00:01President Trump says America is winning again.
00:04Democrats say he's making life more expensive.
00:07So this morning, who's right?
00:08And what's the real State of the Union?
00:11Plus, they were called the Seditious Six.
00:13Six Democrats accused of urging troops to reject illegal orders.
00:17Now the Justice Department backs off its case against them.
00:21And nearly a month since she vanished.
00:23Now investigators say key DNA found in Nancy Guthrie's home may not produce a usable profile.
00:33The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:38These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:44Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:46From the economy and immigration to Iran, even Olympic champions.
00:51President Donald Trump's record-breaking State of the Union address carried one unmistakable message.
00:57America is on top.
00:58Our country is winning again.
01:01In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it.
01:06People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much.
01:11We can't take it anymore.
01:13We're not used to winning in our country until you came along.
01:17We're just always losing, but now we're winning too much.
01:20One of Trump's central themes was the economy.
01:23Despite recent polls showing many Americans feel strained and uncertain,
01:28he touted what he described as strong markets and lower prices,
01:32and blamed Democrats for lingering problems.
01:34He also defended his global tariff strategy
01:37and lamented last week's Supreme Court decision striking down those levies.
01:42I used these tariffs, took in hundreds of billions of dollars to make great deals for our country,
01:47both economically and on a national security basis.
01:52Everything was working well.
01:54Countries that were ripping us off for decades are now paying us hundreds of billions of dollars.
02:00And then just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court.
02:04It just came down.
02:06It came down.
02:07Very unfortunate ruling.
02:08On foreign policy, Trump again singled out Iran, warning Tehran it won't be allowed to develop nuclear weapons,
02:16and saying diplomacy is his preference.
02:19My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy.
02:24But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror,
02:29which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.
02:32Can't let that happen.
02:34The address also featured ceremonial moments, with Trump awarding Medals of Honor.
02:39He also announced he plans to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. men's Olympic hockey goalie
02:45Conor Hellebuck for his tremendous performance in backstopping the team to winning the gold medal.
02:51The nearly two-hour address was the longest in State of the Union history.
02:55The State of the Union address also turned tense, at times chaotic, as Democrats protested Trump's remarks on immigration and
03:04alleged fraud.
03:05Texas Congressman Al Green was ejected for the second straight year after holding a sign that read,
03:10Black people aren't apes.
03:12Green said the message responded to a video Trump posted earlier this month that depicted former President Barack Obama
03:19and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
03:22As Trump continued speaking, several Democrats shouted back.
03:26Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota yelled,
03:29You should be ashamed.
03:30Representative Rashida Tlaib shouted,
03:33Liar.
03:33Later, Omar and Tlaib accused the president of killing Americans before leaving the chamber.
03:39Other Democrats wore pins reading,
03:41Stand with Survivors, Release the Files,
03:44spotlighting the Epstein files issued during the address.
03:47In the official Democratic response, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger argued Americans did not hear the truth
03:54and blamed the president's trade policies for higher costs.
03:58Since this president took office last year,
04:01his reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs.
04:09And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago,
04:14the damage to us, the American people, has already been done.
04:18She also criticized the administration's immigration enforcement,
04:22accusing the president of sending what she called poorly trained federal agents into American cities.
04:28A case that could have put six Democratic lawmakers in legal jeopardy is now effectively dead in Washington.
04:35NBC News was first to report that U.S. Attorney for D.C. Janine Pirro's office
04:41has stopped pursuing charges against six Democratic members of Congress over a social media video.
04:47In that video, the lawmakers, all with military or intelligence backgrounds,
04:52urged service members to refuse unlawful orders.
04:55Piro's office had sought to indict them under a federal statute related to insubordination.
05:01But earlier this month, a federal grand jury in Washington unanimously rejected the attempt,
05:06an unusual setback for prosecutors.
05:09President Trump had called the lawmakers' actions
05:11sedition at the highest level in a truth social post
05:15and suggested their conduct could be punishable by death.
05:18Legal experts and Democrats criticized the investigation as a political attack on protected speech.
05:24The lawmakers have said they will not be intimidated.
05:27While another federal district could theoretically revisit the case,
05:31there are no public indications that will happen.
05:34Pirro's office declined to comment.
05:36Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given Anthropics' CEO a deadline
05:41to provide full access to the company's AI model, Claude.
