Hamas announces that all reachable hostages have been returned. And Trump claims the CIA is conducting operations in Venezuela.
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Complications already in the ceasefire in Gaza
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How the return of dead Israelis is now turning into a body count
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Plus, could the U.S. launch attacks on Venezuela? What President Trump said about possibly going further than blowing boats out of the water
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And the final report is in on why the search for wreckage from the Titanic
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resulted in a catastrophic and deadly implosion. How faulty engineering doomed the Titan submersible
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The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world
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These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News. Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli
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We begin this morning with the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. In an announcement that threatens the tentative peace between Israel and Hamas
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Hamas now says it has handed over all the hostage remains it can recover
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On Wednesday, the terror group released the remains of two more deceased hostages
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bringing the total to 10 returned. But a key term of the ceasefire agreement was that Hamas would return all remaining hostages
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living and dead. Eighteen still remain unaccounted for. On top of that, one of the bodies returned to Israel was not a hostage
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Hamas says it has not been able to access the rest of the remains because, quote
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significant efforts and special equipment are needed to recover them. The Israeli military has threatened to restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza if Hamas does not uphold its end of the ceasefire deal and return all the remains
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President Trump said Wednesday he believes Hamas is trying. It's a gruesome process. I almost hate to talk about it
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But they're digging. They're actually digging. There are areas where they're digging and they're finding a lot of bodies
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Then they have to separate the bodies. You wouldn't believe this. And some of those bodies have been in there a long time
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And some of them are under rubble They have to remove rubble A senior U advisor told reporters Wednesday nobody is getting left behind saying the U is sharing Israeli intelligence with Hamas to assist in finding hostage remains
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President Trump also told CNN Wednesday that Israel is ready to resume fighting in Gaza
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if Hamas does not uphold its end of the peace deal. Trump also said he does not believe the U.S. will need to get involved in disarming Hamas
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Israel and the U.S. have insisted Hamas must disarm in order for there to be lasting peace in Gaza
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President Trump has confirmed that he's authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela
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He made the comment while being questioned by reporters during an unrelated press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel
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While Trump did not give any specific details, the acknowledgement is unprecedented, as the CIA usually operates in secrecy
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The president said there were two reasons behind his decision. Venezuela has, quote, emptied their prisons into the U.S
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And a lot of drugs are coming into the U.S. from there. And while his administration has been focused on blowing up suspected drug boats in the Caribbean
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the president is not ruling out strikes on Venezuelan land. I don't want to tell you exactly, but we are certainly looking at land now because we've got the sea very well under control
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we've had a couple of days where there isn't a boat to be found. Venezuelan President Nicolas
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Maduro on Wednesday said the operations are part of a U.S. policy of aggression, threats
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and harassment. He called on Trump to stop the CIA from carrying out a coup
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The Trump administration's so-called bailout of Argentina's economy is raising some eyebrows and
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has plenty of second-guessers this morning. The administration is providing an additional
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$20 billion in financing for Argentina through a mix of sovereign funds and the private sector
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This comes after President Trump and Argentina president Javier Malay met at the White House Tuesday with Malay shoring up the billion commitment the U had already made The United States does not want Argentina troubled economy to collapse
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In addition, Trump supports Malay's reform agenda in that country. The $20 billion help is a currency swap in which the U.S. Treasury will trade dollars for pesos
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in what amounts to a loan, with Argentina expected to eventually pay the money back
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However, many American farmers are not happy. In a huge blow to farmers, China currently is not buying any soybeans from the U.S
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as a trade battle plays out between the two countries. Instead, China has turned its attention to buying soybeans from Argentina and Brazil
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One Midwest farmer told ABC News that America sending billions to Argentina
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seems counterintuitive to Trump's America First ideology. While Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wrote on X
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Why would the USA help bail out Argentina while they take the American soybean producers' biggest market
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Today marks day 16 of the federal government shutdown after the Senate failed again on Wednesday to pass a House Republican bill to fund the government
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The Senate is now 0 for 9 when it comes to advancing that bill. The issues are the same. Republicans want a so-called clean continuing resolution with no add-ons
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Democrats are demanding the extension of Obamacare tax credits and the repeal of changes to Medicaid
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Meantime, a federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the shutdown
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Some 4,000 layoffs began last Friday. Two unions then sued. U.S. District Judge Susan Ilston from the Northern District of California and a Clinton appointee stated the layoffs were politically motivated and, quote
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The activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws
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You can't do this in a nation of laws. Also on Wednesday, White House Budget Director Russell Vogt stated the Trump administration
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wants to be aggressive in cutting bureaucracy and the administration could slash more than 10 federal jobs during this shutdown This morning the final report is in and federal investigators have concluded that faulty engineering caused the implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five people who
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were looking for wreckage from the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean. The National Transportation
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Safety Board reports that the faulty engineering meant the pressure vessel contained multiple
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anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements. The NTSB also found
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that Oceangate, which owned the submersible, failed to properly test it, which led to a lack
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of knowledge about the Titan's durability. All five people on board died when the vessel exploded
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and plunged to the ocean floor in June of 2023. Finally this morning, from athletes to angels
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this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show featured two models making history on the catwalk
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WNBA star Angel Reese and two-time Olympic gold medal gymnast Suni Lee strutted their stuff during Wednesday night's show
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It was a modeling debut for Reese, who says the opportunity was a dream come true
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The Chicago Sky Forward was the first pro athlete to take part in the show
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It was also a debut moment for Suni Lee. While the Olympic gymnast has graced fashion weeks in the past, this is the first time she's walked the runway herself
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Congratulations to them. Before we head out, here's what we're tracking today
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The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. They're expected to try again to pass a government funding bill after failing for the ninth time yesterday
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Lawmakers will also vote on a defense bill that would give the Pentagon funding for a full year
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and make sure military members still get their paychecks even if the shutdown drags on past the end of the month
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Want more unbiased updates? Sign up for our newsletter. It's just the facts, no fluff, delivered right to your inbox each morning
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Go to san.com slash newsletters. Those are your unbiased updates for this Thursday
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We'll see you back here tomorrow, Friday. We love that. For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli
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Have a great day
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