A notice sent to several congressional committees added detail to the thinly articulated legal rationale behind three U.S. military strikes President Trump ordered on boats in the Caribbean Sea last month.

President Trump speaking about autism in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

As lawmakers raced to secure a funding deal that would keep the U.S. government open, Washington and its federal work force braced for a potentially disruptive holiday season.