NPR News: 06-01-2026 12AM EDT

Dale Willman· Host0:01

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

Shondelice Duster0:12

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 two hundred people. Criticism is growing around the legality of the attacks and whether they are even effective at stemming the flow of drugs. Shondelice Duster, NPR News.

Dale Willman· Host0:59

Criticism over President Trump's so-called anti-weaponization fund continued Sunday. The fund was created as part of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS and the Department of Justice. It was to compensate people who felt they were politically targeted by the government. Speaking on Meet the Press Sunday, former Vice President Mike Pence called the fund a bad idea.

Mike Pence· Soundbite1:17

Let's get rid of this fund. I mean, I mean, it's, it's deeply offensive to me that, that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol