The Pentagon said Monday that it had blown up another boat in the Pacific Ocean, killing one person. U.S. Southern Command published video on social media showing a vessel erupting in flames, with a caption claiming it was engaged in drug smuggling — though it provided no evidence to back the claim. The attack came as two Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee called on the Justice Department to investigate the Pentagon’s September 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean, when a second U.S. strike killed two survivors of an initial attack as they clung to the wreckage of their vessel. Congressmembers Jamie Raskin and Ted Lieu wrote, “The deliberate targeting of these two individuals is a blatant violation of the Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual, which clearly states: 'Persons who have been incapacitated by a shipwreck are in a helpless state, and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack.'” The congressmembers added, “Outside of war, the killing of unarmed, helpless men clinging to wreckage in open water is simply murder.”

Meanwhile, Venezuelan officials have accused the U.S. of “piracy” after U.S. forces seized two oil tankers and were actively pursuing a third. This is Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil.

Yván Gil: “These actions constitute acts of piracy, as understood under customary international law and codified by the United Nations as illegal acts of violence, detention or depredation committed on the high seas against ships and their cargo.”

President Trump announced that the Navy will start building a new class of warship named “Trump-class battleships” to create what he calls a “Golden Fleet.” A U.S. official told the Associated Press that construction for the new ship is planned to begin in the early 2030s. A logo for the new ship class depicts Trump in the moments after his 2024 assassination attempt, pumping his fist. Navy Secretary John Phelan said the battleship would carry nuclear cruise missiles.

In Gaza, at least two Palestinians were killed Monday as Israeli forces opened fire on Gaza City’s Shuja’iyya neighborhood. Palestinian media report Israeli warplanes also struck eastern parts of Gaza City and areas east of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. With the latest attacks, Gaza officials say Israel has violated the U.S.-brokered October 10 ceasefire at least 875 times.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to restrict the entry of tents, tarps and blankets into Gaza despite cold temperatures and heavy rain. The winter weather has been blamed for more than a dozen deaths, including at least three children who froze to death. This is Hanan Abu Taibah, a Palestinian mother whose family is displaced and living in a tent encampment in Khan Younis.

Hanan Abu Taibah: “The weather is cold, and winter is still starting. We don’t know when they’ll tell us to return to our cities. As for the children, I have twin girls. I stay up all night holding them and covering them with the black blanket they gave us to protect them from the cold.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has vowed to build new Jewish settlements on land in northern Gaza that’s currently being occupied by Israel’s military. Katz said Monday the new settlements would replace those evacuated by Israel in 2005. His declaration came after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, delivered a sermon in Gaza ahead of the Christmas holiday rejecting plans by the U.S. and other foreign powers to lead Gaza’s reconstruction effort. The cardinal said, “it is we the people here who will decide how to rebuild everything.”

Here in the U.S., nearly 50 House Democrats sent a letter to the White House Monday calling on President Trump to hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable for Israel’s clear violations of the ceasefire. They write, “It is imperative that your administration exerts maximum diplomatic pressure on the Israeli government, including by leveraging U.S. assistance, to bring an end to the near-daily attacks on civilians, including children, destruction of civilian property, and insufficient delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid.”

Separately, a group of 17 U.S. senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump administration to demand that Israel allow free and independent press access to Gaza. It comes after Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday granted a 10th extension to the government to respond to a petition brought by journalists seeking access to the Gaza Strip, but ruled that it must respond by January 4.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Knesset approved an extension of a law allowing officials to close foreign media channels on the grounds of “harming state security.” The law will now remain in effect until at least the end of 2027.

In Lebanon, at least three people were killed Monday when Israeli forces bombed a car near the southern coastal city of Sidon. Israel said it had killed three Hezbollah operatives in the strike; Lebanon’s government denied that, saying a Lebanese soldier was among the dead. The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, reports Israel has carried out more than 10,000 violations of its ceasefire with Hezbollah since signing the agreement over a year ago.

Denmark announced that it will summon the U.S. ambassador after President Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland. Trump tapped Republican Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana for the position, who vowed to “make Greenland a part of the U.S.” Trump has repeatedly insisted that the U.S. needs Greenland for security reasons, and called for its takeover using military force. Here’s Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen: “Out of nowhere, there’s now a special U.S. presidential representative who, according to himself, is tasked with taking over Greenland. This is, of course, completely unacceptable.”

