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.
00:43President 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,
01:40I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of our peace plan.
01:46Trump said the agreement calls for the release of all remaining hostages very soon,
01:51and 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.
02:19Trump 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.
02:30Now 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
02:40over 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
02:52pressed the Speaker on why he has not sworn in Democrat Adelita Grijalva,
02:57who won a special election last month.
02:59The Senators say Johnson's delay is political,
03:02that he's trying to stop her from becoming the 218th signature needed to force a House vote
03:07to release more Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
03:09Watch.
03:11It has nothing to do with Epstein.
03:12The House Oversight Committee is working on the Epstein files right now,
03:17releasing 34,000 pages and more on the website.
03:19The House Oversight Committee is working on the release of the Epstein files.
03:29The 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 then?
03:47I'm not blocking her.
03:48I just told you.
03:49This is the longest time that the House Oversight has been out of session that's not in a real office session.
03:54This is the longest time it's taken for someone to be sworn in,
03:57and 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
04:07and 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,
04:17including two Florida Republicans earlier this year.
04:20The exchange turned testy enough that another Republican, New York Congressman Mike Lawler,
04:25stepped in telling the senators to, quote, back the hell off.
04:28This morning, 500 National Guard troops are active in Chicago,
04:33deployed 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,
04:55not to police local streets.
04:56Today, a federal judge will hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois
05:01and the city of Chicago seeking to block the deployment.
05:05In a post on Truth Social, President Trump called for Governor J.B. Pritzker
05:09and 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
05:24Trump has tried to have a black man unjustly arrested.
05:28Meanwhile, in Portland, an appeals court has lifted an order blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops.
05:35However, a broader ban on out-of-state troops entering Oregon remains in effect,
05:40as the court prepares to hear oral arguments today.
05:42New this morning, growing fallout after a U.S. military strike that blew up a suspected drug boat
05:48in 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,
06:02and reaffirming Colombia as an essential strategic partner.
06:05The strike is part of President Trump's controversial policy to take out suspected cartel boats
06:11that he says are trafficking drugs in the U.S.
06:14Trump has blamed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro,
06:18saying the U.S. is now in an armed conflict with the cartels.
06:22Critics say the administration still has not disclosed who was actually on the boat
06:26or whether drugs were found.
06:28In a fiery post on X, President Petro called the attack, quote,
06:32a war for oil, not against smuggling, adding that it was an aggression against all of Latin America
06:38and the Caribbean.
06:39A 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.
06:58Prosecutors say Rinderneck, a former Uber driver who lived in the Palisades at the time,
07:04maliciously 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
07:22driving in the opposite direction to 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.
07:54He 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 after a wave of concern
08:08sparked 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, those of you that seem to be real concerned,
08:26which 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.
08:38See, 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.
08:53Last 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, but I figured if you heard it from me,
09:07you'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.
09:19So I love you for caring, and keep praying for me.
09:24All right.
09:25Thank you, Dolly.
09:25We will.
09:26Well, her sister, Freda, later clarified online that her prayer request was just a little sister
09:31worried 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.
09:44Great to see.
09:45All right.
09:45Before 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.
09:54At 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.
10:14How about that?
10:14Facts first, without the spin.
10:17Those are your unbiased updates, literally, for this Thursday.
10:20Tomorrow's Friday.
10:20We love that.
10:21For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
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