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What We Know with Max Foster

Nobel Winner's Daughter Accepts Peace Prize On Her Behalf; U.S. Federal Reserve Cuts Key Rate By Quarter Point; Trump: U.S. Forces Seize Oil Tanker Off Venezuela; Trump Talks To European Leaders About Ukraine Peace Plan. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 10, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:24]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: I'm Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Today, the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Corina Machado, says she will soon appear in Oslo, Norway, after missing today's award

ceremony. The Venezuelan opposition leader's daughter actually accepted her prize on her behalf.

Organizers of the ceremony say Machado intended to attend, but that her journey involved what they called extreme danger. Machado has been in

hiding since last year, living under the threat of arrest from officials in Venezuela.

In today's acceptance speech, her daughter dedicated the award to all Venezuelans, including many who, like her, have been separated from loved

ones for the cause of democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA CORINA SOSA, DAUGHTER OF VENEZUELA OPPOSITION LEADER: As I await that moment to hug her, to kiss her, to embrace her, after two years, I think of

the other daughters and sons who do not get to see their mothers today. This is what drives her, what drives all of us. She wants to live in a free

Venezuela, and she will never give up on that purpose. That is why we all know, and I know that she will be back in Venezuela very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Pau Mosquera joins us now from Oslo.

Big question is, where is she at the moment, Pau?

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the main question, Max. Many of the people that are still here gathered around the grand hotel, which is

the place that Maria Corina Machado is supposed to stay over this night, are wondering the same. Has she already arrived? So far, it seems that she

hasn't made it to Oslo. But the latest we know from the Nobel Institute is that when they shared an audio of a phone call between her and the

president of the Norwegian Committee for the Nobel, seems like Machado was getting on board of a plane bound for Oslo.

So many here believe that she should be arriving to the Norwegian capital in a matter of hours. And when she arrived, as many are expecting her to

get to the balcony of the first floor of this hotel, which is the place that is located, Nobel suite, that is the room that is offered. The one who

wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

And today has been quite an emotional, emotional day for many. First of all, for Ana Corina, as we have heard her saying that she cannot wait to

hug her mother and many others that were attending the ceremony, or at least following it by the big screen that the authorities have set outside

the city hall of Oslo. There are dozens of Venezuelans, Venezuelans were then watching every second of this ceremony, clapping and even shouting

every time that, for example, it was mentioned Eduardo Edmundo Gonzalez, who was on the first rows of this city hall where the ceremony took place,

and all of them, well, leaving what they believe to be a historic day.

Right now, few of those Venezuelans that attended the ceremony from outside the building are right now here, gathered around the hotel. They all are

trying to get a glimpse of Maria Corina Machado's arrival, but we still don't know what time should it happen. So, I think that most of them are

going to have to be patient with the temperature here outside, because as the night keeps evolving, it keeps getting more and more cold -- Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, that is Norway at this time of year.

Pau, a lot of people saying that if she has left the country, she may struggle to get back in to Venezuela. What are people saying about that?

MOSQUERA: Absolutely. Actually, Maria Corina Machado itself actually said during an interview offered last week to the Norway -- Norwegian public

broadcaster that if she got here to Oslo, then, she would make the same effort to get back to Venezuela, even if the authorities like, get them

into any trouble or make things difficult for get to get inside, that's the intention.

But first of all, what we have to wait for is for the arrival to Oslo, because until now, nothing -- we have to take nothing for granted because

we haven't seen her arriving to the Norwegian capital airport. So first, we're going to have to see how she arrives here. And then after that, let's

try to get maybe, a some kind of reaction from her telling. How is she planning to get back afterwards? Max?

FOSTER: Okay, Pau. Appreciate it. Thank you. Stay warm.

[15:05:00]

The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, cutting interest rates for the third consecutive time. The benchmark lending rate is being lowered by a quarter

point to a range between three and a half to 3.75 percent.

