It's the Brian Lairn on WNYC. I'm Amina Surnah, a producer for the Brian Lairn show,

filling in for Brian today, who's taking a well-deserved break. Good morning, everyone. Coming up on today's show,

we'll get updates on some plans for housing construction in Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards near Barclay Center.

Similar plans have been up for discussion since the early aughts. WMYC and Gothamist housing reporter

David Brand will join us to explain why there's recent movement after years of stalled progress.

We'll also talk with New York Times opinion writer Jessica Gross about interfaith holiday traditions.

Maybe you're a Christmica family, or you've got some atheists celebrating along with religious traditions.

Or any other way, your family blends different backgrounds and different ways to enjoy holiday togetherness will open up the phones for you.

And as, and as this year comes to a close, you'll be seeing many bests of 2025 lists.

We'll talk to Gilbert Cruz editor editor at the New York Times book review

about their list of 10 best books of the year. But first, we turn to Venezuela. On Wednesday,

the United States seized an oil tanker off of the coast of Venezuela, and yesterday the U.S.

Treasury said it imposed sanctions on six

supertankers on and on four Venezuelans, including three relatives of the country's first lady,

Celia Flores. It is not known whether the newly sanctioned ships were among the now targeted,

those now targeted for interception.

These latest sanctions and seizures come after several months of the U.S. campaign of boat strikes

against what it says are drug vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing more than 80 people.

The latest moves signal that tensions are mounting between the Trump administration

and the government of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. Here is press secretary Caroline Levitt

speaking from the White House yesterday. We're not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels

sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel

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