Overview
- An independent Defense Department inspector general found Pete Hegseth shared non‑public operational details over Signal, creating security risks even though no classified material was transmitted.
- U.S. Southern Command reported a new strike in the eastern Pacific, saying the targeted boat carried illicit narcotics and that four people were killed.
- Since September, U.S. forces have conducted strikes on suspected smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific that have left roughly 87 dead, drawing legal challenges and demands for proof of targets’ drug links.
- Admiral Frank Bradley told lawmakers the two men left after the first September strike could not call for help and said he ordered destruction of the wreckage, a version that conflicts with earlier justifications.
- Members of Congress and rights officials called for probes and, in some cases, Hegseth’s resignation; Rep. Jim Himes said Pentagon video shows mariners in distress being killed, while Sen. Tom Cotton defended the decision and rejected claims of an order to kill everyone on board.