On today's podcast:

1)  President Trump warned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro not to challenge the US, and vowed to keep oil seized from a supertanker but declined to say if he’s seeking to oust the Venezuelan leader. “He can do whatever he wants to do, whatever he wants to do, if he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough,” Trump told reporters at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday evening. Asked if he would try to push Maduro out, he responded, “That’s up to him.” Trump spoke after the US stepped up its blockade of tankers going to and from Venezuela over the weekend, boarding a non-sanctioned ship owned by a Hong Kong-based entity on Saturday and pursuing a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Another very large crude carrier, the Skipper, was intercepted on Dec. 10.

2) During Monday's press conference, Trump also said he believed “people are very angry that pictures are being released” that connect them to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, days after the Justice Department released a new tranche of files tied to the late financier. Trump said he hated to see former President Bill Clinton, who appeared frequently in the release, being tarnished by the association, describing the situation as “terrible.” The Epstein files, and the fight over their disclosure, have sparked infighting among Trump’s supporters, adding to the political headwinds that the president is facing heading into next year’s midterm elections.

3) President Trump reiterated his desire for US control over Greenland on Monday, after announcing plans to appoint Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as a special envoy to the island. The president said Landry was “a deal-maker-type guy” who could help execute his vision for taking control of the territory. The president also said his desire was not rooted in Greenland’s energy or mineral reserves — saying the US had plenty of resources — but that he did not believe Denmark had devoted enough spending to protect the island.

On today's podcast:
1) &nbsp;President Trump warned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro not to challenge the US, and vowed to keep oil seized from a supertanker but declined to say if he&rsquo;s seeking to oust the Venezuelan leader. &ldquo;He can do whatever he wants to do, whatever he wants to do, if he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it&rsquo;ll be the last time he&rsquo;s ever able to play tough,&rdquo; Trump told reporters at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday evening. Asked if he would try to push Maduro out, he responded, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s up to him.&rdquo; Trump spoke after the US stepped up its blockade of tankers going to and from Venezuela over the weekend, boarding a non-sanctioned ship owned by a Hong Kong-based entity on Saturday and pursuing a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Another very large crude carrier, the Skipper, was intercepted on Dec. 10.
2) During Monday's press conference, Trump also said he believed &ldquo;people are very angry that pictures are being released&rdquo; that connect them to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, days after the Justice Department released a new tranche of files tied to the late financier. Trump said he hated to see former President Bill Clinton, who appeared frequently in the release, being tarnished by the association, describing the situation as &ldquo;terrible.&rdquo; The Epstein files, and the fight over their disclosure, have sparked infighting among Trump&rsquo;s supporters, adding to the political headwinds that the president is facing heading into next year&rsquo;s midterm elections.
3) President Trump reiterated his desire for US control over Greenland on Monday, after announcing plans to appoint Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as a special envoy to the island. The president said Landry was &ldquo;a deal-maker-type guy&rdquo; who could help execute his vision for taking control of the territory. The president also said his desire was not rooted in Greenland&rsquo;s energy or mineral reserves &mdash; saying the US had plenty of resources &mdash; but that he did not believe Denmark had devoted enough spending to protect the island.

Listen for today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes. Get informed from Bloomberg's 3,000 journalists and analysts.

Listen for today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes. Get informed from Bloomberg's 3,000 journalists and analysts.

Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

Trump Issues Warning to Venezuela's Maduro, Renews Call for Greenland Takeover

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/77591656-a321-4831-899d-b3bc00ae8546/transcript

