What we're covering
• Boat strikes: The US military carried out another deadly attack yesterday on a suspected drug boat as new details emerge about a controversial follow-up strike of a vessel in the Caribbean in September. Two men killed in the second strike didn’t radio for backup, the admiral overseeing the operation told lawmakers, according to sources.
• World Cup draw: President Donald Trump will participate in the 2026 World Cup draw today at the Kennedy Center. He also plans to meet with the leaders of Canada and Mexico on the sidelines, according to an official.
• Pipe bomber investigation: The suspect arrested in the pipe bomb probe told investigators during FBI interviews he believed the 2020 election was stolen. He’ll appear in federal court this afternoon.
• Redistricting race: The Supreme Court will allow Texas to use a new congressional map favoring Republicans, a move that could have significant consequences for midterm elections.
Trump touts his approval of “tiny cars” for US production
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has approved “tiny cars” to be manufactured in the United States, although there isn’t a specific federal regulation prohibiting small micro cars in the US.
“I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“They can be propelled by gasoline, electric, or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW! Thank you to the DOJ and the Departments of Transportation and Environment.”
The president also praised the idea during a televised Cabinet meeting Wednesday, telling his team he had been struck by “a very small car” he saw during his recent Asia trip, calling them “really cute.”
“How would that do in this country? And everyone seems to think good, but you’re not allowed to build them,” Trump said.
However, some of these small cars from Asia that Trump speaks of have been imported already, although not in significant numbers. There are local regulations on which roads they can drive on, and there are federal rules requiring certain levels of safety for car occupants in case of crashes.
But it has been mostly market forces, not regulation, that has stopped the production of ultra small vehicles in the United States. American car buyers have shown a desire for bigger trucks and SUVs, enough so that the traditional “Big Three” US automakers essentially stopped producing small sedans years ago. Some imported models, such as the Daimler-Benz two-seat “Smart car,” did not catch on in the US market.
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg and Chris Isidore contributed to this post.
House minority whip calls for release of boat strike video
Democratic House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts has called for the public release of a video showing the so-called double-tap strike on an alleged Caribbean drug boat in September.
“We need to get the truth to the American people,” Clark said this morning to CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “I think that we should take (US President Donald Trump) up on what he said … that he’s not against releasing this video.”
Earlier this week, Trump said that his administration would “certainly” release the footage, which reportedly shows survivors of an initial strike on the vessel being killed.
Clark added she has two “critical concerns” regarding the video: “One is for the security of our troops, and one is for the security of the American people.”
“We need to know where we stand legally as a country. That is critical to keeping the American people safe,” she said, accusing US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration of an “unprecedented withdrawal of information.”
Here's what is on Trump's schedule today
All eyes today will be on The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where the 48 soccer teams set to compete in the upcoming FIFA World Cup will be drawn into 12 groups. US President Donald Trump will be at the drawing, which will take place around 12 p.m. ET.
The president is also expected to attend a concert in the White House’s East Room today.
This is his official schedule:
- 10 a.m. ET: Trump receives his intelligence briefing.
- 11:40 a.m. ET: Trump attends the FIFA World Cup Drawing at The Kennedy Center.
- 3 p.m. ET: Trump signs executive orders from the Oval Office. This is closed to press, but we’ll let you know if that changes.
- 8 p.m. ET: Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend a concert by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in the East Room, in an event that is also closed to press.
Democratic lawmakers discuss new information on double-tap strike
The two men killed in a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers, according to sources.
This new information is stoking criticism of the strike, adding to growing questions about its legality.
Here’s what some Democrats in Congress told CNN:
Washington Rep. Adam Smith said that after he saw the full video of the strike, he thinks that the clip should be made public.
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a retired US Army pilot, says the new information “tells you the Defense Department has been lying to everybody” for months.
“I know what drug interdiction looks like…it is not killing shipwrecked sailors,” said Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss.
Attorney General Bondi says more charges to come today in DC pipe bomb case
Attorney General Pam Bondi said today the suspect in the Washington, DC, pipe bomb case is expected to face more charges.
“We got someone who was charged with a very, very dangerous crime off the streets, and more to come,” Bondi told Fox News.
The suspect, Brian Cole Jr., was arrested yesterday and is currently facing two federal explosives charges. Cole is expected to appear before a federal judge in court later today.
During interviews with the FBI, the suspect arrested in the pipe bomb probe told investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen, providing perhaps the first indication of a possible motive for the bombs placed near the DNC and RNC headquarters, people briefed on the matter said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Brian Cole Jr., the man accused of planting viable pipe bombs outside the DNC and RNC offices the night before the 2021 attack, has been federally charged with using an explosive device.
This post has been updated with reporting on the FBI interviews. CNN’s Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed reporting to this post.
Macron stresses need for US-European cooperation on Ukraine talks
French President Emmanuel Macron said the United States needs “the Europeans to advance their efforts for peace” in Ukraine, underlining the importance of European-American cooperation on the issue at a time when their differing approaches to the talks are putting their alliance under strain.
