Good evening. I'm William Brangham. I'm the Navaz and Jeff Bennett are away.

On the news hour tonight, the Trump administration conducts strikes in Nigeria against alleged terrorists they claim are killing Christians.

A federal judge blocks the detention of a British social media activist who tracks online

hate and disinformation.

And the White House moves to dismantle one of the world's leading climate and weather research

centers.

The atmosphere does not possess a voter registration card.

I think it's important to remember that scientists do science.

And the really really the only

people doing the politicization are, for the most part, politicians.

Welcome to the NewsHour.

President Trump said today that he delayed American military strikes in northwest Nigeria until Christmas Day to deliver a message to groups he alleges are targeting Christians in that country.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government praised the attacks and said it provided the U.S. with the necessary intelligence. Nick Schifrin is here with the details,

Nick. William, the area that the U.S. bombed in Nigeria is near the border of neighboring Niger,

and a part of Western Africa that suffered from cross-border terrorism. Northern Nigeria has suffered from violence for years.

And while the president describes this is focused on protecting Christians, the violence in

Nigeria and the groups committing it are far more complex.

In the Gulf of Guinea, a Tomahawk missile flies to an area never before struck by the U.S.

military, northwest Nigeria, where locals picked up debris as nearby flames kept burning.

By day, the grass was scorched and police cordoned off an impact site.

This missile, at least in this remote rural area, apparently

killed no one.

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