The Fed chair spoke in the past half hour, saying the decision was driven by multiple challenges to the U.S. economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: In the near term, risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment to the downside,

a challenging situation. There is no risk free path for policy as we navigate this tension between our employment and inflation goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Our Richard Quest joining here -- joining us here to crunch the numbers. It wasn't a unanimous decision was it, on the board, because they

didn't know quite how to weigh these risks.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yeah. And you can see that two members of the committee wanted to do nothing. They wanted to wait for

more data. There's a whole slew of inflation and job data that's going to come between now and the next meeting in January.

And then there's Stephen Miran, who's on his own. He's the new member of the FOMC, new governor, filling in for one of the seats. He wanted a half a

percentage point cut. No surprise there because of course, he's very much in President Trump's camp wanting more cuts.

So, you do have a committee that is uncomfortably split with those who are the inflation hawks saying, hang on, inflation is 50 percent higher than it

should be. And it's not coming down. And those who say, no, no, the job market is really what is most significant.

And as for Jay Powell himself -- well, in January we will get the nominee we expect of who's going to be nominated to take over from him later in

`26.

FOSTER: What did he speak about going into next year then? He did talk about consumer spending being quite strong, which was interesting. But will

the -- you know, are there a neutral position now do you think?

QUEST: Yeah. Wait and see. What I was found most interesting about what he said in his -- in the press conference is that he believes that the Fed is

now in a comfortable position to literally wait and see. They've bought the insurance that they think they remember. Theres a nine-month lag for

monetary policy, and you've had three cuts in as many just over as many months September, October, November and December.

So, they've bought the insurance policy on the job market. And I think he's going to want to see pretty much how the numbers are coming in. What is the

trend before they decide to move further again? But lets wait and see, because we have had that shutdown, we don't know all the data. It is

extremely uncertain and consumers are very worried.

FOSTER: He's on his way out though, isn't he? At some point. So that's going to weigh into this as well and change the balance on the board,

potentially?

QUEST: Yes. So, when he leaves early next year, March, April next year, when he leaves, he leaves. I think it's March. But when he leaves, he

ceases to be Fed chair. But he remains a Fed governor.

So, the president is -- the current president is going to have to nominate a new chair, the name that peoples in the frame is Kevin Hassett. He is the

current chief economic adviser. Whether or not Jay Powell decides to stay as a Fed governor, traditionally they don't. Traditionally, they give up

the chair, and they cease to be a governor. Let's see what he decides to do. But the current makeup of the Fed is so, if you will, uncertain by what

the policy should be, that it's any guess which way they'll go come early next year.

FOSTER: Richard Quest, thank you so much for that.

Now, we've got some breaking news, some major escalation between the United States and Venezuela it seems. Donald Trump says U.S. forces have seized an

oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joining me.

What does this mean, Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, it's not precisely clear what the president's goals were in seizing this tanker. He didn't

expand on that in the Roosevelt Room, where he's speaking just now. He said that it was the largest tanker ever seized and that there could be more

action to come. But certainly, it is an escalation on this pressure campaign that the Trump administration is mounting on Venezuela. The

administration had been reluctant so far to target the country's oil industry, its oil sector. Most of those tankers are shipping oil to China.

But clearly the president, touting this action as a major step forward as he increases the pressure on Nicolas Maduro.

Now, the president has said as recently as this week that he could be launching airstrikes on that country. He hasn't said when that might

happen. So far, the administrations strategy had been to go after those drug boats, those alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea.

[15:10:00]

That's caused so much consternation in Congress, questioning the legal rationale. They're questioning at least that one particular strike, that

so-called double tap strike that some have said could amount to war crimes. And so well see what more the president has to say about this seizure of

the tanker.

But certainly, a major development, as the presidents approach to Venezuela gains more scrutiny in Washington, but also seems to be increasing in

speed, as the hope seems to be that maduro will either step down or that the administration provides some off ramp for him going forward, Max.

FOSTER: In terms of the tension we've got here, this is obviously separate. He was targeting drug boats right in the drug industry, if we can

call it that. And now he's targeting commercial industry or would this be classified as targeting the authorities somehow in the country?

LIPTAK: Well, certainly those two are intertwined in some ways. And the administration has not expanded on why they have targeted this particular

tanker. But you're right, it does expand what the administration is doing in the region. You know, so far, the president's official objective when it

comes to Venezuela is to stop the flow of drugs. He has said fentanyl, fentanyl is not actually produced in Venezuela, but other drugs coming to

the United States.

That has been sort of the official line. When you talk to the White House about why they're pursuing these objectives in the Caribbean Sea, but

obviously seizing a tanker would go well beyond -- beyond that.

And the president, I think, is a highly attuned to Venezuela's oil reserves. They're the largest in the world. And that is something that has

been on his mind as he is pursuing this strategy in that country. And we learned just yesterday that the administration was developing some day

after plans, should Maduro step down.

And so, you can see how the president and his advisers are sort of aligning on a strategy here that could potentially include the country's energy

sector. And so, where this proceeds going forward and what the response, I think very critically from Caracas will be, I think is something to watch

going forward.

Obviously, American energy firms, namely Chevron, have major interests in Venezuela, and they have been sort of straddling the president's strategy

here, trying to encourage some sort of resolution that doesn't include all- out war. And so, how this proceeds and how those American companies react, I think another thing to watch.

FOSTER: Yeah, stick with us, Kevin. I want to ask you about something else, because Donald Trump had a call, didn't he, with the leaders of

France, Germany and the U.K., their topic of conversation, how to move forward on forward on a peace plan for Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says

his peace proposal is still being worked on, with input from the Americans and the Europeans. He hopes to present it, Kevin, to the U.S. in the near

future, he's now saying, but it was meant to be today, wasn't it?

LIPTAK: Yeah, and I think in that phone conversation, it lasted about 40 minutes between the president and those European leaders -- certainly, this

peace proposal will have been discussed. You know, my understanding in talking to American officials is that this is now down to two main issues.

One is the land concessions that Ukraine would have to make as part of this plan. American officials essentially trying to find a way to massage this

proposal to allow Zelenskyy to be able to accept it.

You know, the original 28-point plan had Zelenskyy and Ukraine giving up the entire Donbas region, some of which they still control. And so, I think

the objective for the Americans in these negotiations is trying to find a way to get Zelenskyy to yes on that particular matter.

The other is the security guarantees that would be included in this plan. And it hasn't been precisely clear what Washington is ready to agree to.

You know, the proposal has suggested some kind of article five type security guarantee, but it's not precisely clear, you know, how quickly the

U.S. would be able to respond or how quickly the Europeans would be able to respond if Russia has further aggression.

Now, we should say that Zelenskyy did speak today with members of the Trump administration, including the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the

president's son in law, Jared Kushner, not part of the Trump administration, but is working on this plan to discuss some of the

redevelopment plans and proposals that are included as part of this. And certainly, that will be a major point of discussion as these two countries

try and come to some kind of resolution. But one thing that I think is agreed upon by all of these sides, amid all of the disagreements, is that

this is moving very, very quickly and that the coming days and weeks will be very critical.

President Trump really encouraging Zelenskyy, I think, to try and come to a yes on this plan sometime very soon.

[15:15:01]

FOSTER: Kevin Liptak, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

We're going to get more now on that oil tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela. Our military analyst, Colonel Cedric Leighton, joins me now.

Thank you for joining us, Colonel.

We're getting very little explanation for this move, but we do know that oil is the biggest export for Venezuela. It's going to hit the country very

hard if supply is disrupted.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, it certainly will, Max. And this is one of the key elements. So, I think what we're

seeing now is an economic angle to Venezuela strategy that's unfolding. And basically, oil is that big vulnerability. As Kevin mentioned in his

reporting, China is the biggest customer of Venezuelan oil. And they have some headwinds that they're dealing with there because they also have to

compete with Russian oil and Iranian oil. Both of those are, of course, sanctioned countries, and the Chinese are buying oil from them as well.

So, the Venezuelans have difficulty getting their oil out anyways. And now with this particular move, the U.S. Coast Guard seizing this vessel that

could very well spell a major turning point. If it's if actions like this continue, because that is a potential stranglehold for the Venezuelan

economy and that could impact how long Maduro even -- is able to stay in power.

FOSTER: He was obviously targeting drug boats, because that was seen as a threat to America as a nation. It's seen as a war move. Seizing oil

tankers, can you think of a reason why that might be seen as illegal in some way, or, as you say, just a way of putting pressure on the economy?

