00:00From the palace to a cell, Venezuela's ousted strongman and his wife face a U.S. judge.
00:07Drug trafficking, guns, conspiracy, Maduro in a jumpsuit and shackles, claiming he was kidnapped, not captured.
00:14Plus, closing in at sea, the United States moves to seize a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker.
00:20And now Russia is in the middle of the standoff.
00:23And a major shift for parents, new childhood vaccine guidance, from flu to hepatitis.
00:29What's changing and why some doctors are sounding the alarm.
00:34The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:40These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:46Good morning, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
00:48We begin this morning with new details from a U.S. federal courtroom,
00:52where captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made his first appearance
00:56and claimed he was kidnapped by the United States.
01:00Maduro pleaded not guilty Monday in Manhattan to federal drug trafficking and other charges,
01:05telling the judge he is, quote, a prisoner of war.
01:08American forces captured Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, early Saturday morning at their home in Caracas.
01:15Both are charged with cocaine importation, conspiracy and weapons offenses.
01:19Despite the U.S. military operation, President Donald Trump insists the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela,
01:26telling NBC News Monday,
01:28we're at war with people that sell drugs.
01:30We're at war with people that empty their prisons into our country
01:33and empty their drug addicts and empty their mental institutions into our country.
01:38Venezuela's vice president, Delce Rodriguez, was sworn in as acting president on Monday.
01:43But Trump and top administration officials all say the U.S. is effectively now in charge,
01:49with Trump having final authority.
01:51Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials briefed members of Congress Monday
01:56on the operation as concerns grow over the legal basis and the long-term plan.
02:02Democrats questioned the legality of forcibly removing a foreign leader without congressional approval.
02:08Republicans praised the move as a necessary national security action.
02:12The U.S. military operation in Venezuela was a decisive and justified action.
02:18Nicolas Maduro is responsible for the deaths of untold thousands of Americans
02:23after years of trafficking illegal drugs and violent cartel members into our country.
02:28This is undisputed and everybody agrees with it.
02:31Despite the claims by some of my colleagues under the War Powers Act,
02:35there is no requirement for prior congressional approval or prior notification.
02:40Well, this briefing, while very extensive and long, posed far more questions than it ever answered.
02:49Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying.
02:58I asked for, I would have liked to, I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries.
03:11And the rhetoric may not stop with Venezuela.
03:14Trump has suggested Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom he accuses of ties to drug cartels, could be next.
03:21Petro has denied those claims and says he will take up arms if the U.S. comes after him.
03:26Trump also appeared to threaten Venezuela's longtime ally, Cuba.
03:31Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is downplaying any possibility of American military action
03:37against Mexican drug cartels, calling the idea unrealistic.
03:42Now to exclusive reporting from CBS News and a high-stakes pursuit playing out at sea.
03:47The outlet, along with CNN, is now reporting that American forces are preparing to intercept
03:53a sanctioned oil tanker that has been evading American authorities since last month.
03:58You see it right here.
04:00The ship, now called Marinara, was previously known as Bella One and has a history of carrying Venezuelan crude oil.
04:07The tanker has been on the run since mid-December as the U.S. tightens its pressure campaign against Venezuela
04:14following the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
04:16U.S. officials tell CBS the preference is to seize the ship, not sink it.
04:21Similar to last month's operation that ended with American forces boarding
04:26and taking control of another oil tanker out of Venezuela.
04:30Intelligence officials tell CBS that before Maduro's capture,
04:34Venezuelan officials discussed putting armed personnel on tankers disguised as civilians
04:39and deploying portable air defense systems.
04:42The Marinara has since changed its name and its flag.
04:45It is now registered in Russia and heading toward Europe.
04:48The Irish Times reports U.S. surveillance aircraft have been tracking the ship
04:53as it moves near Irish waters, with Russia asking the United States to stand down.
04:59The White House has not commented, but if the Marinara is seized,
05:03it would be the third Venezuelan oil tanker taken by the U.S. since this campaign began.
05:08The Trump administration is making a major change to how and when American children are vaccinated.
05:15The CDC is overhauling the U.S. childhood immunization schedule,
05:20recommending fewer routine shots for most kids,
05:23and shifting several vaccines into a case-by-case decision between parents and doctors.
05:28Health officials say core vaccines, including measles, polio, and HPV, stay in place.
05:34But others, such as the flu, COVID, RSV, and certain hepatitis and mengiococcal shots,
05:40will no longer be universally recommended for healthy children.
