![\"Adm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3534.jpg\")
Adm Frank Bradley, accompanied by general Dan Caine, walks to a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\nTop Navy admiral briefs lawmakers on ‘double-tap’ strike on suspected drug boats<\/p>\n
Adm Frank \u201cMitch\u201d Bradley arrived on Capitol Hill earlier today to discuss the \u201cdouble-tap\u201d boat strike on suspected drug boats off the coast of Venezuela with the House and Sentate armed services committees. The top Navy official spoke to lawmakers alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Cain.<\/p>\n
Adm Frank Bradley, accompanied by general Dan Caine, walks to a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n
Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, gaggled with reporters after Bradley\u2019s classified briefing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I\u2019ve seen in my time in public service,\u201d he said, according to CNN\u2019s Manu Raju<\/a>.<\/p>\n Himes added that Bradley did confirm \u201cthere had not been a \u2018kill them all\u2019 order, and that there was not an order to grant no quarter\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.53 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Melody Schreiber<\/p>\n Only testing mothers for hepatitis B can be problematic for several reasons.<\/p>\n Testing occurs in the first trimester, and infection could happen later in the pregnancy or after birth, and the tests have a 5% false negative rate, which means one in 20 people who have hepatitis B will still test negative. Because of unequal access to prenatal care, some 500,000 people are not tested during pregnancy each year.<\/p>\n In addition, mothers are not the only people who give birth, and they are not the only family members in close contact with babies \u2013 other parents, children, extended family members, and friends could also pass on the virus.<\/p>\n Some 50% of people who are infected with hepatitis B don\u2019t know where they acquired the virus, according to the CDC. The Hepatitis B Foundation puts that figure higher, around 68%. Exposures can happen at daycare, while playing sports, even while sharing nail clippers.<\/p>\n Further, the ACIP meeting is today voting on whether to restrict access to the vaccine and make it \u201cshared clinical decision-making\u201d at the hospital.<\/p>\n Shared clinical decision-making is a process that has only been applied to five vaccines<\/a> in the past \u2013 usually when vaccines don\u2019t warrant full recommendation. When the recommendation for Covid vaccines switched to this framework, families and providers were confused and uncertain about the change. Insurers don\u2019t always cover vaccines in this category.<\/p>\n Even short delays in giving children the hepatitis B vaccine have immense health and financial repercussions, according to a new model<\/a>.<\/p>\n Delaying the shot from birth to two months would lead to at least 1,400 infections, 300 cases of liver cancer, and 480 deaths every year \u2013 all preventable by vaccination, the researchers wrote. It would also result in more than $222 million in additional health care costs every year.<\/p>\n A new review<\/a> from the Vaccine Integrity Project of more than 400 studies over four decades found no evidence that delaying the vaccine would improve safety or effectiveness, and it found that vaccination at birth has no short- or long-term serious adverse events or deaths.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.44 EST<\/p>\n Melody Schreiber<\/p>\n The hepatitis B vaccine is extremely safe and offers for most people lifelong protection against the virus, which can cause liver cancer and other serious health outcomes.<\/p>\n Children who become infected within the first year of life are most at risk of developing severe illness.<\/p>\n Recommending hep B vaccination at birth has nearly eliminated transmission from birth parents and dramatically reduced cases of the illness in childhood. Infant immunization has been directly linked to a 99% decline in acute hepatitis B cases in children, adolescents and young adults since 1990 and 2019.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kennedy advisers weigh dropping hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for most US children<\/p>\n For more than 30 years it has been routine to give all newborn babies in the United States the hepatitis B vaccine within the first 24 hours of life, a practice which has resulted in a dramatic drop in hep B infections.<\/p>\n There has also long been a carefully constructed timetable used by pediatricians to administer more than 30 doses to protect against more than a dozen diseases in early childhood.<\/p>\n But that could be set for a major and controversial change. Robert F Kennedy Jr\u2019s handpicked vaccine advisers are convening today and tomorrow to discuss whether to abandon the current recommendation for vaccinating babies against hepatitis B, and to rethink fundamental elements of the established childhood vaccination schedule that has protected children against dangerous diseases for decades.<\/p>\n A vote is planned for around 2.30pm ET.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s vaccine-sceptic health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. Photograph: Jos\u00e9 Luis Maga\u00f1a\/AP<\/p>\n Per my colleague Melody Schreiber:<\/p>\n The vote contains several parts. First, the advisers plan to vote on recommending the vaccine at birth if an infant\u2019s mother tests positive for hepatitis B. For babies whose mothers test negative or whose mothers don\u2019t know their status, the shot could become shared clinical decision-making \u2013 an opaque term not typically applied to routine vaccines. If the shot is not chosen at birth, advisers will consider limiting it to be offered at two months or later \u2013 which would mean parents who aren\u2019t able or ready to get it at birth may have to wait eight weeks or more.<\/p>\n A second vote would recommend that providers draw blood from infants to check for hepatitis B before giving the vaccine, and would require insurance companies to cover the blood test. Both of these rules would exceed the authority of the committee, which makes recommendations on vaccines.<\/p>\n A review of more than 400 studies and reports by independent vaccine experts released on Tuesday found that the current US policy of giving the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns has cut infections in children by more than 95%.<\/p>\n The advisers are also set to discuss how pediatricians inoculate children against more than a dozen other infectious diseases, including measles, mumps, whooping cough and polio.<\/p>\n Should the changes get voted through, which is likely, it would be the most significant shift in US vaccination policy yet under Trump\u2019s polarizing, vaccine-sceptic health secretary. Per NPR<\/a>, for public health experts \u201cthe meeting underscores grave concerns \u2026 [that] it will further erode childhood vaccinations, leading to a resurgence of preventable infectious diseases\u201d.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll bring you all the key developments here.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.37 EST<\/p>\n Top Navy admiral briefs lawmakers on ‘double-tap’ strike on suspected drug boats<\/p>\n Adm Frank \u201cMitch\u201d Bradley arrived on Capitol Hill earlier today to discuss the \u201cdouble-tap\u201d boat strike on suspected drug boats off the coast of Venezuela with the House and Sentate armed services committees. The top Navy official spoke to lawmakers alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Cain.<\/p>\n Adm Frank Bradley, accompanied by general Dan Caine, walks to a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, gaggled with reporters after Bradley\u2019s classified briefing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I\u2019ve seen in my time in public service,\u201d he said, according to CNN\u2019s Manu Raju<\/a>.<\/p>\n Himes added that Bradley did confirm \u201cthere had not been a \u2018kill them all\u2019 order, and that there was not an order to grant no quarter\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.53 EST<\/p>\n Slotkin says watchdog’s Signalgate report shows that Hegseth put ‘lives of our service members at risk’<\/p>\n Senator Elissa Slotkin said that after reading the Pentagon inspector general\u2019s Signalgate report, it \u201creinforced what was already publicly known\u201d.<\/p>\n Today, we can expect to see the classified version of the watchdog\u2019s report to be released, which concludes that the defense secretary violated departmental policies <\/a>when he shared sensitive strike information in a Signal messaging chat in March.<\/p>\n \u201cThat kind of sensitive information, on a hackable personal cell phone and DoD-prohibited app, put the lives of our service members at risk,\u201d said Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat who serves on the both the armed services and homeland security committees in the Senate.<\/p>\n Senator Elissa Slotkin rehearses the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of congress, 4 March 2025. Photograph: Paul Sancya\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Eric Berger<\/p>\n Among the beneficiaries of Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s pardons and commutations, there is a group that legal experts and political scientists see as some of the clearest evidence of how such actions undermine the rule of law: those who were released from prison and again arrested for different alleged crimes.<\/p>\n During his first term, Trump issued 237 acts of clemency \u2013 including to someone who was a predatory lender and drug smuggler and to another who ran a Ponzi scheme. Since taking office again, Trump has issued more than 1,600, most for people involved in the January 6 attack<\/a> on Congress.<\/p>\n At least a dozen of the people Trump has granted clemency to since 2016 were arrested for separate crimes after January 6.<\/p>\n That should come as no surprise, experts say, because Trump did not follow the usual review process for considering such pardons, making it more likely that those people had already committed other crimes or took the clemency as an indication that they did not do anything wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat else would you expect?\u201d Susan Benesch, a human rights lawyer and director of the Dangerous Speech Project, said of the recidivism. \u201cPeople have been pardoned in the past after they expressed remorse or served a lot of time or credibly expressed that they were sorry and wish they hadn\u2019t committed the crime \u2013 or both.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>New poll shows almost half of Americans say cost of living is ‘worst it’s ever been’<\/p>\n A new poll by Politico<\/a> shows that 46% of Americans surveyed say that the cost of living is the \u201cworst they can remember it being\u201d. What\u2019s more, 37% of Trump voters share that view.