WASHINGTON (AZFamily/AP) — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is pushing for hearings on a controversial U.S. boat strike off the coast of Venezuela as military officials briefed lawmakers behind closed doors on Capitol Hill Thursday about the situation that has led to concerns about possible war crimes.

Kelly, a retired Navy Captain who sits on the Armed Services Committee, was not in Thursday’s briefing but has been calling for a full investigation into the September strike that killed suspected drug smugglers.

Lawmakers who attended Thursday’s briefing walked away split along party lines on what they saw. Republicans defended the deadly strike against suspected drug smugglers. Democrats say it crossed the line.

Briefing focused on follow-up strike

Thursday’s meeting wasn’t just about the first missile strike on that suspected drug boat. It was about a follow up strike and whether or not it was legal or a potential war crime.

Navy Vice Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley arrived on Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers about the September boat strike off the coast of Venezuela.

During the closed door meeting, Bradley showed them the full unedited version of video — the raw footage of the U.S. military opening fire on a boat suspected of carrying drugs. Following the first hit, two survivors were reportedly spotted near the remains of the vessel when a second strike was launched, killing them and leaving no survivors.

Republicans defend strikes

“The first strike, the second strike, and the third and the fourth strike on September 2nd were entirely lawful and needful and they were exactly what we’d expect our military commanders to do,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.

Cotton defended the second attack against what he called “narco terrorists.” But Democratic Congressman Jim Himes emerged from the briefing with a different take. He questioned the second attack against what he described as two “shipwrecked sailors.”

“The decisions taken and Admiral Bradley has a storied career and he has my respect and he should have the respect of all of us, but what I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.

Admiral denies “kill them all” order

Lawmakers briefed by Admiral Bradley also said he denied he was ever given any order for a second strike to “kill them all.” This goes against reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directly ordered the follow-up strikes.

Kelly questioned Hegseth’s role in the operation.

“I mean, he says he’s not in the room. I don’t know if he was in the room or not. It would be interesting to see what the other people say. Maybe he wasn’t, maybe he was. He’s the guy that’s the ultimate responsible party for an operation,” Kelly said.

The White House said Monday that Bradley acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered the second, follow-up strike on the alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea, according to The Associated Press.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered the justification for the Sept. 2 strike as lawmakers announced there will be congressional review of the U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean, the AP reported. The lawmakers cited a published report that Hegseth issued a verbal order for a second strike that killed survivors on the boat.

Leavitt in her comments to reporters did not dispute a Washington Post report that there were survivors after the initial strike. Her explanation came after President Donald Trump a day earlier said he “wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike” when asked about the incident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Three Arizona Wildcats and three Arizona State Sun Devils made the 2025 All-Big 12 First Team, including UA quarterback Noah Fifita and ASU wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, the conference announced on Thursday.

Fifita was joined by Arizona defensive backs Dalton Johnson and Treydan Stukes on the First Team.

For ASU, Tyson, running back Raleek Brown and defensive back Keith Abney II received the honors.

Arizona and ASU finished both finished with 6-3 conference records and await their respective bowl game assignments. The Wildcats came out on top of this year’s Territorial Cup matchup in Tempe.

No Wildcats or Sun Devils won individual awards, as BYU running back LJ Martin won the Offensive Player of the Year, Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez the Defensive Player of the Year and BYU’s Kalani Sitake the Coach of the Year for the conference.

Fifita and Tyson were both listed as honorable mentions for the Offensive Player of the Year, and Johnson was an honorable mention for the Defensive Player of the Year.

Arizona Wildcats on the All-Big 12 teams

First Team: QB Noah Fifita, DB Treydan Stukes, DB Dalton Johnson

Third Team: WR Kris Hutson, LB Taye Brown, DB Jay’Vion Cole, DB Genesis Smith

Honorable mentions: OL Ty Buchanan, RB Ismail Mahdi, DL Deshawn McKnight, DL Mays Pese, DL Tiaoalii Savea, WR Tre Spivey, WR Javin Whatley

Fifita threw for 2,963 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to only five interceptions this season, starting all 12 regular season games. In conference games, he finished third in passing yards, second in completion percentage and second in touchdown passes among Big 12 quarterbacks. He tossed 11 touchdowns with one interception over his final six games, leading the Wildcats to a nine-win season for the second time in three years.

Johnson and Stukes each intercepted four passes in conference play, tied for the Big 12 lead this season. Johnson also finished third with 81 tackles.

Arizona State Sun Devils on the All-Big 12 teams

(Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

First Team: WR Jordyn Tyson, DB Keith Abney II, RB Raleek Brown

Second Team: OL Max Iheanachor, LB Jordan Crook, LB Keyshaun Elliott

Third Team: DL Prince Dorbah, DL Justin Wodtly, DB Myles Rowser

Honorable mentions: WR Derek Eusebio, K Jesus Gomez, TE Chamon Metayer

Tyson dealt with injuries this season and missed three games, but he still managed to gain 711 receiving yards with eight touchdowns. He is projected to land in the top 10 of the NFL Draft this upcoming spring, potentially as the first wide receiver off the board.

Abney led the Big 12 with nine pass breakups to go along with two interceptions in conference play, one of which sealed a victory over West Virginia.

Brown finished the Big 12 season third in the conference 849 rushing yards, 255 of which came during a dominant performance against Colorado in ASU’s penultimate regular season game. His 1,141 rushing yards on the season ranked second among Big 12 running backs.

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Collier has been out since Week 2 with a knee injury.

The Arizona Cardinals could have some defensive line reinforcements soon. On Wednesday, they designated defensive lineman L.J. Collier to return from injured reserve. That move opened a 21-day window allowing him to participate in practice.

Getting designated to return means that he must be activated during or at the conclusion of the 21-day window or revert to IR for the rest of the season.

Collier injured his knee in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers. He has one tackle in two games this season.

Last season, he had a career season. In 17 games with 15 starts, he had 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. They were career-high marks in games, tackles and sacks, and he tied his career-high in tackles for loss.

In his third season with the Cardinals, he has been unlucky with injuries. He played in just one game in 2023, losing the rest of his season to a torn biceps. He played in all 17 games last season and missed 10 games after two games this year.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.