LEIGHTON: Yeah. So, it's definitely a way of putting pressure on the economy now. In terms of it being illegal, it really depends, if the vessel

is shown to have violated international sanctions. And this was a law enforcement action as being reported that the U.S. Coast Guard did this,

then it would fall within the realm of a legal action by the U.S. basically enforcing international rules against Venezuelan oil being trans shipped.

And that would put the administration on fairly safe ground in legal terms. However, if there are any loopholes in the sanctions, for example, let's

say the tanker was destined to provide some kind of humanitarian oil supply somewhere that could potentially be a problem, but it's certainly not as

serious an issue as the killing of the two survivors on the September 2nd strike of that -- of that one speedboat.

So, the administration is, I think, having difficulty figuring out exactly what its strategy is with Venezuela, at least what we see in public makes

it a little bit difficult to figure out where they're going. But this effort against the Venezuelan oil tanker that is something where it's

clearly an economic move. And it is something that could impact the way in which Venezuela can move forward from an economic standpoint and eventually

even a political standpoint.

FOSTER: Colonel Cedric Leighton, as ever, thank you so much for bringing us your thoughts very quickly on that piece of news that we've just had.

Hoping to hear more from the White House later on.

More after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:30]

FOSTER: Another big shakeup at the State Department, which font diplomats should be using. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the department

to return to using Times New Roman in all official communications. The State Department switched in 2023 to Calibri, saying it was a more

accessible font for people with disabilities. Now, Rubio says that Times New Roman is back, quote, to restore decorum and professionalism and to

abolish another DEI program.

Now, Times New Roman is a serif font for those who don't, know those little lines at the end of the letters, which give it that traditional look. Some

studies show that people associate with serif fonts with conservatism.

Compare that to Calibri, which is a modern sans serif font. In other words, without the little lines. The font was invented in the early 2000 by the

Belgian designer Luc de Groot.

So, what we want to know is what font should the State Department use?

Joining me now, Luc de Groot, the designer who created the Calibri font, really appreciate you joining us today.

First of all, your reaction to what you heard from the State Department?

LUCAS DE GROOT, CREATOR OF CALIBRI TYPEFACE: Yeah, I was a little bit shocked by the news. I think it's hilarious and also a bit of a sad

decision. I mean, Calibri was designed to be very well readable on screen in small sizes and on course computer screens and ditching it because it

would be too woke is, of course, un-understandable.

FOSTER: This accusation, I presume you've heard for some time I wasn't quite aware that it was seen as woke. I mean, where does that come from

DE GROOT: I have no idea. It's just, well, readable. It's much more modern than Times New Roman. Maybe because it's a friendly typeface. I don't know

what the woke thing in it is.

FOSTER: When you designed it, presumably you were trying to make it as clear as possible. So that's why people with visual impairments appreciate

it. Was that part of your thinking?

DE GROOT: Absolutely. I mean, designing and typeface in general is, for me, always a task to make it as well readable as possible and also to give

it a sympathetic voice, a friendly voice and there's a lot of parameters that involve the process of designing the proportions of the letters, that

the widths are all as good as can be the height of the letters, lowercase versus capitals, how long the ascenders and descenders are going to be, and

how all the punctuation signs, like periods and all the like hundreds of different signs are working with the letters together and the weight of the

font and the word distance. There are really like a lot of parameters that come into play when designing a well readable typeface.

FOSTER: Rubio suggests it's not professional and it lacks decorum.

DE GROOT: Maybe Rubio thinks serifs are decorum. I suppose so. I would rather say that Times New Roman is not a professional font. It was

digitized in the, I don't know, `80s, `90s. It's very old digital font. And back then, the digital technology was rather limited. So, the fine tuning

in the spacing in Times New Roman is really coarse, especially if you set words in all capitals, which the administration loves to do. The distances

between the letters are very irregular, and that is something that you won't see in Calibri. There's a lot more time put into getting the spacing

between all letter combinations correctly.

FOSTER: Do you want the Trump administration to use your font, or would you rather they didn't? I mean, what are your thoughts on them taking it

away?

