Six minutes of news from around the nation.

US seizes sanctioned oil tanker off coast of Venezuela, Trump says; House advances Defense Bill; USDA food buying favors industrial ag: MT farmers react; MA Starbucks workers join nationwide Red Cup Rebellion strike; ICE arrests create fear, separate families in West Virginia communities.

TRANSCRIPT

The public news service daily newscast December the 11th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The US has seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

President Trump said Wednesday, a move that sent oil prices higher and sharply escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas.

That for Reuters.

They quote Trump as saying, "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, "large tanker, very large, largest one ever actually, "and other things are happening."

Next from CNN, the House just advanced the National Defense Authorization Bill for the next fiscal year, sending the massive defense policy bill to the Senate for final passage.

The bill includes provisions that increases pressure on the Pentagon to release videos of strikes against alleged drug book.

Meantime, the federal government favors big agriculture when it buys food for nutrition programs in Montana and nationwide, says a new report.

The advocacy group Friends of the Earth says in fiscal year 2024, The US Department of Agriculture spent $4.8 billion on food for school meals, food banks, and tribal communities.

Almost half of that went to just 25 companies.

Walter Schweitzer is president of the Montana Farmers Union.

He says these companies are looking for the lowest price possible, which hurts Montana farmers and consumers.

Big corporate monopolies that supply this food is heavily processed.

It's not the same quality.

And in many cases, especially with beef, it's probably a foreign product.

Tyson Foods topped the list at $240 million or 5 percent of spending.

The USDA announced in August that it would buy $230 million in fruits, vegetables, and fresh seafood from US farmers for these programs.

The plan didn't mention beef and poultry, which the report says make up a large share of these food purchases.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

And you and I, Starbucks workers in Massachusetts have joined what is now the longest unfair labor practices strike in the company's history.

Members of Starbucks Workers United walked off the job last month, claiming the company has stonewalled contract negotiations and failed to make credible offers regarding staffing levels and pay.

Kaitlin Power works at the company's Gardner location.

She says too many of her colleagues are struggling to get by, while Starbucks executives make millions.

We just wanna be able to survive and not wonder, did I get enough hours to buy groceries this week?

That really shouldn't be happening in a company that's making this much money.

She says workers are asking the community not to cross their picket line and to take an online pledge of support.

Starbucks states it's committed to bargaining in good faith and that a low worker turnover rate reflects what it calls one of the best jobs in retail.

I'm Catherine Carley.

Starbucks Workers United has filed more than 125 unfair labor practice charges.

The National Labor Relations Board rebuke the company for engaging in unlawful union busting at stores nationwide.

This is public news service.

Cargy in West Virginia say members of their congregations are being deported and families are being separated in ice raids.

The faith leaders say often the men being rounded up are solely responsible for their family's income.

Monsignor Reverend Paul Hudock, a Catholic priest working with Hispanic residents in in Clarksburg and Morgantown, says his parishioners are now regularly being detained and arrested, including a man who worked as a roofer.

As he came down from his roof at his work site in the city of Morgantown, the story is that ICE officers were waiting for him as he got down off the roof.

Two weeks later, he was deported.

Hudock adds many undocumented residents are now concerned about calling medical emergency services out of fear that will lead to an encounter with ICE agents.

This is Nadia Ramligon for West Virginia News Service.

In Minnesota homes and businesses will crank up the heat this weekend as Arctic air settles in.

A new statewide coalition of builders and designers wants future structures not as overly reliant on energy with a renewed push for a sustainable construction.

High performance and low emissions are key goals laid out by the recently launched Minnesota Efficient Builders Coalition.

The group Fresh Energy is bringing together regional leaders in construction, architecture, and other industry partners to advance best practices and engage on building codes.

Brian Wessels is with the firm IntentBuilt and is a coalition co-chair.

He says it's time for a conversation reset.

Building with purpose is one of the key points that I like to focus on as we start to get momentum.

It's just, why are we building what we're building and what is the impact?

The coalition says in 2022, emissions from Minnesota residential structures were up 38 percent over 2005 levels and were up 48 percent for commercial properties.

I'm Mike Moen.

And Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering several bills to protect insects and promote native plants amid growing concerns over declining species.

The state is home to 77 threatened insects, including the monarch butterfly and the American bubble bee.

Nate Riegel with Sierra Club Pennsylvania says pollinators are crucial to agriculture and many insects provide food for wildlife, control pests, and help cycle nutrients.

He says the proposal would boost farm productivity and environmental health, and notes Pennsylvania currently has no way to list a native land-dwelling insect as threatened or endangered.

There is no state agency that has authority over the native insects.

House Bill 441 would grant that authority to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Thankfully, they've already been doing a lot of great work when it comes to insect conservations.

House Bill 441 has already passed the House and is now in the Senate committee.

Danielle Smith reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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