00:00President Trump calls it a great day announcing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, but there are questions left hanging.
00:07Plus, the government shutdown grind into week two, and patience is snapping.
00:12The heated clash caught on camera.
00:14And is Dolly Parton really sick?
00:17The icon breaks her silence after rumors, prayers, and postponed shows.
00:23The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:29These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:35Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:37We begin with a dramatic moment inside the White House, followed by a major announcement on the Middle East.
00:42President Trump confirming a peace deal between Israel and Hamas just hours after being handed a note during a public event.
00:50It happened during a roundtable with conservative influencers.
00:53Secretary of State Marco Rubio can be seen two seats down from Trump, catching the president's attention right there, then slipping him a note as Attorney General Pam Bondi looks on.
01:03News photographers zoomed in, revealing the handwritten message.
01:07Quote, you need to approve a truth social post soon so you can announce a deal first.
01:12See it there?
01:13Rubio then leaning in to whisper to the president.
01:16Yeah, I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East and they're going to need me pretty quickly.
01:26So we'll take a couple of more questions.
01:28The note referred to a third day of peace talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt, led by Qatari and American mediators.
01:36Two hours after the meeting, Trump posted on truth social writing, I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of our peace plan.
01:47Trump said the agreement calls for the release of all remaining hostages very soon and for Israel to withdraw troops to an agreed upon line.
01:55It did not address the disarmament of Hamas or who will have governing power in Gaza.
02:00Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a short statement saying,
02:04With God's help, together we will continue to achieve all our goals and expand peace with our neighbors.
02:11The deal is the first major break in the two-year war that began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
02:18Trump called it a great day for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel and the United States.
02:24Thousands of Palestinians gathered outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip last night to celebrate news of possible peace.
02:31Now to a heated showdown in the Capitol hallways, and this one got personal.
02:36House Speaker Mike Johnson going toe-to-toe with two Democratic senators from Arizona over the government shutdown and sharp accusations involving the Epstein files.
02:45Tempers are running short.
02:47The exchange erupted outside Johnson's office as Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly pressed the Speaker on why he has not sworn in Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election last month.
02:59The senators say Johnson's delay is political, that he's trying to stop her from becoming the 218th signature needed to force a House vote to release more Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
03:09Watch.
03:10It has nothing to do with Epstein.
03:12The House Oversight Committee is working on the Epstein files right now, releasing 34,000 pages and more on the web.
03:19You know, she's the key to access her petition.
03:21Let me finish.
03:22The House Oversight Committee...
03:23You just keep coming with excuses.
03:24This is an excuse so she doesn't sign on to that.
03:26This is absurd.
03:27This is the longest time the House Oversight Committee...
03:28Do you want me to answer the question?
03:29If you ask questions...
03:30You should not actually answer the question.
03:31This entirely has to do with Epstein files.
03:33You see, this is a publicity stunt.
03:35Let me tell you what's happening.
03:36The House Oversight Committee is working on the release of the Epstein files.
03:39There are some of the biggest bulldogs in Congress, and the Republican and Democrat side are working on that aggressively.
03:45I'm met with the victims.
03:46Why are you blocking her?
03:47I'm not blocking her.
03:48I just told you.
03:49This is the longest time the House Oversight has been out of session that's not in a real office session.
03:54This is the longest time for someone to be sworn in, and it all happens to coincide with the fact that she's going to be the deciding vote on the discharge...
04:00I know why you're upset.
04:01I know why you're upset.
04:02Johnson insisted Grijalva has not been sworn in simply because the House is out of session, and said he will do it as soon as the government is reopened.
04:11The Democratic senators pointed out that Johnson has sworn in lawmakers during past recesses, including two Florida Republicans earlier this year.
04:19The exchange turned testy enough that another Republican, New York Congressman Mike Lawler, stepped in, telling the senators to, quote, back the hell off.
04:28This morning, 500 National Guard troops are active in Chicago, deployed for at least 60 days despite an ongoing lawsuit challenging the move.
04:38Straight Arrow News was there as protesters took to the streets overnight condemning the deployment.
04:43According to U.S. Northern Command, 300 troops come from the Illinois National Guard and 200 from Texas.
04:50They say the mission is to protect ICE agents, federal personnel, and federal property, not to police local streets.
04:57Today, a federal judge will hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago seeking to block the deployment.
05:04In a post on Truth Social, President Trump called for Governor J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson to be imprisoned for failing to protect ICE officers.
05:14Pritzker fired back, saying he will not back down, accusing Trump of full-blown authoritarianism.
