88 m. ago Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shaky

Pentagon’s Law of War manual clearly prohibits attack, but justification for whole campaign also faces tough questionsGraphic depictions of two survivors being killed by a second US military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug ferrying boat have provoked outrage where previously there was none – or at least relatively little.A firestorm of controversy has greeted a recent Washington Post report which suggested that a deadly attack on a vessel carrying 11 people in the Caribbean was followed with a second assault after the initial strike failed to kill everybody onboard. Continue reading...

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13 h. ago Pentagon reportedly knew strike on alleged drug boat left survivors

It is still unclear who ordered the strikes and whether US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth was involved, source tells Associated PressThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it had started its immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans today.In a statement, the department said Operation Catahoula Crunch would target “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies”. New Orleans is the latest Democratic-run city (albeit in a Republican-led state) to see federal immigration agents on its streets. Most recently, the Trump administration targeted Charlotte, North Carolina, and touted the arrest of more than 300 undocumented immigrants. Continue reading...

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14 h. ago Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow

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

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41 h. ago Hegseth says he ‘didn’t stick around’ to watch second strike on alleged drug boat; Trump vows land strikes on cartels are coming ‘very soon’ – live

President says countries manufacturing and selling drugs to the US are “subject to attack”, adding that strikes wouldn’t be limited to VenezuelaTrump says he and Hegseth didn’t know about second strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boatPete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagementJoseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in WashingtonThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts. Continue reading...

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41 h. ago BREAKING: Donald Trump says he would target ANY country trafficking drugs into US

The US has already targeted an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea

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42 h. ago Hegseth says he did not ‘stick around’ to watch second strike on alleged drug boat, but says admiral made ‘right call’ – US politics live

Defense secretary’s comments comes after Trump said Hegseth ‘didn’t know’ about second strike that killed two shipwrecked survivorsTrump administration is ‘selling out’ admiral to shield Hegseth over boat strikes, officials sayPete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagementJoseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in WashingtonThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts. Continue reading...

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43 h. ago Hegseth doubles down on Caribbean boat strikes, says military commanders have ‘done the right things’

Defense secretary has been insisting that an admiral gave the order for the second strike on alleged drug boat back in SeptemberTrump administration is ‘selling out’ admiral to shield Hegseth over boat strikes, officials sayPete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagementJoseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in WashingtonThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts. Continue reading...

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44 h. ago Johnson pins responsibility for second strike on alleged drug boat on admiral as Pentagon says strikes will continue

Johnson also says he doesn’t know how much of video recording of second strike, which reportedly killed two survivors, should be releasedTrump administration is ‘selling out’ admiral to shield Hegseth over boat strikes, officials sayPete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagementJoseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in WashingtonThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts. Continue reading...

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66 h. ago White House says admiral directed second strike that killed alleged drug boat survivors in ‘self defense’

Trump administration refuses to say whether survivors on suspected drug-trafficking vessels posed imminent threat

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3 d. ago Trump backs Hegseth amid report of repeated strike on boat – US politics live

Calls from Congress for an immediate investigation into reports that war secretary ordered a second strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat Senator Mark Kelly: “We’re going to have a public hearing. We’re going to put these folks under oath. And we’re going to find out what happened. And then, there needs to be accountability.”He also told CNN: “If what has been reported is accurate, I have got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Description of Navy SEALs’ second strike on alleged drug boat constitutes a war crime, Sen. Mark Kelly believes

Former Navy captain, Democratic senator who urged military members to refuse illegal orders says ‘double-tap’ strike ‘seems to’ be a war crime, if reports are accurate

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6 d. ago Liverpool parade survivors left with 'unanswered questions' after ex

The 54-year-old - who falsely told police he was fleeing a knifeman trying to stab him - is facing a lengthy prison sentence after dramatically changing his plea on Wednesday and admitting 31 counts.

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2 w. ago US attacks another alleged drug boat in Pacific, killing three, as Trump signals possible talks with Maduro

Strike comes as navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier arrives in Caribbean Sea and president says US may open talks with Venezuelan leaderThe United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday.“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on social media. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago US military attacks another alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing three

This is 21st known strike since early September as Trump officials justify efforts to stop narcotics from entering USThe United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday.“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on social media. Continue reading...

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4 w. ago Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen review – a hypnotic tale of the sea cow’s extinction

This hit debut from Finland is intensely readable, but could have delved more deeply into the links between human progress and environmental destructionIn November 1741 Georg Wilhelm Steller, “theologian, naturalist, and curious man”, was shipwrecked on an island between Alaska and Russia. There he found, floating in the shallow waters, a vast sirenian, Hydrodamalis gigas, nine feet long and soon to be known as Steller’s sea cow. Having made it through the winter, largely by eating the sea cows, the following August Steller and the remaining survivors of the Great Northern Expedition left the island. Within 30 years, Steller’s sea cow was hunted to extinction.Having described these events, Finnish author Iida Turpeinen’s debut novel goes on to describe the lives of other historical figures, each of whom are touched in some way by the sea cow, now reduced to bones. There is Hampus Furuhjelm, governor of Alaska, in search of a complete skeleton, and his sister Constance...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump administration announces 16th deadly strike on an alleged drug boat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced yet another deadly strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean

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