00:01President Trump gets the win he wanted in Kentucky. Thomas Massey is out, plus the other primary headlines from last
00:08night.
00:09Also, critics are calling it a political slush fund, the fight over Trump's new IRS deal and who could end
00:16up getting paid.
00:17And the U.S. is going after Raul Castro. Why federal charges are expected today in a deadly case that
00:23goes back about 30 years.
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.
00:39Good morning. I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:41Another win for President Trump last night as one of his most persistent Republican critics on Capitol Hill lost his
00:48seat.
00:48Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey lost Tuesday's primary to Trump-backed challenger and former Navy SEAL at Galrain
00:56in what has been described as one of the most expensive U.S. House primaries ever.
01:01Galrain's campaign got a boost not only from Trump's endorsement, but from heavy outside spending,
01:08including major support from pro-Israel groups, which Ad Impact says accounted for about half of the money spent to
01:15help his candidacy.
01:16Massey has been one of the GOP's most consistent critics of the U.S. involvement in the war with Iran.
01:22I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede,
01:27and it took a while to find Ed Galrain in Tel Aviv.
01:31Look, they used a lot of dirty tricks, but we stayed the course.
01:37We did not. We didn't bend a knee. We didn't throw a foul ball.
01:42We didn't do any of those things. We didn't kneecap anybody.
01:46We had lots of opportunities to try a lot of stuff like that, and we never did it.
01:52We ran a clean race.
01:53We weren't really running against Ed Galrain.
01:57We weren't running against Donald Trump.
02:02We were running for what we believe in.
02:05Massey's term doesn't end until January, giving him several more months on Capitol Hill
02:11and more opportunities to clash with the Trump administration.
02:14Also in Kentucky, another Trump-backed candidate picked up a win.
02:18Congressman Andy Barr won the Republican primary for Mitch McConnell's open Senate seat
02:23and will face Democrat Charles Booker in November.
02:26And Kentucky wasn't the only state with major races on the ballot Tuesday.
02:30In Georgia, voters pushed both the Republican governor's race and the GOP Senate primary into runoffs.
02:37Former college football coach Derek Dooley and Congressman Mike Collins advanced in the Senate race
02:43after Congressman Buddy Carter fell short.
02:46Whoever emerges will face Democratic incumbent John Ossoff in one of the most watched Senate races of the midterms.
02:52Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Burke Jones and health care billionaire Rick Jackson
02:57will meet in a runoff for the governor's nomination.
02:59In Alabama, voters set up a familiar matchup.
03:03Republican Tommy Tuberville and former Democratic Senator Doug Jones will face off in the race for governor
03:09six years after Tuberville defeated Jones for his U.S. Senate seat.
03:14The Senate took a step Tuesday toward reining in President Trump's war powers in Iran,
03:20moving a measure forward that had failed seven times previously.
03:24The 50 to 47 vote advances a resolution that would require the president to pull American forces from the conflict
03:31unless Congress formally authorizes the war.
03:35Four Republicans broke with their party to help push it forward.
03:38One of them, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy.
03:41Cassidy flipped his vote just days after losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
03:47The timing is already turning heads on Capitol Hill.
03:49The U.S. military campaign is now nearly three months old,
03:53and the deadline for congressional authorization has already passed.
03:58Democrats argue the president cannot continue military operations without clear approval from Congress.
04:04Some Republicans say active hostilities have largely ended.
04:08The resolution still has a long ways to go.
04:11It must survive at least two more Senate votes and pass the House,
04:15which rejected a similar measure last week.
04:17Even if it clears Congress, Trump is expected to veto it.
04:22New details are emerging about President Trump's settlement with the IRS,
04:26and they're drawing new questions about a deal that already created a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
04:34Newly released language would also bar the IRS from pursuing claims or examinations
04:39involving Trump, his family, or related businesses.
04:43Investigators discovered the new terms Tuesday in an addendum linked to the Justice Department's settlement announcement.
04:50Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that the federal government is, quote,
04:54forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing any and all claims asserted by the IRS
05:01against Trump, his family, or his business.
05:04The language covers tax matters, including Trump, family members, trusts, companies, and other related entities.
05:11The addendum expands on Monday's agreement that created the roughly $1.8 billion fund
05:17for people who claim they were targeted by government weaponization during the Biden presidency.
05:22The administration is pushing back against criticism that the fund or the agreement benefits the president personally.
05:29Here is Vice President J.D. Vance on Tuesday.
05:31The question is, is $1 of this money going to the Trump administration? No.
05:36Is $1 of this money going to Donald Trump personally? No.
05:40Is $1 of this money going to Donald Trump's family? No.
05:43The people that would get the money are people, some of whom have been prosecuted completely disproportionate
05:49to any crime they've ever committed.
05:51Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the agreement during congressional testimony.
05:55It is true that this is unusual. That is true. But it is not unprecedented. And it was done
06:02to address something that had never happened again either. So there is an unprecedented nature
06:08of what we did yesterday in response to years and years of weaponization.
