00:00The shutdown clock is ticking again.
00:03Lawmakers race toward a midnight deadline with Homeland Security funding at the center of the standoff.
00:08And winter's one-two punch, another blast of snow, bitter cold temperatures and misery forecast for the East Coast.
00:18The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:24These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:30Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:32We start with a major shakeup at the Federal Reserve.
00:35President Trump says he's nominating Kevin Walsh to serve as the next chair of the central bank,
00:41a decision that could help shape the direction of interest rate policy.
00:45Trump announced the pick in a post on Truth Social, praising Walsh as, quote, one of the great Fed chairmen.
00:51If confirmed by the Senate, Walsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May.
00:57The president appointed Powell in 2017, but has repeatedly criticized him this year for refusing to cut interest rates more
01:05aggressively.
01:06Walsh is no stranger to the Fed.
01:08He served as governor from 2006 to 2011, becoming the youngest in the central bank's history when he was appointed
01:15at just 35.
01:16Interestingly, Walsh has often been seen as a policy hawk, typically favoring higher rates to control inflation,
01:23even as Trump has pushed for significant rate cuts.
01:26The nomination now sets up what could be a closely watched confirmation fight on Capitol Hill.
01:32Now to the potential government shutdown that's just hours away.
01:36Senate Democrats and President Trump have reached a tentative deal to keep the government open,
01:41but lawmakers are struggling to line up the votes needed to pass it.
01:45The proposal would split funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the broader spending package.
01:51Under the plan, most of the government would be funded through September,
01:55while DHS would receive only a short-term extension of about two weeks,
02:00giving lawmakers more time to negotiate immigration policy.
02:04The talks follow growing pressure on Capitol Hill after a second, deadly federal officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis,
02:10which has intensified debate over the Trump administration's enforcement strategy.
02:15But before any vote can happen, the Senate must first reach unanimous agreement to advance the measure.
02:21And several lawmakers from both parties are still holding out.
02:25Among the most vocal, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
02:28ABC News reports Graham stormed into Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office on Thursday,
02:34calling the agreement, quote, a bad deal, and saying he opposes it moving forward.
02:39Even if the Senate passes the bill today, a short government shutdown remains possible.
02:44The House would still need to approve the measure before it can reach President Trump's desk.
02:50President Trump is threatening new tariffs on more countries, this time targeting countries that sell oil to Cuba.
02:57In an executive order, the president calls Cuba's government an extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
03:05The same order cites Havana's ties to Russia, China, Iran, and the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
03:11Trump did not specify how high the tariffs could go, but said any country that directly or indirectly provides oil
03:18to Cuba
03:19could face new levies on goods sold in the United States.
03:22Speaking to reporters at an event honoring First Lady Melania Trump at the Kennedy Center last night,
03:28the president suggested Cuba's government may not endure.
03:32Cuba is a failing nation.
03:34And you have to feel badly for Cuba.
03:36They've treated people very badly.
03:38We have a lot of Cuban-Americans who really were treated very badly, and they'd probably like to go back.
03:43And, no, I'm not trying to, but it looks like it's something that's just not going to be able to
03:49survive.
03:50I think Cuba will not be able to survive.
03:51The president also escalated trade tensions with Canada,
03:55threatening to decertify Canada-made aircraft and impose a 50 percent tariff.
04:00Trump accuses Canada of illegally blocking certification of U.S.-built Gulfstream jets.
04:06Tax season is here, and President Trump is seeking a massive payback from the federal government.
04:13The president is suing the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion.
04:18The lawsuit accuses the agencies of failing to protect sensitive records
04:22after an IRS contractor leaked tax returns belonging to Trump and his sons, Don Jr. and Eric,
04:29to news organizations in 2020.
04:31The suit claims the disclosures cause, quote,
04:34reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment,
04:37and unfairly damage the family's business standing.
04:40Former contractor Charles Littlejohn is now serving a five-year prison sentence
04:44for leaking the federal data.
04:46The New York Times reported that Trump paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and again in 2021.
04:54ProPublica later published reporting based on the same cache of information.
04:59Prosecutors said Littlejohn abused his access to confidential taxpayer data
05:04to advance his own political agenda.
05:06Trump, who broke with modern presidential precedent,
05:09repeatedly refused to release his tax returns during his campaigns and time in office,
05:14despite sustained political pressure.
