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.
00:51He'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.
01:56Have you seen the case 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 with 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, mainly 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 and 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, when 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 have agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary,
03:48to see if, quote, we 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.
05:02Nonprofit 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.
05:45New 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.
06:05They butted heads on everything from local issues, including crime, policing, housing,
06:10and the largest public school system in the nation, to national issues,
06:14like 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.
06:34This is Straight From You, where we fact-check claims, separate fact from fiction,
06:39and 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.
07:01So when the government shuts down, it does too.
07:05Once the leftover funds run out, the doors close.
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.
07:32That'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 that the evidence doesn't support,
08:17to 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 because they were captured as bargaining chips.
08:55The 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 and held for long periods without charges or a trial.
09:09Some U.N. experts argue these detainees also meet the legal definition of hostages, claiming 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, delivered right to your inbox each morning.
09:35Go to san.com slash newsletters.
09:37Those 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 DeGrelli.
09:44Have a fantastic Friday.
Comments