00:00Former National Security Advisor, now fierce Trump critic John Bolton,
00:05indicted on 18 counts in violation of the Espionage Act.
00:09What he's accused of doing with government documents and his reaction.
00:13Plus, President Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet for a second time.
00:16Where and what Trump said about a lengthy phone call with the Russian leader.
00:20And lowering the cost of in vitro fertilization.
00:23How the government is teaming up with the largest manufacturer to reduce fertility drug prices.
00:30The stories that matter, clear and credible.
00:34From across the country to around the world.
00:36These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:42Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:44We begin this morning with the federal indictment of President Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor, John Bolton.
00:50He's accused of unlawfully transmitting and retaining classified documents from Trump's first term in office.
00:57The indictment by a federal grand jury in Maryland accuses Bolton of sharing diary-like notes that contain classified information with relatives.
01:05And using a non-governmental email account to do it.
01:09That account was hacked in 2021.
01:11The indictment suggests classified information was exposed to operatives linked to the regime in Iran.
01:18Bolton is facing eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information.
01:22Bolton served as Trump's national security advisor in 2018 and 2019 until he was ousted by the president because he disagreed strongly with many of Bolton's suggestions.
01:38President Trump reacted to the news of Bolton's indictment while speaking with reporters at the White House on Thursday.
01:43I didn't know that, you tell me for the first time, but I think he's, you know, a bad person.
01:49I think he's a bad guy, yeah, he's a bad guy.
01:53He's too bad, but it's the way it goes.
01:56He's against us?
01:56It's the way it goes, right?
01:58Bolton is the third Trump adversary to be indicted in recent weeks.
02:02Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James are also facing federal charges brought by the Trump administration.
02:10In a statement, Bolton said the indictment is just the latest in the president's retribution against him, saying,
02:17I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies,
02:23with charges that were declined before or distort the facts.
02:27Bolton is expected to surrender to authorities as early as today.
02:30Expect them to continue.
02:33That's the word from the White House when it comes to blowing up boats in the Caribbean that it deems are drug vessels run by cartels,
02:39mainly from Venezuela.
02:41It happened for the sixth time in recent weeks on Thursday.
02:44The U.S. military conducting an airstrike on a boat.
02:47This time, there are reports of survivors.
02:49In what appears to be a related story, the commander of the Southern Command overseeing U.S. policy in the Caribbean
02:56and the waters off South America, Admiral Alvin Holsey, is abruptly retiring at the end of the year.
03:02Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X saying Holsey demonstrated unwavering commitment to the mission, people, and nation.
03:09But some are questioning why an admiral with 37 years of service would suddenly quit a job he started last November,
03:17when typically these posts last three to four years.
03:20The Pentagon did not elaborate on Holsey's impending retirement, telling media outlets to read Hegseth's statement on X.
03:27President Trump is now turning his international focus to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
03:33He went on Truth Social Thursday morning with a surprise post that said,
03:36I am speaking to President Putin now.
03:39The conversation is a lengthy one.
03:41About two hours later, Trump followed up with a second post that said he and the Russian leader
03:46have agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary, to see if, quote,
03:49we can bring this inglorious war between Russia and Ukraine to an end.
03:53No specific time or date was revealed.
03:55But Trump also said that a U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
04:00will be meeting with high-level Russian officials next week at a location to be determined.
04:04Trump says he made great progress in his call with Putin,
04:07who he says congratulated him on accomplishing peace in the Middle East.
04:12Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also posted on X that it was a productive phone call between Putin and Trump,
04:18saying the U.S.-Russian cooperation will prevail, while calling the U.K. and E.U. warmongers.
04:24You'll recall Trump and Putin met in August in Alaska for nearly three hours,
04:28but those talks did not lead to peace between Russia and Ukraine.
04:32Later today, President Trump will host Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House
04:36for more talks about Putin and ending the war.
04:40President Trump has announced plans to expand Americans' access to in vitro fertilization
04:45by making the drugs more affordable.
04:48Trump says the largest fertility drug manufacturer in the world, EMD-Sorono,
04:52could reduce its prices by more than 70 percent on Trump-Rx.
04:57The drugs typically cost about $5,000 per IVF cycle, according to the president.
05:02Non-profit research group KFF says most IVF patients in the U.S. pay out of pocket for treatment.
