
Haiti establishes transitional ruling council amid crisis
CNN
A transitional council responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leadership has been established, according to a decree published in Haiti’s official state journal.
A transitional council responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leadership has been established after weeks of uncertainty, according to a decree published in Haiti’s official state journal. The move comes a month after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced he would step down once the council is inaugurated and names a new prime minister and cabinet. The council, composed of seven voting members and two non-voting observers, is tasked with choosing and appointing a new prime minister as well as an “impartial” electoral council, the decree reads. It will exercise certain presidential powers until a new president-elect is inaugurated, which must take place no later than February 7, 2026. The council’s mandate will end on that date and cannot be extended, the decree reads. The members of the council are Fritz Alphonse Jean, Louis Gérald Gilles, Edgard Leblanc Fils, Emmanuel Vertilaire, Smith Augustin, Lesly Voltaire, Laurent Saint Cyr, Frinel Joseph and Régine Abraham, according to a press release from the council.

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.