05:44Instead, those decisions move to what the government calls shared clinical decision-making,
05:50meaning a doctor's visit is now required to get them.
05:52Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the change brings the U.S.
05:58more in line with other developed countries and helps rebuild trust.
06:02But many public health leaders are sounding the alarm.
06:05In a statement obtained by the Washington Post, former CDC Director Tom Friedman said,
06:10upending the childhood vaccine schedule leaves American children at much greater risk of contracting hepatitis,
06:17rotavirus, and other preventable infections.
06:19This is a giant step backward.
06:21The change comes as flu cases rise nationwide,
06:25with the CDC reporting multiple pediatric deaths this season.
06:29The Justice Department now says it is sitting on more than 2 million records tied to Jeffrey Epstein,
06:35and it has reviewed less than 1 percent of them so far.
06:39Congress had set a December 19th deadline for the release of all the files connected to the accused sex trafficker.
06:46The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York told a federal court on Monday
06:49that about 400 Justice Department lawyers from Washington, New York, and Florida are now assigned to the review.
06:56Dozens of FBI analysts are also involved, including specialists trained to handle material related to victims.
07:03The DOJ says the work is being done to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,
07:08which Congress passed last year.
07:10But there is still no timetable for when the review will be complete.
07:14Officials say many of the records may be duplicates, adding to the volume, but not necessarily the content.
07:19So far, the DOJ has released more than 12,000 documents, totaling about 125,000 pages on its public Epstein Files website.
07:29Today marks five years since the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol,
07:34and Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are out with a new assessment of what has happened since.
07:39The reports focus on two things, President Trump's sweeping pardons for January 6th rioters, and what followed.
07:46The committee says those pardons came with consequences.
07:50Citing data from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,
07:54the report finds more than 30 pardoned rioters have since been charged, arrested, or convicted of new crimes,
08:01including violent felonies and threats against lawmakers.
08:04Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin calls the pardons, quote,
08:07a nightmare for public safety, warning they've created what he describes as a private militia of proven street fighters.
08:14The report also tracks how figures tied to January 6th and Stop the Steal have moved into positions of power,
08:21including roles inside the Justice Department.
08:24And it points to what still has not happened, including the display of a congressionally mandated plaque
08:30honoring the officers who defended the Capitol, which remains in storage.
08:35With the official plaque still in storage, Democrats are taking matters into their own hands,
08:40putting up replica plaques outside their office doors to honor the police officers who defended the Capitol.
08:47This morning, we're going deeper.
08:49A straight-arrel news investigation is up now that examines what happened after the January 6th pardons,
08:55including who re-offended, who was re-arrested, and how the rules of clemency changed.
09:00Check out that report from S.A.N. investigative reporter Jessica McMaster on our site or app right now.
09:06Finally this morning, the Grammys are less than a month away,
09:09and this year they're bringing back a category we have not seen in decades.
09:13It's not brand new, but it's a big throwback.
09:16The Grammys will award Best Album Cover for the first time in 50 years.
09:20In recent years, album art has been rolled into the Best Recording Package category.
09:25Now it's getting its own spotlight.
09:27Again, this year's nominees include Wet Leg, Bad Bunny, Tyler the Creator, Perfume Genius, and Joe.
09:35The award goes to the album art director, but this year, the recording artists are also listed as nominees,
09:42with the exception of Perfume Genius.
09:44Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said,
09:47bringing back the category is about recognizing the power of album art, even in a digital first era.
09:53All right, I'm going to be 100% honest with you.
09:56I'm not exactly 100% sure of what I just read there, but I'll tell you this much.
10:00In my day, the best album covers were Kiss, Genesis, and Sticks.
10:06Welcome to the Grand Illusion. Look it up.
10:09All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
10:12On Capitol Hill, the House returns to work, kicking off the second session of the 119th Congress at 9 a.m.
10:18The following hour, Democrats will mark five years since January 6th with a Capitol event reuniting members of the committee that investigated the attack.
10:27Later, President Trump meets with House Republicans at the Kennedy Center, a private session as the party looks ahead to the months to come.
10:35At noon Eastern, all eyes shift to Las Vegas as the Consumer Electronics Show opens, setting the tone for what's next in tech.
10:43Hey, we're the fastest, fairest few minutes in news.
10:45Be sure to tell your friends about us. You can always watch us on SAN.com or on the app, or stream us on Spotify.
10:52Those are your unbiased updates for this Tuesday. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
10:56For all of us at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli. Have a great day.
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