David Brancaccio

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In Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio.

We're from APM, American Public Media.

A visit to a Texas suburb that sits at the intersection of oil, immigration, and Venezuela.

I'm David Brancaccio.

More refiners of gasoline in the U.S., including Citgo and Phillips 66, are moving to buy Venezuelan crude directly from Venezuelan producers.

This as the Trump administration has eased the licensing following the U.S.

arrest of Venezuela's leader in early January.

Meanwhile, the administration is taking away work permits and visas from many Venezuelans in the U.S.

to pressure people to return to their native country.

One place where this is playing out is a Houston suburb.

Marketplace's Elizabeth Troval reports from Katy, Texas.

Now to news today from the Commerce Department on the U.S.

trade deficit, which widened in December, ballooning by nearly a third.

The gap for all of 2025 was the biggest on record.

Now, that's not the intention of our leaders, but there it is.

Some of it had to do with, like everything else, artificial intelligence.

Let's check in with Diane Swonk, chief economist at the audit tax and advisory firm KPMG.

KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk there.

We'll get the index of leading economic indicators in just a few minutes.