00:00The U.S. is now chasing a Venezuelan oil tanker as President Trump's blockade tightens,
00:06but a key Republican calls it a provocation.
00:09Plus, more pressure to release additional Epstein files and growing anger over what's missing.
00:15Why, critics say the truth is being buried again.
00:18And a bourbon backup at one of the biggest names in whiskey,
00:22Jim Beam suspending production at its main plant.
00:25Why, the industry giant is on the rocks.
00:31The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:37These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:42Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:44The U.S. is intensifying its efforts this morning to forbid Venezuelan oil shipping,
00:49with Coast Guard forces in pursuit of a sanctioned tanker in international waters,
00:54as Washington and Capitol Hill debate the broader strategy.
00:58The United States Coast Guard is now actively going after an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela
01:03that officials say is part of a dark fleet used to evade U.S. sanctions.
01:08The vessel, called Bella One, seen here, is described as flying a false flag
01:13and is subject to a judicial seizure order, but has not yet been boarded or captured.
01:19Saturday, a separate operation saw American forces board and seize a Panama flag tanker,
01:25with a helicopter helping crew members repel to the deck.
01:28That followed a December 10th interdiction of another Venezuela-tide vessel.
01:33The administration says these efforts are part of a larger push to cripple Venezuela's sanctions evasion,
01:40and it's not worried about impacts on U.S. gas prices.
01:43And so I don't think that people need to be worried here in the U.S. that the prices are going to go up
01:48because of these seizures of these ships.
01:50There's just a couple of them, and they were black market ships.
01:53But reaction in Congress cut across lines.
01:56Republican Senator Rand Paul, a frequent Trump critic, does not support the aggression toward Venezuela
02:01and is worried about starting a war.
02:04I consider it a provocation and a prelude to war, and I hope we don't go to war with Venezuela.
02:10Look, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we don't like
02:14that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations.
02:18We could really literally go through a couple dozen.
02:21But it isn't the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world.
02:25So I'm not for confiscating these liners.
02:28I'm not for blowing up these boats of unarmed people that are suspected of being drug dealers.
02:33I'm not for any of this.
02:35But others, like Senator Lindsey Graham, say the administration is right to go after President Nicolas Maduro.
02:41But Venezuela has condemned the efforts, calling the seizures a theft and hijacking.
02:47All of this unfolding as the United States quietly builds a major military presence in the region.
02:53According to ABC, the Pentagon now has roughly 15,000 personnel operating across the Caribbean and near Venezuela,
03:01including Navy warships, advanced aircraft, drones, and marine units staging out of Puerto Rico.
03:06The fight over the Jeffrey Epstein files is now heading straight for a constitutional showdown,
03:13with lawmakers from both parties threatening to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress.
03:19Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Congressman Thomas Massey say the Justice Department
03:24has failed to meet a congressional deadline to release all files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
03:31The pair co-authored a law passed nearly unanimously and signed by President Trump,
03:36requiring the DOJ to release the records within 30 days.
03:40So far, more than 100,000 pages have been posted, but many are heavily redacted,
03:46and some key documents lawmakers say are still missing.
03:50The quickest way, and I think the most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims
03:55is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, and that doesn't require going through the courts,
04:02and give her, and basically, Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now.
04:08The Justice Department is pushing back.
04:11Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says the department is following the law,
04:15and says lawmakers are ignoring the scale of the task.
04:18Bring it on.
04:19We are doing everything we're supposed to be doing to comply with this statute.
04:23And Congressman Massey and these other congressmen that are coming out speaking negatively about Director Patel
04:29and the Attorney General have no idea what they're talking about.
04:34Blanche also addressed claims the department is shielding President Trump,
04:37saying any mentions of Trump in the Epstein files will not be redacted as future releases continue.
04:43He acknowledged one photo in a credenza drawer, this one showing Trump, among other images of people,
04:49was temporarily removed over victim safety concerns,
04:52but says it was restored without changes after review.
04:56CBS News is facing a rare internal revolt this morning
05:00after pulling a 60 Minutes investigation at the last minute.
05:04The segment focused on Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration
05:08to El Salvador's notorious Cicot prison.