On today's podcast:
1) The US’s pursuit of a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela has intensified a blockade that the Trump administration hopes will cut off a vital economic lifeline for the country and isolate the government of President Nicolás Maduro. The US Coast Guard chased the US-sanctioned Bella 1 on Sunday as it was en route to Venezuela. It boarded Centuries, a ship owned by a Hong Kong-based entity, on Saturday — the first non-sanctioned vessel to be targeted. Another very large crude carrier, the Skipper, was intercepted on Dec. 10. The moves on three separate vessels represent the most concerted attempt to date to sever the financial links sustaining a government that Washington says is led by a drug-trafficking cartel, and one that it has also recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Maduro has so far withstood the onslaught, but the blockade is beginning to limit hard currency and to hurt an already battered economy.
2) Democratic lawmakers said they plan to explore “all legal options” after the Justice Department announced it will not release all documents about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein by the Friday deadline, threatening to prolong a high-stakes political fight as the midterm elections come into view. The US Justice Department released thousands of pages of pictures, phone records and notes from investigations into notorious sex offender on Friday, revealing new details about the late financier’s relationships with prominent business leaders and politicians. The department said more files will be released in coming weeks because the volume of material was too much to process by the Friday deadline set by Congress, sparking rebukes from many Democrats. The tranche included heavy redactions, a step intended to comply with the provisions of the law including protections for survivors and other accommodations.
3) A Supreme Court ruling that scraps President Trump’s tariffs — and refunds the import fees collected — would create a major “administrative problem,” the president’s top economic adviser said Sunday. “We really expect the Supreme Court is going to find with us,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CBS’s Face the Nation. Even if the court didn’t find in the Trump administration’s favor, Hassett argued it would be “pretty unlikely that they’re going to call for widespread refunds because it would be an administrative problem to get those refunds out there.” The Supreme Court is weighing a legal challenge to tariffs Trump imposed on dozens of nations under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Administration officials have drawn up options for reimposing import taxes in case of an adverse ruling, while publicly maintaining that a court defeat is unlikely.

On today's podcast: 1) The US&rsquo;s pursuit of a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela has intensified a blockade that the Trump administration hopes will cut off a vital economic lifeline for the country and isolate the government of President&nbsp;Nicol&aacute;s Maduro. The US Coast Guard&nbsp;chased&nbsp;the US-sanctioned Bella 1 on Sunday as it was en route to Venezuela. It&nbsp;boarded&nbsp;Centuries, a ship owned by a Hong Kong-based entity, on Saturday &mdash; the first non-sanctioned vessel to be targeted. Another very large crude carrier, the Skipper, was&nbsp;intercepted&nbsp;on Dec. 10. The moves on three separate vessels represent the most concerted attempt to date to sever the financial links sustaining a government that Washington says is led by a drug-trafficking cartel, and one that it has also recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Maduro has so far withstood the onslaught, but the blockade is beginning to limit hard currency and to hurt an already battered economy. 2) Democratic lawmakers said they plan to explore &ldquo;all legal options&rdquo; after the Justice Department announced it will not release all documents about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein by the Friday deadline, threatening to prolong a high-stakes political fight as the midterm elections come into view. The US Justice Department released thousands of pages of pictures, phone records and notes from investigations into notorious sex offender&nbsp;on Friday, revealing new details about the late financier&rsquo;s relationships with prominent business leaders and politicians. The department said more files will be released in coming weeks because the volume of material was too much to process by the Friday deadline set by Congress, sparking rebukes from many Democrats. The tranche included heavy redactions, a step intended to comply with the provisions of the law including protections for survivors and other accommodations. 3) A Supreme Court ruling that scraps&nbsp;President Trump&rsquo;s tariffs &mdash; and refunds the import fees collected &mdash; would create a major &ldquo;administrative problem,&rdquo; the president&rsquo;s top economic adviser said Sunday. &ldquo;We really expect the Supreme Court is going to find with us,&rdquo; Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CBS&rsquo;s Face the Nation. Even if the court didn&rsquo;t find in the Trump administration&rsquo;s favor, Hassett argued it would be &ldquo;pretty unlikely that they&rsquo;re going to call for widespread refunds because it would be an administrative problem to get those refunds out there.&rdquo; The Supreme Court is weighing a legal challenge to tariffs Trump imposed on dozens of nations under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Administration officials have drawn up options for reimposing import taxes in case of an adverse ruling, while publicly maintaining that a court defeat is unlikely.

US Pursues Third Venezuelan Tanker; Justice Department Delays Some Epstein Files

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/052b01ef-25c7-44bd-8e06-b3bb00ad5830/transcript

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.
In the US – a look ahead to U.S GDP data and a tech outlook for 2026.
In the UK – a look at UK politics and what 2026 may hold in store for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In Asia – a look ahead to the challenges facing China’s economy in 2026.

