
Texas could test one of Biden's core political bets
CNN
No state may benefit more than Texas from the social programs included in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda, an array of recent analyses show -- despite the fierce opposition to the bill from the state's Republican leadership. And over time that dynamic could make the state a crucial proving ground for one of the White House's core political bets.
Because Texas has so many low-income families and because state policy has done so little to support them, studies show that the state will reap big benefits from the legislation's key provisions strengthening the social safety net and investing in the education, health care and nutrition of low-income families, though most of them are temporary.

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.