“Unity between the Americans and the Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is indispensable,” Macron told reporters at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China.
Still, Macron emphasized that the US needs European input too, as “this is happening on the European continent and we are the providers of security guarantees, as it’s we who can speak about sanctions, as it’s we that have in our hands the frozen Russian assets, to give some examples.”
GOP Sen. Tom Cotton admits he didn’t see those killed in double-tap strike trying to use radio
GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas — who was briefed by Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley yesterday on the September so-called double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean — said this morning he did not see evidence of the men on the boat trying to use a radio to call for help.
When pressed by John Berman on “CNN News Central” if he saw any evidence of the men trying to use a radio, Cotton said, “No I didn’t.”
The senator went on to defend the second strike, saying, “They were clearly not incapacitated. They were not distressed.”
CNN exclusively reported yesterday that Bradley told lawmakers during congressional briefings that the two men killed in the strikes did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, according to sources with direct knowledge of his briefings.
This revelation comes after defense officials have been quietly pushing back on criticism that killing the two survivors amounted to a war crime by arguing, in part, that they were legitimate targets because they appeared to be radioing for help or backup — reinforcements that, if they had received it, could have theoretically allowed them to continue to traffic the alleged drugs aboard their sinking ship.
US and Ukraine wrap up war talks in Miami as Russia awaits Washington's response
Ukrainian and US delegations ended a meeting in Miami, Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported in the early hours of Friday.
The Ukrainian delegation included Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov.
Suspilne did not give any other details of the meeting.
The delegations were expected to discuss the results of the Tuesday meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Ukrainian and US officials last held talks on Sunday, also in Miami. At the time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as “a very productive and useful session where… additional progress was made.”
In Moscow: Russia is awaiting a response from the US following Tuesday’s discussions, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, according to Russian state media TASS.
There are currently no plans for a phone conversation between Putin and Trump, but one can easily be arranged if necessary, Ushakov said, TASS reported.
That US-Russia meeting did not yield any breakthroughs on a possible peace deal, but Putin characterized it as “productive.”
Putin is currently in India, where he said that Russia was ready to provide an “uninterrupted” supply of fuel to the Indian economy as both countries grapple with the fallout from US sanctions on Russian oil companies.
CNN’s Christian Edwards contributed reporting.
Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center today
President Donald Trump is set to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw today at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where FIFA will announce the groups and matchups for the opening stage of the quadrennial tournament.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams (up from 32) and is set to be played across 16 cities in three countries.
Hear from Paul Tenorio, senior writer for The Athletic, as he talks to CNN Sports’ Don Riddell about the newly expanded tournament:
Some context: The decision to hold the opening event of the World Cup at the Kennedy Center combines two of Trump’s second-term priorities: bringing the World Cup to the US, and a reshaping of the center after he seized control of its board.
Trump said he would oversee a sweeping revamp of the center and its programming. He has said that people may start referring to the performance arts center as the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
Sideline meetings: Trump is also expected to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on the sidelines of the draw, a senior White House official told CNN.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed reporting to this post.
Lawmakers are divided after a briefing with a top military official about the double-tap strike. Catch up here
Just over three months after a double-tap attack on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean that killed surviving crew members, lawmakers had a private briefing yesterday with Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who oversaw the attack.
Since that first attack in September, the US military has killed at least 87 people in strikes that have destroyed 23 boats as part of a campaign that Washington says is aimed at curtailing the flow of drugs into the US. Just yesterday, the military killed four people in a strike on a boat in the Eastern Pacific. Here’s a timeline of the strikes.
Here are the latest developments:
Survivors didn’t radio for backup: The two men killed in the second strike were holding onto their capsized boat and did not appear to have communications devices, according to three sources with knowledge of the briefings. Defense officials had previously argued, in part, that they were legitimate targets because they appeared to be radioing for help — reinforcements that could have theoretically allowed them to continue to traffic the drugs aboard their sinking ship.
Lawmakers divided: Lawmakers were divided along party lines after the briefing, with a top Democrat calling a video of the incident “one of the most troubling things” he had seen as a congressman. But the panel chairman, Republican Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, said that he thought the second strike was justified.
Hegseth’s role: North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told CNN that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is responsible for the processes that led to the killing of the boat strike survivors. But after the briefing, Crawford told CNN that he is “confident” in Hegseth. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Hegseth “serves at the pleasure of the president” even as he acknowledged another controversy involving the defense secretary, about his use of the Signal app earlier this year, was a “mistake” that should not be repeated.
CNN’s Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, Catherine Nicholls, Natasha Bertrand, Michael Rios, Avery Schmitz, Matt Stiles, Ellis Kim, Morgan Rimmer, Annie Grayer, Ted Barrett, Jenna Monnin, Sarah Ferris contributed reporting.
