Friday morning news: December 5, 2025

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Drugboat flap: Lawmakers’ reactions split » The commanding admiral who saw September’s controversial double strike on a narco-terror boat from Venezuela all the way through says there was no ‘kill them all’ order.

Previous reports indicated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the boat’s entire crew killed before the operation began, but Admiral Frank Bradley testified to Congress Thursday that was not the case.

Some lawmakers have questioned whether the follow-up strike, which took out two survivors of the first hit… was an act of war.

But Republican Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton says the evidence shows the second strike was justified… because, unlike in other recent drugboat takedowns, the survivors were trying to flip the boat and stay in the fight.

COTTON: And in subsequent strikes, there was an example where survivors actually were shipwrecked and distressed, and were not trying to continue on their mission. And they were treated as they should be, as non-combatants.

Another lawmaker in the private briefing, Democratic Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes, maintains the follow-up strike should not have happened…saying the survivors of the initial strike were not in a position to continue their mission in any way.

It is a war crime to kill shipwrecked people in need of assistance and care. But the Trump Administration insists in this case those taken out in the second strike were still acting as combatants.

Putin says he can’t agree w/parts of Trump peace plan » It looks unlikely there’ll be a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine anytime soon.

Thursday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said some proposals in the U.S. peace plan are unacceptable to the Kremlin. He refused to say exactly which points of the plan Russia would accept or reject.

The comments come after Putin’s meeting this week in Moscow with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Thursday, Ukrainian diplomats were in Florida to get a briefing on the Putin meeting from Witkoff and Kushner. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, translated through an interpreter…

ZELENSKYY: Our task now is to obtain full information about what was said in Russia, what other reasons Putin found to prolong the war and put pressure on Ukraine, on us, on our independence.

Putin is threatening to take full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region if Ukraine won’t withdraw. Ukrainian and European leaders have accused Putin of merely feigning interest in peace efforts.

Africa peace deal signed » Leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were in Washington, D.C. Thursday, signing a U.S.-brokered peace agreement.

If it holds, the deal will end more than 30 years of fighting between the two African nations. The conflict is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises… leaving millions of people displaced.

The deal formalizes a ceasefire, allows refugees to return to their homes, and calls for justice for those who’ve committed atrocities.

President Trump says the peace deal has also led to new economic agreements between both nations and the U.S.

TRUMP: Today, the United States is also signing our own bilateral agreements with the Congo and Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals and provide economic benefits for everybody.

The ceasefire is tenuous. There are still regular skirmishes in pockets of the war-torn region where the two nations have been fighting for so long.

Suspect arrested for pre-J6 Capitol attacks » The FBI has arrested the suspect accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington D.C. almost five years ago.

Investigators say Brian Cole Jr. was taken into custody Thursday morning. He's accused of planting those bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees in the Capitol on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021 riots.

The bombs were ultimately disposed of and no one was hurt.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says the evidence needed to crack the case was there all along.

BONDI: Let me be clear, there was no new tip, there was no new witness, just good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work working as a team.

Cole is charged with the use of an explosive device. FBI Director Kash Patel says his arrest should serve as a warning.

PATEL: When you attack American citizens, when you attack our institutions of legislation, when you attack our nation's capital, you attack the very being of our way of life. And this FBI and this Department of Justice stand here to tell you that we will always refute it and combat it.

Bondi said more charges are likely...but she did not elaborate.

SCOTUS backs Texas redistricting map » The Supreme Court says Texas’s redrawn Congressional maps will be used in next year’s midterm elections… a major win for the Trump administration.

On Thursday, the justices paused a lower-court ruling that blocked the maps for discriminating on the basis of race. The Supreme Court said the lower court likely ruled against the maps in error, failing to honor the presumption of legislative good faith.

The High Court was acting on an emergency request from Texas, where Monday is the deadline to file for candidacies in the new districts and primaries are set for March.

Texas lawmakers redrew the maps this year at the request of President Trump, who’s hoping the new boundary lines could net the GOP five more Congressional seats.

Van Epps sworn in to Congress » The U.S. House’s newest lawmaker is officially on the job.

Speaker Mike Johnson swore in Republican Tennessee Congressman Matt Van Epps Thursday. Afterward, Van Epps delivered his first remarks on the House floor.

VAN EPPS: I come to this distinguished body as a Christian, a husband, and a father, and an Army special operations helicopter pilot with nine combat tours who has seen firsthand what makes this nation exceptional.

Tuesday, Van Epps won a special election to hold retiring Congressman Mark Green’s seat for the GOP. He defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn by 9 points.

Political heavy hitters from both parties got involved in the race, including President Trump and Kamala Harris.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. A review of Zootopia 2. Plus, reflections for Advent.

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