00:00Week three into the war in Iran. New strikes, rising costs, and still no clear end in sight.
00:07Plus, a comment that's turning heads. President Trump invokes Pearl Harbor, sitting right next to Japan's prime minister.
00:15And a missing American student found dead in Spain. What police now say happened. Unbiased updates starts now.
00:24The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:30These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:36Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. We're now into day 21 of the war with new strikes, new retaliation, and growing
00:44questions about how far this goes.
00:46Israel is again targeting Tehran, launching what it calls a wave of strikes inside the Iranian capital.
00:53The attacks hit infrastructure linked to the regime, as Iran marked the Persian New Year.
00:59Iran responded overnight, firing another wave of missiles into Israel.
01:04Sirens sounded across the north. Debris from intercepted missiles fell in several areas. No fatalities reported.
01:11Meantime, Benjamin Netanyahu is now putting distance between the strike on Iran's South Par's oil field,
01:18saying it was carried out solely by Israel, contradicting reports that it was a joint operation with the United States.
01:25Israel acted alone against the Slavia gas compound.
01:29Fact number two, President Trump asks us to hold off on future attacks, and we're holding out.
01:37That strike on Iran's gas field helped push oil prices higher, with global benchmarks spiking above $100 a barrel.
01:45Analysts say prices could stay elevated, with energy infrastructure damaged and shipping disrupted.
01:51The Strait of Hormuz remains a major problem.
01:54Iran has effectively shut down the waterway, which handles about 20 percent of the world's oil.
02:00The U.S. military is now targeting Iranian mine-laying vessels, while international groups work on a plan to get
02:07ships out safely.
02:08The U.K. has sent military planners to work with the United States on options to reopen the Strait, but
02:15there's still no agreement on how to do it.
02:17Back here at home, the cost of this war is now front and center.
02:21The Trump administration is preparing to seek as much as $200 billion from Congress.
02:26Even some Republicans are questioning the expense.
02:30But the president is defending the cost.
02:32We want to be sure, and it's a small price to pay, to make sure that we stay tippy-top.
02:36With no clear timeline for how this ends, lawmakers are demanding more details before signing off on any new money.
02:45A moment people are still talking about this morning.
02:48President Trump invoked Pearl Harbor during a meeting with Japan's prime minister.
02:52The exchange happened in the Oval Office Thursday, as Trump was asked by a Japanese reporter why the United States
02:59did not alert allies, including Japan, ahead of the strikes on Iran.
03:04Watch.
03:05Why didn't you tell U.S. allies in Europe and Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran?
03:13So we are very confused about Japanese citizens.
03:17Well, one thing, you don't want to signal too much.
03:20You know, when we go in, we went in very hard, and we didn't tell anybody about it because we
03:25wanted surprise.
03:27Who knows better about surprise than Japan?
03:30Okay?
03:31Hey, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?
03:33Okay?
03:35Right?
03:37He's asking me, no, you believe in surprise, I think much more so than us.
03:43And we had a surprise, and we did.
03:46Trump said the U.S. kept the operation secret to maintain surprise.
03:51Then, as you saw, referenced Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
03:56The comment drew reaction in the room.
03:58Japan's Prime Minister, Sanei Takaichi, as you see, appeared to be taken back but did not respond.
04:05Later on X, the White House posted this photo of the two leaders smiling with thumbs up,
04:10highlighting what officials described as a positive meeting.
04:13Pearl Harbor remains one of the most sensitive moments in U.S.-Japan history.
04:18The 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killed more than 2,400 Americans
04:23and brought the United States into World War II.
04:26In the decades since, American presidents have largely avoided raising the attack in meetings
04:32with Japanese leaders, focusing instead on the alliance between the two countries.
04:37The U.S. and Japan have been formal allies since 1952.
04:42Denmark reportedly planned for the possibility of a U.S. invasion of Greenland earlier this year,
04:48with contingency plans that included destroying key runways to keep American aircraft from landing there.
04:54Danish broadcaster DR reports that in January, Danish forces flew blood supplies and explosives to Greenland,
05:02as President Trump publicly pushed for U.S. control of the territory,
05:06and he warned it could happen, quote, the hard way.
05:08The explosives were meant for runways in Greenland's capital, Nuke,
05:12and at another airfield farther north, part of a plan to prevent U.S. aircraft from landing.
