Temple Grandin, who has transformed animal welfare around the world and affected public perception of autism. John Yang speaks with Grandin for our Weekend Spotlight.

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it is aware of a brief text from a passenger on board the aircraft to a family member that read, “emergency landing.”

Severely injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, Michaela Benthaus became the first wheelchair user in space, launching from West Texas with Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin.