NPR News: 05-31-2026 3PM EDT

Nora Raum· Host0:01

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom. The U.S. military has struck an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. NPR's Shondelise Duster has more on the latest of multiple strikes in recent days.

Speaker 10:15

U.S. Southern Command says it carried out a strike on a vessel along a drug trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific on Saturday. The U.S. military says the boat was operated by a designated terrorist organization and was, quote, "engaged in narco-trafficking operations." Three men who Southern Command calls narco-terrorists were killed. Video posted on social media by Southern Command shows a small boat floating in the ocean and then a cloud of smoke after the strikes. This is the fourth strike the U.S. military has conducted on alleged drug smuggling boats in recent days. Since September, the U.S. military has targeted suspected drug smuggling boats in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean, killing more than 200 people. Criticism is growing around the legality of the attacks and whether they are even effective at stemming the flow of drugs. Shondelise Duster, NPR News.

Nora Raum· Host1:02

Newark, New Jersey has imposed an overnight curfew around Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center. This came after another night of clashes between police and people protesting conditions in the facility. New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill says she called in the state police to keep ICE agents away from the protests, which she says have been largely peaceful.

Mikie Sherrill· Soundbite1:24

For months, there have been peaceful protests outside as members of our congressional delegation, families,