
Biden to direct Cabinet to ‘sprint to the finish’ in legacy-burnishing meeting
CNN
President Joe Biden will instruct Cabinet members Friday to “sprint to the finish,” a White House official said, as he looks to burnish legacy items while ensuring as much of his agenda is implemented before a potential second Trump presidency.
President Joe Biden will instruct Cabinet members Friday to “sprint to the finish,” a White House official said, as he looks to burnish legacy items while ensuring as much of his agenda is implemented before a potential second Trump presidency. “He will direct his Cabinet to get as much work done as possible – whether that is moving funding out the door, announcing new programs or policies or delivering on programs and policies we have already announced,” the official said. Coming almost a year after he last convened his Cabinet, and exactly four months until the next president is inaugurated, Biden’s position at Friday’s meeting is drastically different from when he last spoke to his top officials. He is no longer a candidate for president, and is now staring down his final months in office. His unexpected withdrawal from the race over the summer prompted White House officials to urgently assemble his final-months agenda that hadn’t been considered before his decision. Biden wants to ensure Americans know what he accomplished while also making irreversible as much of his record as possible, should former President Donald Trump return to the Oval Office. “He will be clear about making sure we show the American people what the Biden-Harris administration has delivered for them. And, he will tell his Cabinet to bring to him directly any hurdles or obstacles they are facing to get things done,” the official said.

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.









