Lawmakers Split on the Military’s Defense of Boat Strikes

Also, a man was arrested on charges of planting pipe bombs before Jan. 6. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.

Top military officers went to Capitol Hill today to defend two deadly strikes on a speedboat in the Caribbean Sea that was suspected of carrying drugs. The officials showed video footage of the Sept. 2 attack to leaders of the armed-services and intelligence committees in the House and Senate, including of a second strike that killed two survivors.

Lawmakers drew starkly different conclusions. Republicans seemed to be satisfied with the explanation given by General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Frank Bradley, a top Special Operations commander who oversaw the attack. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas called the attack “highly lawful.”

Democrats left the briefings even more concerned than before about the Trump administration’s campaign against drug smugglers. Representative Jim Himes, who has served on the Intelligence Committee for years said the footage of the boat strikes was “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”

My colleague Charlie Savage, who has covered the legal issues around the strikes for months, answered several questions you might have. He pointed out that while the killing of two survivors in the follow-up strike on Sept. 2 was receiving extra scrutiny, all 21 of the Trump administration’s boat attacks have been questioned by legal experts.

In related news, The Times sued the Pentagon, arguing that new reporting restrictions infringed on the rights of its journalists.

A man was arrested on charges of planting bombs before Jan. 6

After five years of chasing down leads, federal agents today arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man, Brian Cole Jr., on charges of having planted pipe bombs outside the national headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic parties the night before a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The arrest, which came after agents rechecked their investigative files and discovered a new lead, may answer one of the most enduring mysteries from Jan. 6 — and it is possible that the suspect’s lawyers could argue that President Trump’s extraordinarily broad grant of clemency to the Jan. 6 rioters would also apply to him.

Heated disagreements derailed a key vaccine vote

The federal government’s vaccine advisory panel has, for more than 30 years, recommended that all newborns receive the hepatitis B shot. That appears likely to change soon as the committee — handpicked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — gathers to discuss the childhood vaccination schedule.

The panel had planned to vote today on the hepatitis B shot, but heated exchanges about speculation and cherry-picking data prompted the group to delay the vote until tomorrow.

For more: My colleagues detailed the ways in which Kennedy has methodically laid the groundwork to overhaul American vaccine policy.

Immigration officials separated a 6-year-old boy from his father

A 6-year-old boy who fled China and illegally entered the U.S. in April with his father was arrested last week in New York City. The boy, Yuanxin Zheng, was placed in federal custody and separated from his father, who was sent to an adult detention center.

The case appears to be an example of a tactic that the Trump administration has used to pressure undocumented immigrants to leave the country: separating them from their families. Government records showed that the father was taken from his son because he did not comply with an order to leave the country.

Data: The Trump administration’s high-profile ICE crackdowns have been less effective at apprehending immigrants with a criminal record than more routine operations elsewhere.

For more on immigration: A woman in suburban New Orleans was at work as her home was being repaired. Friends sent her screenshots of immigration agents targeting the crew on her roof.

More top news

• Congress: A bipartisan House group passed a long-shot plan to scale back and extend Affordable Care Act subsidies as a poll suggested the G.O.P. would face more blame if they go away.
• Israel: An Israeli official said that Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a Palestinian militia backed by Tel Aviv to undermine Hamas, was killed in Gaza.
• Music: Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia said they would boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest over the inclusion of Israel.
• Shooting: Nearly two years before Rahmanullah Lakanwal was named as a suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members, a volunteer aiding him issued a dire warning.
• Kenya: A Times investigation found that the government received sexual-abuse complaints about a diplomat for years, but allowed him to keep working with migrant women.
• Manufacturing: It’s hard to build a computer-chip factory in the U.S. Here are 18,000 reasons why.
• Food: The F.D.A. recalled more than a million bags of cheese, warning that they could contain metal fragments.
• France: The targets of a $100,000 escargot heist said that its timing — during peak demand — suggested that whoever did it had an insider’s knowledge of the esoteric industry.

TIME TO UNWIND

‘Bel-Air’ ends its unlikely run

When the fourth and final season of “Bel-Air” concludes next week, it will bring an end to Peacock’s most-streamed original series. But the show — a grittier reboot of the ’90s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” — did not begin as a Hollywood production.

It started as a three-minute YouTube video that the self-taught director Morgan Stevenson Cooper shot six years ago. The short film went viral and attracted the attention of the original Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, who reached out about making a TV series. We recently talked to Cooper about his path.

For more: These were the best TV shows of 2025, according to our critics.

A gift for every type of reader

Books are an excellent last-minute gift, because no matter who you know, there’s a story out there for them. Do they love to laugh? Try “Class Clown.” A foodie? There’s “All Consuming.” If they prefer history, consider “The Martians.” My colleagues on the Book Review made a list of books to gift no matter what kind of reader you’re shopping for.

Dinner table topics

• Rings, zigzags, slabs: Is there a better way to cut cake?
• Battling Disney: Gary Goldman thinks the snake in “Zootopia 2” is based on him.
• Cornelia Foss: She was 8 when she fled the Nazis. After 86 years, it inspired her art.
• Options abound: There’s never been a better time to quit caffeine.

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Cook: These potato nachos are fun and irresistible snacks.

Listen: Our critic explains why Ella Langley’s new single grabbed his attention.

Plan: Traveling to Paris for the first time? Here’s everything you need to know.

Exercise: This workout is designed to make everyday tasks feel more comfortable.

Hunt: Which Southern California home would you buy with a budget of $1.6 million?

Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.

ONE LAST THING

Meet Pantone’s next color of the year

Every December, the professed color experts at Pantone predict a shade that they believe will come to define the following year. Today, they announced that the color for 2026 is PANTONE 11-4201. They call it Cloud Dancer. Just about everyone else calls it white.

Pantone says the shade is “a symbol of calming influence in a frenetic society” and “a blank canvas” on which we can all start again. My colleagues on the Styles desk debated whether the color prognosticators got it right.

Have a crisp evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

Philip Pacheco was our photo editor.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.

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