The Flash Briefing is a daily news update every weekday morning from Todd Jeffries. 

• The U.S. has seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela 
• Calls for a third-party audit of the City of Austin are growing after a new report of two city employees making nearly $1 million in fraudulent payments with the city's money 
• The Austin City Council will consider an $11 million dollar plan to install a new advanced detection system on traffic signals