By Taylor Romine, Emma Tucker, John Miller, Holmes Lybrand, Tori B. Powell and CNN staff

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (CNN) — The suspect in the Brown University shooting has been found dead after taking his own life, authorities said Thursday night.

The deceased suspect was identified as Claudio Valente, a 48-year-old former Brown University student and Portuguese national, Providence Police Chief Oscar L. Perez, Jr. said during a news conference. Valente was found dead in a storage facility with a satchel, two firearms, and evidence matching the scene of the crime.

The investigation relied on “threads” of information to get officials answers on the shooter’s whereabouts, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.

A person who came to local police officers with information, Neronha said, “blew this case right open.”

“That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence that matched the satchel that we see here in Providence,” Neronha said.

Earlier, police swarmed the Salem, New Hampshire, area where they found an abandoned car with a license plate believed to be connected to the suspect.

Authorities are also looking into potential ties between the Brown shooting and this week’s killing of an MIT professor at his Massachusetts home, according to a law enforcement official close to the case, though the official stressed there’s not yet definitive evidence of a connection. When authorities involved in the manhunt for Valente saw a call-out from police investigating the killing of an MIT professor, they realized a vehicle of interest in that case was just like one they were looking for.

It was the same kind of car used by suspects in both cases, but the license plates were different, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the case. A witness had provided a license plate to authorities probing the Brown University shooting who then investigated the car and its past drivers, which allowed them to identify the same vehicle of interest in the MIT professor killing.

The shooting on Saturday left two students dead and nine injured at the Ivy League school. At least 75 school shootings have unfolded this year in the US.

The “unthinkable” happened to the Brown University community in Providence and recovering from the devastating mass shooting will take “a great deal of time,” said Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee.

“We’re going to be forever changed but our commitment on the state level is to continue to support Providence, Brown and the people in the state of Rhode Island in recovery,” said McKee at the news conference.

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By Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, CNN

(CNN) — A number of Jeffrey Epstein survivors voiced their concern in a private meeting with female Democratic lawmakers earlier this week about the intermittent disclosure of Epstein-related documents and photos by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, sharing that the selective publication of materials was distressing, four sources familiar with the call told CNN.

The video call with members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus featured multiple Epstein survivors, some of their representatives and a number of female House Democrats – some of whom told the survivors that they understood their distress and that they even shared in their concerns.

Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who also serves on the oversight panel, told the survivors in the meeting that she would relay their concerns back to the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia. She also said that she had already had some conversations with lawyers on the committee about how they were choosing which photos to release, and made clear that she herself was not happy about not getting much of a heads-up before the committee’s releases, according to the sources.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, another member of both the Democratic Women’s Caucus and oversight committee, agreed with Stansbury’s perspective. She told the group that she is committed to making sure that lawmakers are not causing Epstein survivors additional harm and trauma.

“Rep. Stansbury does not comment on private discussions with survivors and between colleagues. She stands with survivors in seeking justice and ensuring their safety and privacy,” Stansbury communications director Matt Jansen told CNN.

Since last week, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released batches of photos that they’ve received from the Epstein estate. The photos have lacked context and mark a small portion of the 95,000 photos that committee members and staff are still sorting through. Democrats have redacted personally identifiable information about Epstein victims and survivors.

The disclosures have prompted some Republicans to accuse Democrats of cherry-picking information to release for political reasons. Since the Epstein estate started provided information to the committee, Democrats have highlighted smaller amounts of materials at a given time, while Republicans have taken a different approach and released larger tranches.

The most recent disclosure came on Thursday, when the House oversight panel’s Democrats released yet another batch of approximately 60 photos.

“Oversight Committee Democrats have always informed the legal teams and representatives of the survivors before any release, and we will continue to do so,” Garcia’s spokesperson Sara Guerrero told CNN in a statement. “The privacy of all survivors is a priority for the committee and all of its members.”

One source told CNN that some survivors did receive a heads-up from the oversight committee that new photos would be released on Thursday, though it is not clear how much detail, if any, about the contents of the images were shared ahead of time.

After members advocated to provide survivors notice in advance of releasing materials, Garcia informed Democrats on the oversight committee on Thursday morning ahead of the release what was included and shared that the survivors’ legal representatives were notified on Wednesday, according to an adviser famil

Por Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

Las Fuerzas Armadas de Estados Unidos realizaron ataques contra dos presuntas embarcaciones de narcotráfico en el este del océano Pacífico este jueves, en los que murieron cinco personas, según el Comando Sur de Estados Unidos.