DE GROOT: I don't really mind. But I think if they want to use a serif font that Times New Roman is not a good choice because there are much

better, serif fonts even designed in America that are really very professionally designed and also, work very well in small sizes. So, for

me, I think Times is a step back into the past. I mean, Microsoft used Times a long time in the office, as in their office suite applications as a

default font, and they ditched it in favor of Calibri for a lot of good reasons. So now, going back to these Times is not a good idea.

FOSTER: So who invented Times New Roman? I mean, which country are they taking this from? When, as you say, there are American fonts available

DE GROOT: Well, Times New Roman is a British font, was designed for British newspaper times and, back then it was a metal typesetting and it

looked really nice on the coarse paper of the newspaper and the fast printing, because when you imprint it, the color gets a little bit darker.

But the digital version is way too spindly, it's too thin, the setups are too thin. If you compare it on screen on a high resolution screen with

Calibri, you will see that it's -- it's kind of the sharp details are hurting the eyes and not very pleasing to read.

FOSTER: Luc de Groot really appreciate your thoughts. It's a fascinating subject when you get into it. And thank you for joining us.

DE GROOT: Thank you.

FOSTER: So, the State Department using a British font instead of American font. That's interesting.

A cost of living crisis or a hoax. Coming up, Donald Trump slams Democrats over the issue of affordability. We'll take a closer look at the state of

America's economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:44]

FOSTER: A reminder of our breaking news this hour. The U.S. Federal Reserve cutting its key interest rate for the third consecutive time, the

benchmark lending rate is being lowered by a quarter point to a range between three and a half to 3.75 percent. It's the lowest rate in three

years. Concerns about the weakening labor market were a major factor driving that decision.

Now, in the past hour, U.S. President Donald Trump has been holding a roundtable with business leaders at the White House. That's after a

blistering speech in which he said, Americas affordability crisis is a hoax by the Democrats.

Despite those claims, Americans are paying more and more for everything from food to furniture, data shows rent costs and groceries have got 30

percent more expensive over the past five years. The U.S. president blames Joe Biden, saying he inherited a, quote, "total mess" when he took office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no higher priority than making America affordable again. That's what we're going to do. And

again, they caused the high prices and we're bringing them down.

They have a new word. You know, they always have a hoax. The new word is affordability. So, they look at the camera, and they say, "This election is

all about affordability". Now, they never talk about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Stephen Collinson joins us from Washington, D.C. with more.

I just wonder how this narrative is working for you, Stephen, because affordability is an issue, isn't it? Not just in America, but for any voter

anywhere in the world. But is he saying, you know, the term and the way it's being framed by Democrats is a hoax, or the fact that there is an

affordability crisis?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think that the president doesn't want to accept the fact that many Americans are

struggling in this economy. There's a great deal of economic insecurity. Prices are high. And whether that is the fall of Joe Biden or not, he said

in the 2024 election that he was going to come into power and fix it. Ten months later, things aren't a great deal better. So, I think that is the

problem that the president has.

Over the last few election cycles in the United States, we've seen voters quickly get fed up with the people they elected wanting to turn them out.

And that is going to be an issue for Republicans in the midterm elections in Congress next year, unless Trump can come up with a better economic

message, I think.

And then there's the issue that some of Trump's own policies seem to be making the situation worse. In the last hour or so, as you said there, that

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, was speaking. He just said something very interesting. He said that inflation, which is now at 3

percent, the exact same point as it was when Trump took over from Joe Biden, that would be down in the lower 2.0, 2.1 area if it weren't for

Trump's tariffs, with which his waged his global trade war.

So, in many ways, I think the Trump policies are working at cross purposes and maybe making the situation worse. And that explains why all the polls

show that a majority of Americans have lost faith in President Trump's ability to manage the economy.

FOSTER: It's interesting, Stephen, thank you so much for that.

We're going to go back to our breaking news now, as President Trump says, an oil tanker has been seized off the coast of Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro

tells CNN that no country can pretend to govern the world. The Venezuelan president was speaking as his supporters gathered for a rally in the

country's capital.

