00:00Round two of talks with Iran taking shape. How soon both sides could be back at the table.
00:06Plus, Eric Swalwell may be out, but the story isn't. A new accuser says he drugged and sexually assaulted her.
00:14This morning, her account. And a dramatic return from space.
00:18New video shows Navy divers reaching the Artemis II crew. And that moment, welcome home.
00:24Home. The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:32These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News.
00:38Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. This morning, momentum is building for new U.S.-Iran talks,
00:44even as the United States tightens its military grip in the region. Mediators from both sides
00:50have agreed in principle to extend the current ceasefire, set to expire next week, by at least
00:55two more weeks. That's according to the Associated Press. This, as tensions remain high around the
01:01Strait of Hormuz. President Trump says a new round of talks could happen in Pakistan within days.
01:07U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres also says it's highly probable those talks will move forward.
01:14In an interview airing this morning on Fox News, Trump said he believes the war won't go on much
01:20longer. I think it's close to over. I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know what?
01:26If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country.
01:33And we're not finished. We'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.
01:37At the same time, the U.S. military says its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
01:42is now fully in place. U.S. Central Command says American forces have achieved maritime superiority
01:49and claimed trade into and out of Iran by sea is now halted. A U.S. official says warships warned
01:56six vessels in the first 24 hours all turned around. Five of those ships were carrying oil.
02:03This morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says it has opened an investigation
02:08into former Congressman Eric Swalwell amid a new and graphic accusation against him,
02:14which came just hours after he announced he would resign. Model Lana Drews came forward Tuesday
02:20accusing Swalwell of drugging and sexually assaulting her during a meeting at a California hotel in 2018.
02:26She spoke publicly for the first time at a news conference in Beverly Hills.
02:31On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink.
02:39I only had one glass of wine. I arrived at his hotel room. I was already incapacitated
02:46and I couldn't move my arms or my body.
02:53He raped me. And he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness.
03:05Her claims add to a series of allegations against Swalwell that emerged in recent days.
03:11The Democratic, now former congressman from California, has denied any sexual misconduct,
03:16calling the accusations false. In a video posted last week, Swalwell rejected the claims and said
03:22he would fight them. Immediately, we will be filing a police report with the Los Angeles County
03:29Sheriff's Office. We will be providing all of her evidence there, including text messages,
03:37journal entries, photograph and witness information. Swalwell announced his resignation
03:46from Congress on Monday, shortly after the accusations became public. He made it official
03:51on Tuesday, submitting a resignation letter to the House clerk. He is no longer running
03:56for California governor either, after dropping out last weekend.
04:00Same topic, the two women lawmakers who helped lead the bipartisan push to expel Swalwell,
04:06as well as Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez, say there could be more to come.
04:10Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna and New Mexico Democrat Teresa Legere Fernandez teamed up to
04:17introduce expulsion resolutions, a required step under House rules. Now they tell CBS News their
04:24effort could extend to other members under scrutiny. Luna says she would support expulsion if warranted
04:30in cases involving Republican Congressman Corey Mills and Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Sherphilis
04:37McCormick. Mills is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including
04:42dating violence and campaign finance violations. A grand jury indicted Sherphilis McCormick in Florida
04:48on charges of stealing FEMA funds and making illegal campaign contributions. Both have denied wrongdoing.
04:56Swalwell and Gonzalez both stepped down this week rather than face expulsion votes.
05:01The Justice Department is now trying to wipe away some of the most serious convictions from the
05:07January 6th attack on the Capitol in 2021. Federal prosecutors asked a court Tuesday to vacate
05:14convictions for a dozen members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including some found guilty of
05:20seditious conspiracy. The request targets some of the highest profile defendants still left from the
05:26Capitol riot cases. These are defendants who had their sentences commuted last year,
05:30but whose convictions were still in place. The filings signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro
05:36asked appeals courts to erase those convictions permanently. Quote,
05:40In the executive branch's view, it is not in the interest of justice to continue to prosecute this case
05:46or the cases of other similarly situated defendants. The move builds on President Trump's earlier actions
05:54after he issued pardons for most January 6th defendants and commuted sentences for others.
05:59Those included leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, some of whom were sentenced to more than a
06:05decade in prison. Prosecutors had said those groups organized and led breaches of the Capitol,
06:10including assaults on police and damage to the building. More than 1,500 people were charged
06:16in connection with the attack. These filings target some of the last remaining cases still on the books.
06:22Federal prosecutors showed up at the Federal Reserve unannounced Tuesday trying to get inside a
06:28multi-billion dollar renovation project. They were turned away. The visit by U.S. Attorney Jeanine
06:34Pirro's team comes as a criminal probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell has stalled in court. Last month,
06:41Chief Judge James Boesberg blocked subpoenas, writing the government had produced, quote,
06:45essentially zero evidence of a crime and no evidence whatsoever that Powell had done anything
06:51wrong beyond displeasing the president. The Fed's outside counsel then warned prosecutors
06:56not to bypass the courts, calling any direct contact with the central bank inappropriate without
07:02legal representation present. Pirro defended the attempted tour, saying the project's nearly 80 percent
07:09cost overruns warrant scrutiny. The standoff is now spilling into politics on Capitol Hill.
07:14Republican Senator Tom Tillis says he will not move forward with President Trump's nominee
07:19to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh, until the Justice Department wraps up its investigation.
07:25Finally this morning, a dramatic return from space on Friday. The Artemis 2 crew splashing down in the
07:32Pacific and Navy rescuers moving in. Watch this. Plenty of handshakes, welcome home, and a few cheers as
07:39divers reach the capsule. They help the four astronauts out, move them onto a raft,
07:44then hoisted them into a helicopter. From there, the crew was flown to the USS John Murtha for medical
07:50checks. The mission lasted 10 days around the moon, without a landing, covering roughly 700,000 miles,
07:57amazing, and capturing new lunar images. Now NASA shifts to the next step. Artemis 3, set for next year,
08:05will keep astronauts in Earth's orbit as they practice docking the Orion capsule with a commercial
08:11lunar lander. That's a critical step before any return to the moon. And after that, Artemis 4,
08:18targeting 2028, could put astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17.
08:25No rest for the weary at NASA. That landing was just great on Friday, wasn't it? The parachutes were
08:30super cool. The splashdown, the rescue, all went well. Hey, we're watching a busy day. Here's what we're
08:37tracking on Capitol Hill this morning. House Democrats and Republicans hold post-caucus press
08:41conferences after closed-door meetings. We'll watch for any movement or messaging shifts. At one,
08:47White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt will brief reporters, along with Treasury Secretary Scott
08:52Besson. At five, former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a Democratic Party event in South
08:57Carolina. As she said in recent days, she's thinking about running for president again. And it's tax day.
09:04If you haven't yet, don't forget to file your 2025 return by midnight tonight. Thanks for making
09:10Unbiased Updates part of your morning routine with the fastest, fairest few minutes in news.
09:14Watch us at san.com or on the app anytime. Or you can join our growing audience on Spotify.
09:21Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Wednesday. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:24For all of us at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelli. Have a great day.
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