05:11But according to emails obtained by the Washington Post,
05:14the story was scuttled after the White House refused to grant an interview.
05:18The decision came from news CBS News editor-in-chief Barry Weiss,
05:23prompting a sharp rebuke from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharon Alfonsi.
05:27In an internal email reviewed by the Washington Post,
05:30the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal,
05:32Alfonsi warned that letting government silence kill a story
05:36hands the White House a kill switch over journalism,
05:39writing, quote,
05:40Government silence is a statement, not a veto.
05:43Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.
05:49CBS says the piece needs more reporting and will air later.
05:52Weiss called the move a routine editorial decision,
05:55but Alfonsi says the segment had already been cleared by lawyers and standards,
05:59and that pulling it now, quote,
06:01is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.
06:04Productive and constructive, that's how U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is describing weekend talks
06:11involving the Trump administration, Ukrainian leaders, and European officials.
06:15The meetings were held in Florida.
06:17President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was part of the delegation.
06:21Witkoff said Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine.
06:25But the Kremlin foreign policy aide who attended pushed back,
06:29saying Ukrainian and European input did not improve the chances of a deal.
06:34Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, and the four-year mark of the war is now approaching.
06:40The Trump administration has already unveiled a 20-point plan aimed at ending the war.
06:44Witkoff says the weekend meetings in Miami, including talks with Russian officials on Saturday,
06:49narrowed in on just a few areas, including security guarantees for Ukraine
06:54and expanding plans to help rebuild the country's economy.
06:57On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the goal is not to impose America's will,
07:03but to determine what both sides need and what they're willing to give to reach a peace agreement.
07:09Well, so much for a shot and a beer.
07:12One of America's most iconic bourbon brands is pumping the brakes,
07:15and it's a sign of bigger economic pressures building beneath the surface.
07:19Jim Beam says it will pause production at its flagship Kentucky distillery starting January 1st,
07:26as the bourbon industry faces a record supply glut and growing uncertainty tied to President Trump's trade wars.
07:34Kentucky now has, get this, more than 16 million barrels of aging bourbon, the highest level ever.
07:41And distillers are paying steep taxes just to store it.
07:44At the same time, exports have been hit by retaliatory tariffs, including ongoing restrictions in Canada
07:50and the threat of higher duties in Europe.
07:52Jim Beam says this is a temporary slowdown, not a shutdown.
07:56Distilling will continue at two other Kentucky facilities.
07:59Bottling and warehousing remain active, and the company says it has not announced layoffs.
08:04Finally this morning, if you need an excuse to stop for gas tonight, this might be it.
08:10The Powerball jackpot just ballooned to an estimated $1.6 billion
08:14after yet another drawing came and went with no grand prize winner over the weekend.
08:19It's now the fourth largest jackpot in the game's history, and lines are forming.
08:24People across the country are grabbing tickets, fueling the dream, and doing the math.
08:28By the way, if someone wins tonight's drawing, they will get to choose $735 million up front in cash before taxes,
08:36or annual payments spread out over nearly 30 years.
08:40And while the odds are still a long shot, roughly 1 in 292 million, yikes,
08:45that has not stopped people from imagining the possibilities.
08:49My wife encourages me to buy a ticket because she wants to go on a big trip,
08:54and she wants to do something good in society.
08:56And she thought, well, we can do both if we win, for crying out loud.
09:01In fact, what would we do with all that money anyway?
09:03You've got to give some of it away.
09:06All right, good luck, Bob, with the reindeer hat.
09:09Tickets are $2, the odds are crazy, but the dream is very much alive.
09:13And can you imagine finding out that you won?
09:16Now that's a Christmas miracle.
09:18Kind of like a Hallmark movie, right?
09:19Where everybody in the end winds up happy and smiling.
09:23All right, nice positive way to end this broadcast.
09:25Wake up looking like you've read five newspapers without actually reading five newspapers.
09:30Sign up for our Unbiased Updates newsletter, san.com slash newsletters.
09:35Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Monday.
09:37We'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:38For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:41Have a great day.
09:41I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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09:45I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:45I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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09:46I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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09:47I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:48I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:48I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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09:50I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:51I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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