Trump's USA

Tensions in the Caribbean
Trump: Congress Doesn't Need to Approve Boat Attacks

US attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea don't need congressional approval. That's the message the Trump administration gave this week, the New York Times reports.

According to the War Powers Act of 1973, the president cannot use US military forces in combat for more than 60 days without congressional approval. The Trump administration, however, argues that the operation does not constitute combat because the people on the boats pose no threat. The boats are being shot down by drones from a long distance and cannot be reached by the crew, the argument goes.

So far, the US has killed 65 people in 15 separate attacks on boats that are alleged to be transporting drugs to the US mainland. The latest attack took place overnight Saturday, when three people were killed.

Violence in Nigeria
Nigeria welcomes US help against Islamists

The fact that Donald Trump wants to deploy US military personnel in the fight against Islamist terrorists in Nigeria is welcomed by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. This is what his advisor Daniel Bwala told Reuters.

- We welcome American help as long as they respect our territorial integrity, he says.

Donald Trump claims that President Tinubu's government is not doing enough to stop Islamists killing Christians in the African country, which he describes in a post on social media as "disgraceful".

Daniel Bwala is trying to tone down the tensions and is asking for a meeting between the presidents.

Turbulence in Trump's team
Report: FBI top official fired after Patel's wrestling trip

A senior FBI official has reportedly been fired after the agency's director, Kash Patel, became furious over media reports that revealed that he used a government plane to travel and watch his girlfriend sing the national anthem before a wrestling match. Bloomberg reports.

The official in question was Steven Palmer, who has worked at the FBI for 27 years and until Friday was the head of the unit that is responsible for, among other things, the FBI's pilots. His dismissal is said to have been due in part to news articles and posts about Patel's flight.

Patel posed for photos with his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, at the wrestling event and his flight there has been tracked in real time on sites such as Flightradar24.