A U.S. Air Force KC-135R “Stratotanker” Aerial-Refueling Tanker has departed from Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic and is heading south over the Caribbean Sea towards Venezuela.

The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly passed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 77-20, sending it to the desk of President Donald J. Trump.

U.S. Navy EA-18G “Growler” Electronic Warfare Aircraft with Electromagnetic Attack Squadron 142 (VAQ-142), assigned to Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) onboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), are out for their daily patrol over the Southern Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to observe the arrival and dignified transfer of the three Americans, two soldiers with the Iowa National Guard and an interpreter, who were killed in Saturday’s ISIS-affiliated terrorist attack in Central Syria.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, as well as other military and government officials participated in the dignified transfer of the three Americans killed in Saturday’s ISIS ambush in Central Syria today at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The Americans, identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, along with interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat, 54, were unloaded from a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III into waiting vans, with the bodies contained in three white caskets each draped with an American Flag.

Speaking to reporters earlier at Joint Base Andrews regarding his post announcing a total blockade of sanctioned oil tankers going to and coming from Venezuela, President Donald J. Trump stated, “It’s just a blockade, we’re not going to let anybody going through that shouldn’t be going through. You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil. From not that long ago. And we want it back. But they took it. They illegally took it.”

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is planning to step down from his role at the agency early next year and is considering publicly announcing his departure on Friday, according to eight people briefed on the situation who spoke to MS NOW.

President Donald J. Trump appears to confirm the planned departure of FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, telling reporters earlier, “Dan, Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”

Dan Bongino announces that he will be leaving his position as Deputy Director of the FBI in January.

A high-level meeting between President Donald J. Trump and other senior officials scheduled for Wednesday could result in new orders for assets and personnel of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps currently amassing in the Caribbean, including more “forceful” naval operations, according to a person familiar with the situation who’s spoke to The Washington Post.

The Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela has begun escorting ships carrying petroleum products leaving the country, following the recent seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker in the Southern Caribbean by the United States and threats of a “blockade” by President Donald J. Trump, with several ships - transporting urea, petroleum coke and other oil-based products - departing the Port of José bound for Asia between Tuesday evening and Wednesday, receiving a naval escort by warships of the Venezuelan Navy, three people familiar with the matter told the New York Times.