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00:00The White House doubles down, defending the strikes that blew drug boats out of the water
00:05and the follow-up shot that killed the survivors.
00:08Plus, Republicans hang on in Tennessee as Democrats fall short in a key House race.
00:14But is the shrinking margin a red flag for the GOP?
00:18And new lawsuits after that deadly UPS plane crash.
00:22Families say the jet should never have been in the air.
00:24The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:33These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:38Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:40We begin this morning with President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,
00:44both defending the administration's boat strike campaign,
00:48while also distancing themselves from the most explosive detail.
00:51The second strike that killed the survivors of that September 2nd attack in the Caribbean.
00:57At a cabinet meeting Tuesday, both men insisted they didn't know a follow-up strike had even happened.
01:03Somebody asked me a question about the second strike.
01:05I didn't know about the second strike.
01:06I didn't know anything about people.
01:08I wasn't involved in it.
01:09I knew they took out a boat.
01:11But I would say this, they had a strike.
01:15Hegseth echoed that, saying he witnessed the first strike,
01:18but stopped watching and left before the second one happened.
01:22I watched that first strike line.
01:24As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do.
01:27So I didn't stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever,
01:30where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs.
01:34So I moved on to my next meeting.
01:35A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the,
01:39which he had the complete authority to do.
01:41And by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision
01:44to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.
01:47The White House now says Vice Admiral Mitch Bradley ordered that second strike.
01:52Lawmakers from both parties want answers,
01:54some even questioning whether killing survivors could constitute a war crime.
01:59Democrat John Garamendi says there's no reason to hide behind classified briefings,
02:03writing,
02:04If Hegseth believes his actions were lawful,
02:07he should not be afraid to explain himself to Congress in full view of the nation,
02:10instead of burying this potentially criminal activity in closed-door meetings.
02:16But the administration isn't backing down.
02:18Instead, Hegseth is doubling down on the mission, and so is the president.
02:22Trump says the boat operation has choked off drug routes,
02:25and that the next phase is coming inside Venezuela.
02:29And we're going to start doing those strikes on land, too.
02:32You know, the land is much easier.
02:33It's much easier.
02:35And we know the routes they take.
02:36We know everything about them.
02:38We know where they live.
02:39We know where the bad ones live.
02:41And we're going to start that very soon.
02:43It would mark a major escalation,
02:45as the administration already acknowledges,
02:47at least 21 maritime strikes and more than 80 people killed so far.
02:51All of the dead labeled narco-terrorists.
02:54Vice Admiral Bradley is set to brief lawmakers on Thursday.
02:57The Trump-backed candidate in Tennessee's special election for an open U.S. House seat
03:03claimed victory Tuesday.
03:05Military veteran and former state general services commissioner Matt Van Epps
03:09defeated Democratic state representative Afton Bain
03:12for Tennessee's 7th congressional district.
03:15The seat opened up after Republican Mark Green resigned in July,
03:19saying he had received a private sector opportunity too exciting to pass up.
03:24President Trump congratulated Van Epps on social media,
03:27saying he won despite what he called the radical left,
03:30throwing, quote, everything at him.
03:33He had dubbed Bain the AOC of Tennessee.
03:36Democrats, however, are touting the results as a partial win,
03:39pointing out they shrank the GOP's big advantage
03:42in a district Republicans have held since 1983.
03:45Van Epps won by nine points,
03:48a significant drop from the 21-point margin Mark Green won by just last year.
03:53Part of a broader pattern of Democrats posting stronger-than-expected numbers
03:57in special elections this year,
03:59with the key 2026 midterms now less than a year away.
04:03The Afghan national, legally in the U.S.,
04:06accused of ambushing two National Guard members
04:09just blocks from the White House,
04:11is now charged with murder,
04:13assault with intent to kill,
04:14and multiple gun offenses.
04:1529-year-old Ramanala Lackenwall appeared in court Tuesday
04:20by video from a D.C. hospital,
04:22where he's recovering from gunshot wounds.
04:25Prosecutors say Lackenwall drove 3,000 miles to Washington
04:28for a targeted strike,
04:30opening fire as Guard members
04:32walked near the Farragut West Metro Station
04:34the day before Thanksgiving.
04:36Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom,
04:38there on the right,
04:39just 20 years old,
04:40was killed.
04:41Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24,
04:44remains in critical condition.
04:46Charging documents say Lackenwall shouted,
04:49Allah Akbar,
04:50as he fired and was trying to reload
04:52when another Guard member shot him.
04:54This image, released by the Justice Department,
04:57shows him bending down
04:58next to the wounded soldiers after the attack.
05:00You can see him on the right side of the screen there.
05:03A judge called the government's case
05:05exceedingly strong
05:06and ordered him held without bond.
