00:01California takes a swing at Texas, a redistricting showdown with control of Congress on the line.
00:07They took an action in Texas and were responding to it.
00:12Plus, stop ordered. A judge blocks expansion at Alligator Alcatraz and bans new detainees from being brought inside.
00:20And Donald Trump thanks troops in D.C. with burgers and pizza and a hint at the next city he wants to federalize.
00:30The stories that matter, clear and credible from across the country to around the world.
00:35These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:42Good morning. I'm Craig DeGrelli. We begin in California, where Democrats just fired back at Texas,
00:47passing a sweeping redistricting plan designed to elect more Democrats to Congress.
00:52Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill yesterday after a fast track vote in Sacramento.
00:57He also called a special election in November so voters can decide whether the new maps stick.
01:04The move is a direct counterpunch to Texas, where Republicans, at President Trump's urging,
01:09push through a new map Wednesday that could net them five extra seats in the U.S. House.
01:14California Democrats say their plan would do the same, add five seats for their side and shore up four swing districts.
01:21This is not something six weeks ago that I ever imagined we would be doing.
01:26This is being done in response from Texas. This was not an organized effort.
01:30This was a reaction to an assault on our democracy in Texas.
01:36And we're going to continue to support those that are of like mind to get the vote out and to get the word about what this is all about.
01:44Governor Newsom's move put him at the center of a redistricting showdown between the nation's two biggest states,
01:51a battle that could decide control of the House in 2026.
01:55But Republicans are promising to fight this in court and at the ballot box.
01:59Some critics say fighting fire with fire could ultimately burn down public trust in the system.
02:04A federal judge has slammed the brakes on Alligator Alcatraz, Florida's controversial immigrant detention facility in the Everglades.
02:13The order, issued Thursday, bars any new construction and blocks Florida from bringing in more detainees.
02:20The facility can stay open, but within 60 days, the state must strip out temporary fencing, industrial lights, generators and waste equipment.
02:28The ruling is a major win for environmental groups and the Miccosukee tribe that sued over damage to the Everglades.
02:36Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' spokesperson brushed it off with a line saying, quote,
02:40the deportations will continue until morale improves.
02:44The state plans to appeal and the governor now says he is undeterred.
02:48Two important court cases involving President Trump to tell you about this morning.
02:52First, a New York appeals court has thrown out the half-billion-dollar penalty in his civil fraud case.
02:59The judges agreed Trump and his company are liable for fraud, but said the $500 million award was excessive and violated the Eighth Amendment.
03:07That money is now off the table as the case moves to further appeal.
03:11New York Attorney General Letitia James vows to keep fighting.
03:15Trump called the ruling a, quote, total victory.
03:17Meantime, the Supreme Court handed Trump a partial win in his push to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
03:24By a 5-4 vote, the justices allowed his administration to halt nearly $800 million in NIH research grants he said promoted gender ideology or race-based preferences.
03:36But the court also left the door open for challengers to win long-term, signaling the president's broader crackdown on DEI may not survive.
03:44President Trump put himself front and center in D.C.'s crime fight yesterday, speaking to hundreds of police and nearly 2,000 National Guard troops gathered at a park police facility in southeast Washington.
03:57He thanked them for what he says is their restoring safety and touted the deployment as a success.
04:02Trump mobilized guard units from six states to back up federal law enforcement patrolling tourist spots and transit hubs.
04:30But the move comes even as city crime stats show violent crime down 26 percent from last year, a three-decade low.
04:38However, the White House does not believe those numbers are correct.
04:41The Justice Department has now launched an investigation into the data to see if it was manipulated.
04:46Trump says this federal takeover is a test run, with Memphis likely next.
04:52D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser calls the move political theater that does not match the numbers on the ground.
04:57She says the federal surge is aimed less at violent crime and more at immigration and homelessness.
05:03The request from the feds that was represented in the PAM-Bondi order almost exclusively focused on immigration enforcement and homeless encampment enforcement.
05:18So I'll let you try your own conclusion.
05:22She also noted the surge has brought more checkpoints and masked federal officers on city streets, and so far no explanation why.
05:31This morning, the Justice Department is expected to hand over the first batch of Jeffrey Epstein files to Congress, but don't expect a full data dump anytime soon.
05:40The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, subpoenaed the documents after months of fighting.
05:47Republicans and Democrats alike have demanded transparency, but the DOJ says it will release the files piecemeal.
05:54The initial documents, due by day's end, could include FBI reports and material seized from Epstein's properties.
06:01Comer says he will move quickly to make them public, but he wants to review them first to protect victims.
06:06That's not satisfying Democrats or Republicans, like Thomas Massey and Ro Khanna, who want to floor vote to force full disclosure with only the victims' names and explicit material redacted.
06:18Democrats call the DOJ's plan a cover-up.
06:22This morning, Aaron is now a Category 2 hurricane, pulling away from the East Coast and tracking northeast toward Nova Scotia.
06:29The National Hurricane Center says Aaron remains a very large system, with winds around 105 miles an hour.
06:36Along the Jersey Shore, a state of emergency is in effect.
06:39Rip currents, high surf, and coastal flooding are all dangerous today and into the weekend.
06:44Finally this morning, a U.S. Space Force mini-shuttle is on its way to orbit, carrying out a classified mission for the military.
06:52Three, two, one, engines full power, and liftoff.
06:58Go, Space Force. Go, USS F-36.
07:03Those liftoffs are always so cool.
07:06SpaceX launched the unmanned vehicle known as X-37B from Cape Canaveral late Thursday night.
07:12The Space Force says it will test laser communications and new ways to navigate without GPS.
07:18This is the eighth flight for an experimental X-37B.
07:21A mini-shuttle that is just 29 feet long, with a wingspan of about 15 feet.
07:26No word on how long it will be up, but the last mission stayed in orbit for more than a year.
07:31A mini-shuttle. I love it.
07:34That reminds me of when I worked at KSTP in Minneapolis.
07:38The station that I worked for, KSTP, used to shuttle us back and forth from St. Paul to the State Fair.
07:43A mini-shuttle. It was great.
07:45And let me tell you, those Minnesotans, they think their State Fair is out of this world.
07:51A little dad joke and some fun on a Friday.
07:53All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
07:56This morning, a federal judge in Tennessee is expected to sign off on the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of El Salvador.
08:03He's the immigrant living in Maryland who became a flashpoint in the immigration due process debate
08:08and is now facing federal charges of human trafficking.
08:11At 10 Eastern, Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
08:15This is a big speech, and markets will be reacting to what he says and how he frames it,
08:20especially when it comes to interest rates.
08:22Also in the 10 o'clock hour, the Republican National Committee votes on a new chair in Atlanta.
08:27And later today, convicted killer Lyle Menendez faces a parole hearing in California,
08:32a day after his brother Eric was denied because the board says he's a risk to public safety.
08:38Hey, stop pretending to read the paper. We'll do it for you.
08:40Sign up for our Unbiased Updates newsletter straight to your inbox each morning, san.com slash newsletters.
08:48Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Friday. We'll see you back here on Monday.
08:51For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
08:54Have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend.
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