Hondurans delivered an upset vote that sidelined the ruling Libre Party, boosted traditional elites, and underscored the impact of Donald Trump’s unprecedented intervention
President Trump has gutted the U.S. government’s support for AIDS healthcare around the world while ordering an end to commemorations of World AIDS Day, observed annually on December 1. Cuts to U.S. foreign aid are having a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ+ communities in many countries, says journalist and scholar Steven Thrasher, speaking from Uganda. “There are people who’ve been harmed very immediately,” he says. Thrasher, who teaches at Northwestern University, also comments on the school’s $75 million payout to the Trump administration to settle a discrimination probe and restore frozen federal funding, calling it a “travesty.”
As bipartisan criticism intensifies over U.S. attacks on alleged “drug boats” in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, the White House is defending a September 2 operation that killed 11 people. The Washington Post reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a second attack to kill two survivors of an initial strike, an order that legal experts say would constitute a war crime. The White House on Monday confirmed the second strike but said the authorization came not from Hegseth, but from Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, then head of Joint Special Operations Command.
This comes as Hegseth threatens to court-martial Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former naval officer, after Kelly and five other Democratic veterans urged service members to refuse unlawful commands.
“Killing civilians who are not engaged in armed conflict against us is a war crime,” says law professor David Cole of Georgetown University.
White House Defends “Double Tap” Strike on Alleged Drug Boat, Says Admiral Gave Order to Kill, Israeli Forces Kill 2 Palestinian Teens During Raids Across Occupied West Bank, Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in Gaza Refugee Camp in Latest Ceasefire Violation, Pope Leo Visits Lebanon, Urging Peaceful Coexistence Across Middle East, Netanyahu Asks Israeli President to Pardon Him over Corruption Charges, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Meet Vladimir Putin as U.S. Pushes for Ukraine Peace Deal, Trump Threatens “Hell to Pay” in Honduras If Presidential Election Results Change, Heavily Armed Gangs Kill Nearly a Dozen People in Haiti as Trump Admin Cancels TPS for Haitians, Indiana Lawmakers Unveil New Voting Map to Allow GOP to Win All Nine House Seats, Speaker Johnson and Trump Try to Prevent Upset House Loss in Tennessee Special Election, Appeals Court Rules Trump’s Personal Attorney Alina Habba Is an Unlawful U.S. Attorney, Senate Minority Leader Schumer Says His Offices Received Emailed Bomb Threats, Trump Commutes Seven-Year Prison Sentence of Private Equity CEO Convicted of Fraud
Jafar Panahi, whose recent movie won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes film festival, also faces travel restrictions and a ban on joining political groups.