00:01Police in England arrest Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew.
00:06What investigators say happened while he held public office?
00:09Plus, American forces surge into the region.
00:12Iran moves to protect key assets.
00:14Is a strike coming, and how soon?
00:17And the death toll climbs after that avalanche near Lake Tahoe.
00:21Eight skiers now dead, crews still searching in dangerous, unstable conditions.
00:28The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:34These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:40Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:42We're following breaking news from the UK this morning, and it is a bombshell.
00:46Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, arrested.
00:50Thames Valley Police took him into custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
00:55Connected to his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
01:00Police vehicles were seen at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate,
01:04where he has been living since he left the Royal Lodge earlier this month,
01:08following renewed allegations.
01:10The arrest follows a new investigation into allegations that a second woman
01:14was flown to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten Windsor.
01:19He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
01:21Mountbatten Windsor was previously accused by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre of having
01:27sex with her three times, beginning when she was 17.
01:30Allegations he has denied.
01:32He was never criminally charged, but paid millions of dollars in a civil settlement.
01:37In the fallout, he was stripped of his royal duties and military titles by his brother,
01:42King Charles III.
01:43There are growing signs this morning the United States could be moving closer
01:47to military action against Iran.
01:50CNN now reports the Pentagon is prepared to strike as early as this weekend,
01:55though President Trump has not made a final decision.
01:58Sources tell CNN the White House has been briefed that U.S. air and naval assets in the region
02:04could be ready within days.
02:05The U.S.S. Gerald Ford carrier group is expected to arrive in the region soon,
02:10joining the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
02:12Air Force refueling tankers and fighter jets based in the U.K. are also being repositioned
02:18closer to the region.
02:20White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the president is still weighing his options.
02:26The president has always been very clear, though, with respect to Iran or any country around
02:30the world, diplomacy is always his first option.
02:32And Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration.
02:38At the same time, new satellite imagery shows Iran fortifying key nuclear and military facilities,
02:45including concrete and soil, over parts of the Parchin military complex
02:49and tunnel entrances at the Isfahan nuclear complex,
02:53steps designed to make targets harder to hit from the air.
02:56Iran's leadership, meanwhile, is projecting defiance
02:59and warning the U.S. against escalation.
03:02On Tuesday, Vice President J.D. Vance said Iran still has not met U.S. red lines
03:08and that President Trump has the means to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
03:13You can't have people like that have the most dangerous weapon known to man.
03:17It would be awful for our security.
03:20It would be awful for the future of our children.
03:21That is the goal of the president of the United States, and he's got a lot of options
03:24and a lot of tools to make sure that doesn't happen.
03:27The pressure is already hitting the markets.
03:29CNBC reports oil prices jumped on Wednesday after Vance's comments
03:34as traders priced in higher risk if diplomacy breaks down.
03:38Another signal this morning?
03:39Russian naval video shows a warship docking in Iran ahead of joint activity in the region,
03:45as Tehran also runs drills near the Strait of Hormuz,
03:49the choke point for where a major share of global oil flows.
03:53For now, the White House says it's still watching for Iran's next move.
03:57But the message from Washington is clear.
03:59Time is tightening and the pressure is rising.
04:02The first meeting of President Trump's Board of Peace is happening today,
04:07with dozens of countries focused on rebuilding Gaza and stabilizing the territory.
04:12Ahead of the meeting, Trump said members have pledged $5 billion toward reconstruction.
04:18The total cost to rebuild Gaza is estimated at roughly $70 billion.
04:22Countries are also expected to commit thousands of personnel
04:25to stabilization and policing forces inside the territory.
04:30The board is a key piece of Trump's 20-point peace plan
04:33at ending the war between Israel and Hamas.
04:36The administration says it could also serve as a broader model
04:40for resolving other global conflicts.
04:42While large-scale fighting in Gaza has largely subsided,
04:46Israel's military continues airstrikes in areas it controls.
04:50More than 40 countries and the European Union are reportedly sending representatives.
04:55A senior administration official told the AP that Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland
05:00have not formally joined the board, but will attend today's session as observers.
05:05The U.N. Security Council held a high-level meeting yesterday on the ceasefire
05:09and Israel's expanding operations in the West Bank.
05:13That session was moved up after the Board of Peace meeting was announced.
05:16At the U.N., Ambassador Mike Waltz pushed back on criticism of the new initiative.
05:21I've heard we are hearing the chattering class criticizing the structure of the board,
05:28that it's unconventional, that it's unprecedented.
05:33Again, the old ways were not working.
05:37We had choices of Hamas continuing to control Gaza,
05:44an occupation of Gaza, or a new way.
05:50At today's session, the Gaza Executive Board, the operational arm of the effort,
05:55is expected to outline the next steps toward establishing a functioning governing structure
06:00inside Gaza.
06:02The Department of Homeland Security is now moving to detain thousands of refugees
06:08who are already legally living in the United States.
06:11A memo filed in federal court directs Citizenship and Immigration Services and ICE
06:16to detain refugees who entered lawfully but have not secured a green card within one year of arrival.
06:23They would be held during a new inspection and examination review.
