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President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers to and from Venezuela. That's where we're starting the seven. From the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Wednesday, December 17th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Yesterday evening on Truth Social, the President announced a total and complete blockade of sanctioned oil tank entering or leaving Venezuela. It was a major escalation in Trump's months long pressure campaign against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela's economy is already struggling and it depends on overseas oil sales. These sales are primarily to China and are often carried on sanctioned vessels. Trump also declared the Venezuelan government a foreign terrorist organization. It was unclear whether Trump was declaring a new such organization or if he was referring to a previously designated cartel. But if Trump does intend to designate the Maduro government a foreign terrorist organization, that would be a first. Last week, U.S. forces in the Caribbean seized one sanctioned vessel loaded with oil after it left Venezuela. Since September, the US Military has also launched air attacks on two dozen small boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela. At least 95 people have died in those attacks. President Trump defended his White House chief of staff over her unguarded interviews. That's number two. Yesterday, Vanity Fair published two articles after conducting a series of 11 on the record interviews with Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. According to Vanity Fair, Wiles insulted several top officials. For example, she described President Trump as having an alcoholic's personality. She also said Attorney General Pam Bondi completely whiffed in handling the Epstein files. And she called billionaire Elon Musk an odd, odd duck. After the articles were published, Trump praised Wiles and attacked Vanity Fair. It was part of an outpouring of support for Wiles from officials. But the articles caught Wiles and her staff by surprise. Two people close to her said she thought her conversations were for a book and she didn't expect to be quoted so extensively. Three. Nick Reiner was charged with murder in the killing of his parents. Filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday. Yesterday their 32 year old son Nick was charged with two counts of first degree murder. He also faces a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon. The district attorney said that was a knife. The charges carry a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. More details have also emerged about the events leading up to the Reiners deaths. The night before, Nick and Rob Reiner were reportedly heard arguing at a holiday party hosted by the comedian Conan o'. Brien. Number 4 the accused gunman in the Bondi beach shooting was charged with 59 offenses. On Sunday, 15 people were killed as they celebrated Hanukkah on Bondi beach in Sydney, Australia today. The first of those victims were laid to rest, including Rabbi Elie Schlanger. Here is Schlanger's father in law speaking at his funeral.
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I knew that there's nobody greater than you in the community. He was there for everybody. A person who lived 41 years and achieved what a person doesn't achieve, the age double to him.
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Also today, 24 year old Navid Akram was charged with 15 counts of murder and with committing a terrorist act, among other charges. His father, 50 year old Sajid Akram, who is also alleged to have taken part in the antisemitic attack, was killed by police. Questions are mounting over intelligence failures before the killings as Australian media reports that the father and son traveled to the Philippines for military style training. Australian officials are investigating the trip but have not said whether they may have received training while abroad. The shooting was the deadliest act of terrorism on Australian soil. Number 5 Charlie Kirk's alleged killer messaged about the game Wordle Minutes before the shooting, the Post interviewed 21 people who knew Tyler Robinson and looked at hundreds of messages he exchanged online over the past five years to find out more about his life and beliefs. That examination found that 55 minutes before Robinson allegedly shot and killed right wing political activist Charlie Kirk, he bragged to his friend about the popular word puzzle game. Eighty minutes after Kirk was shot, Robinson wrote to the same friend on the messaging platform Discord to talk about the attack. Later that day, he joined two other friends in a Discord voice chat to ask whether they knew about the shooting. You can find out more about what the Post uncovered and how Robinson responded to the allegations when our reporter visited him in jail at the link in our newsletter find that in our show notes. Virtually every person in the US has plastic chemicals in their blood and urine. That's number six. When you take a bite of food, you are probably also ingesting a blend of chemicals which scientists believe harm human health, like pfas, which are also known as forever chemicals or phthalates or bpa or even flame retardants. These chemicals act on the body in multiple ways. They can confuse hormones, disrupt immune systems and boost cancer cells. Some can harm fertility. They all have one thing in they are intimately linked to plastic. We are exposed to these chemicals in a few ways, like household dust or water. But according to some scientists, one of the most concerning sources is food and food packaging. Even as companies have worked to phase out these chemicals, researchers believe that Americans are being harmed by them, even at typical levels of exposure. This story, I have to say, sent me spiraling a bit this morning. But the good news is there are things you can do to reduce your contact with chemicals linked to plastics. Find our tips on how to limit your exposure in our newsletter. Number seven is some better news for your body Building muscle could help you have a younger and healthier brain. A new study of almost 1,200 healthy middle aged men and women found that those with more muscle mass tended to have younger brains than those with less muscle. The idea that exercise is good for our brains is hardly new. Previous studies have shown how after exercise, our brains are flooded with a chemical that helps spark the creation of new neurons. Fewer studies have looked at the role of muscle mass, but it's known that chemicals released by muscles tend to promote the creation and integration of brain cells and connections. Most of us begin losing muscle mass in middle age, but the good news is that strength training can slow or even reverse that decline. If you want to get started on your new shredded youthful brained future, we have a link to six simple strength training exercises in our newsletter. Alright, you're all caught up. I am pleased to say this is my last day of work until the New Year. If you were meaning to get me a present, all I want for Christmas is for you to take our new survey. We want to hear from you about your listening habits and how you think we could be better. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to complete and when you're done you can enter to win a hundred dollar gift card so you might get a present too. Find it@washingtonpost.com podcastsurvey that's washingtonpost.com podcastsurvey I'm Hannah Jewell. The rest of the team will meet you back here tomorrow. Happy holiday.