00:00President Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. would begin escorting ships stuck in the Strait
00:04of Hormuz through it, quote, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.
00:08The operation called Project Freedom begins today. It remains to be seen if any ship will
00:13take up America's offer to be escorted across the strait, given Iran's repeated threats against U.S.
00:19and Israeli ships. The announcement came just hours after military officials in the U.K. say
00:24a cargo ship was struck by small craft near the Strait of Hormuz, just off the coast of Iran.
00:30Luckily, none of the crew was injured in the attack, and as of last night, no one claimed
00:33responsibility. But Iran's military has repeatedly warned ships that try to pass without paying a
00:38pricey toll would be attacked. Ships also have to prove that they have no affiliation with the
00:43United States or Israel. Now, this vessel that was attacked was headed north into the Persian Gulf
00:48and was not actually attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz. The incident comes after Iran reportedly
00:53offered the Trump administration a 14-point peace plan late Saturday, one that made no mention of
00:59their nuclear program the biggest point of contention. In return for reopening the strait,
01:03the Islamic Republic demanded that the U.S. lift its blockade and sanctions on Iran,
01:08withdraw its forces from the Middle East, and end all hostilities in the region,
01:12including Israel's conflict in Lebanon. It also gave President Trump 30 days to respond.
01:17As you might imagine, he was not thrilled with any of that. I asked the Post's Deputy Managing
01:22Editor Michael Zenni about the state of the fragile ceasefire,
01:24and the latest on any plans the administration may be making to bring this conflict to an end.
01:29It seems like both sides right now have a lot of voices agitating for the war to start again.
01:37President Trump recently said that he thought that it might be better without a deal,
01:43without a peace deal after it appeared that the, appears that the talks for a long-term ceasefire
01:52have failed. Also, nothing is getting through the Strait of Hormuz. We just saw today reports that
02:03Iranian small ships had attacked a cargo freighter that was actually, it wasn't trying to carry oil out
02:10of the Strait. It looks like it was trying to carry goods and cargo into the Persian Gulf, so going
02:17the
02:17other way. And what we've seen in response to, you know, to President Trump's threats that he could
02:25step up the war again, is that the Revolutionary Guard, the IRGC, has basically said, yeah, come and
02:33do it. They are similarly predicting that there will be another war and they, or the war will resume.
02:41And they said that they welcome that and they think that they can outlast the U.S. and its will.
02:49I also asked Michael about the president's plans to pull 5,000 American troops out of Germany due to
02:54that country's lack of support for the war. President Trump seems to really be very rapidly
02:59souring on America's NATO allies in Europe. So what we saw on Friday was that the Department of War
03:10had announced that 5,000 troops, 5,000 American troops were being pulled out of Germany. Germany,
03:18of course, is the second largest base for U.S. troops in the world after Japan, sorry, foreign base.
03:25And our presence there obviously is a longtime sort of relic of the Cold War when Germany was going to
03:34be
03:34the flashpoint for, you know, a possible World War III if the Soviet Union invaded, right? We put more troops
03:45into Germany after Russia invaded Ukraine. But now this drawdown has resulted in troop levels being about
03:53what they were before that invasion in 2022. President Trump seems to be increasingly
04:03less interested in propping up the military defenses of Europe in light of their unwillingness to cooperate
04:13with the U.S. on Iran.
04:1619-year-old University of Alabama frat bro Ryan Delafranco allegedly beat up his ex-girlfriend
04:21inside his off-campus apartment last weekend. Now, he wasn't arrested at the time, but has since
04:26turned himself into cops in Tuscaloosa. Here's the twist. He's not the only one in hot water for this
04:31whole mess. After the alleged incident, the victim called her dad, a Long Island, New York police officer,
04:36and the enraged father flew down to Alabama to confront Delafranco. It was a day after that visit
04:42that Delafranco turned himself into Alabama cops and was charged with third-degree domestic violence
04:46and assault. He was released on $500 bond. Dear old dad then turned himself in too. He was charged
04:53with harassment and also released on $500 bond. Oh, but that isn't all. Authorities wouldn't say what
05:00caused the initial dust-up between Delafranco and his ex-girlfriend. But according to some Snapchat
05:04messages shared online, Delafranco was allegedly selling their sex tapes to porn sites without her
05:10knowledge or consent. When the victim reportedly found out, she confronted him, and that's when
05:14things apparently turned violent. Delafranco's fraternity, Theta Chi, told the Post that he's
05:19now persona non grata with the chapter, but they wouldn't specify exactly when his membership ended.
05:25Son of Sam Killer, David Berkowitz, and John Lennon's assassin, Mark David Chapman, could soon be
05:30walking the streets again. Say what now? This is what critics of a pair of proposed New York state
05:35parole bills are claiming. Now, these laws haven't passed yet, but if they do, it could open the door
05:40or the jail cells, as it were, of some notorious killers. And that, well, doesn't sound good. One
05:46piece of legislation is referred to as the elder parole bill. Now, before I get into specifics,
05:51let me preface this. The word elder is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Under the law, violent
05:56criminals would potentially be able to dodge their minimum sentences regardless of their crimes
06:00and be granted early parole hearings after they've turned 55 and served 15 years of their sentences.
06:0655 years old isn't exactly early bird special, time for a walker, and last rights elderly. Jennifer
06:13Lopez is 56. Now, a second bill, the Fair and Timely Parole Bill, would require the state parole board to
06:18release convicts regardless of the severity of their crimes unless they are a, quote, current danger to
06:23the public, current being the operative word there. One critic, a senior fellow at the Manhattan
06:28Institute, worries that both bills are gaining momentum in Albany and could pass as soon as
06:33this year. He says, quote, it really shouldn't matter how well somebody behaves in prison.
06:37You should have behaved before you got there. He then cited advocates who claim the likelihood of
06:43re-offending drops with age, but he claims that is not the case and, quote, a majority of state
06:48prisoners who are released will re-offend. Now, it's not clear yet whether or not New York Governor
06:53Kathy Hochul, who is running for re-election and needs the support of liberal New York City,
06:57would sign or veto the bills. Now, if this thing does actually get passed, the cell doors don't
07:02just automatically open for old timers and, you know, old killers. They still need to convince the
07:08parole board. For more on these stories and everything else you could possibly want to know,
07:13check out the New York Post in print or online. And don't forget, like and subscribe to the New York
07:17Postcast wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. I promise you'll be glad you did.
07:30You
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