00:00A holiday address from the White House and a familiar message.
00:04With voters souring on the economy, President Trump says things are actually great.
00:09Plus, a response at sea.
00:12After the U.S. orders an oil tanker blockade, Venezuela answers not with words, but with warships.
00:18And history with commentary.
00:20New White House plaques meant as a tribute, now reading more like a roast.
00:26The stories that matter, clear and credible.
00:30From across the country to around the world, these are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:38Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:40We begin this morning with President Donald Trump's primetime address to the nation.
00:44A full-throated defense of his economic record.
00:47And a blunt warning about what he says Democrats left behind.
00:51In a roughly 20-minute speech, the president argued the economy is back on track under his leadership.
00:57Blaming high prices on the Biden administration, while promising relief on everyday costs like groceries, prescription drugs, and energy.
01:05Trump also said he plans to take on what he calls the gigantic health insurance companies, though he didn't offer specifics on how those costs would be reduced.
01:14He also doubled down on his sweeping global tariffs, claiming they're paying off, and announcing what he termed warrior dividend checks of $1,776 for more than a million active duty service members.
01:27The White House says those payments are already being distributed.
01:30That announcement comes as economists have estimated that Trump tariffs have added hundreds of dollars a year to household costs.
01:38Looking ahead, Trump said he will soon name a replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a longtime critic, promising his pick will push interest rates lower.
01:47He also teased what he called some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history in 2026, predicting a major economic surge in the year ahead.
01:58Inflation has stopped. Wages are up. Prices are down. Our nation is strong. America is respected.
02:06And our country is back, stronger than ever before.
02:10We're poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.
02:15But public sentiment tells a different story.
02:18A new poll conducted this month finds 61% of Americans say the economy is not working well for them personally.
02:25And 7 in 10 say the cost of living is still unaffordable.
02:30Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is stepping down, ending a short, turbulent run at the bureau and signaling his return to the media world he came from.
02:39President Trump confirmed the move on Wednesday, suggesting Bongino is ready to go back to broadcasting.
02:44Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.
02:49Not long after, Bongino made it official, posting on X that he will leave the FBI in January, thanking President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel, saying it was a privilege to serve.
03:01Bongino spent less than a year as the FBI's number two official, a political appointee in a role typically held by a career agent.
03:09The former Secret Service agent and pro-Trump podcaster faced internal clashes, public scrutiny, and ongoing tension over the bureau's direction.
03:18Sources tell CNN Bongino struggled with the grind of the job and the shift from opinionated media figure to evidence-based law enforcement leader,
03:27especially as he worked to distance himself from conspiracy theories that he once promoted.
03:32The standoff with Venezuela has taken a sharper turn.
03:36After President Trump declared what he's calling a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers,
03:41Venezuela has ordered its Navy to escort ships carrying petroleum products out of port.
03:47It's a direct show of force as those vessels head toward Asian markets.
03:51The New York Times reports several tankers left Venezuela's coast under military protection
03:56just hours after Trump said the U.S. would stop oil shipments tied to sanctions violations.
04:01The White House is now watching closely, weighing the next steps as the risk of a confrontation rises.
04:08President Trump doubled down on Wednesday on patrolling the waters and accusing Venezuela of stealing American oil assets.
04:15It's a blockade.
04:16I'm not going to let anybody going through that shouldn't be going through.
04:19You remember, they took all of our energy rights, they took all of our oil from not that long ago, and we want it back.
04:28But they took it.
04:30They illegally took it.
04:31Venezuela's government fired back, calling the move warmongering, filing a complaint with the United Nations
04:37and insisting its ships have a right to free navigation as oil exports remain the backbone of its economy.
04:43And in the background, the U.S. is quietly building muscle.
04:47Late Wednesday, the Pentagon confirmed another U.S. strike on an alleged drug-running boat in the eastern Pacific, killing four people.
04:55The military says the vessel was operating along a known narco-trafficking route and released video of the strike.
05:02American military assets are surging through Puerto Rico and across the region,
05:06part of the largest U.S. naval presence in Latin America in decades.
