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In the news today: President Donald Trump is suing the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices; The U.S. military says it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean; and how students at Brown University are reacting to the official response to the mass shooting on campus. Also, why Japan will be without a panda for the first time in 50 years.

President Donald Trump speaks during a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

POLITICS

Trump sues BBC for $10 billion, accusing it of defamation over editing of his Jan. 6 speech

President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices. Read more.

What to know:

• The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
  
  

• It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to ”intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”

   

• The BBC had apologized last month to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded broadcaster rejected claims it had defamed him, after Trump threatened legal action. BBC chairman Samir Shah had called it an “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC’s top executive and its head of news.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• A timeline of Trump’s fights with media, including the BBC and Jimmy Kimmel
  
  
• How an AM radio station in California weathered the Trump administration's assault on media
  
  
• After a year of Trump, EU leaders begrudgingly learn to live with the reality of an unreliable ally
  
  
• Trump administration says White House ballroom construction is a matter of national security
  
  
• Hunter Biden disbarred in Connecticut following complaints about his gun and tax convictions
  
  
• Sen. Cruz threatens another shutdown unless restrictions on military flights are approved
  
  
• Wisconsin judge rules Trump aides must face trial in 2020 fake elector scheme
  
  
• Congressional panel accuses DC police chief of pressuring commanders to manipulate crime data
  
  
• Some Native Americans draw shocked response over contract to design immigration detention centers
  
  
• California hires ex-CDC leaders who were fired or quit under Trump
  
  
• Man who tried to assassinate Trump on golf course requests attorney for sentencing
  
  
• What will Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin do next? He's not ready to tell
  
  
• Judge refuses to grant Sarah Palin a new trial in her libel lawsuit against The New York Times
  
  
• US Capitol statue of teen civil rights leader Barbara Rose Johns to fill Robert E. Lee’s place

WORLD NEWS

US military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people

The U.S. military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people as scrutiny over the boat strikes intensifies in Congress. Read more.

What to know:

• The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organizations.” It didn’t provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving through water before exploding.
  
  

• President Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. 
  
  

• But the Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes since early September. The latest strikes come on the eve of closed-door briefings for all members of Congress as questions mount over the campaign.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Petro urges Colombians to celebrate Christmas season despite ELN rebels’ forced strike
  
  

• Trinidad and Tobago will open Caribbean nation’s airports to US military as Venezuela tensions grow
  
  

• WATCH: Abrego Garcia's lawyer says his client is still fighting for justice after wrongful deportation

US NEWS

Brown University shooting leaves students and community frustrated with official response

The ongoing effort to find a man who walked onto Brown University’s campus during a busy exam season and shot nearly a dozen students in a crowded lecture hall has raised questions about the school’s security systems and the urgency of the investigation itself. Read more.

What to know:

• A day after Saturday’s mass shooting, officials said a person of interest taken into custody would be released without charges, leaving investigators with little actionable insight from the limited security video they had recovered and scrambling to develop new leads. Officials were still doing the most basic investigative work two days after the shooting.
  
  

• Law enforcement experts say colleges are often at a disadvantage when responding to threats like an active shooter. Their security officers are typically less trained and paid less than in other law enforcement departments. They also don’t always have close partnerships with better-resourced agencies.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• An aspiring neurosurgeon and a campus Republican died in the Brown campus shooting
  
  

• A Brown University student survived being shot in high school. Then came the active shooter alerts

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IN OTHER NEWS

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