DRUG WAR: US forces destroyed two more suspected drug boats, killing their occupants and expanding the Trump administration’s military actions into the Pacific off Colombia.

The nine strikes have killed 37 people. The Trump administration claims it is legitimately killing people they have designated as terrorists operating in international waters even though none of them have posed a direct threat to the US.

President Gustavo Petro of Colombia accused the US of committing murder.

President Trump said, “Every one of those boats that gets knocked out is saving 25,000 American lives” And that, “I wouldn’t want to be on one of those boats driving happily to destroy the lives of people and that’s the end of them.”

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Legal experts have said the strikes are illegal because the targets are not attacking anyone, let alone American territory.

THE EAST WING: Construction crews are continuing with the complete destruction of the White House East Wing as President Trump’s plans and the price of an enormous ball room appear to have grown. The $230,000 price has grown to $300 million and the new building may be bigger than originally revealed.

Trump said that after a “tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world,” the determination was made about the East Wing that “really knocking it down” would be necessary. He did not name any architects.

In one of his usual superlatives, Trump said, “Nobody’s ever seen anything quite like it and I think it will be one of the great ballrooms in the world.”

The White House says it will submit plans for the ballroom construction to the National Capital Planning Commission, but that the body doesn’t have sway over the decision to knock down the East Wing.

As outrage grows over the project, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ordered his agency’s employees not to share photos of the demolition across the street because pictures might reveal vital information. “Carelessly shared photographs of the White House complex during this process could potentially reveal sensitive items, including security features or confidential structural details,” a Treasury spokesperson said.

All the security features and confidential structural details are going in dumpsters.

THE PRESS ROOM: The Pentagon has re-filled its empty press room with right wing outlets, influencers, and so-called “independent” journalists, all of whom signed on to the Defense Department’s new rules agreeing to report only officially released news and information. Anyone who digs up other information would lose their access.

Among those now credentialed are the Gateway Pundit, the Post Millennial, Human Events, the National Pulse, and the streaming service Lindell News, established by President Trump’s true believer and founder of My Pillow, Mike Lindell.

Gone are such long established news organizations as CBS, ABC, The NY Times, Washington Post … all the truly professional news organizations that turned in their credentials after refusing to agree to coverage rules. “New media outlets and independent journalists have created the formula to circumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news directly to the American people,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on Twitter/X. “Their reach and impact collectively are far more effective and balanced than the self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon.”

THE REGIME:

— President Trump announced that he’s imposing sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term after failing to steer Russian President Vladimir Putin into a Ukraine peace deal. The sanctions target Russia’s two largest oil companies, and are most significant measures that the United States has taken against the Russian energy sector.

— More than a third of recruits for Immigration and Customs Enforcement are failing the physical fitness test that consists of pushups, sit-ups, and a one-and-a-half-mile run, according to a report in The Atlantic. The magazine quotes an internal email in which an ICE leader described the recent candidates as “athletically allergic.”

IT’S DEBATABLE: New York’s three mayoral candidates squared off last night in their second and final debate with one of the most contentious topics being Israel, not the city of New York.

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and leading candidate, is an anti-Zionist democratic socialist looking for votes from the largest population of Jews outside Israel. The Muslim Mamdani has said Israel should not exist as a majority-Jewish state and should focus on equal rights for both Palestinians and Jews.

Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former New York governor beaten by Mamdani in the Democratic primary, said Mamdani “stokes the flames of hate against Jewish people.”

THE SPIN RACK: Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner says he has covered up a skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest similar to the Nazi SS emblem. He said he was not aware of the similarity when he got the tattoo as a Marine one drunken night in Croatia. — The percent of Black and Hispanic students in Harvard’s freshman class dropped this fall while the proportion of Asian students increased, according to the university, indicating that the 2023 Supreme Court ban on affirmative action is affecting racial diversity. Harvard College said that 11.5 percent of its first-year students identify as Black, down from 14 percent last year and 18 percent in 2023. — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a five year prison sentence this week for his conviction on charges that he illegally raised campaign money from Libya. He will have two police officers stationed in nearby cells to protect him. — The security camera outside the room of the Louvre where crown jewels were stolen on Sunday was pointed the wrong way to catch the crime, the museum’s director told French lawmakers. — In what may be a further sign of global warming, Iceland is reporting the presence of mosquitoes for the first time in its history.

BELOW THE FOLD: Boston-based brewer Sam Adams is releasing an “extreme” beer that’s 30 percent alcohol. It’s illegal in 15 states but not banned in Boston.

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