00:01Complications already in the ceasefire in Gaza.
00:04How the return of dead Israelis is now turning into a body count.
00:08Plus, could the U.S. launch attacks on Venezuela?
00:12What President Trump said about possibly going further than blowing boats out of the water.
00:17And the final report is in on why the search for wreckage from the Titanic
00:21resulted in a catastrophic and deadly implosion.
00:24How faulty engineering doomed the Titan submersible.
00:30The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:36These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:42Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. We begin this morning with the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
00:47In an announcement that threatens the tentative peace between Israel and Hamas,
00:51Hamas now says it has handed over all the hostage remains it can recover.
00:56On Wednesday, the terror group released the remains of two more deceased hostages, bringing the total to ten returned.
01:03But a key term of the ceasefire agreement was that Hamas would return all remaining hostages, living and dead.
01:10Eighteen still remain unaccounted for.
01:13On top of that, one of the bodies returned to Israel was not a hostage.
01:17Hamas says it has not been able to access the rest of the remains because, quote,
01:22significant efforts and special equipment are needed to recover them.
01:26The Israeli military has threatened to restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza if Hamas does not uphold its end of the ceasefire deal and return all the remains.
01:35President Trump said Wednesday he believes Hamas is trying.
01:39It's a gruesome process. I almost hate to talk about it.
01:42So but they're digging. They're actually digging their areas where they're digging and they're finding a lot of bodies.
01:48Then they have to separate the bodies. You wouldn't believe this.
01:51This is and some of those bodies have been in there a long time and some of them are under rubble.
01:57They have to remove rubble. A senior U.S. adviser told reporters Wednesday nobody is getting left behind,
02:04saying the U.S. is sharing Israeli intelligence with Hamas to assist in finding hostage remains.
02:10President Trump also told CNN Wednesday that Israel is ready to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not uphold its end of the peace deal.
02:19Trump also said he does not believe the U.S. will need to get involved in disarming Hamas.
02:24Israel and the U.S. have insisted Hamas must disarm in order for there to be lasting peace in Gaza.
02:31President Trump has confirmed that he's authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
02:38He made the comment while being questioned by reporters during an unrelated press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel.
02:45While Trump did not give any specific details, the acknowledgement is unprecedented as the CIA usually operates in secrecy.
02:53The president said there were two reasons behind his decision. Venezuela has, quote, emptied their prisons into the U.S.
03:00And a lot of drugs are coming into the U.S. from there.
03:03And while his administration has been focused on blowing up suspected drug boats in the Caribbean,
03:08the president is not ruling out strikes on Venezuelan land.
03:12I don't want to tell you exactly, but we are certainly looking at land now because we've got the sea very well under control.
03:19We've had a couple of days where there isn't a boat to be found.
03:23Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday said the operations are part of a U.S. policy of aggression, threats and harassment.
03:31He called on Trump to stop the CIA from carrying out a coup.
03:36The Trump administration's so-called bailout of Argentina's economy is raising some eyebrows and has plenty of second-guessers this morning.
03:44The administration is providing an additional $20 billion in financing for Argentina through a mix of sovereign funds and the private sector.
03:52This comes after President Trump and Argentina's President Javier Malay met at the White House Tuesday,
03:58with Malay shoring up the $20 billion commitment the U.S. had already made.
04:03The United States does not want Argentina's troubled economy to collapse.
04:07In addition, Trump supports Malay's reform agenda in that country.
04:11The $20 billion help is a currency swap in which the U.S. Treasury will trade dollars for pesos in what amounts to a loan,
04:19with Argentina expected to eventually pay the money back.
04:22However, many American farmers are not happy.
04:25In a huge blow to farmers, China currently is not buying any soybeans from the U.S. as a trade battle plays out between the two countries.
04:34Instead, China has turned its attention to buying soybeans from Argentina and Brazil.
04:39One Midwest farmer told ABC News that America sending billions to Argentina seems counterintuitive to Trump's America first ideology.
04:48While Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wrote on X,
04:51Why would the USA help bail out Argentina while they take the American soybean producers' biggest market?
04:58Today marks day 16 of the federal government shutdown after the Senate failed again on Wednesday to pass a House Republican bill to fund the government.
05:07The Senate is now 0 for 9 when it comes to advancing that bill.
05:11The issues are the same.
05:12Republicans want a so-called clean continuing resolution with no add-ons.
05:16Democrats are demanding the extension of Obamacare tax credits and the repeal of changes to Medicaid.
05:22Meantime, a federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the shutdown.
05:28Some 4,000 layoffs began last Friday.
05:31Two unions then sued.
05:33U.S. District Judge Susan Ilston from the Northern District of California and a Clinton appointee stated the layoffs were politically motivated and, quote,
05:42The activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws.
05:46You can't do this in a nation of laws.
05:48Also on Wednesday, White House Budget Director Russell Vogt stated the Trump administration wants to be aggressive in cutting bureaucracy and the administration could slash more than 10,000 federal jobs during this shutdown.
06:01This morning, the final report is in, and federal investigators have concluded that faulty engineering caused the implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five people who were looking for wreckage from the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.
06:15The National Transportation Safety Board reports that the faulty engineering meant the pressure vessel contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements.
06:27The NTSB also found that Ocean Gate, which owned the submersible, failed to properly test it, which led to a lack of knowledge about the Titan's durability.
06:36All five people on board died when the vessel exploded and plunged to the ocean floor in June of 2023.
06:43Finally this morning, from athletes to angels.
06:46This year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show featured two models making history on the catwalk.
06:51WNBA star Angel Reese and two-time Olympic gold medal gymnast Suni Lee strutted their stuff during Wednesday night's show.
06:59It was a modeling debut for Reese, who says the opportunity was a dream come true.
07:04The Chicago Sky Forward was the first pro athlete to take part in the show.
07:08It was also a debut moment for Suni Lee.
07:11While the Olympic gymnast has graced fashion weeks in the past, this is the first time she's walked the runway herself.
07:17Congratulations to them.
07:19Before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
07:21The Senate convenes at 10 a.m.
07:23They're expected to try again to pass a government funding bill after failing for the ninth time yesterday.
07:29Lawmakers will also vote on a defense bill that would give the Pentagon funding for a full year,
07:35and make sure military members still get their paychecks even if the shutdown drags on past the end of the month.
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07:50Those are your unbiased updates for this Thursday.
07:52We'll see you back here tomorrow, Friday.
07:54We love that.
07:55For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli. Have a great day.
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