05:46The demand follows the Defense Department's use of Claude
05:48in the raid in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
05:53Anthropics has asked the Pentagon to agree to guardrails,
05:57limits that would prevent the AI from being used for mass surveillance of Americans.
06:03Defense officials say spying on Americans is illegal.
06:06In a meeting Tuesday, Hegseth told Anthropics' CEO
06:09he will not allow a private company to dictate how the Pentagon makes operational decisions
06:15or block specific uses.
06:17Axios reports Hegseth is considering invoking the Defense Production Act
06:22to force access, giving the company until Friday to agree voluntarily.
06:27New reporting this morning raises new questions in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
06:32CBS News reports DNA recovered from inside Guthrie's Tucson, Arizona home
06:37may not be strong enough to generate a usable profile.
06:40Sources close to the investigation describe the sample as low-level,
06:45meaning there may not be enough material to produce a clean match in federal or private DNA databases.
06:52The Pima County Sheriff's Department says its contracted lab is still analyzing the evidence
06:57and has not reached a final conclusion.
07:00Investigators are also turning to genetic genealogy,
07:03the same technique used in high-profile cases like the Golden State Killer,
07:07searching public DNA databases for potential relatives of an unknown suspect.
07:13So far, no arrests, no name suspect.
07:16Just the video you see here, captured on her doorbell camera.
07:20Now, as the case enters its fourth week,
07:22the Guthrie family is dramatically increasing the pressure.
07:26Savannah Guthrie, host of the Today Show,
07:28announced her family is offering a private reward of up to $1 million
07:32for information that leads to the finding of her mother.
07:35But we need to know where she is.
07:39We need her to come home.
07:43For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million
07:51for any information that leads us to her recovery.
07:56The FBI is separately offering a $100,000 reward
08:00and urging anyone with firsthand knowledge to call the tip line.
08:04Sheriff Chris Nanos has cleared Nancy Guthrie's children
08:07and their spouses as possible suspects.
08:10And every hour and minute and second
08:13and every long night has been agony since then
08:18of worrying about her
08:22and fearing for her and aching for her
08:27and most of all just missing her.
08:30Just missing her.
08:33Investigators continue to process evidence,
08:36review surveillance, and follow up on tips.
08:39This morning, the case remains open
08:41and the family says they will not stop searching.
08:44Nancy Guthrie has now been missing for the entire month of February.
08:48Another setback this morning for NASA's Artemis II moon mission.
08:52The planned March launch,
08:54sending three Americans and one Canadian
08:56on a flight around the moon is now off.
08:59NASA says engineers discovered insufficient helium flow
09:03to the rocket's upper stage,
09:05forcing the agency to roll the Space Launch System, or SLS,
09:10back from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
09:13NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X,
09:16we will begin preparations for rollback
09:19and this will take the March launch window out of consideration.
09:22He added that disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA.
09:26Last month, a February launch attempt was scrubbed due to a fuel leak.
09:31Just days ago, officials expressed optimism after a successful fueling test.
09:36Now, with the rollback underway,
09:38the earliest possible launch opportunity appears to shift to April
09:42if repairs move forward as planned.
09:45Artemis II is the first crewed mission in NASA's program
09:49to return astronauts to the moon since the Apollo era.
09:52Let's hope for the best there.
09:54All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
09:56At 12.30, sentencing is set for Jasmine Sanga,
09:59known as the so-called Ketamine Queen,
10:02after pleading guilty to federal charges
10:03tied to the death of actor Matthew Perry.
10:06Later that hour, House Democrats gather for their annual Issues Conference,
10:10rolling out their Fighting for an Affordable America agenda.
10:14Tonight at 7, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
10:16delivers her final State of the State address.
10:19She's term-limited, and this speech could help shape what comes next.
10:23No noise, no sides, just the story.
10:26Sign up for our Unbiased Updates newsletter,
10:28delivered right to your inbox each morning.
10:30Go to san.com slash newsletters.
10:32Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Wednesday.
10:35We'll see you back here tomorrow.
10:36For all of us here at Straight Arrow News,
10:38I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:38Have a great day.
10:41For all of us here at Straight Arrow News,
10:42I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:42I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:42I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:42I'm Craig DiGrelli.
Comments