06:27Under the memo, refugees can report for an interview
06:30and be taken into custody.
06:32If they do not, DHS says agents will locate them, track them down, and arrest them.
06:37The new inspections are meant to re-vet refugees for fraud,
06:41national security, or public safety concerns.
06:44Those who fail could lose their status or be placed in deportation proceedings.
06:49The directive reverses a 2010 policy that said failing to obtain
06:53lawful permanent resident status alone was not grounds for detention.
06:58The memo surfaced as legal fights continue in Minnesota,
07:02where a federal judge temporarily blocked detentions tied to the administration's refugee
07:07enforcement operation, writing that agents likely violated multiple federal statutes.
07:13Refugee advocates call the move a breach of trust and a sharp escalation,
07:18arguing it targets people the U.S. admitted legally.
07:22Out west, a rescue mission has now turned into a recovery operation after one of the deadliest
07:28avalanches in U.S. history.
07:30Authorities say eight of the nine skiers reported missing near California's Lake Tahoe area on
07:35Tuesday are dead.
07:37The search continues for the ninth, who is now presumed dead.
07:41Two rescue teams, about 50 members in all, were deployed from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort
07:46and Tahoe Donner's Alder Creek Adventure Center.
07:49Crews were able to reach six people.
07:51The Nevada County Sheriff said Wednesday one of those survivors remains hospitalized and has
07:57non-life-threatening injuries.
07:58But efforts to reach the final missing skier remain slow and dangerous.
08:03The avalanche risk is still high in the area.
08:06Extreme weather conditions, I would say, is an understatement.
08:10Lots of snow, gale force winds, winds making it impossible to see.
08:16So it was very much a slow and steady pace going with snowcats, skiers going up into the area,
08:26which is still considered a very high danger for avalanches.
08:30The group of 15 skiers was wrapping up a three-day backcountry trip with Blackbird Mountain guides
08:37when the avalanche hit.
08:38The tour included four guides and 11 clients.
08:42It's life in prison for the deposed world leader who declared martial law in South Korea
08:47just over a year ago.
08:49A Seoul court sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yol after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection.
08:56In December of 2024, amid a deepening political crisis, Yoon declared martial law
09:02and ordered troops to surround the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
09:06The court ruled it was an illegal bid to seize control of the assembly,
09:10detain lawmakers, and consolidate unchecked power.
09:13Under Yoon's martial law order, political activity was suspended,
09:18media outlets were placed under government control,
09:21and authorities were authorized to make arrests without warrants.
09:24The move drew comparisons to South Korea's authoritarian past when military-backed governments crushed dissent.
09:31But this time, lawmakers forced their way past the military blockade
09:35and voted to lift martial law just six hours after it began.
09:39They impeached Yoon soon after.
09:41He was formally removed from office in April of last year.
09:44By July, he was under arrest, facing multiple criminal charges, including rebellion.
09:50Finally this morning, a routine training patrol on the Hudson River
09:54turned into a rare rescue for the NYPD's harbor unit.
09:58You've got to see this.
09:59Officers were surveying ice Tuesday morning
10:02when they spotted what looked like a white head
10:05sticking out from a drifting piece of ice.
10:08It was an injured, bald eagle right there,
10:11soaked, bleeding, and clinging to the ice in frigid waters.
10:15The bird did not try to fly away as officers maneuvered their boat through chunks of ice.
10:21That's when they knew something was wrong.
10:22After getting the go-ahead from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation,
10:27officers used a catch pole to secure the eagle's wings,
10:30covered its head to keep it calm, and brought it on their boat.
10:35Handlers later transferred the eagle to the Raptor Trust in New Jersey.
10:39It is now in very serious but stable condition.
10:42Wildlife experts say bald eagles gather along the Hudson each winter,
10:46drawn by the open waters and fish,
10:49a symbol of recovery decades after near extinction.
10:53And let's hope this one survives, that's for sure.
10:55I watched this video in its entirety this morning.
10:58I was fascinated really by the entire rescue.
11:00And what amazed me was that the eagle never panicked.
11:04It didn't try to fly away.
11:06It didn't try to run.
11:07It almost seemed relieved, knowing that the humans were there to rescue it,
11:12and that better days are ahead.
11:13Let's hope so, right?
11:15All right, it's a packed political and policy day.
11:18Here's what we're tracking today.
11:19This morning, President Trump kicks off the first meeting of the new Board of Peace
11:23at the U.S. Institute of Peace,
11:25a mix of policy and fundraising tied to Gaza Reconstruction.
11:29Also this morning, governors from across the country
11:31gather for the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington.
11:35Later this afternoon, the president heads to Rome, Georgia,
11:39to visit Cusa Steel Corporation.
11:41And this evening, NASA teams prepare for a simulated launch window for Artemis II
11:46as the wet dress rehearsal continues.
11:48No caps, no clickbait, just the news to get you started for your day.
11:53Sign up for the Unbiased Updates newsletter,
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11:57Go to san.com slash newsletters.
11:59Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Thursday.
12:01We'll see you back here tomorrow, Friday.
12:03We all love that.
12:04For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
12:06Have a great day.
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