
Bannon case and stalled voting rights bill show how GOP has given up on democracy
CNN
One of America's great parties -- the GOP -- is putting the amassing of power and the need to protect and impress a leader with autocratic ambitions above basic democratic fundamentals.
Two disparate events this week -- Steve Bannon's willingness to risk criminal contempt of Congress to protect a twice-impeached former President and the GOP's latest move in the Senate blocking efforts to guarantee the rights of all citizens to vote -- are validating the first President's fear that American democracy would founder on the rocks of partisan extremism.
While the American people are weary of the endless partisan fights bequeathed by Donald Trump's presidency, they are caught in a seminal moment that will decide how America is governed now and for generations to come.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









