Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. The White House is defending a September missile attack by the U.S. military on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean as lawful. The White House says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not order a second strike on survivors of the initial attack. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports sources are disputing that.
One of the strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in September left survivors. They were killed by a second U.S. attack. Military experts say that would be a war crime or, with no declared war, simply murder. NPR and others reported that the second strike was authorized by HEGSETH. President Trump said he knew nothing about it.
And the White House says Navy Admiral Frank Bradley carried out the order, including the second strike that killed all survivors.
Chapter 2: What details are emerging about the U.S. missile attack in the Caribbean?
But a U.S. official who is not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Hegseth was the target engagement authority and gave an either verbal or written command to the admiral, ordering two strikes to kill and two additional strikes to sink the boat. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
The FBI is continuing to investigate last week's attack on two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., that left one soldier dead and another seriously injured. The alleged gunman is an Afghan. NPR has learned that Ramanullah Lakanwal appeared to undergo a personal crisis before the attack. He'd worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan before coming to the U.S.
NPR's Tom Bowman says Lakanwal, who was wounded in the gunfire exchange during the attack, was investigated before he got to the U.S.
He would have been carefully vetted to work with the CIA. And when he came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul in the summer of 21, he would have been vetted again in way stations like Germany or Italy before arriving in Washington Dulles Airport. I was at some of these locations and saw the vetting process myself. And of course, he was granted asylum just this past April.
NPR's Tom Bowman prepared that report. Thousands of truck-driving schools could be forced to close after a review by federal regulators. NPR's Joel Rose reports the Department of Transportation found that many schools may not be complying with federal government requirements.
The Transportation Department says it plans to revoke the accreditation of nearly 3,000 trucking schools unless they can prove they're up to federal standards. The DOT is warning another 4,000 schools that they could face similar action.
The crackdown on trucking schools is part of the Trump administration's broader effort to ensure that drivers are qualified and eligible to hold a commercial driver's license. The DOT has also proposed significant new restrictions on which immigrants can get a CDL, but a court put those rules on hold.
Truckers say there are safety problems in the industry, but immigrant advocates argue the administration is targeting qualified drivers because of their citizenship status.
Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says his agency is investigating allegations that tax dollars from Minnesota could have been funneled into a militant group in Somalia. President Trump has criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
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