Mr. Maduro was speaking to Stefano Pozzebon, who joins us now from Caracas -- Stefano.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Max, this is a -- it's a -- it's a particular country, for lack of better words, when even the president of

this country does not want to address the fact that one of its citizens has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and he's just the second

Venezuelan to have been awarded this prize in its history.

Of course, Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader that has just been awarded such a high honor, is a renowned opposition leader here. She's been

given that award because of her struggle for democracy and freedom here and against the Venezuelan authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, of course,

and of today, Maduro did not want to have the images of Maria Corina anywhere near himself.

[15:35:03]

He just organized that rally in the center of Caracas, surrounded by military forces, police and other supporters of his political party. As

we've seen in the last few weeks, however, we were there, we were able to ask him what he thought of that recognition of that award in Oslo today.

And this is what the Venezuelan leader told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Do you not care about the other prize, the one in Oslo?

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: What matters to us is the life of the people, health, work, housing, the prosperity of our homeland, the new

economy. We want us to be concerned, as president with the truth of the people, with the issues of the people, and not want to govern the world.

Nobody can pretend to govern the world. We simply believe in diplomacy, in dialogue, and in respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: It's a statement of the situation in Venezuela when the sitting president didn't even want to address the peace prize to his political

opponent. Most Venezuelans were not able to follow the updates from Oslo or the speech that Maria Corina Machado allowed her daughter to give, given

that she has not been able to reach the Norwegian capital as of now, because most of the media here are heavily censored by the Maduro

government, and of course, they were not allowed to bring those updates, neither on the airwaves or on radio -- radio station.

It's really a surreal moment. Frankly, I can't think of any other, any other word that we were allowed to speak with the -- with the authoritarian

leader here. He did not want to address that, that peace prize. In the meantime, millions of Venezuelans, especially those who have had to flee

the country because of the brutal repression from the Maduro government, we are celebrating some of them in Oslo, some of them in Madrid, some of them

in Miami, and yet nobody here inside Venezuela is celebrating because, yes, the president is just monopolizing the attention.

But it's a significant development here in Venezuela in this important story -- Max.

FOSTER: I wonder if I could get your reaction, Stefano, to this news from President Trump that the U.S. has seized a tanker near Venezuela. I'm sure

you haven't had a chance to get any reaction in Venezuela to this yet, but we don't even know that it's Venezuelan because we don't know what flag it

had. But all he said is it's a -- it's a very large tanker. It's been seized.

A lot of people speculating that he's trying to put pressure on the Venezuelan economy, but I guess we just need more details, don't we, about,

you know, what happened here?

POZZEBON: Absolutely, Max. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. We weren't able to get any reaction here in Caracas. However, we were able to ask the Venezuelan

ministry of information for a reaction, and we'll bring it to you as early as possible.

My analysis, especially after covering Venezuela for more than nine years, is that this is a significant escalation from the from Donald Trump in his

effort to put pressure on maduro himself. More than 90 percent of the Venezuelan economy actually depends on oil a vast, vast share of that 90

percent is actually and the oil is actually sold to the United States to the oil major Chevron, which has been allowed to operate in this country

despite the confrontational tone, the war of rhetoric and the deployment of U.S. military forces in the last few months.

But another considerable share is sold to countries that are more -- they have a higher appetite for risk when it comes to purchasing sanctioned oil.

I'm talking about India, for example, China, Russia as well that use Venezuelan oil to dilute it with their own oils, to furnish their furnaces

and power generators around the world.

If Donald Trump is really going after Venezuelan tankers and Venezuelan tanker fleet, it means that he intends to go after Maduro's purse. And that

is something, frankly, Max, that we haven't seen in the last few weeks and months, despite, like I was saying, the deployment of so many military

forces surrounding the coast of Venezuela. It's a significant escalation, and I'm pretty sure that Maduro will want to react to it.

Maybe not in public, because it definitely is not something that make him look in charge or powerful. However, he will be thinking very, very careful

about his next move. If indeed the U.S. decided to move after its tankers.

FOSTER: Okay. Thank you so much, Stefano.

Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street and stocks are higher. The Dow jumped as soon as that Fed decision came out around an hour and a

half ago now. Oil prices also spiking after what we were talking to Stefano about there.