05:20Johnson called the president's comments racist, saying this is not the first time Trump has tried to have a black man unjustly arrested.
05:27Meanwhile, in Portland, an appeals court has lifted an order blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops.
05:34However, a broader ban on out-of-state troops entering Oregon remains in effect, as the court prepares to hear oral arguments today.
05:43New this morning, growing fallout after a U.S. military strike that blew up a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean last week, killing four people.
05:51The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, now says the boat was Colombian and that its citizens were on board.
05:58The White House is flatly denying that, calling Petro's allegation baseless and reaffirming Colombia as an essential strategic partner.
06:06The strike is part of President Trump's controversial policy to take out suspected cartel boats that he says are trafficking drugs in the U.S.
06:14Trump has blamed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, saying the U.S. is now in an armed conflict with the cartels.
06:21Critics say the administration still has not disclosed who was actually on the boat or whether drugs were found.
06:28In a fiery post on X, President Petro called the attack, quote, a war for oil, not against smuggling,
06:35adding that it was an aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean.
06:38A Florida man is under arrest and charged with starting the Pacific Palisades fire.
06:45That's the inferno that killed 12 people and torched parts of Los Angeles earlier this year.
06:50Federal agents arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderneck at his home in Melbourne, Florida, on Tuesday.
06:56He made his first court appearance yesterday in Orlando.
06:59Prosecutors say Rinderneck, a former Uber driver who lived in the Palisades at the time,
07:03maliciously set a small fire just after midnight on New Year's Day,
07:08then called 911 and watched as firefighters rushed to the scene.
07:12It took the defendant several tries to contact 911 to report the fire.
07:18He fled the scene in his car but turned around after passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction
07:23to fight the fire.
07:26While the Lachman fire burned, the defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night
07:32to watch the fire and firefighters, using his iPhone to take short videos of the scene.
07:38Authorities say that smaller Lachman fire smoldered underground for days
07:42until strong winds reignited it into what became the massive Pacific Palisades fire
07:48that devastated parts of Southern California.
07:51Rinderneck is charged with destruction of property by fire.
07:53He did not enter a plea in court.
07:56Finally this morning, Dolly Parton wants y'all to hear it straight from her lips.
08:01She's fine.
08:02The 79-year-old legend posted a video to set the record straight
08:06after a wave of concern sparked by her sister Frida's late-night call for prayers on social media.
08:12I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am.
08:17Do I look sick to you?
08:18I'm working hard here.
08:20Anyway, I wanted to put everybody's mind at ease,
08:23those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate.
08:28And I appreciate your prayers because I'm a person of faith.
08:31I can always use the prayers for anything and everything.
08:35But I want you to know that I'm okay.
08:37See, what a nice message.
08:40Parton says she's been under the weather and is going through a few treatments,
08:44but assures fans it's nothing major.
08:46She admits after losing her husband, Carl Dean, earlier this year, remember that?
08:50She, quote, let a few things go, health-wise.
08:52Last month, Dolly Parton announced she was postponing her December concerts in Vegas
08:57until 2026 because of health challenges.
08:59But now, she's getting back on track.
09:02There's just a lot of rumors flying around,
09:05but I figured if you heard it from me, you'd know that I was okay.
09:10So anyhow, that's what I wanted to say.
09:13And I'm not ready to die yet.
09:15I don't think God is through with me, and I ain't done working.
09:18So I love you, for caring, and keep praying for me.
09:24All right. Thank you, Dolly. We will.
09:26Her sister, Freda, later clarified online that her prayer request was
09:30just a little sister worried about her big sister.
09:33Dolly captions her video, I ain't dead yet, and thank goodness.
09:37So you could say she's back working 9 to 5.
09:40What a way to make a living at nearly 80 years old.
09:43Wow. Great to see.
09:45All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
09:47At 10, House Speaker Mike Johnson holds a press conference with House leadership
09:51to try to retake the narrative on the government shutdown.
09:55At 11, President Trump will host a cabinet meeting, and yes, it will be televised.
09:59At 3, he will welcome the President of the Republic of Finland to the White House.
10:03Check out more of our stories on the app, where unbiased is not a tagline, it's certified.
10:08All sides call us unbiased.
10:10NewsGuard gives us a perfect score for reliability. How about that?
10:14Facts first, without the spin.
10:16Those are your unbiased updates, literally, for this Thursday.
10:20Tomorrow's Friday, we love that.
10:21For all of us here at Straight Aero News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
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