The top photos of the day by AP's photojournalists

From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today’s top photos chosen by Associated Press photo editors.

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Christie's auction house staff adjust a pair of paintings of Jan Van Huysum's Still Life, 1744-1745, during a press preview in London, Thursday, June 26, 2025, the paintings is expected to sell for 1.2-1.8 million pounds sterling (US$1.7-2.4 million). (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Luis Santacruz looks out from his makeshift home during cold weather in downtown Montevideo, Uruguay, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

People wearing rooster costumes protest against laws that ban animal blood sports like cockfighting and bullfighting in Mexico City, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Residents listen to Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), during his visit to North Kivu's town of Buhumba, Democratic republic of the Congo, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Stilt walkers make their way through the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

San Francisco Giants' Jung Hoo Lee, right, is tagged out at home by Miami Marlins catcher Nick Fortes to end the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Urawa Red Diamonds' Shusaku Nishikawa fails to block a goal by Monterrey's German Berterame during the Club World Cup Group E soccer match be tween Urawa Red Diamonds and CF Monterrey in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A labourer carries a huge sack of vegetables on way to a market in Kolkata, India, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

An electronic billboard beams an image of US President Donald Trump and Mideast leaders with a Hebrew message that reads "A time for waging war and a time for reaching a settlement. Now is the time for the 'covenant of Abraham," in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Palestinians attend the funeral of Murshid Nawaf Hamayel, who was killed on Wednesday when Jewish settlers stormed the West Bank village of Kafr Malik, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners carry the bodies of three Palestinians who were killed on Wednesday when Jewish settlers stormed the West Bank village of Kafr Malik, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

U.S. Capitol Police remove protesters after they began shouting in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing as Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought begins to testify on the rescissions package, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Khaman Maluach reacts as he greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 10th by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Relatives mourn over the flag-draped coffin of Mahan Setareh, a member of the paramilitary Basij force who was killed in Israeli attacks, during his funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)