News Wrap: Iran seizes loaded oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

Geoff Bennett:

In the day's other headlines: Iran confirmed it seized a loaded oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. That ship had been involved in an earlier dispute over smuggling Iranian oil.

Today, armed Iranian sailors boarded the vessel near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran called it compensation for an act of theft. The U.S. condemned the move.

Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy State Department Spokesperson:

This unlawful seizure of a commercial vessel is just the latest behavior by Iran or enabled by Iran aimed at disrupting international commerce. We in the United States will continue to work to deter and confront the full range of Iran's concerning and destabilizing behaviors.

Geoff Bennett:

This was the latest in a series of ships being seized by Iran in recent years.

The president's son Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty today to federal tax charges in Los Angeles. Prosecutors say he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes and instead used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle. Hunter Biden is 53. If convicted, he could face up to 17 years in prison.

An Ohio woman will not face criminal charges over her miscarriage. A grand jury refused to indict 34-year-old Brittany Watts today, who had been charged with abuse of a corpse after she miscarried into a toilet. If convicted, Watts had faced up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Senate Democrats moved today to avoid a partial government shutdown, but their prospects were unclear. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he's starting the process of passing a stopgap funding bill before a January 19 deadline. And he condemned House Republicans, who are demanding deeper spending cuts.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY):

The vast majority of us are all on the same page that a government shutdown would be a recipe for chaos. The hard right is not serious about governing. The only tactic in their playbook is to try and bully the rest of Congress and the country to bend to their extremist views.

Geoff Bennett:

House Speaker Mike Johnson met with hard-line Republicans today, but he said he's made no commitment to renegotiate the spending deal.

In Central Africa, the Congo River has reached its highest levels in 60 years. Local authorities say widespread flooding in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighboring Republic of Congo has caused more than 300 deaths. People in the city of Kinshasa have been using makeshift rafts to navigate submerged streets. Experts blame the generational floods on poor urban planning and climate change.

Roman Catholic bishops across Africa rebuked Pope Francis today for allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. The bishops said in a statement — quote — "Unions of person's of the same-sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the church."

Africa has the world's fastest growing Catholic population.

Back in this country, the United Negro College Fund has received $100 million to aid historically Black colleges and universities. Today's gift from the Lilly Endowment is the largest unrestricted donation to the fund since its founding 80 years ago. It will go towards supporting 37 institutions.

And there was a major shakeup in pro football today. Bill Belichick stepped down as coach of the New England Patriots. He won six Super Bowl titles over 24 seasons, but he had a losing record in the four years since star quarterback Tom Brady moved on.

Today, though, at a joint announcement, Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the decision to split was mutual.

Bill Belichick, Former New England Patriots Head Coach:

We had a vision of building a winner, building a championship football team here. And that succeeded, succeeded my wildest dreams and expectations.

I will always be a Patriot. I look forward to coming back here, but, at this time, we're going to move on.

Geoff Bennett:

Belichick has the second most wins ever as an NFL coach. He's widely expected to end up with another team.

And on Wall Street, stocks barely budged. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 15 points to close at 37711. The Nasdaq rose half-a-point. The S&P 500 lost three.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis spar in the last debate before Iowa votes; and we take a closer look at what newly released documents reveal about Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring.