US conducts 17th lethal strike against alleged drug boat
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) The United States has conducted its 17th lethal strike against a suspected drug vessel, killing all three on board, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X overnight.
The strike took place in international waters in the Caribbean on Thursday, Hegseth said.
“As we’ve said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their the poisoning of the American people stops,” said Hegseth in his social media post. “The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean and was struck in international waters. No U.S. forces were harmed in the strike, and three male narco-terrorists — who were aboard the vessel — were killed.”
Separately, six individuals were arrested and more than seven tons of cocaine were seized in the Atlantic Ocean “without fatalities,” Colombia President Gustavo Petro said in a post on X Friday morning.
Petro called it “one of the largest seizure days in my government, with the collaboration of our public security forces and the French authorities.”
The seizures were carried out on land and at sea, according to Petro. The nationalities of those arrested are unknown, Petro said.
President Donald Trump has called Petro an “illegal drug dealer” who “does nothing to stop” drug production.
At least 70 people have now been killed in strikes on vessels since Sept. 2.
On Sunday, the Trump administration gave more than a dozen Senate Republicans a secret target list for its ongoing military campaign in the Caribbean Sea, suggesting it is preparing for sustained operations against drug cartels and that it believed the military strikes could withstand potential legal challenges.
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,” said Hegseth.
A sign is displayed outside of the Robert F. Kennedy U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) building on June, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Three Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling Nvidia and HP products to China, according to charges unsealed by the Justice Department on Thursday.
Starting in September of 2023, Hon Ning Ho, Brian Raymond, Cham Li and Jing Chen allegedly exported chips to China.
The Justice Department alleges that the three Chinese nationals and one American were involved in a scheme to ship these chips to third party countries — Thailand and Malaysia — that would then be shipped to China. The men allegedly set up a shell company to purchase these products.
The Commerce Department has banned China from acquiring these chips.
The Justice Department also alleges that the men discussed ways to “evade United States export laws and regulations.”
In exchange for these chips, the men received “kickbacks” for their alleged work.
In total, the men allegedly smuggled hundreds chips to China.
(NEW YORK) — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo told “The View” on Monday it would be a “gift” to President Donald Trump if Zohran Mamdani wins the election in November and becomes New York City’s next mayor.
Cuomo said he’s the “last person” Trump wants to see as mayor, citing their relationship while he was governor of New York. “We fought on a daily basis,” Cuomo said.
He alleged that a Mamdani win would lead to a federal takeover of New York City and then Trump would use Mamdani as an example during other elections about the dangers of electing a far-left politician.
Trump “will take a picture of Mamdani and run around the country and say, here’s what happened to the Democrats,” Cuomo said. “Mamdani is a gift for him … because it’s the excuse he needs to take over New York, which he said he will do.”
In a recent interview with “The View,” Mamdani said New York should be prepared to push back against Trump.
“This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes. Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from,” Mamdani said. “[Trump] wants to do a whole lot of things with this city, and we’re going to fight him every step of the way, as long as it is something that comes at the expense of this city.”
Cuomo denied allegations from Mamdani and other critics that he’s Trump’s pick in the race. Cuomo also denied reporting in the New York Times that he had recently discussed the race on a call with Trump.
New York City’s mayoral race is down to three candidates, including Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, after Mayor Eric Adams recently dropped out of the race. He said the race is down to a democratic socialist in Mamdani and himself, a true Democrat.
“What’s really happening is there’s a civil war within the Democratic Party going on, and the Democratic Party is looking for its identity. And there are two factions. You have the democratic socialists, and then you have the Democrats, they have a very extreme view that they’re pursuing, which is different than the Democratic Party,” Cuomo said Monday on “The View.”
After Adams announced he was dropping out of the mayor’s race, Cuomo gave him kudos and said his withdrawal indeed shakes up the race. He said that New Yorkers should be “afraid” of a win by Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
“I believe Mayor Adams is 100% sincere. I applaud his selflessness. You know, we often wonder, is it about us, or is it about a greater calling? And I think what Mayor Adams said today speaks volumes,” Cuomo said at the time. “He said, I’m going to put my personal ambition aside for the good of the city, because he’s afraid of the result if Mr. Mamdani would have [sic] win the election, and we should all be afraid of the result.”