<\/p>\n Similarly, almost half of Americans say that the cost-of-living crisis is the Trump administration\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n For his part, the president said this week that the issue of affordability for Americans is a \u201cfake narrative\u201d conjured by Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey just say the word. It doesn\u2019t mean anything to anybody, they just say it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>FBI arrests suspect in January 6 pipe bomb case \u2013 reports<\/p>\n The FBI has arrested a person accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) building and near the Republican headquarters on the night before the January 6 insurrection, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n The years-long search included the FBI releasing surveillance footage of the suspect placing a bomb at the DNC, and offering a $500,000 reward.<\/p>\n The bombs, which police deactivated and prevented from exploding, were discovered on the same day supporters of Donald Trump<\/a> stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 presidential election victory.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.10 EST<\/p>\n My colleague Jakub Krupa is following the latest developments out of Europe in our dedicated live blog.<\/p>\n Earlier, he reported that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has warned European leaders that \u201cthere is a chance that the US will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees\u201d, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported<\/a>, quoting a leaked note from a recent call between the European leaders.<\/p>\n The magazine claimed that Macron talked about the tense moment in the talks to be \u201ca big danger\u201d for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, adding that the Ukrainian leader \u2013 also on the call \u2013 needed to be \u201cvery careful\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are playing games with both you and us,\u201d Merz was reported as saying, which the magazine concluded was a reference to Steve Witkoff\u2019s recent mission to Moscow.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.06 EST<\/p>\n Donald Trump will welcome the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, as well as the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, to the White House today.<\/p>\n After a trilateral meeting (which is currently closed to the press), the three leaders to will head to the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace \u2013 recently renamed in the US president\u2019s honor \u2013 to sign a peace deal that aims to mitigate conflict in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n Later, Trump and the first lady will take part in the national Christmas tree lighting on the Ellipse in Washington DC.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.24 EST<\/p>\n A new Emerson College Polling\/Inside California Politics survey takes a look into the crowded race for California governorship, in which more than 95 candidates <\/a>have so far submitted paperwork indicating their intention to run.<\/p>\n The poll found<\/a> that Republican Chad Bianco, Republican Steve Hilton, Democrat Eric Swalwell (12%) and Democrat Katie Porter are currently leading the June 2026 primary. Of those polled, 13% said they were voting for Bianco, 12% for Hilton, 12% for Swalwell and 11% for Porter. In all, 31% of voters are undecided.<\/p>\n Votes were split on the influence of Gavin Newsom and his endorsement: 33% said Newsom\u2019s endorsement would make them more likely to vote for a candidate, 33% said his endorsement would make them less likely to support a candidate, and 35% said it would make no difference.<\/p>\n Newsom currently holds a 47% job approval rating, while 39% disapprove of the job he is doing as governor, according to polling.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.00 EST<\/p>\n A law has come into effect in Texas that will allow individuals in the state to sue abortion pill providers in other states. Proponents say it is a way to enforce abortion restrictions in Texas. Opponents worry about the methods complainants might use to find their evidence.<\/p>\n In this special episode of Politics Weekly America, the Guardian US reproductive health and justice reporter, Carter Sherman, speaks to people who are using, providing and protecting abortion pills, and those fighting against them in Texas.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.44 EST<\/p>\n With the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, already in the hot seat over the 2 September boat strike<\/a> and the inspector-general report <\/a>on his use of the Signal messaging app in March, the Wall Street Journal is reporting <\/a>that Hegseth had asked Adml Alvin Holsey to step down after he had expressed concerns over the legality of the attacks in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n Hegseth had announced in October <\/a>that Holsey would be stepping down as head of the US military\u2019s southern command less than a year after he took over the post. The posting, which oversees operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, typically lasts three years.<\/p>\n The discord between Hegseth and Holsey began just days after Donald Trump<\/a> was sworn into the office, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing former officials. But it intensified after Holsey expressed concern over the \u201cmurky legal authority for the boat strike campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n The Trump administration<\/a> has insisted the strikes are legal under the rules of war and that the US is engaged in armed conflict with traffickers \u2013 an argument that has been widely rejected by most legal experts. The Pentagon\u2019s own Law of War manual states that it is prohibited to attack anyone who is \u201cwounded, sick, or shipwrecked\u201d, thus the controversy over the second follow-up strike on 2 September that killed survivors after the initial strike failed to kill everybody onboard.