05:10The big question now, how far this goes, and whether this blockade stays economic or turns into something much bigger.
05:18The federal government is now acknowledging its role in a deadly mid-air collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.C. in late January.
05:26In court filings responding to a lawsuit from victims' families,
05:29the U.S. government admits the crew of an Army Blackhawk helicopter failed to maintain safe visual separation from an American Eagle passenger jet as it approached Reagan National Airport.
05:41According to the Justice Department filing, the helicopter crew was on a nighttime training mission using the night vision goggles and, quote,
05:48failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid other aircraft leading to the collision.
05:54The filing also assigns partial blame to the air traffic controller on duty that night,
05:59saying the controller negligently violated FAA procedures by failing to properly manage visual separation between the helicopter
06:07and the passenger plane that was incoming from Wichita, Kansas.
06:11At the time of the crash, multiple reports say only one air traffic controller was staffing the tower.
06:17Families of the victims have called the collision a wholly avoidable tragedy as the lawsuit continues to move forward.
06:24Saying the programs no longer align with the department's mission or priorities,
06:28the Department of Health and Human Services has cut more than half a dozen grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
06:35a move critics say may be retaliation after the group sued HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine policies.
06:43The grants funded research and programs aimed at reducing sudden infant death syndrome,
06:48preventing birth defects, and identifying autism in young children.
06:52The Academy's CEO, Mark Del Monte, warned the cuts could have real-world consequences,
06:58saying the sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants,
07:04children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States.
07:08The decision could also expose HHS to legal challenges,
07:12with opponents arguing the federal government cannot use funding cuts as a tool to punish protected speech.
07:18The American Academy of Pediatrics has already sued Secretary Kennedy,
07:22accusing him of taking steps that undermine confidence in vaccines,
07:26including firing all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
07:31and replacing them with critics of vaccination.
07:34Under Kennedy's leadership, HHS has also removed CDC recommendations
07:39that pregnant women and children receive COVID vaccines,
07:42and recently rolled back guidance encouraging newborns to receive the hepatitis B vaccine.
07:47Finally this morning, President Trump is literally putting his stamp on presidential history,
07:53installing new, sharply partisan plaques beneath the portraits of every former commander-in-chief
07:58along the White House colonnade.
08:00The exhibit is called the Presidential Walk of Fame,
08:03and the plaques, many written by Trump himself,
08:06don't just describe history, they judge it.
08:09Joe Biden is labeled Sleepy Joe,
08:11and called by far the worst president in American history,
08:14with plaques repeating Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
08:19Barack Obama is described as one of the most divisive political figures in history,
08:24and his health care law dismissed as unaffordable.
08:28Bill Clinton gets credit, but only with a reminder of scandals,
08:31and a final note that his wife lost to Trump in the race for president in 2016.
08:36The tone softens the further back you go,
08:39though even George W. Bush is criticized for starting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
08:45And Ronald Reagan?
08:46The plaque highlights his admiration for a young Donald Trump.
08:50Trump, meanwhile, gets two glowing entries of his own,
08:53celebrating what he calls the greatest economy in the history of the world.
08:56His popular vote win this time around in 2024,
08:59and ends with the line, the best is yet to come.
09:02The White House says the plaques are a tribute.
09:05Critics say it's something else entirely.
09:06All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
09:09In Phoenix, Turning Point USA kicks off its annual AmericaFest,
09:14bringing together high-profile conservative voices through the weekend.
09:18At 2.30 in Miami, Democrat Eileen Higgins will be sworn in
09:21as the city's first female mayor after a decisive win.
09:25Later at the White House, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order
09:29easing federal marijuana restrictions.
09:31And tonight, TikTok rolls out its first-ever awards show from Los Angeles.
09:36Celebrating the creators shaping its next era.
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09:48Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Thursday.
09:50We'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:51For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
09:54Have a great day.
09:54For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
09:57For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
09:58For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
09:58For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
09:59For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:00For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:01For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:02For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:03For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:04For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
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