[15:40:01]

The U.S. seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

This is our business breakout.

Elon Musk says he wouldn't go back and lead DOGE again. The Tesla CEO told a podcast interviewer that he could have focused on running his own

companies instead of Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. Musk also admitted that DOGE was only, in his words, a little bit

successful in its mission.

Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, says she's donated more than $7 billion to nonprofits this year. That's more than the past two years put

together. Historically, Black colleges and universities are amongst the beneficiaries. Scott's net worth is around $33 billion, mostly in Amazon

shares she received after her divorce from Bezos.

American Airlines no longer needs to pay the rest of a $50 million fine imposed by the Biden administration over mishandling passenger wheelchairs.

Americans still owed the government more than $60 million, but now, the Department of Transportation says the airline can instead spend the money

on equipment that improves wheelchair access.

Now, officials in Australia are hailing the world's first ban on social media for minors. It prohibits children under the age of 16 from accessing

10 platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and X. The prime minister says the ban aims to protect teens from potential harm.

Here's CNNs Anna Cooban with the latest on the ban.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONIMICS REPORTER (voice-over): Waking up to a new world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happens when you try to log in?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It says my account is banned and I can no longer log on or use the app at all.

COOBAN: Children under 16 in Australia are getting used to life without social media. The Australian government says that that's for their own

good.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is indeed a proud day to be Australian because make no mistake: this reform will change lives.

COOBAN: And parents who have suffered tragic losses agree.

MATT O'BRIEN, FATHER OF CHARLOTTE O'BRIEN: It means so much. You know, it -- it's a very emotional day.

COOBAN: Matt O'Brien's daughter Charlotte died in September 2024, aged just 12. Her family say that she had been bullied online. O'Brien was at an

event in Sydney to mark the new law.

O'BRIEN: We're also incredibly proud, you know, we're proud of Charlotte and the role that she's played.

COOBAN: And the prime minister says that this law is just the start.

ALBANESE: But I've been asked this morning in media interviews, what will success look like? Success is the fact that it's happening.

COOBAN: Back at Australian schools, young people understand the arguments for this law, even if they're worried that they might miss out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a good way to reduce distraction because with doomscrolling and everything, it reduces concentration and can just impact

your schooling. It's going to be a definitely like different because some people find social media a way of expressing themselves. They find it

comforting sometimes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do wish it was a lower age, but that might be biased because I'm 15 years old.

COOBAN: Australia's prime minister hopes the rest of the world will follow his example. But for children, success of the ban could be measured in

simpler ways.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We deserve time with real people to learn body language, tone, empathy and all the social cues you can't get from a

screen. We also deserve boredom, too.

COOBAN: The rest of the world is now watching to see if this big idea becomes a success.

Anna Cooban, CNN, London

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:32]

FOSTER: Just 30 seconds, that's all it would have taken for police or security to possibly intercept what's become one of the most talked about

heists in recent years. In October, thieves escaped with historic crown jewels from the Louvre museum, worth an estimated $100 million. A new

French Senate report outlines the multiple security failures that allowed the thieves to slip away in broad daylight. Four suspects have been

arrested, but the missing jewels still haven't been recovered.

CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, has been having a look at this report.

What do you make of it?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, one of the worst things that can happen to a museum, Max, is the kind of

robbery the Louvre suffered where you lose some of your most precious things. One of the best things that can happen to a security department is

the same kind of loss because usually that's when the museum management turns around and decides to invest in the security that they've fallen

behind on.

I mean, this report is somewhat shocking in that one of the cameras wasn't working at all. The other didn't have a live feed. It took them eight

minutes, and the security control room to be able to find the live feed. Had they notified police 30 seconds earlier and directed them to the right

location, not where they ultimately responded and sent their own and sent their own security people there, there's the possibility that the robbers

could have been interrupted, captured, delayed, stopped. But you know, what a difference half a minute makes.

FOSTER: Yeah, just take us through that as a length of time in your business. I mean, is that a very long period of time.

MILLER: Max, when you are a professional group of thieves who have plotted and planned the plot and are working on a stopwatch where you are in and

out within seven minutes, only four of those minutes, actually, inside the museum. And then you are on to your waiting scooters and reaching speeds of

up to 85 miles an hour along the scene, 30 seconds is a lifetime. It's a lifetime.

