WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea earlier this year.

During Tuesday’s cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said that he did not see that there were survivors in the water when the second strike was ordered and launched in early September, saying that “the thing was on fire” and citing the “fog of war” in defending the strike. Hegseth also said he “didn’t stick around” for the remainder of the mission following the first strike, and said that the admiral in charge had “made the right call” in ordering it, which he “had complete authority to do.”

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The Washington Post first reported that Hegseth issued a verbal order for the second strike that killed survivors on the boat. On Monday, the White House said that Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered the second strike.

Lawmakers have announced congressional reviews of the U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs, and Bradley is expected to provide a classified briefing Thursday to lawmakers overseeing the military. Asked if he supported the second strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea in September, President Donald Trump said he “didn’t know anything” and “still haven’t gotten a lot of information because I rely on Pete,” referencing Hegseth.

By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Mariah Carey, Post Malone, Chappell Roan, Demi Lovato and Maren Morris will help ring in the new year on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” with additional performances by 50 Cent, Charlie Puth, OneRepublic and Pitbull.

The show on Dec. 31 will be live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. EST, and repeat the next day on Hulu. Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora will anchor the celebrations from New York City at Times Square, Chance the Rapper will do the same from his native Chicago, while former NFL star Rob Gronkowski and Julianne Hough will beam from Las Vegas.

The headliner for Times Square will be announced later.

The performers will also include Ciara, Goo Goo Dolls, Lil Jon, Little Big Town, Madison Beer, New Kids on the Block, Jordan Davis, The All-American Rejects and Rick Springfield.

By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are facing a May trial on federal charges that they took bribes to help gamblers betting on their pitches.

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U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto on Tuesday said jury selection would tentatively begin May 4 in Brooklyn federal court, with the trial opening the following week or sooner.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Sherman told the judge at the brief hearing that prosecutors anticipate the trial could last two weeks.

He said both sides have been in discussions since the pitchers were arrested last month, but have not yet talked about a possible plea deal in the case to avoid trial.

Matsumoto initially proposed a February trial date, but prosecutors and defense lawyers pushed for a spring start.

Sherman said prosecutors began providing defense lawyers evidence and other materials this week in anticipation of a trial, including hundreds of gigabytes of files pulled from a number of electronic devices.

Clase, Ortiz and their lawyers declined to comment outside the courtroom. They’re due back in court Jan. 15.

The two have been out on bond since pleading not guilty last month to wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.

According to prosecutors, the two accepted thousands of dollars in bribes to help two unnamed gamblers in their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on bets placed on the speed and outcome of their pitches.

They allege that Clase, the Guardians’ star closer, began providing the bettors with information about his pitches in 2023 and then recruited Ortiz into the scheme earlier this year.

Lawyers for the men have denied the charges. Ortiz’s lawyer has maintained that payments between his client and individuals in the Dominican Republic were for legal activities, not payoffs.

Clase, 27, is a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year who is on the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract.

Ortiz, 26, earned a $782,600 salary this year as a starting pitcher for the Guardians.

The two pitchers have been on nondisciplinary paid leave since July, when MLB began investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched.

The Guardians open spring training in February. The team’s home opener is April 3.

LONDON (AP) — A rare crystal and diamond Fabergé egg crafted for Russia’s ruling family before it was toppled by revolution shattered records Tuesday as it sold at auction for 22.9 million pounds ($30.2 million).

The Winter Egg, which was compared to the iconic Mona Lisa, was just one of seven of the opulent ovoids remaining in private hands, Christie’s London auction house said.

The 4-inch (10-centimeter) tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and 4,500 tiny diamonds. It opens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejewelled quartz flowers symbolizing spring.

The sale price, which included a buyer’s premium, topped the $18.5 million paid at a 2007 Christie’s auction for another Fabergé egg created for the Rothschild banking family.

Craftsman Peter Carl Fabergé and his company created more than 50 of the eggs for Russia’s imperial family between 1885 and 1917, each elaborately unique and containing a hidden surprise. Czar Alexander III started the tradition by presenting an egg to his wife each Easter. His successor, Nicholas II, extended the gift to his wife and mother.

Czar Nicholas II commissioned the egg for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, as an Easter present in 1913. It was one of two eggs created by female designer Alma Pihl; her other egg is owned by Britain’s royal family.

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The Romanov royal family ruled Russia for 300 years before the 1917 revolution ousted it. Nicholas and his family were executed in 1918.

Bought by a London dealer for 450 pounds when the cash-strapped Communist authorities sold off some of Russia’s artistic treasures in the 1920s, the egg changed hands several times. It was believed lost for two decades until it was auctioned by Christie’s in 1994 for more than 7 million Swiss francs ($5.6 million at the time). It sold again in 2002 for $9.6 million.

Each time the egg has sold, it has set a world record price for a Fabergé item, Christie’s said.

Margo Oganesian, the head of Christie’s Russian art department, called the egg “the ‘Mona Lisa’ for decorative arts,” a superb example of craft and design.

There are 43 surviving imperial Fabergé eggs, most in museums.