The Trump administration recalled nearly 30 U.S. ambassadors and other senior diplomats around the world on Monday in an unprecedented shakeup of the U.S. Foreign Service. About half of those recalled are from African nations. All of them were nominated to their posts by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to terms of three to four years. A State Department official said the mass firings were part of enforcing President Trump’s “America First” agenda.

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is pausing leases for all large offshore wind farms under construction, citing national security risks. Ted Kelly, lead counsel for clean energy at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in response, “For nearly a year, the Trump administration has recklessly obstructed the build-out of clean, affordable power for millions of Americans, just as the country’s need for electricity is surging.” The Trump administration’s order impacts five projects being built in the Atlantic Ocean, including a Virginia offshore wind farm that was set to be completed by the end of next year. Virginia has the largest concentration of data centers in the world, leading to soaring energy costs. This comes just days after the media company directed by Donald Trump Jr. announced a $6 billion merger with a firm that hopes to build the world’s first viable nuclear fusion power plant.

A federal judge said ICE agents who raided a nutrition bar plant in upstate New York in November violated a worker’s constitutional rights. In bodycam footage made public in a federal court filing, ICE agents lined up workers and directed them to self-identify as citizens or noncitizens. Fifty-seven people were detained in the raid. Judge Brenda Sannes said the conduct of federal agents was “grossly negligent,” as bodycam footage showed men in masks and tactical gear entering a women’s restroom and ordering a woman to “pull up her pants” and get out.

ICE agent 1: “It’s [bleep]. It’s resistance.”

ICE agent 2: “Yeah”

ICE agent 1: “Bang it. Got it?”

ICE agent 2: “Necesitas abre la puerta ahora.”

ICE agent 1: “Tell them to back up.”

ICE agent 2: “Necesitas muevas. Vamos, abre la puerta.”

ICE agent 3: “He’s in there.”

ICE agent 1: “I got it. Ready?”

ICE agent 2: “Yep.”

ICE agent 1: “Get down! Get down! Get on the ground! Females! Females! Females! Females! Females! Miss, pull up your pants. Come out of the bathroom. Pull up your pants. Come out of the bathroom.”

A federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. government had denied due process to Venezuelan men who were deported to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador earlier this year after President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to remove them without hearings. Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in his opinion, “On the merits, the Court concludes that this class was denied their due-process rights and will thus require the Government to facilitate their ability to obtain such hearing. Our law requires no less.” Boasberg gave the Trump administration until January 5 to either “facilitate” the return of the deported men back to the U.S. or offer them hearings.

The Justice Department on Monday briefly published thousands of additional documents related to the late serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after it failed to meet a congressionally mandated deadline of December 19 to release all unclassified records. The second tranche of documents were available online for several hours on Monday afternoon but disappeared from the Justice Department’s website — without explanation — around 8 p.m. The documents contain wide-ranging references to Donald Trump.

One email, written by an assistant U.S. attorney during Trump’s first term, in early 2020, found Trump was a passenger aboard Epstein’s private jet on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996. On at least four of those flights, Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell was also present. The email reads, “For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case.”

On Monday, 18 survivors of Epstein wrote a joint letter condemning the Justice Department’s release of just a fraction of the files demanded by law, and called on Congress to hold hearings to ensure that the Trump administration is fully complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. They write, “Survivors deserve truth. Survivors whose identities are private deserve protection. The public deserves accountability. And the law must be enforced.” Click here to see our interview with Congressmember Ro Khanna.

Paramount Skydance announced that Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, will personally guarantee $40 billion in the company’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. This comes about a week after the board of Warner Bros. rejected Paramount’s offer in favor of Netflix.

Meanwhile, the executive producer of CBS News’s “60 Minutes” is facing criticism for shelving a segment on the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, reportedly telling colleagues that she was under pressure from CBS’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. According to The Washington Post, the segment was pulled after Weiss asked for an on-camera interview with a member of the Trump administration. In an internal email to producers, the segment’s correspondent, Sharyn Alfonsi, called the decision to pull the segment “political.” Democratic Senator Edward Markey said on social media, “This is what government censorship looks like. Trump approved the Paramount-Skydance merger. A few months later, CBS’s new editor in chief kills a deeply reported story critical of Trump.”

Meanwhile, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed a deal to sell its U.S. operations to a group of investors led by Larry Ellison. Under the deal, a new U.S. company will monitor TikTok’s algorithm and decide on the app’s content moderation rules.