The Navy admiral who reportedly issued orders for the U.S. military to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat is on Capitol Hill for a classified briefing with top congressional lawmakers overseeing national security.
The information from Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who is now the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, comes at a potentially crucial moment in the unfolding congressional investigation into how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth handled the military operation in international waters near Venezuela. There are mounting questions over whether the strike may have violated the law.
The briefing in a secure facility at the Capitol is with congressional leaders, including the Republican chairs and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, and separately to the GOP chairman and Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
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US says it will review all ties with Tanzania over questions about its reliability as a partner
The Trump administration says it’s begun a top-to-bottom review of all ties with Tanzania, citing recent actions by the East African nation that call into question its reliability as a U.S. partner.
The State Department made the announcement shortly before Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president of Tanzania’s neighbor Kenya signed a new global health agreement with Rubio praising Kenya’s role as a regional and international leader.
In a statement, the department said the U.S. values is partnership with the people of Tanzania but “recent actions by the Government of Tanzania, however, raise grave concerns about the direction of our bilateral relationship and the reliability of the Tanzanian Government as a partner.”
The statement cited repression of religious freedom and free speech, restrictions on U.S. commercial interests in the country along with “disturbing violence” before, during and after Tanzania’s disputed Oct. 29 elections. “These actions have put American citizens, tourists, and U.S. interests in Tanzania at risk, and threatened to undermine the mutual prosperity and security that have defined our partnership for decades,” it said.
NY attorney general challenges authority of acting US attorney investigating her Trump lawsuits
President Trump’s effort to install political loyalists as top federal prosecutors has run into a legal buzz saw lately, with judges ruling that his handpicked U.S. attorneys for New Jersey, eastern Virginia, Nevada and Los Angeles were all serving unlawfully.
Now, another federal judge is poised to consider an argument by New York Attorney General Letitia James that the administration also twisted the law to make John Sarcone the acting U.S. attorney for northern New York.
A court hearing is scheduled to be held Thursday as James challenges Sarcone’s authority to oversee a Justice Department investigation into regulatory lawsuits she filed against Trump and the National Rifle Association.
James, a Democrat, is disputing the legitimacy of subpoenas issued as part of Sarcone’s probe, which her lawyers say is part of a campaign of baseless investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s perceived enemies.
▶ Read more about the Justice Department and Letitia James
US renews warning to Americans not to travel to Venezuela as speculation mounts on military strikes
The State Department has renewed a dire warning to Americans against any travel to Venezuela as tensions between Washington and Caracas have spiraled over U.S. military strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers in the Caribbean and signs that the Trump administration may be preparing for operations inside the country.
In an updated travel alert released Thursday, the department emphasized that U.S. citizens should cancel any plans to visit Venezuela or remain in the country if they’re already there “due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.”
“All U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately,” it added. “Do not travel to Venezuela for any reason.”
US and Kenya sign first of what are expected dozens of ‘America First’ global health agreements
The deals will prioritize combating infectious diseases in countries deemed to be aligned with the president’s broader foreign policy goals and positions.
The five-year, $2.5 billion agreement with Kenya was signed Thursday by Kenyan President William Ruto and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to replace a patchwork of previous health agreements that had traditionally been run by the U.S. Agency for International Development for decades until the Trump administration dismantled it earlier this year.
The elimination of USAID as a separate agency sparked widespread criticism and concern in the global health community as its immediate impact resulted in the defunding of hundreds of programs focused on the developing world, including cuts to maternal and child care, nutrition and anti-HIV/AIDS programs.
Rubio said the agreement with Kenya “aims to strengthen U.S. leadership and excellence in global health while eliminating dependency, ideology, inefficiency, and waste from our foreign assistance architecture.”
Transportation secretary says World Cup travel to the US will be ‘seamless’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the Trump administration is working to ensure that travel is “seamless” for overseas visitors traveling to the U.S. next year for the World Cup.
“If you’re watching around the world, we’re going to make travel seamless for you as you come into the country,” Duffy said at an event kicking off World Cup celebrations at DOT headquarters in Washington. “We’re going to make it as easy as possible so you can come in and enjoy the great World Cup that’s going to go off.”
