Trump news at a glance: Hegseth remains in hot seat over Signal chat leak, boat strikes
A long-awaited Department of Defense report found that US defense secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies and put troops in danger when he shared secret information in a Signal messaging chat, a source familiar with the report said.
The report centers on Hegseth’s conduct before and during a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters back in March. The Signal chat was disclosed after a reporter for the Atlantic was accidentally added as a member. The group also included JD Vance; the CIA director, John Ratcliffe; and the then-national security adviser, Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of those officials, since they do not work at the department of defense.
The source said Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general, and instead provided a brief written statement in which he said he only shared information in the chat that would not have risked lives or endangered the mission, that he had the right to declassify material and that he considered the inspector general to be partisan.
The report was shared with Congress, and an unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
Pentagon report concludes Hegseth put troops in danger with Signal chat
The source said the report by the inspector general, the internal investigative agency for the defense department, found that the information Hegseth distributed was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Still, the report said that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he did actually declassify it.
Republican lawmakers scrutinize Trump administration over ‘drug boat’ strikes
As the Trump administration continues military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, several Republican lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny on the administration over a double strike in early September.
Republican senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said he wasn’t convinced by the administration’s explanation of the second strike. “In this sense, it looks like they’re trying to pin the blame on someone else,” Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening. He cited the shifting explanations given by Hegseth and the White House.
New images of Epstein’s private Caribbean island released
House Democrats released a handful of photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island on Wednesday, offering a rare glimpse into a secretive place where Epstein is alleged to have trafficked young girls.
The new images and videos show Epstein’s home, including bedrooms, a telephone, what appears to be an office or library, and a chalkboard on which the words “fin”, “intellectual”, “deception” and “power” are written.
Trump officials say second strike aimed to destroy suspected drug boat instead of crew
Trump administration officials have defended carrying out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug boat that killed survivors on 2 September by arguing that its objective was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat, an action the Pentagon had internal legal approval to conduct.
Federal agents launch immigration operation in New Orleans
Federal agents descended on New Orleans on Wednesday, making Louisiana’s most populous city the latest front in the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigrant communities.
Masked agents patrolled a heavily Latino suburb in marked and unmarked vehicles, and a resident told the Associated Press he watched agents arresting men outside a home improvement store in New Orleans – a familiar scene that has played out in several major cities in recent months.
Trump pardons Democrat charged with bribery and conspiracy
Donald Trump pardoned Texas Democratic representative Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case on Wednesday, citing what he called a “weaponized” justice system.
Colombia’s president warns Trump: ‘Do not wake the jaguar’
Colombia’s president has warned Donald Trump that he risked “waking the jaguar” after the US president suggested that any country he believed was making illegal drugs destined for the US was liable to a military attack. Trump on Tuesday warned that any country producing narcotics was a potential target, singling out Colombia, which has long been a close ally in Washington’s “war on drugs”.
What else happened today:
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Trump announced on Wednesday that he is repealing the Biden-era federal fuel economy standards, significantly weakening fuel efficiency requirements for tens of millions of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks.
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A federal judge late on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from making widespread immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants or probable cause that the person would be an imminent flight risk.
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Immigration applications from 19 non-European countries subjected to a travel ban by the Trump administration earlier this year have been paused indefinitely because of national security concerns, the US government agency that processes visas and green cards has said.
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The top drug regulator in the US signaled on Tuesday he may retire weeks after accepting the position, adding to upheaval in the highest ranks of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News, is scheduled to moderate a network town hall event with Erika Kirk, the widow of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Guardian has learned.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 2 December 2025.