FBI probes Dems over 'illegal orders' video; Trump denies Patel firing report

Getting closer. Ukraine and Russia agree to more of Trump's peace plan

What's left? And is another Trump-Putin meeting in the cards? Plus, new fallout from that illegal orders video

One Democrat says she fears for her family. Now the FBI wants to question all six

And a firing frenzy that wasn't. The White House swats down rumors Kash Patel is out

even snapping a photo to prove it. The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world

These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News. Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. This morning, new signs the Russia-Ukraine war

could be closing in on a peace deal. Multiple news outlets report Ukraine has mostly agreed

to President Trump's plan, with only a few details left to hammer out

U.S. officials tell NBC and CBS that Ukrainian negotiators have signed on to the broad outlines of the agreement

with minor points still being finalized. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told European allies Tuesday he's ready to move ahead

but wants their support as talks enter the final stretch. And I'm ready to meet with President Trump

And there are sensitive points to discuss. We have them still. and we think that the presence of European leaders could be helpful

President Trump also sounded optimistic, writing on Truth Social that the original 28-point peace plan

drafted by the U.S. has been fine-tuned with additional input from both sides

and that only a few disagreements remain. He says Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin

and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will meet with Ukrainians to finish the work

Trump says he won't meet with Putin or Zelensky until the deal is done or in its final stages

When asked about his earlier hope to seal a deal by Thanksgiving, Trump said this on Air Force One

I don't have a deadline. I just, you know, the deadline for me is when it's over

And I think everybody's tired of fighting at this moment. They're losing too many people

Trump also said Whitcoff could meet Putin next week and that his son Jared Kushner might join them It is still unclear when Driscoll will sit down with Ukrainian officials next This morning the fallout is deepening after the FBI confirms it has opened an inquiry

into the six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in that controversial video telling U.S. troops they can and should refuse illegal orders

Michigan Senator Alyssa Slotkin, who organized the video, says the bureau's counterterrorism division notified the group on Monday night

The counterterrorism division at the FBI sent a note to the members of Congress

saying they are opening what appears to be an inquiry against the six of us

To be honest, the president's reaction and the use of the FBI against us is exactly why we made

the video. He believes in using the federal government against his perceived adversaries

The six Democrats, all military or intelligence veterans, say they are now being targeted after

President Trump called their actions seditious and suggested on True Social their behavior could

be, quote, punishable by death. The minute I saw the president said they should be hanged

and in effect, I knew that our security situation was going to change precipitously

Obviously, I'm worried about my family. I'm worried about my staff. You know, I've served

three tours in Iraq. I've done dangerous things. I signed up for this, but my family didn't

My nieces and nephews didn't. The group issued a joint statement saying President Trump is using

the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress. No amount of intimidation

or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution

The video at the center of the firestorm posted last week reminded service members that U.S. law

requires them to refuse any order that's illegal. Slotkin later told ABC News she is not aware of

Trump issuing any illegal orders. But the White House says the video itself was reckless and

potentially harmful to the chain of command Separately Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is facing a Pentagon review for his role in that same video Kelly is the only one of the six who can be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice because he a retired Navy officer

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has formally asked the Navy for a briefing by December 10th

on whether Kelly should be recalled to active duty and possibly face a court-martial

The White House is swatting down a report that President Trump is looking to oust FBI Director

Kash Patel, calling the story, quote, completely made up. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt posted

this photo late Tuesday, saying the article dropped while she was in the Oval Office in a

meeting with the President, Patel, and Trump's law enforcement team. It was included in a post

on X where she says she read the headline out loud. Trump laughed and said, what? That's totally

false. Come on, Kash, let's take a picture to show them you're doing a great job. The denial comes

after MS Now reported that Trump and top aides have grown frustrated with Patel over controversies

ranging from his girlfriend's security detail to use of a government jet, and they were considering

firing him. That report also said the president was eyeing senior bureau official Andrew Bailey as

a possible replacement. But just hours after that story posted, Patel was front and center at the

White House Turkey Pardon, where the president praised him publicly, saying he's very busy doing

a great job. And Trump was asked by reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday about Patel. Here's what

he had to say. No, he's doing a good job. Cash Patel? No, he's doing a great job, I think

Less than a week after Congress voted to release the Epstein files, a federal judge just turned up

the heat on how we got here. A federal judge is now forcing the Justice Department to hurry up

its response to a Freedom of Information Act request, one that zeroes in on why the Trump

administration refused to release the Epstein files back in July. At the time, a DOJ-FBI memo

said there was no basis to disclose the materials. But the legal nonprofit Democracy Forward sued

asking to see internal records, including whether Attorney General Pam Bondi misled the public when

she claimed Epstein client list was sitting on her desk ready for review The group also wants to know whether the DOJ reversed course because of who appeared in the files including President Trump name The federal judge Tanya Chutkin agreed to fast the request calling it a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest

and saying it raises possible questions about the government's integrity. As of now, the DOJ has until December 19th to hand over the full set of the Epstein files

The Trump administration is rolling out new price cuts for 15 medications covered by Medicare

including some of the most popular weight loss drugs. The discounts come through the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program

a key piece of former President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The Trump administration says the new prices will save taxpayers $12 billion

and cut out-of-pocket costs for Medicare enrollees by $685 million. Under the plan, Ozempic and Wagovi, also used to treat type 2 diabetes

would drop from $959 for a 30-day supply to $274. The cuts also slashed the cost of four cancer drugs by thousands of dollars each

and reduced prices for two other diabetes medications down to double-digit costs

But these new prices won't kick in until 2027. You can see the full list of affected drugs right now on our website, san.com

Finally this morning, Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano is putting on another show, and this one is a stunner

Kilauea shot fountains of lava more than 400 feet into the air on Tuesday

Look at that. Wow. The 37th outburst since this current eruption began almost a year ago

Some of this year's fountains have been massive. Get this, one earlier this month soared over 1,000 feet, towering like a volcanic skyscraper

Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park says it will host a public geology talk on December 23rd

to mark one year of this remarkable, still-ongoing eruption. I mean, wouldn't you like to be there to learn and take notes to learn more

I would. All right, by the way, in case you haven't noticed, we are the fastest, fairest few minutes in news

So tell your friends about us, watch us at SAN.com or on the app, or stream us on Spotify

Those are your unbiased updates for this Wednesday. Kara Rucker will be in for me tomorrow

For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, have a great day and a wonderful, happy Thanksgiving