05:08Federal officials say additional charges
05:10are likely Lackenwall's next court appearance
05:12is set for mid-January.
05:15Later today,
05:16two wrongful death lawsuits
05:17are expected to be filed
05:19over last month's fiery UPS cargo plane crash
05:22in Louisville that killed 14 people.
05:25Attorneys for the families
05:26of 45-year-old Angela Anderson
05:27and 37-year-old Trina Chavez
05:29are suing UPS, Boeing, and GE, among others.
05:34Chavez worked at Grade A Auto Parts and Recycling,
05:36one of the businesses destroyed
05:38by the impact of the plane crash
05:39and resulting fire.
05:41Remember this?
05:42Anderson was there dropping off scrap
05:44when the plane hit.
05:45The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo plane
05:47went down during takeoff
05:49on November 4th
05:50after its left engine detached,
05:53triggering a massive fireball.
05:54The crash killed all three crew members on board
05:57and 11 people on the ground.
05:59Another 23 people were injured.
06:01A preliminary report from the NTSB
06:03found fatigue cracks in the engine mount
06:06and signs of overstressed failure.
06:08Key findings, the families say,
06:10point to years of warnings missed or ignored.
06:13The lawsuits accused the companies of negligence.
06:16In a statement,
06:17attorney Robert Clifford said
06:18the jet was, quote,
06:19old, tired, and well beyond its useful life.
06:23The U.S.-led peace talks with Russia
06:25aimed at ending the war in Ukraine
06:27now involve Vladimir Putin.
06:30He met Tuesday in Moscow
06:31with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
06:34President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner,
06:36is also part of the negotiating team.
06:38The Kremlin called the meeting useful,
06:40but says there's still no compromise
06:42to end the war.
06:43Russia says territory remains the central issue.
06:46Putin is now accusing European governments
06:48of pushing changes to the American peace proposal
06:51in an effort to block the process.
06:54He's also insisting
06:55it's pointless to negotiate
06:56with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,
06:59who is meeting with European leaders this week,
07:01if Zelensky refuses to withdraw
07:03from areas Moscow claims as Russian soil.
07:06U.S. officials say there are no plans
07:08for another Trump-Putin meeting at this point.
07:10That depends entirely on progress in these talks,
07:14which both sides say will continue.
07:16Finally this morning,
07:17remember that Fabergé winter egg
07:20we told you about last week?
07:21The one that experts thought
07:23might fetch as much as $26 million?
07:26Well, it turns out
07:27that was actually a conservative estimate.
07:29In London on Tuesday,
07:31the rare crystal and diamond masterpiece,
07:33you see it right there,
07:34sold for, get this,
07:3622.9 million pounds.
07:37Say what?
07:38That's like $30 million.
07:40Setting a new world record
07:41for any Fabergé piece
07:43ever sold at auction.
07:45They call it the Mona Lisa
07:46of Decorative Arts.
07:48A four-inch rock crystal egg
07:50carved with platinum snowflakes
07:52and encrusted with 4,500 diamonds.
07:55Inside, a tiny jeweled basket
07:58of quartz flowers.
07:59Fabergé's nod to spring.
08:01Originally crafted in 1913
08:03for Tsar Nicholas II
08:04to give to his mother,
08:05it then disappeared for decades.
08:08Just 43 Imperial Fabergé eggs survive,
08:11and just a handful
08:12are still in private collections.
08:13This one now holds the crown again.
08:17And I have to say,
08:18I would hate to be the handler of that.
08:20The orders have to be pretty specific, right?
08:22Don't break it.
08:24Don't crack it.
08:25And whatever you do,
08:26don't drop it.
08:27No pressure, right?
08:29Oh, and by the way,
08:30you break it, you pay.
08:31A lot of money.
08:33All right, before we head out,
08:34here's what we're tracking today.
08:35Billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman
08:38is back on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m.,
08:41testifying before a Senate science panel
08:43after President Trump polled
08:45and reinstated his nomination to run NASA.
08:48At 10, a major First Amendment fight in Tennessee,
08:51where news organizations,
08:52including the Associated Press,
08:54challenged the state's execution protocols.
08:57Then at 2, sentencing for a California doctor
09:00who admitted selling ketamine
09:01to actor Matthew Perry before his death.
09:04And at 2.30, President Trump
09:06is set to make an announcement.
09:07Details still under wraps.
09:09Hey, we're the fastest, fairest few minutes of news.
09:11If you haven't yet,
09:12be sure to tell your friends about us.
09:14You can always watch us on san.com
09:16or the app or stream us on Spotify.
09:19Those here on Biased Updates for this Wednesday,
09:21we'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:22For all of us here at Straight Arrow News,
09:24I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:25Have a great day.
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