As the tournament nears, there have been concerns that visitors from abroad may be reluctant to visit the U.S. amid an immigration crackdown. The administration announced a plan last month that would allow visitors to get interviews for visas more quickly.
The draw for the World Cup will happen in Washington on Friday.
Senate health committee chair calls vaccine committee ‘totally discredited’
At least one Republican senator is raising concerns about Kennedy’s vaccine committee and the anti-vaccine voices it has platformed.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a liver doctor who’s been outspoken in support of the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, took to X to post the agenda of the committee, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He noted one of the presenters scheduled for Friday is a trial attorney who’s worked with Kennedy to sue vaccine makers.
“He is presenting as if an expert on childhood vaccines,” Cassidy wrote. “The ACIP is totally discredited. They are not protecting children.”
Cassidy voted to confirm Kennedy as health secretary earlier this year but the two have repeatedly clashed over vaccine policy.
Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Dan Caine joins Hill briefing on boat strike
Adm. Bradley and Caine have just walked into the secure area at the Capitol where top lawmakers will also gather for the closed-door classified morning briefing.
The details about the strike on alleged drug smugglers are crucial as lawmakers question Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon amid concerns about the legality of the strike on survivors in the waters off the coast of Venezuela.
RFK Jr.’s vaccine committee meeting is underway
A federal vaccine advisory committee is meeting in Atlanta on Thursday to discuss whether newborns should still get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.
The committee, which makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is considering whether to recommend a birth dose of the vaccine only for babies whose mothers test positive. That would mark a return to a public health strategy that was abandoned more than three decades ago — and defy the guidance of many doctor groups that have long recommended the birth dose.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all members of the vaccine advisory committee earlier this year. He replaced them with his own picks, including several anti-vaccine voices. The panel has made several decisions that angered major medical groups.
Melania Trump says 7 more children have been reunited with family in Ukraine
The first lady says the children are six boys and one girl.
That brings to at least 15 children who’ve been reunited with their families after they were separated by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Melania Trump announced in October that eight children were back with family following ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She had written Putin a letter and had her husband, President Donald Trump, hand delivered it when the leaders met in Alaska in August.
▶ Read more about Melania Trump’s efforts to reunite families in Ukraine
Republican Matt Van Epps swiftly sworn into the US House
The newest member of Congress won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee this week that helped maintain the GOP’s slim grip on power in the chamber.
House Speaker Mike Johnson swiftly swore Van Epps into office, a speedy addition to the GOP ranks — in stark contrast to the seven-week long delay in swearing in the newest Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona. Johnson had refused to swear her into office during the government shutdown.
A West Point graduate and former state general services commissioner from Nashville, Van Epps defeated Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn to represent the 7th Congressional District.
Admiral Bradley arrives on Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on boat strike
Lawmakers have many questions for Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who the White House has said ordered the follow-on strike on the alleged drug boat off the Venezuelan coast that’s drawn grave scrutiny.
The military attack reportedly on survivors in the water has led to questions of its legality. Some lawmakers have called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign.
Bradley is expected to speak to top leaders of the congressional committees handling national security matters during a day of meetings at the Capitol.
New York Times suing Pentagon over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new press rules
The New York Times filed the lawsuit Thursday against the Pentagon, attempting to overturn new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have led to most mainstream media outlets being banished from the building.
The newspaper said the rules violate constitutional freedom of speech and due process provisions, since they give Hegseth the power to determine on his own whether a reporter should be banned. Outlets like The Times walked out of the Pentagon rather than agree to the rules as a condition for getting a press credential.
The Trump administration has instead populated the Pentagon press room with mostly conservative outlets that agreed to the rules, who participated Tuesday in a briefing with Hegseth’s press secretary.
“The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes,” said Charles Stadtlander, spokesperson for the newspaper. The Times filed the case with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
▶ Read more about The New York Times lawsuit against the Pentagon
FBI makes arrest in investigation into pipe bombs placed in DC on eve of Jan. 6 riot, AP source says
The FBI has made an arrest in its nearly 5-year-old investigation into who placed pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The arrest marks the first time investigators have settled on a suspect in an act that had long vexed law enforcement, spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories and remained an enduring mystery in the shadow of the dark chapter of American history that is the violent Capitol siege.