05:09Trump also announced his administration is expanding access to fertility care.
05:14Today, we're also taking historic steps to vastly expand access to insurance coverage
05:20for fertility care, including IVF, something that, as you know, was not covered.
05:26Effective immediately for the first time ever, we will make it legal for companies
05:31to offer supplemental insurance plans specifically for fertility.
05:37The announcement follows through on an executive order the president signed in February,
05:41directing federal agencies to find ways to lower the cost of IVF.
05:46New York City's three mayoral candidates faced off in the first of two televised debates
05:51on Thursday night as voters prepare to head to the polls in the general election
05:55in just a couple of weeks.
05:57Democratic Socialist Zoran Mandami, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,
06:01who is running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa were all on stage.
06:06They butted heads on everything from local issues, including crime, policing, housing,
06:10and the largest public school system in the nation, to national issues,
06:13like how they would handle the Trump administration and their stances on the Gaza ceasefire deal.
06:19Polls show Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary, is the frontrunner in the race.
06:23A second and final debate is scheduled for next week.
06:26Election Day is November 4th.
06:28Finally this morning, we polled some of your best comments and questions
06:31from our YouTube videos this week, and we're putting them to the test.
06:35This is Straight From You, where we fact-check claims,
06:37separate fact from fiction, and add context to what's murky.
06:41So here's what stood out this week.
06:43Let's clear up a viewer's question who said this,
06:45I thought the Smithsonian was self-sufficient.
06:48Why are tax dollars funding it?
06:50And why does the post office stay open?
06:52All right, so here's how it works.
06:53The Smithsonian runs 21 museums, the National Zoo, and a network of research centers.
06:59About 60% of its funding comes from Congress.
07:02So when the government shuts down, it does too.
07:04Once the leftover funds run out, the door is closed.
07:08Exhibits go dark, and the zoo's animal cams switch off.
07:11However, caretakers and security still report for duty.
07:15The U.S. Postal Service, on the other hand, is not taxpayer-funded.
07:18It's an independent agency that runs on sales from postage and shipping.
07:23So your mail keeps moving, shut down or not.
07:25So the difference comes down to who pays the bills.
07:28Smithsonian? Federal dollars.
07:30Post office? Self-funded.
07:31That's why you can still get your mail, but cannot visit the museums.
07:36All right, number two.
07:37There's confusion over the federal indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
07:42Her supporters call the bank fraud charges baseless, but the indictment documents clearly exist.
07:48So what does baseless mean?
07:50In the James case, it's a political and legal claim.
07:53Her team argues the motive for the federal prosecution is baseless,
07:57that it's a vindictive or selective case, stemming from President Trump's desire for revenge.
08:03But factually baseless charges are also a technical legal tool used in some state courts,
08:08as detailed in the Marquette Lawyer.
08:10This is an intentional plea bargain, where a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser crime
08:15that the evidence doesn't support, to avoid conviction on a more serious charge that the evidence does support.
08:21The key distinction?
08:23The Letitia James case is federal, where that state-level plea tactic is banned.
08:29On to number three.
08:31A viewer commented that the terms hostage and prisoner are biased.
08:35The distinction is legal, but also a hotly debated topic.
08:39Under international law, taking a hostage is a war crime.
08:43It means seizing someone to compel a third party to do something.
08:46Those taken by Hamas on October 7th are legally considered hostages
08:51because they were captured as bargaining chips.
08:54The status of Palestinians in Israeli captivity is more complex.
08:59Some are prisoners convicted of crimes in court.
09:02But NPR reports thousands were administrative detainees
09:06and held for long periods without charges or a trial.
09:09Some U.N. experts argue these detainees also meet the legal definition of hostages,
09:15claiming they are used as leverage.
09:17Other groups strongly reject this, calling it a false equivalency.
09:22All right, keep dropping those comments and asking questions on our S.A.N. YouTube page.
09:26We love seeing them.
09:27We'll tackle the biggest ones next week.
09:29By the way, want more Unbiased Updates?
09:30Sign up for our newsletter.
09:32It's just the facts, no fluff.
09:33Delivered right to your inbox each morning.
09:35Go to san.com slash newsletters.
09:38Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Friday.
09:40Our crew is back on Monday.
09:41For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
09:43Have a fantastic Friday.
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