<\/p>\n To read more on the legal arguments around the 2 September strike, click on the story below:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.45 EST<\/p>\n New York Times sues Pentagon over new reporting restrictions<\/p>\n The New York Times filed a lawsuit <\/a>against the Pentagon on Thursday, accusing the defense department of infringing on the constitutional rights of its journalists with its new reporting restrictions.<\/p>\n The restrictions, which went into effect in October, require reporters to sign a pledge <\/a>that they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official \u2013 a stark departure from previous guidelines. In a summary of the filing, the New York Times called this policy \u201cexactly the type of speech- and press-restrictive scheme that the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit have recognized violates the First Amendment\u201d.<\/p>\n The Guardian, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost and trade publication Breaking Defense are among the US outlets that refused to sign the agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the lawsuit, the New York Times<\/a> is asking the US district court in Washington to issue an order stopping the Pentagon from enforcing the press policy. The New York Times \u201cintends to vigorously defend against the violation of these rights, just as we have long done throughout administrations opposed to scrutiny and accountability\u201d, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.46 EST<\/p>\n Hegseth under scrutiny over drug boat strikes and Signalgate<\/p>\n Hello and thank you for joining us on the US politics<\/a> live blog. I\u2019m Vivian Ho and I will be bringing you the latest news over the next few hours.<\/p>\n Frank \u201cMitch\u201d Bradley, the US navy admiral who reportedly issued orders to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat, is expected on Capitol Hill on Thursday to provide a classified briefing to congressional lawmakers overseeing national security.<\/p>\n Trump administration officials have defended carrying out the 2 September follow-up strike by arguing that the objective was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat <\/a>\u2013 essentially mirroring the language in a secret justice department office of legal counsel (OLC) memo that purportedly said it was permissible for the US to use lethal force against unflagged vessels carrying cocaine since the cartels use the proceeds to fund violence.<\/p>\n Still, questions continue to mount over the legality of the attack, particularly around the reasoning of the second strike and what orders the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, gave.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an incredibly serious matter. This is about the safety of our troops. This is an incident that could expose members of our armed services to legal consequences,\u201d the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said in a floor speech on Wednesday. \u201cAnd yet the American public and the Congress are still not hearing basic facts.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth, who is in hot water after a report by the Pentagon\u2019s inspector general concluded that he had violated departmental policies <\/a>when he shared secret information in a Signal messaging chat in March, has sought to downplay his own involvement in the strike. Democratic senator Mark Warner has called for his resignation and Republican senator Lisa Murkowski said that Hegseth does not have her support.<\/p>\n The briefing comes as The New York Times filed a lawsuit <\/a>against the Pentagon, accusing the defense department of violating the first amendment with its new reporting restrictions.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown continues as federal agents descended upon New Orleans <\/a>on Wednesday, sending fear through the region\u2019s Latino community and prompting businesses to close. Gregory Bovino, the border patrol chief who has become the face of the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation efforts, was spotted leading a group of masked agents through the historic French quarter as one woman heckled the agents.<\/p>\n The operation in New Orleans came as Donald Trump continued his xenophobic attacks on Somali immigrants, telling reporters on Wednesday that \u201cthose Somalians should be out of here. They\u2019ve destroyed our country\u201d and that congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be \u201cthrown the hell out\u201d.<\/p>\n In more immigration news, an Amnesty International report published on Thursday found that detainees at the Florida immigration detention facility, \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d, face \u201charrowing human right violations\u201d.<\/p>\n The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is also in the process of creating a new internal database of non-US citizens who are \u201cemployed or affiliated\u201d with the government department, a sensitive memo leaked to the Guardian has revealed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump also announced on Wednesday that he is repealing Biden-era federal fuel economy standards<\/a>.<\/p>\n