Judge targets DHS over migrant flights, Trump shifts on boat strike video release

Did Homeland Security ignore a federal judge and deport more than 100 migrants anyway

The new timeline and where those planes actually went. Plus, will America ever see the full video of that follow-up boat strike in the Caribbean

Why Trump now seems to be backing away. And months after that high-profile suspension, Jimmy Kimmel just got a new deal

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, a federal judge is turning up the heat on the Trump administration, saying he still doesn't know whether Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

defied his order to stop a mass deportation flight. But he's now taking extraordinary steps to get answers

U.S. District Judge James Bosberg has ordered a top Department of Justice attorney

to take the witness stand, a rare move to explain how more than 100 men were deported in March

under the Alien Enemies Act, despite his attempt to halt the flights

Boesburg wants testimony next week from Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general

and from former DOJ prosecutor Arez Rouveni, who has accused the administration of dodging court

orders. The deportations, two planes sent to El Salvador's notorious Seacotton mega prison

took off before the judge could issue his temporary restraining order. That timeline has triggered a full-blown contempt inquiry

into whether the administration deliberately made sure the planes were gone before the court could intervene

In a new filing, Judge Boesberg said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's sworn declaration

does not provide enough information to determine whether she willfully violated the court

Noam says she moved forward only after receiving legal advice from DOJ leadership

In a separate immigration fight, an immigration judge has ordered the release of Bruna Ferreira

a Brazilian woman and the mother of White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt's nephew

Ferreira, who once held DACA status and is seeking a green card

had been in ICE custody as she fought possible deportation. She will now be allowed to continue that case outside detention

A walk back from President Trump on that controversial boat strike video after saying last week he had no problem releasing the unedited footage Now he flatly denying ever making that promise Impressed by a reporter asking again if he release the full video here is what Trump said

Mr. President, you said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the coast of Venezuela

Secretary Hegseth now says... I didn't say that. You said that. I didn't say that. This is ABC fake news

You said that you would have no problem releasing the full video. Okay, well, Secretary Hegseth... Whatever Hegseth wants to do is okay with me

He now says it's under review. Are you ordering the secretary to release that full video

Whatever he decides is OK with me. That shift comes as pressure builds in Washington

Lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats are now using the massive 3,086 page defense policy bill to force the Pentagon's hand

About 800 plus pages in, they've tucked in a provision with real teeth

A quarter of Pete Heggs' travel budget is frozen until Congress gets the unedited video of American strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats

including the September 2nd operation that left two survivors dead in a follow-up attack

Top Pentagon officials have already shown the footage to a small group of lawmakers behind closed doors, but they sharply disagree on what it shows

Some Republicans say it vindicates the military. Democrats say it raises serious questions and want it released publicly

That defense bill is expected to clear the House this week and move to the Senate without changes

The Supreme Court looks poised to hand the Trump administration a major win

one that could give the president far more power to remove top officials from independent agencies

even for political or policy reasons. The case centers on Trump's firing of federal trade commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democrat, earlier this year

Under a 1935 federal law, presidents can only remove leaders of independent boards for cause

Slaughter's ouster was a direct challenge to that rule, and ysts say it's part of Trump's broader push to exert more control over independent agencies

Inside the courtroom, the conservative majority appeared ready to back the president

Justice Brett Kavanaugh noting that these commissioners, quote, are not elected and exercise massive power over individual liberty and billion-dollar industries

The impact could be sweeping, potentially ending the independence of more than 20 bipartisan

agencies that oversee everything from monetary policy to consumer safety to broadcast licensing But the liberal wing warned of a constitutional earthquake Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the Trump administration lawyer you asking us to destroy the structure of government

A final decision is expected by June. Now to a major shakeup inside the Justice Department

Alina Habba, the former personal attorney to President Trump and his hand-picked U.S

attorney in New Jersey, is out. She resigned Monday, just days after a federal appeals court

ruled she had been serving in the role unlawfully. Haba was one of Trump's most high-profile U.S

attorney appointments, and stalled after her Senate confirmation, stalled. But last week

a unanimous three-judge panel said the administration's workarounds violated federal vacancy law, effectively stripping Haba of authority and freezing parts of New Jersey's

federal docket. In a statement on social media, Haba said she's stepping down to protect the

stability and integrity of the office, adding, quote, this decision will not weaken the Justice

Department and it will not weaken me. She will now serve as a senior advisor to Attorney General

Pam Bondi, overseeing U.S. attorneys nationwide while the DOJ prepares an appeal. Trump was asked

by reporters on Monday his reaction to it all. You've got a blue slip thing that's horrible

It's a horrible thing. It makes it impossible to appoint a judge or a U.S. attorney and it's a

shame and the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves that they allow this to go on

because I can't appoint a U.S. attorney that's not a Democrat because they put a block on it

The president there blaming the Senate's blue slip tradition, which lets the two home state

U.S. senators block nominees for why Habba and dozens of his picks have been tied up

I guess I just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one

another one. And it's a very sad situation. We're losing tremendous. We're losing a lot of great

people. We have about seven U.S. attorneys who are not going to be able to keep their jobs much

longer because of the blue slip. Habba's exit comes as several Trump appointed U.S. attorneys

have also been found to be serving illegally under similar appointment maneuvers. New Jersey

will now be run by a three prosecutor team until the White House names a permanent nominee

President Trump says he's green-lighting NVIDIA to sell its high-end AI chips to certain approved customers in China

a significant shift in tech policy with major national security stakes In a post on Truth Social the president said he told China Xi Jinping he would allow NVIDIA to sell its advanced H200 AI chips but only under a deal where the U

government takes a 25 percent cut of the profits. Trump also said the sales would happen, quote

under conditions that allow for continued strong national security, though he offered no details

on what those safeguards are. He added that Intel and AMD could be part of a similar arrangement

The Commerce Department is still hammering out the final terms, including who in China

qualifies as an approved customer and how the profit sharing would work

Finally this morning, Jimmy Kimmel isn't going anywhere. The late-night host just locked in

another year with ABC. Kimmel signed a one-year contract extension that keeps

Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC through May of 2027, marking nearly 24 years behind the desk

The New Deal comes just months after ABC temporarily pulled his show from the lineup

a suspension over comments tied to the death of political activist Charlie Kirk

which sparked a national debate over comedy, free speech, and the role of late-night TV

Kimmel, who first launched his show in 2003, remains one of the longest-running hosts in

late night. And now he's guaranteed at least one more lap. By the way, I looked it up this morning

Jimmy Fallon is on through 2028. Kimmel now 2027. And Colbert is out in early 2026. So there's your

scorecard for late night TV, which happens after this morning anchor is fast asleep. All right

a busy Tuesday on the political calendar. Here's what we're tracking. Opponents of the Trump-backed

redistricting effort in Missouri could file enough petition signatures today to force a statewide

vote. At 10, the Supreme Court hears a Republican-led challenge tied to Vice President J.D. Vance

arguing that limits on coordinated party spending violate free speech rights. At 3 p.m., the Vice

President hosts a Christmas reception at his residence. President Trump is expected to attend

And at 6, the President delivers an address in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, to spotlight his

economic agenda amid concerns about inflation and affordability. There are headlines worth reading

and emails worth opening. Sign up for our Unbiased Updates newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox each morning. Go to san.com slash newsletters

Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Tuesday. We'll see you back here tomorrow. For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli. Have a great day