05:18The blood supplies were intended to treat wounded if fighting broke out.
05:22Danish officials grew more concerned after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela in early January,
05:28with some sources comparing the moments in 1940, when Denmark was invaded by Nazi Germany.
05:34The deployment was formally presented as a NATO exercise, Arctic endurance,
05:39but sources say it was a real operation, not routine training.
05:43Dr. Peter Viggo Jacobson, a strategy professor at the Royal Danish Defense College,
05:48told Straight Arrow News earlier this year, quote,
05:51If the U.S. were to attack an ally and take over part of its territory,
05:55it would be doing exactly the same as Russia did when it attacked Ukraine in 2022.
06:01A heartbreaking update out of Spain just days after a University of Alabama student went missing while on spring break.
06:09Divers found the body of 20-year-old James Gracie in the Mediterranean on Thursday,
06:14near the nightclub where he had been with friends earlier in the week.
06:18Barcelona police tell CNN the death appears to be an accident, not a homicide.
06:23Gracie was visiting friends in Spain for spring break when he went missing.
06:27Those friends say he became separated from the group at the club and never made it back to their Airbnb.
06:33They reported him missing after he didn't return.
06:36Police have recovered his wallet and cell phone.
06:38Gracie was a junior at the University of Alabama.
06:41His family traveled to Spain to join the search and, in a statement,
06:45called him a deeply loved son, grandson, brother, and friend.
06:49They added, quote,
06:50We are profoundly grateful for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers.
06:55So many helped share Jimmy's story so others could know him.
06:59Two former FBI agents are suing the federal government,
07:03claiming they were fired for working on the investigation into President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
07:10The lawsuit names FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi,
07:15accusing them of political retaliation.
07:18The agents, identified as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2,
07:22say they were removed last fall after being tied to the investigation, known internally as Arctic Frost.
07:28According to the filing,
07:30neither agent was given notice, a hearing, or any evidence supporting their termination.
07:34The lawsuit argues both men played only limited roles in the case,
07:39handling administrative work, not leading the investigation.
07:42That probe was overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
07:45The agents are asking a federal judge to reinstate them,
07:49arguing their First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated.
07:52Their attorneys say the firings were based on a perception.
07:56They were politically disloyal to the President.
07:59Quote,
08:00Political support for President Trump is not a legal or appropriate requirement
08:04for the effective performance of plaintiffs' respective roles within the FBI.
08:09Accordingly, perceived lack of political support for President Trump
08:13is an impermissible basis for termination of plaintiffs' FBI employment.
08:18The lawsuit comes as multiple former agents challenge what they describe as a broader effort
08:24to remove officials tied to investigations involving Trump.
08:28The Justice Department has not responded to the lawsuit.
08:31Finally this morning, a new commemorative coin is moving forward,
08:35and this one features a sitting president.
08:38A federal arts commission has approved the design for a 24-karat gold coin,
08:43bearing President Donald Trump's image, part of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.
08:49The design shows Trump at a desk with Liberty and In God We Trust also on the coin,
08:56with the bald eagle on the back.
08:58The approval clears the way for the U.S. Mint to begin production,
09:01though the final size and value are still being worked out.
09:04In a statement, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said,
09:07As we approach our 250th birthday, we are thrilled to prepare coins that represent the enduring spirit
09:14of our country and democracy, and there is no profile more emblematic for the front of such coins.
09:22The move is getting attention because federal law generally bars living people,
09:26including sitting presidents, from appearing on U.S. currency.
09:29The image used is based on this portrait already hanging in the Smithsonian.
09:35Treasury officials say they can move forward here because commemorative gold coins fall under different authority.
09:41This is not the only coin under discussion.
09:44The administration has also floated a separate $1 coin featuring Donald Trump,
09:49including a design showing him after the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
09:55It's part of a broader pattern, with Trump's name also showing up on buildings like the Institute of Peace,
10:01cultural institutions like the Kennedy Arts Center, even a new class of battleships.
10:07The gold coin would be produced in limited numbers and could sell for thousands of dollars.
10:12By the way, thanks for making us part of your morning routine.
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10:28Those of your Unbiased Updates for this Friday, we'll see you back here on Monday.
10:32For all of us at Straight Hero News, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
10:34Have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend.
10:37The first weekend of spring.
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