00:01Hurricane Aaron closing in, dangerous rip currents, towering waves, slamming the Carolina coast all the way to New York.
00:08Plus, Trump takes aim at the Smithsonian, saying woke is broke, and demanding America's museums tell a different story.
00:15And paint it black, Kristi Noem's new push to give Trump's border wall a fresh coat and a new message.
00:23The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:29These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:36Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:37We begin with Hurricane Aaron churning off the southeast coast, sending dangerous rip currents and rough surf up the eastern seaboard.
00:45The outer banks of North Carolina are bracing for the biggest impact.
00:49The governor there declaring a state of emergency.
00:51More than 1,800 residents have already evacuated.
00:54Aaron, a strong Category 2, is tracking parallel to the shore.
00:59Whipping up treacherous conditions from the Carolinas to New York.
01:03Beaches are officially closed, from New York City and Long Island to parts of Delaware and New Jersey.
01:09Beachgoers have been warned to stay out of the water.
01:12And more than 75 people were rescued from rip currents earlier this week.
01:16Another dozen yesterday alone.
01:18Waves of 20 feet are expected, with the National Weather Service warning of significant beach and coastal damage.
01:24As of 2 a.m., the storm was about 500 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, packing 100-mile-an-hour winds.
01:32You can see here the path Aaron is expected to take over the next five days.
01:38Kind of a curve shape there.
01:39Check out this stunning view from space, captured by the International Space Station, showing just how massive this storm is.
01:46Aaron is not expected to make landfall, but satellite imagery shows it's growing more organized,
01:52with forecasters expecting the storm to strengthen as it moves north through Thursday.
01:57Now to a surprising development in the war in Ukraine.
02:01The White House claims Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky within the next two weeks.
02:09The announcement follows Zelensky's meeting with President Trump at the White House Monday.
02:13On social media, Trump said he called Putin himself to begin setting it up.
02:18On Fox and Friends Tuesday, Trump said he won't join that meeting, at least not initially.
02:24They're getting along a little bit better than I thought.
02:26Otherwise, I wouldn't have set up the two meeting.
02:28I would have set up the three, a trilat.
02:31But I think they're doing a little bit better.
02:34There's been tremendous bad blood.
02:36If that works out, if it works out, then I'll go to the trilat and close it up.
02:40The big question now is where.
02:44Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine, making any summit location tricky.
02:51U.S. officials tell NBC News that Budapest and Geneva are on the table.
02:55But Russia's foreign minister is pouring cold water on the idea,
02:59saying any Putin-Zelensky meeting would need to be, quote, prepared with the utmost care.
03:04The fight over crime in the nation's capital is escalating.
03:08Federal prosecutors are now investigating whether Washington, D.C. police falsified crime numbers.
03:14The U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C., led now by former Fox News host Janine Pirro, opened the probe in recent days.
03:21Sources tell The New York Times investigators are looking into whether officials downplayed crime or filed false statements.
03:29President Trump confirmed the investigation on Truth Social, writing,
03:32D.C. gave fake crime numbers to create a false illusion of safety.
03:36This is very bad and dangerous, and they are under serious investigation.
03:41The inquiry comes as Trump has declared an emergency in the Capitol, seized control of the police force,
03:46and deployed federal agents, as well as the National Guard, to patrol city streets.
03:51City leaders, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, insist most crime categories are actually downed this year,
03:58and say any issues with reporting were confined to one district.
04:01Just this spring, the same U.S. Attorney's Office praised the city for a 25 percent drop in violent crime during Donald Trump's first 100 days.
04:10Some claim that crime is now down from 2023, but not overall compared to the national average.
04:17President Trump is now taking his crackdown on woke to the Smithsonian, confirming in a Truth Social post a sweeping White House review of the nation's museums.
04:27He accuses them of focusing too much on the darker chapters of American history, writing,
04:33The Smithsonian is out of control, where everything discussed is how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was, nothing about success, nothing about the future.
04:42He has now instructed his attorneys to go through the museums, similar to his regulations on universities.
04:48The White House has already launched a formal review, demanding exhibit plans, curatorial materials, and internal communications from several Smithsonian museums.
04:59City and cultural leaders warn the directive sets an impossible standard and could undermine scholarly independence.
05:05The Smithsonian has declined to comment.
05:08This morning, a new look for the southern border wall.
05:11Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the entire wall is being painted black.
05:16At the specific request of President Trump.
05:20Noem made the announcement in New Mexico, saying the dark color will absorb the heat, make the wall hotter and harder to climb, while also extending the lifespan of the steel.
05:30Now, if you look at the structure that's behind me, it's tall, which makes it very, very difficult to climb, almost impossible.
05:37It also goes deep into the ground, which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under.
05:42And today, we are also going to be painting it black.
05:46That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer.
05:56And it will make it even harder for people to climb.
05:59Noem also credited Congress's one big, beautiful bill for providing funding to finish the barrier.
06:05She says crews are now building nearly half a mile of new wall every day, while Border Patrol agents report apprehensions have dropped to decades' low levels.
06:14President Trump went on Truth Social Tuesday, proclaiming there were zero illegal entries in July.
06:20Finally this morning, a new face at Miss Universe will make history.
06:2427-year-old Nadine Ayub will represent Palestine for the first time ever at this year's pageant in Bangkok.
06:31Ayub was crowned Miss Palestine back in 2022.
06:34She will compete against more than 130 contestants at the 74th Miss Universe final on November 21st.
06:41The announcement comes as Israel expands its offensive in Gaza, fueling international criticism of the war.
06:48On Instagram, Ayub said she's honored to be the first to represent Palestine and will use the stage to speak up for Palestinian women and children.
06:58Before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
07:00This morning, the Texas State House chamber will gavel back into session.
07:04Republicans could be on the cusp of passing that new redistricting map now that Democrats are back in the state.
07:11At 10 Eastern, Google is expected to unveil its new Pixel 10 smartphone, along with updates to its watch, wireless earbuds and more.
07:19At 2 o'clock, the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its July meeting, a deeper look into why officials held rates steady despite pressure from President Trump to cut them.
07:29And later this afternoon, the Philadelphia Zoo will show off 16 critically endangered Galapagos tortoises hatched this year, a major success story for conservation.
07:40I mean, two of them have to be named, what, Liberty and Bell, right?
07:44You get the Philadelphia reference.
07:46Or how about Rocky, right?
07:47Gonna fly now.
07:48Eye of the Tiger.
07:49Shout out to Philadelphia this morning.
07:51By the way, don't let your Uncle Bob on Facebook be your news source.
07:55Sign up for our newsletter, Straight Facts, No Fluff, delivered right to your inbox each morning.
08:00Go to san.com slash newsletters.
08:03Those are your unbiased updates for this Wednesday.
08:05We'll see you back here tomorrow.
08:06For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
08:08Have a great day.
08:10I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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