00:01This morning, Israel says it has taken out two top leaders in Iran as new attacks hit American targets in
00:08the region.
00:09Plus, is Cuba next on the Trump takeover list?
00:12A new report says the U.S. wants the Cuban president ousted as the island goes dark and fuel runs
00:18dry.
00:19And a judge blocks RFK Jr.'s vaccine overhaul, calling out how the changes were pushed through.
00:27The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:33These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:39Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:41We start with news just in this morning with key takeouts in the war with Iran.
00:46Israel says it has killed two top Iranian leaders.
00:50Israel's defense minister announcing this morning that Israel killed the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali
00:58Larajani, in a strike overnight.
01:01The Israeli military also says Golem Reza Soleimani died in an Israeli attack on Monday.
01:08They say he led the Revolutionary Guard's All-Volunteer Basij force for years, a group used to crack down on
01:15protests.
01:16And he played a key role in recent unrest.
01:18Meanwhile, a U.S. embassy and American allies are facing new attacks.
01:24Witness video appears to show air defense systems intercepting drones targeting the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
01:31It's not clear if there was any damage or injuries.
01:35A witness tells Reuters at least three drones were heading toward the compound.
01:39Two were shot down and a third struck inside, sending smoke into the air.
01:44The United Arab Emirates temporarily shut down its airspace early today.
01:49Its military says it was responding to missile and drone threats from Iran.
01:53And this is big.
01:54President Trump says he is now delaying a planned trip to China as the war continues.
02:00He told reporters Monday he asked to push the trip back by, quote, a month or so.
02:05China's foreign minister says the U.S. clarified the delay is not tied to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
02:12Earlier, Trump said he wanted clarity on whether China would help secure the important shipping route.
02:18The president is also facing backlash after claiming a former president told him he wished he had bombed Iran.
02:26I've spoken to a certain president who I like, actually, a past president, former president.
02:32He said, I wish I did it.
02:34I wish I did.
02:35But they didn't do it.
02:36I'm doing it.
02:37Yeah.
02:37Which president?
02:38I can't tell you this.
02:40I don't want to embarrass him.
02:41It would be very bad for his career, even though he's got no career.
02:44Aids for all four living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, deny that claim.
02:53Now to a different matter.
02:55The Trump administration is quietly pressing for a leadership shakeup in Cuba.
03:01New York Times reports U.S. officials have told Cuban negotiators that President Miguel Diaz-Canel needs to step aside
03:08if the two countries are to reach a broader agreement.
03:11According to people familiar with the talks, Washington is not trying to dismantle Cuba's communist system,
03:18but wants Diaz-Canel removed as the public face of the government while negotiations move forward.
03:24U.S. officials believe replacing him could open the door to economic changes and potential deals with American businesses.
03:31Diaz-Canel has led Cuba since 2018.
03:34He was the first president since the 1959 revolution whose last name was not Castro.
03:41Remember Fidel and Raul?
03:42The Castro family still holds major influence behind the scenes.
03:47The talks are happening while Cuba's economic and energy crisis continues to deepen.
03:52Officials say the country's entire electrical grid failed on Monday, plunging the island's roughly 11 million residents into darkness.
04:00It's the third nationwide blackout in just four months.
04:05Crews have restored limited power in parts of Havana and a handful of hospitals,
04:10but large areas of the island remain without reliable electricity.
04:15Fuel shortages are also worsening the crisis.
04:18Long lines have formed outside gas stations,
04:20and tankers carrying fuel have been stuck at ports while the country scrambles to secure energy supplies.
04:26Diaz-Canel says Cuba has gone three months without oil shipments
04:31and blames the shortages on U.S. sanctions and an energy blockade.
04:35President Trump has suggested the United States could take a much bigger role in the island's future,
04:40saying this week he believes he could have the, quote,
04:44honor of taking Cuba.
04:45A federal judge has blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping changes to the nation's childhood vaccine schedule,
04:54a significant setback for one of the administration's most controversial health policy moves.
04:59The ruling sides largely with major medical groups that argued the administration improperly changed vaccine recommendations
05:07and reshaped the federal advisory panel that helps guide them.