I mean, they planned this down to really the split seconds they thought they could get in, get out and get away. And but for -- but for the

security and equipment failures, they had time to spare.

FOSTER: Yeah. It's extraordinary, isn't it?

John, appreciate you as ever.

MILLER: Thanks, Max.

FOSTER: Still to come, concerns raised over the FIFA president. Why one group has accused Gianni Infantino of breaching FIFA's ethics. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:45]

FOSTER: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been accused of breaching the organizations rules on political neutrality. Advocacy group FairSquare

accuses Infantino of lacking impartiality in awarding U.S. President Donald Trump the first FIFA peace prize. Infantino has forged a close relationship

with Mr. Trump ahead of next year's World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Joining me now, World Sport's Patrick Snell.

I mean, it's certainly been a big debate.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Max, it really has. Friday's 2026 World Cup draw hit the headlines for so many different reasons. I think one of

the biggest takeaways from that day, apart from sort of having a look to see where your country is playing and who they be playing, is the fact that

the U.S. President, Donald Trump, received the first ever FIFA Peace Prize on stage. It was actually before the draw even took place.

Now, FIFA saying the award was presented on behalf of more than five billion football fans all over the world. But how the winner was actually

chosen does remain unclear. Now, the Swiss-based associations own ethics committee is being called to investigate president Gianni Infantino by

human rights advocacy group FairSquare. They filed a complaint claiming what they've described as, quote, repeated breaches of the duty of

neutrality written into the rules of world football's governing body. They say he's broken the rules on political neutrality through his relationship

with President Trump.

FairSquare citing a number of alleged breaches of Article 15 of the FIFA code of ethics, which requires all persons bound by the code to remain

politically neutral. The alleged breaches, including the public lobbying by Infantino for President Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his

role in the establishment of the Gaza ceasefire. They also include the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize, as I mentioned to President Trump at

Fridays draw in Washington, D.C. and the support for his political agenda on two specific occasions.

Now, we have reached out to FIFA to get comment on this, to see where, if anywhere, it's going. And we await word back on this, Max.

FOSTER: I also want to ask you about this World Cup game so often some are assigned to celebrate LGBTQ+ community, right? How did they end up managing

to link this to a game between Egypt and Iran?

SNELL: Yeah, that's a question I feel many, many, many people are actually asking this day. Weve been discussing in the office as well, the timing,

the dates all crucial. Two countries, Egypt, Iran, have now complained to tournament organizers FIFA over the World Cup match in question, which is

currently scheduled, still scheduled as of right now, to be played in Seattle. It is one that is planned to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride. Leaders in

those countries footballing federations have publicly rebuked the idea of playing that game slated for June the 26th at Seattle Stadium.

Now, Egypt's federation has issued a statement saying it sent a letter to FIFA, quote, categorically rejecting any activities related to supporting

homosexuality during the match. Now for context here, Seattle pride fest has been organized in the city going back to 2007 by a nonprofit which

designated the June 26th fixture for celebration before FIFA actually made the World Cup draw on Friday, FIFA chose Saturday to allocate the Egypt-

Iran game to Seattle instead of Vancouver in Canada, one of the other countries that's co-hosting the tournament, where the teams group rivals

Belgium and New Zealand will play at the same time.

[15:55:13]

FIFA again waiting for comment from them on this to see if they would consider switching the Belgium-New Zealand game to Seattle instead. It's

one that's going to have, I think, many more repercussions and many more developments in the months leading up to next year's World Cup, Max. You

can be sure of that. Well stay across it all.

FOSTER: Yeah. Okay. Patrick, fascinating. Thank you.

Finally, tonight, a lucky person has the chance to win an original Picasso painting valued at more than $1 million. A Paris raffle selling up to

120,000 tickets, offering the chance to win Picasso's Tete de Femme. It's valued at a million euros or $1.16 million. The winning ticket will be sold

at Christie's in Paris in April. Most of the proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Alzheimer's research.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.

Stay with CNN. More after the break.

END

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