And Adams no longer campaigning makes a difference, Cuomo said: “It’s not just about the polling. You know, the mayor was – is the incumbent mayor, so he is a potent force in the campaign; if he is not actively campaigning, that changes the entire dynamic of the race.”
Even still, Cuomo is running an uphill campaign after Mamdani delivered an upset win during the June Democratic primary. The former governor has been trailing the Democratic nominee in most polls and Mamdani has racked up major endorsements, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Cuomo has faced scrutiny during his mayoral campaign following his exit from the governor’s office four years ago as he faced mounting sexual harassment allegations.
During his appearance on The View, Cuomo said he now acts much more cautiously due to the “very painful” allegations.
“I learned a lesson, a painful lesson, which is to be much more cautious about everything you say, any joke, any comment,” Cuomo said Monday. “I won’t kiss a person on the cheek unless they initiate a kiss. So they taught me a lesson, just to be super cautious, because there is a sensitivity that has evolved that is real. If people feel it, it’s true, and it has to be respected.”
Cuomo made apologies back in 2021 when the allegations surfaced, but has since insisted he did nothing wrong, despite a state attorney general probe alleging he harassed 11 women. He was never charged with any wrongdoing,
Mamdani and other opponents have contended that Cuomo is still unfit to serve in office.
The former governor lost the Democratic primary after three rounds of ranked choice voting by nearly 130,000 votes. Cuomo pressed on and announced shortly after the defeat that he would continue to run as an independent candidate.
Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Minnesotans are set to vote Tuesday in the special election to replace Melissa Hortman, the former Democratic Minnesota House speaker who was killed alongside her husband at their home in June, a politically motivated killing thrust back into the spotlight after the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The election has significant political implications, too, due to Republicans’ one-seat edge in the statehouse.
Voters will choose between Democratic nominee XP Lee, a former Brooklyn Park City Council member, and Republican nominee Ruth Bittner, a real estate agent.
Lee told The Associated Press that continuing Hortman’s legacy is one of the reasons why he is running for her former seat.
“It makes me want to focus on healing and coming together even more,” he said. “You know, I wouldn’t be running if it wasn’t for the murder of Melissa Hortman. So I am very conscious of political and gun violence. So I want to help our community heal.”
Born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his family fled the Vietnam War, Lee says he is focused on improving education and access to health care.
Lee won the Democratic primary last month over two others with 59% of the vote, according to KSTP. On Sunday, he was joined for a door-knocking event by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who encouraged the community to cast their ballots in favor of the Democratic candidate.
Lee is favored to win in Hortman’s blue-leaning home district, which would restore the chamber to a 67-67 deadlock.
The Republican contender similarly seeks to honor the late Minnesota House speaker, with Bittner telling MPR News that Hortman was a “very unique individual” and that “we will not be trying to replace her.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bittner was concerned about running for office amidst the heightened environment of political violence, but she emphasized that “we have to move forward as a country” and argued that “there’s no way to solve this problem if we shrink back in fear.”
Bittner is capitalizing on her lack of political experience, branding herself as a new voice that is focused on eliminating government inefficiencies and improving public safety and education.
The candidates have acknowledged the fear plaguing Minnesotans in recent days, with Lee noting that he has spoken to citizens that have brought up the Charlie Kirk shooting and the Annunciation Church shooting that took place in their state — two instances of violence that had occurred after Hortman’s murder.
Hortman’s alleged killer, Vance Boelter, is charged with shooting and killing Hortman and her husband Mark at their home in Brooklyn Park and shooting and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their house in nearby Champlin in the early hours of June 14, authorities said.
Boelter allegedly showed up at their doors, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.
Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in Boelter’s car, according to prosecutors. The alleged shooter’s list of potential targets also included the names of abortion providers and pro-choice activists, several sources told ABC News. Many of the Democratic lawmakers on the list have been outspoken about pro-choice policy positions, two sources said.
