00:01More players are stepping up for talks with Iran.
00:04China jumps in as the U.S. and Iran clash over how far a nuclear deal should last.
00:09Plus, Eric Swalwell is out, accused by multiple women.
00:14The California congressman resigns, and he's not the only one leaving this morning.
00:18And deadly flooding, plus missed warnings.
00:21Now Camp Mystic wants to reopen, while families are still demanding answers.
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.
00:41This morning, diplomatic efforts are picking up as the U.S. blockades the Strait of Hormuz.
00:46Multiple countries are now stepping in, trying to jumpstart talks before the current ceasefire runs out.
00:52China is openly pushing back on the U.S. blockade.
00:56A foreign ministry spokesperson called it dangerous and irresponsible.
01:01And President Xi Jinping says Beijing will play what he calls a constructive role,
01:06laying out a four-point plan focused on sovereignty, security, and regional stability.
01:12Pakistan is also moving to host another round of talks between the United States and Iran
01:17before the ceasefire expires next week.
01:20The first round in Islamabad ran 21 hours and ended without a deal.
01:25Vice President J.D. Vance said on Fox News Channel's special report there was some progress,
01:30but Iran is still not agreeing to give up its nuclear program.
01:35President of the United States has said he would be very happy if Iran was treated like a normal country,
01:41if it had a normal economy, if its people were able to prosper and thrive.
01:44But in order for Iran to be a normal country economically, it's going to have to be a normal
01:49country from the perspective of not pursuing a nuclear weapon, and it's going to have to
01:53be a normal country from not pursuing terrorism.
01:56The U.S. has proposed a long-term pause on uranium enrichment, reportedly at least 20 years.
02:02The New York Times says Iran countered with a shorter window, up to five years, and that offer was rejected.
02:08Meanwhile, oil prices are easing as markets watch for signs these talks could move forward.
02:15U.S. crude fell about 1.7 percent early Tuesday to around $97 a barrel.
02:21Brent crude dropped just under 1 percent to about $98.
02:26California Democrat Eric Swalwell says he will resign from Congress following allegations of sexual misconduct
02:33by at least four women, including a former staffer.
02:36The decision comes just days after the allegations first surfaced last week.
02:41Swalwell denies any wrongdoing, but dropped his bid for California governor on Sunday.
02:46Now, after growing calls from lawmakers in both parties to step down, he says he will give up his House
02:52seat.
02:53Swalwell said, quote,
02:54Expelling anyone in Congress without due process is wrong, but it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted
03:01from my duties.
03:02He did not say when he will resign.
03:04Not long before that announcement, his longtime ally, Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, publicly called on him to step down.
03:12In a statement, Gallego wrote, quote,
03:15I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person
03:20I thought I knew.
03:21And in a post late last night, FBI Director Kash Patel jumped in, writing that Swalwell, quote,
03:27has maintained that none of the allegations against him are true.
03:30And now that he has resigned, we would welcome him to sit down with the FBI and share any information
03:36he has.
03:37Attorney Lisa Bloom says a Swalwell accuser will hold a press conference this morning in Beverly Hills.
03:43In a similar topic, another member of Congress is stepping down, and this one plans to make it official today.
03:51Texas Republican Tony Gonzalez says he will resign from the House when Congress returns this morning after weeks of pressure
03:57from both parties.
03:58He had already said he would not run for re-election after admitting to having an affair with a staff
04:03member, a violation of House rules.
04:06Gonzalez was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and facing a possible expulsion vote later this week.
04:13Instead, he announced on social media he would, quote,
04:16file my retirement from office, calling it a privilege to serve Texas.
04:20The staff member involved later died by suicide.
04:23It is not yet clear exactly when Gonzalez's resignation will take effect.
04:29President Trump is refusing to apologize to Pope Leo XIV,
04:33doubling down on his criticism of the pontiff's opposition to the war in Iran.
04:38Trump says he's responding to the Pope speaking out first,
04:41arguing his approach is about preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.
04:45The dispute grew after Trump posted and then deleted an image of himself in a robe,
04:51laying hands on a sick man.
04:52The image drew backlash from religious and political figures,
04:56including conservative Christians who called it blasphemous and a comparison to Jesus.
05:01Trump dismissed that criticism.