06:13Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said it's too soon to pass judgment on the new fund.
06:18I think that it's way, way, way too early for us to rush to judgment on whether this was a
06:26good
06:26or a bad idea, to describe it as a slush fund, or really even to criticize it. You know why?
06:31Because there's not been a single claim filed. There's not been a single payment made.
06:36Critics see it very differently. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told reporters the judge in the case
06:41even called it corrupt because Trump was essentially suing himself.
06:45We've never, ever seen anything like this before. I get it that people don't know what a big number
06:52is anymore, but $1.7 billion, that's a lot of money. That's your taxpayer money. You worked hard
06:58for that money. And that money is now going into a political slush fund for the president to give to
07:04January 6th rioters to hand out to his political allies around the country. That's outrageous.
07:12Massachusetts Democrat Richard Neal accused Trump of turning the federal government into, quote,
07:18his personal protection racket. Writing on X, this corruption marks a dark day for democracy.
07:25We are learning more this morning about the two teenagers accused of carrying out Monday's deadly
07:30attack at a San Diego mosque that killed three people. Investigators say the two, identified as
07:3717-year-old Kane Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vasquez, met online where authorities say they became
07:43self-radicalized. The FBI says it found evidence the pair drew inspiration from previous mass shooters,
07:51including the gunman who carried out the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack in New Zealand.
07:56Investigators say Clark and Vasquez filmed Monday's attack and posted it online.
08:01Authorities also say they left behind what the FBI is describing as a manifesto before taking their
08:08own lives. In the vehicle they used, we also identified writings and various ideologies
08:13outlining religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envisioned should look.
08:19These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated. Investigators say the writings included
08:24anti-Semitic rhetoric along with hate directed at Muslims, the LGBTQ community, black people,
08:31women, and people across the political spectrum. Authorities also say both express beliefs about
08:37white people being replaced or eliminated. As the investigation moves forward, the community
08:42is continuing to mourn the three men killed. One mosque security guard, Amin Abdullah, is being hailed as a
08:49hero after investigators say he triggered a lockdown alert at the mosque's school and confronted the
08:55attackers, actions police say may have saved countless lives. New developments this
09:01morning as the U.S. is preparing to take a major step against one of Cuba's most powerful figures.
09:07Justice Department and the FBI are expected to announce criminal charges against former Cuban
09:12President Raul Castro, the brother of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Reports say U.S. officials
09:19plan to accuse Cuba's leadership of ordering the shootdown of civilian planes in 1996.
09:25The two brothers-to-the-rescue aircraft had departed from Florida and were part of a group that flew
09:31missions supporting Cubans trying to leave the island. The Cuban Air Force shot down both planes over
09:37international waters, killing four Cuban Americans. NBC News reports a grand jury has already returned an
09:44indictment, though the specific charges have not been made public. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is
09:50expected to take part in today's announcement in Miami, home to one of the country's largest Cuban
09:54American communities. The case surfaces as the United States continues to increase pressure on Cuba's
10:00government. The island has faced deep economic struggles, including fuel shortages, repeated blackouts,
10:06and growing poverty. Just last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba and met with officials from the
10:13country's interior ministry, where he said the U.S. was prepared to engage in security and economic issues.
10:20Finally this morning, we take you to Bangladesh, where a rare buffalo has become an unlikely celebrity
10:27because some people think it looks a lot like President Donald Trump. The nearly 1,500-pound
10:33albino buffalo has been drawing crowds, with people stopping by just to see it in person after photos and
10:39videos took off online. Visitors say it's the blondish hair, the face, even the hairstyle. One man said he
10:47thought the comparison was exaggerated until he saw the buffalo for himself. Another woman said the
10:52resemblance is, quote, exactly like Trump, though she was quick to add one important difference. She
10:59described the buffalo as, quote, very calm and polite. Those were her words, not ours. I mean, it's the hair
11:06for sure. I looked at this a couple of times this morning. It's not only the hair, it's the hair
11:11color and the
11:12hair style. It might even be a wig, right? So here's my idea. Let's send the straight arrow Bangladesh
11:20correspondent there to do some investigating and he or she can report back to us. All right, I tried.
11:27All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today. At nine this morning, the trial begins for former
11:32assistant principal Ebony Parker, who faces felony child neglect charges tied to allegations. She failed to stop the
11:392023 classroom shooting of teacher Abby Zwirner. At 11, President Trump heads to Connecticut to deliver
11:46the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. At noon, Freddie Mac releases its latest
11:51weekly mortgage report, giving us another snapshot of where borrowing costs stand. At one, acting attorney
11:57general Todd Blanche is set to announce that indictment against Raul Castro from Miami. No noise,
12:03no sides. News Guard gives us a perfect score for reliability. All sides give us a center rating.
12:09With balance certification, we give you facts first and the news straight. Those are your
12:14latest updates for this Wednesday. We'll see you back here tomorrow. For all of us here at
12:18Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli. Have a great day.
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