Al menos 104 personas han muerto en ataques de Estados Unidos contra supuestos barcos de narcotráfico, y el ataque de este jueves marca el tercero esta semana.

“El 18 de diciembre, por orden de @SecWarPete Hegseth, la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Southern Spear realizó ataques letales contra dos embarcaciones operadas por organizaciones designadas como terroristas en aguas internacionales”, escribió el Comando Sur de Estados Unidos en X, agregando que ningún militar estadounidense resultó herido en los ataques.

El lunes, Estados Unidos mató a 8 personas en ataques a tres presuntas embarcaciones de tráfico de drogas en el este del Pacífico, y mató a 4 personas en un ataque a una sola embarcación el miércoles.

Los ataques a embarcaciones sospechosas de narcotráfico forman parte de una campaña en curso, denominada Operación Southern Spear, que el Gobierno de Trump ha dicho que busca frenar el tráfico de narcóticos.

Estados Unidos ha incrementado su acción militar en Sudamérica en los últimos meses, enfocándose en Venezuela, una nación que el presidente Donald Trump ha acusado de robar “petróleo, tierras y otros activos” de Estados Unidos.

El Gobierno ha movilizado a miles de militares y a un grupo de portaaviones al Caribe, y Trump el martes ordenó un “embargo total y completo” de los petroleros sancionados que ingresan y salen de Venezuela.

El presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, respondió a Trump el miércoles, acusando a Estados Unidos de buscar un cambio de gobierno junto con la apropiación del territorio y los recursos de Venezuela.

“Sencillamente es una pretensión guerrerista y colonialista. Lo hemos dicho bastante y ya todo el mundo ve la verdad. La verdad ha sido revelada”, dijo Maduro en Caracas.

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By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

(CNN) — The US military conducted strikes against two alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing 5 people, according to US Southern Command.

At least 104 people have now been killed in US strikes on alleged drug boats, and Thursday’s attack marks the third this week.

“On Dec. 18, at the direction of @SecWarPete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” SOUTHCOM wrote on X, adding that no US service members were harmed in the strikes.

On Monday, the US killed 8 people in strikes on three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific, and the US killed 4 people in a strike on a single boat on Wednesday.

The strikes on suspected drug boats are part of an ongoing campaign, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, that the Trump administration has said is aimed at curtailing narcotics trafficking.

The US has increased its military action in South America in recent months, focused on Venezuela, a nation that President Donald Trump has accused of stealing US “oil, land and other assets.”

The administration has moved thousands of troops and a carrier strike group into the Caribbean, and Trump on Tuesday ordered a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers coming to and leaving Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded to Trump on Wednesday, accusing the US of seeking regime change along with ownership of Venezuela’s territory and resources.

“It is simply a warmongering and colonialist pretense, and we have said so many times, and now everyone sees the truth. The truth has been revealed,” Maduro said in Caracas.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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Por Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN en Español

Al menos cuatro soldados murieron y siete más resultaron heridos este jueves tras un ataque con explosivos contra una base del Ejército de Colombia en el norte del país, según anunció la Segunda División del Ejército.

El presunto atentado tuvo lugar contra la Base Militar del 27, adscrita al Batallón de Infantería Número 14, en el municipio de Aguachica, departamento del Cesar, según un comunicado del Ejército publicado en X.

De acuerdo con las autoridades, el ataque se realizó con artefactos explosivos y fue atribuido al Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), una agrupación colombiana designada como terrorista por el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. y la Unión Europea.

El comandante general de las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia, almirante Francisco Hernando Cubides, dijo en su cuenta oficial de X que “el Frente Camilo Torres Restrepo del Grupo Armado Organizado ELN es el responsable de la cobarde ataque terrorista efectuado hace pocos minutos al Batallón Ricaurte”.

Los militares heridos fueron evacuados a centros médicos de la región, mientras unidades del Ejército adelantan operaciones para asegurar el área, según el comunicado.

El ataque se produce en medio de un “paro armado” a nivel nacional declarado por el ELN, que ha estado acompañado por acciones violentas contra infraestructura y la fuerza pública, elevando la tensión con el Gobierno del presidente Gustavo Petro y profundizando la crisis del proceso de paz impulsado por su administración.

Las autoridades señalaron que entregarán información adicional a medida que avancen las investigaciones.

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Noticia en desarrollo.

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