The U.S. military on Wednesday launched its ninth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, expanding the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America.
It followed another strike Tuesday night, also in the eastern Pacific, that killed two people, Hegseth posted on social media hours earlier. The attacks were departures from the seven previous U.S. strikes that had targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea. They bring the death toll to at least 37 from attacks that began last month.
The strikes represent an expansion of the military’s targeting area as well as a shift to the waters off South America, where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled. Hegseth’s social media posts also drew a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administration’s crackdown.
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Health care compromise appears far off as the government shutdown stalemate persists
The government shutdown has reopened debate on what has been a central issue for both major political parties in the last 15 years: the future of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Tax credits for people who get health insurance through the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, expire at the end of the year.
Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension of the expanded subsidies. Republicans say they won’t negotiate until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Lawmakers in both parties have been working on potential solutions behind the scenes, hoping leaders will eventually start to talk, but it’s unclear if the two sides could find compromise.
▶ Read more about the government shutdown and health care
European Union agrees on new sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow oil fleet and LNG imports
The European Union has agreed on a new raft of sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning its imports of liquefied natural gas, the Danish EU presidency announced Thursday.
“Today is a good day for Europe and Ukraine,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement, as EU leaders were gathering for a summit in Brussels.
He said the new sanctions “will introduce new and comprehensive measures on oil and gas, the shadow fleet and Russia’s financial sector.” A new system for limiting the movement of Russian diplomats within the 27-nation EU will also be introduced.
The move comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration announced new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and ending Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
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China confirms trade talks with the US in Malaysia
China’s Commerce Ministry announced Thursday that Vice Premier He Lifeng would lead a delegation to Malaysia from Friday to Monday to hold trade talks with the United States.
The talks are expected to lay the groundwork for a meeting next week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that delegations led by him and the Chinese vice premier would meet in Malaysia, probably on Saturday.
Vance says Gaza reconstruction in areas free of Hamas could begin soon
“We could start reconstruction of the areas that are free of Hamas very quickly. We think that we could potentially get hundreds of thousands of Gazans living in that area very quickly,” Vance said before winding down his visit to Israel on Thursday. “But again, this is all still pretty early. But that’s the basic idea.”
Vance added that it will take to two to three years to rebuild the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
Rafah’s population surged early in the war as many Palestinians were displaced by Israeli operations elsewhere in the territory. By this past spring, Rafah was also largely decimated by the fighting.
Vance rips MSNBC host Jen Psaki for comments about his wife
The vice president made clear he wasn’t happy with comments from Psaki, who on a podcast earlier this week jokingly suggested Usha Vance was being held captive and that she stood ready to save her.
“I think it’s disgraceful,” Vice President JD Vance told reporters before departing Israel on Thursday. “But of course, the second lady can speak for herself, and I’m very lucky to have a wonderful wife. And I know at least I hope, that my wife feels the same about me.”
Psaki, who served as White House press secretary early in Democrat Joe Biden’s administration, speaking on the “I Had It” podcast also referred to Vance as “the little Manchurian candidate,” who “wants to be president more than anything else.”
“I always wonder what’s going on in the mind of his wife. Like, are you OK? Please blink four times. We’ll come over here. We’ll save you,” Psaki said.
Vance slams Knesset vote on West Bank annexation during his Israel visit
Vice President JD Vance criticized Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, saying the move was an “insult.”
Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before departing at the end of his visit to Israel this week, Vance said that if the vote was a “political stunt, then it is a very stupid political stunt.”
“I personally take some insult to it,” Vance said about the Knesset vote. “The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
The Israeli parliament on Wednesday took the symbolic step of giving preliminary approval to a bill that would give Israel authority to annex the occupied West Bank — a move the U.S. opposes.