05:16Just days ago, the Treasury Department canceled all contracts with the firm Littlejohn worked for.
05:22So far, neither the IRS nor the Treasury Department has publicly responded to the lawsuit.
05:28New questions this morning after the nation's top intelligence official was spotted
05:33at an FBI raid tied to the 2020 election.
05:36Photos show Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, right there with the ball cap,
05:41on-site Wednesday night, as federal agents searched an elections facility in Georgia,
05:46a highly unusual appearance for a spy chief in a domestic law enforcement operation.
05:51So, why was she there?
05:53According to exclusive reporting from The Wall Street Journal,
05:56Gabbard has quietly spent months leading the Trump administration's effort to re-examine the 2020 election,
06:03studying voter data, reviewing claims of foreign interference,
06:07and searching for potential crimes.
06:09The Journal reports she has been regularly briefing the president and senior aides,
06:14and is expected to produce a formal report on her findings.
06:18The court-authorized search targeted ballots, voter records, and voting machine data
06:23as part of an investigation into possible violations of federal election law, according to the Journal.
06:29Cyber security experts and multiple past reviews have found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 race,
06:36which Trump has continued to dispute, claiming he did not lose to Joe Biden.
06:41Gabbard's presence is now drawing sharp criticism from Democrats.
06:45In a post on X, Virginia Senator Mark Warner questioned why the intelligence chief would take part in an election
06:52raid.
06:52Tulsi Gabbard has even been in charge of dismantling what was called the Foreign Malign Influence Center
06:58to try to make sure foreign countries don't interfere in our elections.
07:02This complete Trump loyalist somehow popping up on an FBI raid?
07:06What the heck was she doing?
07:08We ought to stand up and step up against ICE.
07:10We also got to stand up and step up to protect our elections coming this year.
07:15Administration officials counter that Gabbard plays a key role in protecting election infrastructure
07:20and preventing foreign interference.
07:23The search marks the latest move in the administration's expanding effort
07:26to revisit the election nearly six years after it was decided.
07:30Another blast of dangerous winter weather is now taking aim at the East Coast,
07:35just as millions are still digging out from last weekend's deadly storm.
07:39They're calling this one a bomb cyclone.
07:43Forecasters say repeated waves of Arctic air will drive temperatures well below freezing through the weekend,
07:49creating one of the longest stretches of cold that the eastern U.S. has seen in decades.
07:53You do not want to be in the purple on that map.
07:55Record lows are possible in several major cities, with wind chills plunging below zero in some areas.
08:02Now the attention turns to a coastal system expected to develop over the Carolinas later tonight,
08:08potentially intensifying into a powerful winter storm.
08:12Meteorologists are increasingly confident the southern Appalachians, Carolinas, and parts of Virginia
08:17will see significant snowfall, with some areas facing up to a foot or more.
08:21The warning comes as many communities are still reeling from the last winter blast, not even a full week ago.
08:28In fact, this was New York City just a few days ago.
08:30Utility crews across parts of the south are racing to restore power, like you're seeing here in Tennessee.
08:37Thick ice brought down trees and power lines, leaving tens of thousands in the dark in Nashville, where this video
08:43was shot.
08:44At least 80 deaths are linked to the prolonged cold nationwide, and that number will likely increase this weekend.
08:51Finally this morning, a remarkable look into an ancient civilization.
08:56Archaeologists have uncovered a 1,400-year-old tomb in Mexico, described as one of the most important finds in
09:03years.
09:03Located in the southern state of Oaxaca, the tomb was built by the indigenous Zapotecs, often referred to as Cloud
09:12People, around the year 600.
09:14Officials say the archaeologists were alerted to the site after receiving an anonymous report of possible looting.
09:21Above the entrance, researchers found a striking stone sculpture, an owl, clutching a human head in its beak,
09:29a symbol experts believe is connected to death and the afterlife.
09:34Inside, the chamber features vibrant murals and iconography linked to power and spiritual beliefs.
09:41Tales that help shed new light on Zapotec culture. Wow.
09:46Mexico's president, Claudia Scheinbaum, called it, quote,
09:48the most significant archaeological discovery of the last decade.
09:53All right, we read the Internet so you don't have to.
09:56To sign up for Unbiased Updates, our newsletter, go to san.com slash newsletters.
10:01Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Friday.
10:03We'll see you back here on Monday.
10:04For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
10:07Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend.
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