Good morning. Lawmakers debate what to do about the Affordable Care Act with another deadline looming.

So we're now just getting our Republican versions of Obamacare.

Also, the festive German Christmas markets must now focus on security, what steps are being taken,

and how Charles Dickens, a Christmas Carol, shaped Christmas.

Generosity becomes the theme that people can embrace.

And world commentator Cal Thomas on raising taxes.

It's Thursday, December 11th.

This is The World and Everything in it from listeners-supported World Radio.

I'm Mary Reikert.

And I'm Myrna Brown.

Good morning.

Now the news with Kent Covington. President Trump says U.S. forces have seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. He told White House

reporters that it is one of the largest ever taken by American forces and that the U.S.

intends to keep its cargo. You see the result, and I guess they probably have released the pictures by now.

No, it was seized for a very good reason.

The Coast Guard led the operation with support from the Navy.

It was the latest move in Washington's effort to tighten pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maruro,

who faces narco-terrorism charges in the United

States. U.S. officials say the action as part of a broader push to disrupt illegal oil

shipments and suspected trafficking routes tied to the Maduro regime. The seizure comes a day after

U.S. fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela, one of their closest passes to the country in recent years.

The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate for the third time in a row.

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