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.
<ul>
<li>In the US &ndash; a look ahead to U.S GDP data and a tech outlook for 2026.</li>
<li>In the UK &ndash; a look at UK politics and what 2026 may hold in store for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.</li>
<li>In Asia &ndash; a look ahead to the challenges facing China&rsquo;s economy in 2026.</li>
</ul>

Daybreak Weekend: US GDP, UK Politics, China Eco

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3798e09c-c278-4a77-968e-b3b8013703a7/transcript

On today's podcast:
1) Officials have found the dead body of the suspected shooter in a Brown University rampage and the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor in his Boston-area home. The suspected shooter — Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who was a former student at Brown — took his own life, Providence Chief of Police Oscar Perez said at a press briefing on Thursday night. Meantime, the Trump administration halted the US green card lottery program, which it said was used by the suspect. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X that she’s asking US Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the lottery, officially known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
2) A trove of Justice Department records tied to Jeffrey Epstein is set for release Friday, part of a long-awaited public reckoning over the convicted sex offender’s ties to elites and years of alleged abuse. The documents could shed new light on government investigations dating back nearly two decades. President Trump, who had previously resisted efforts to unseal the files, signed legislation last month mandating their release, while the Justice Department has yet to specify a time for publication.
3)  European Union leaders have agreed to loan Ukraine €90 billion ($106 billion) for the next two years in a bid to strengthen Kyiv’s hand at the negotiating table and keep the war-torn country afloat. The EU will fund the loan through joint debt raised on the capital markets and backed by the bloc’s budget, a significant pivot from the preferred plan to use Russian assets frozen on European soil. The decision came early Friday morning after marathon talks at a summit in Brussels. Ukraine won’t need to repay the loan until Moscow compensates Kyiv with reparations — and in the meantime, the Russian assets will remain immobilized in the EU.

On today's podcast: 1) Officials have found the dead body of the suspected shooter in a&nbsp;Brown&nbsp;University&nbsp;rampage and the murder of a&nbsp;Massachusetts Institute of Technology&nbsp;professor in his Boston-area home.&nbsp;The suspected shooter &mdash; Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who was a former student at&nbsp;Brown&nbsp;&mdash; took his own life, Providence Chief of Police Oscar Perez said at a press briefing on Thursday night. Meantime, the Trump administration halted the US green card lottery program, which it said was used by the suspect. Homeland Security Secretary&nbsp;Kristi Noem&nbsp;said in a&nbsp;post on X&nbsp;that she&rsquo;s asking US Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the lottery, officially known as the&nbsp;Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. 2) A trove of Justice Department records tied to Jeffrey Epstein is set for release Friday, part of a long-awaited public reckoning over the convicted sex offender&rsquo;s ties to elites and years of alleged abuse. The documents could shed new light on government investigations dating back nearly two decades. President Trump, who had previously resisted efforts to unseal the files, signed legislation last month mandating their release, while the Justice Department has yet to specify a time for publication. 3) &nbsp;European Union leaders have agreed to loan Ukraine &euro;90 billion ($106 billion) for the next two years in a bid to strengthen Kyiv&rsquo;s hand at the negotiating table and keep the war-torn country afloat. The EU will fund the loan through joint debt raised on the capital markets and backed by the bloc&rsquo;s budget, a significant pivot from the preferred plan to use Russian assets frozen on European soil. The decision came early Friday morning after marathon talks at a summit in Brussels. Ukraine won&rsquo;t need to repay the loan until Moscow compensates Kyiv with reparations &mdash; and in the meantime, the Russian assets will remain immobilized in the EU.

Trump Suspends US Green Card Lottery After Brown, MIT Attacks; DOJ Faces Epstein Files Deadline

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/43e00754-1d38-4020-b069-b3b800abf9db/transcript

Trump Issues Warning to Venezuela's Maduro, Renews Call for Greenland Takeover

In 1 playlist(s)

Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips