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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Texas state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, right, looks at a protester dressed as death standing outside of the House Chamber where Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier refuses to leave due to a required law enforcement escort, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty fields the ball in time to throw out Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell at first base during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson, left, is tagged out by Los Angeles Angels catcher Travis d'Arnaud while trying to score on a double by Gavin Lux during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are seen in the night sky near Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories, early Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A spiritual path devotee locally called 'Malang' performs traditional Sufi trance dance called 'Dhamaal' during celebrations of the three-day annual festival or 'Urs' of mystic and scholar, Hazrat Ali Hajveri, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh at his shrine, in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A nun kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV during his weekly general audience, at The Vatican, Wednesday, Aug.20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A staff member holds one of the 16 critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoise hatchlings during their debut at the Philadelphia Zoo in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The barkentine Antigua passes as hundreds of tall ships sailed into the Dutch capital's harbor for the 10th edition of SAIL, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Texas Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, is surrounded by fellow Republicans as he faces off with Democrats during debate over a redrawn U.S. congressional map in Texas during a special session, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Members of Chinese honor guard contingents go through drills ahead of the Sept. 3rd military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II at a military camp on the outskirts of Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)