Summary
The Pentagon was reportedly aware there were survivors after a September attack on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, but the US military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to a new Associated Press report.
Troubles are continuing to mount for defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who faces growing scrutiny and criticism over his handling of the September boat strike and a Pentagon report that found his use of the Signal app violated policy. Democratic senator Mark Warner has called for his resignation while Republican senator Lisa Murkowski reiterated that Hegseth does not have her support.
Donald Trump continued his xenophobic attacks on Somali immigrants, telling reporters on Wednesday that “those Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country” and that congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be “thrown the hell out”.
The US Institute of Peace has been renamed in Donald Trump’s honor amid a months-long battle for control over the thinktank. The state department announced Wednesday that it had renamed the Washington DC non-profit the “Donald J Trump Institute of Peace”.
Donald Trump pardoned entertainment executive Tim Leiweke this week, continuing his spate of pardons that has in recent days included the Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar and the ex-president of Honduras.
Trump described the US-Russia meeting on Tuesday that included Vladimir Putin and the US president’s son-in-law as “reasonably good” despite a lack of progress. A source told the Associated Press that Trump aides planned to meet with a top Ukrainian negotiator in Miami on Thursday for additional peace talks.
The immigration crackdown in New Orleans got under way Wednesday. The operation has sent fear through the region’s Latino community and prompted businesses to close.
Updated
Donald Trump pardoned entertainment executive Tim Leiweke this week, continuing his spate of pardons that has in recent days included the Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar and the ex-president of Honduras.
The president’s justice department had charged the co-founder of stadium developer Oak View Group earlier this year for allegedly “orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process” for an arena at a public university in Austin.