05:03I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor,
05:06and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support.
05:11And only the fake news could come up with that one.
05:14So I had, I had, I just heard about it.
05:18And I said, how did they come up with that?
05:21It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.
05:24And I do make people better.
05:25I make people a lot better.
05:28Vice President J.D. Vance called the post a joke and said it was taken down after people didn't see
05:33it that way.
05:34Before that, Pope Leo said the Vatican's calls for peace come from the gospel,
05:39blessed are the peacemakers, and that he will keep speaking out against the war.
05:43New testimony is putting a spotlight on what Camp Mystic leaders knew
05:48before the floods that killed 27 campers and counselors last year in the Texas Hill Country.
05:54The camp director, Edward Eastland, testified Monday as part of an ongoing court fight
05:59over lawsuits from victims' families and whether parts of the camp must be preserved as evidence.
06:05He told the court he did not see multiple flood warnings issued in the days leading up to the July
06:104th disaster.
06:12According to the AP, Eastland said there were no meetings with staff
06:16about the incoming weather threat before the storm and torrential flooding hit.
06:20He said he never saw a flash flood warning sent overnight and slept through another alert on his phone.
06:26Attorneys for the families pushed back in court,
06:29pointing to warnings from the National Weather Service in the days before the floods.
06:33Eastland also confirmed the camp has already taken deposits from more than 800 families to return this summer.
06:40That's according to CBS in Austin.
06:42The hearing is expected to continue through the week.
06:45Camp operators are trying to reopen part of the property later this summer,
06:48even as the legal fight continues.
06:51The pride flag is going back up at Stonewall after the Trump administration reversed course.
06:58The government agreed Monday to restore the rainbow flag to the federal flagpole
07:02at the Stonewall National Monument in New York.
07:05The move settles a lawsuit filed after the flag was removed in February
07:08under new federal guidance limiting which flags could fly at national park sites.
07:13The deal requires the pride flag to fly permanently alongside the American flag
07:18and the National Park Service flag.
07:21The removal triggered backlash nationwide and protests at the site.
07:25Local leaders raised their own flag days later,
07:28and it stayed up even as the legal fight moved forward.
07:31Let's be clear.
07:33Trump backed down.
07:35And because of that, the flag is going to continue to fly here at Stonewall.
07:41New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani called the agreement a victory for the LGBTQ plus community
07:47and the city, writing on X that the reversal is
07:51a reminder that New Yorkers won't let our history be rewritten.
07:55Finally this morning, a special delivery to the Oval Office.
07:59President Trump had McDonald's dropped off right at his door on Monday.
08:03Watch this.
08:05McDonald's.
08:22It was a staged moment built around his push to eliminate taxes on tips.
08:27How about that?
08:28DoorDash right at his fingertips.
08:30Under his new tax law, some workers can deduct up to $25,000 in tips.
08:35The driver, Sharon Simmons, an Arkansas grandmother of 10,
08:39says she saved about $11,000 this year.
08:42And are the White House consumers, do you know?
08:45Um, wait.
08:49Yes, very.
08:52$100.
08:54Not bad for the effort, right?
08:55That's got to be more than 20%.
08:57By the way, I want to know what was in those McDonald's bags, right?
09:01Maybe a Big Mac?
09:02I haven't had a Big Mac in so long, and now I'm hungry.
09:06All right, a busy Tuesday.
09:07Here's what we're tracking today.
09:08New inflation data drops this morning.
09:10The producer price index out at 830.
09:13A key read on wholesale prices and where inflation might be heading next.
09:18At 1030, Speaker Mike Johnson delivers remarks at the Holocaust Memorial Museum
09:22as part of the National Days of Remembrance.
09:25Tonight on Capitol Hill, Republican Clay Fuller of Georgia is sworn into the House,
09:30filling the remainder of Marjorie Taylor Greene's term.
09:32Also, Vice President J.D. Vance appears with Erica Kirk at a Turning Point USA event at the University of
09:39Georgia.
09:39No noise, no sides, just the story.
09:42NewsGuard gives us a perfect score for reliability.
09:45All sides gives us a center rating with balance certification.
09:48We give you facts first and the news straight.
09:51Those here unbiased updates for this Tuesday, we'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:55For all of us at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:57Have a great day.
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