Axios

The Trump administration halted a visa program targeted at nations with low rates of entry to the U.S. after it was linked to the suspect in a recent mass shooting at Brown University.

Why it matters: President Trump has repeatedly seized on crimes allegedly committed by immigrants as an opportunity to further limit immigration.

Some U.S. churches are reimagining Nativity scenes — surrounding the Holy Family with ICE agents or separating Jesus from Mary and Joseph — to protest the Trump administration's intensifying immigration crackdowns.

Why it matters: The displays have become one of the most visible acts of Christmas dissent amid ramped-up workplace raids, home arrests and new restrictions on asylum and legal immigration.

President Trump ordered the suspension of a green card lottery program that enabled the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and killing of an MIT professor to live in the U.S, a top official announced late Thursday.

The big picture: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's announcement marks the latest Trump administration effort to limit legal immigration amid a wider crackdown that's triggered a wave of lawsuits.

President Trump's Truth Social announcement of a blockade around Venezuela has left international law experts scrambling to assess how it would be implemented and if it constitutes an act of war.

The big picture: A traditional naval blockade involves military forces cutting off access to a coast, a move recognized under international law as an act of war.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Friday in Miami with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to discuss the next phase of the agreement for ending the war in Gaza, according to a White House official and two additional sources with direct knowledge.

Why it matters: The U.S. and the three other mediating countries feel that both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the implementation of the second phase of the deal and are interested in maintaining the current status quo, the sources said.

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol wants to move Africa's need for clean cooking fuels and tech higher on the global agenda — and sees the U.S. as a fruitful partner.

Why it matters: Widespread use of fuels like wood, charcoal and dung — and open fires or inadequate stoves — is a massive health and economic problem.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev is expected to visit Miami this weekend for talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine, a White House official and a source with knowledge said.

Why it matters: Trump's advisers are expected to inform Putin's envoy of progress made in talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials and try to get Russia's government to agree to the updated proposal on ending the war.