05:11In his opinion, the judge sharply criticized the administration for bypassing the CDC's Independent Vaccine Advisory Committee,
05:19calling the move, quote,
05:20a technical procedural failure itself and a strong indication of something more fundamentally problematic,
05:27an abandonment of the technical knowledge and expertise embodied by that committee.
05:32Kennedy removed all 17 members of that committee last year and replaced them with new appointees,
05:38several of whom have been critical of vaccines.
05:41Under Kennedy, federal health officials revised the childhood immunization schedule,
05:46reducing the number of diseases routinely recommended for vaccination.
05:50The judge also put on hold actions taken by Kennedy's reworked advisory panel,
05:55which had been scheduled to meet again this week in Atlanta.
05:58The Trump administration is already signaling it plans to fight the decision.
06:02In a statement to Straight Arrow News, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said the administration,
06:09quote,
06:09looks forward to this judge's decision being overturned, just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.
06:16A jury in Utah has convicted a mother who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband's death of
06:24murder.
06:25The panel found Corey Richens guilty on multiple counts, including aggravated murder and fraud tied to insurance payouts after the
06:332022 death of her husband, Eric Richens.
06:37Prosecutors say she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail she gave him.
06:43They say she was millions of dollars in debt and she believed she would inherit his estate, valued at more
06:49than $4 million.
06:49Eric Richens' family says the verdict brings them long-awaited justice.
06:55Four years ago, our family lost the brightest light.
06:59Eric is deeply loved and missed every single day.
07:02We are grateful to everyone who has worked tirelessly to bring justice for Eric.
07:07Our focus is now on honoring Eric's life and supporting his boys as we all continue to heal.
07:13Sentencing is set for May 13th on what would have been Eric Richens' 44th birthday.
07:19The aggravated murder conviction alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
07:25The man accused of planting pipe bombs on Capitol Hill in 2021 is now asking a judge to throw out
07:32the case,
07:33arguing he's covered by President Trump's blanket January 6th pardons.
07:38Defense attorneys for Brian Cole Jr. say the case is tied to the events of January 6th,
07:43even though investigators believe he planted the bombs the night before.
07:48Searchers found the devices and safely detonated them the afternoon of January 6th
07:53outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters.
07:57Investigators say the bombs did not go off but were capable of exploding.
08:02Cole's attorneys argue his actions were part of the same political dispute
08:06surrounding the 2020 election and the certification of the vote,
08:10and say the language of Trump's pardon is broad enough to include him.
08:14A White House official rejects that argument, telling Politico the bombs were placed January 5th
08:20and the pardon applies to events at or near the Capitol the next day.
08:24The FBI arrested Cole this past December.
08:27He has pleaded not guilty to charges, including transporting explosives and attempted use of explosives.
08:33Finally this morning, could there be another planet?
08:38Astronomers say yes.
08:40It's an exoplanet that sits just outside our solar system.
08:44They're calling it L98-59D.
08:48Got that?
08:48Located about 35 light-years from Earth.
08:52NASA's James Webb Space Telescope helps spot it,
08:55and researchers say it's unlike anything we've seen before.
08:59Look at this.
08:59The planet appears to be covered in oceans of molten rock
09:04with an atmosphere rich in sulfur gases.
09:07Scientists say that combination would likely make it smell like rotten eggs
09:11and makes it highly unlikely to support life.
09:15The findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
09:18Researchers say the planet is larger than Earth in both size and mass
09:23and offers new insight into how extreme worlds form beyond our solar system.
09:29That is really neat.
09:31All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking on this St. Patrick's Day.
09:35Illinois voters head to the polls for primary elections,
09:38including a closely watched race to replace retiring Senator Dick Durbin
09:42and several House contests.
09:44In Savannah, one of the country's largest St. Patrick's Day parades
09:48gets underway this morning, drawing thousands of visitors to the historic Georgia City.
09:53Also this morning on Capitol Hill, both House Democrats and Republicans
09:57hold press conferences after their weekly closed-door party meetings.
10:01At two, top U.S. intelligence leaders appear before the House Intelligence Committee
10:06for the annual Worldwide Threats Hearing,
10:08outlining the biggest security risks facing the United States.
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10:23Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Tuesday.
10:25We'll see you back here tomorrow.
10:27For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
10:29Have a great day.
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