The official who described the arrest spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss a case that hasn’t yet been made public. The arrest took place Thursday morning and the suspect is a man, the official said. No other details were immediately available, including the charges the person might face.
The pipe bombs were placed on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, near the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees in the District of Columbia. Nobody was hurt before the bombs were rendered safe, but the FBI has said both devices could have been lethal.
— Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer
▶ Read more about the pipe bomb investigation
Trump hosting the leaders of Congo and Rwanda to sign key deal for peace in eastern Congo
The peace signing Thursday will also open access to the region’s critical minerals for the U.S. government and American companies.
Lauded by the White House as a “historic” agreement brokered by President Trump, the so-called Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity between Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda follows monthslong peace efforts by the U.S. and partners, including the African Union and Qatar, and finalizes an earlier deal signed in June.
The Central African nation of Congo has been battered by decadeslong fighting with more than 100 armed groups, the most potent being the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The conflict escalated this year, with M23 seizing the region’s main cities of Goma and Bukavu in an unprecedented advance, worsening a humanitarian crisis that was already one of the world’s largest with millions displaced.
▶ Read more about the peace deal between Congo and Rwanda
Trump proposal would weaken vehicle mileage rules that limit air pollution
Trump on Wednesday announced a proposal to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
The plan, if finalized next year, would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year. The administration and automakers say the rules will increase Americans’ access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projects that the new standards would set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, down from a projected 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 under the Biden-era rule.
The move is the latest action by the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era policies that encouraged cleaner-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles, and it sparked criticism from environmental groups. Burning gasoline for vehicles is a major contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
▶ Read more about the president’s proposed plan
Trump is fighting the Institute of Peace in court. Now, his name is on the building
The Trump administration has renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after Trump and has planted the president’s name on the organization’s headquarters despite an ongoing fight over the institute’s control.
It’s the latest twist in a seesaw court battle over who controls the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonprofit think tank that focuses on peace initiatives. It was an early target of the Department of Government Efficiency this year.
On Wednesday, the State Department said it renamed the organization to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace to “reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history.” The new name could be seen on its building, which is near the State Department.
Trump has spent months openly lobbying for a Nobel Peace Prize even though he was passed over for this year’s installment — arguing he had a hand in easing a series of conflicts around the world. But Trump has also ordered strikes on suspected drug vessels off the coast of Venezuela and repeatedly threatened that attacks on land could be coming, which would be an act of war against that country.
▶ Read more about Trump’s legal battle with USIP
Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow-on strike, AP sources say
The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The rationale for the second strike was that it was needed to sink the vessel, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly. The Trump administration says all 11 people aboard were killed.
What remains unclear was who ordered the strikes and whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was involved, one of the people said. The details are becoming crucial as lawmakers have launched investigations and are seeking to determine whether the U.S. acted lawfully during its military operations.
Hegseth is under growing scrutiny over the department’s strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, and in particular the follow-on strike that reportedly killed survivors. Some legal experts and lawmakers say that the strike would have violated peacetime laws and those governing armed conflict.
— Lisa Mascaro
▶ Read more about the revelations
Lawmakers will hear from Navy admiral who ordered attack that killed boat strike survivors
The Navy admiral who reportedly issued orders for the U.S. military to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat is expected Thursday on Capitol Hill to provide a classified briefing to top congressional lawmakers overseeing national security.
The information from Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who is now the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, comes at a potentially crucial moment in the unfolding congressional investigation into how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth handled the military operation in international waters near Venezuela. There are mounting questions over whether the strike may have violated the law.
Lawmakers are seeking a full accounting of the strikes after The Washington Post reported that Bradley on Sept. 2 ordered an attack on two survivors to comply with Hegseth’s directive to “kill everybody.” Legal experts say the attack amounts to a crime if the survivors were targeted, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding accountability.
Bradley will speak to a handful of top congressional leaders, including the Republican chairs and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate committees on Armed Services, and separately to the GOP chairman and Democratic vice chairman on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
▶ Read more about the hearing
By The Associated Press
