00:01President Trump heads to Turkey this morning looking for NATO allies to open their wallets.
00:06Plus, Maine's Democratic Senate nominee may be running out of time.
00:10A new rape allegation has Graham Plattner publicly weighing whether to stay in the race.
00:16And after all the drama, the United States is going home.
00:20With Foller and Balogin back on the field, Belgium routes the Americans to end their World Cup run.
00:29The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:35These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow.
00:41Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. We begin with breaking news this morning.
00:44French President Emmanuel Macron is safe after what may have been an assassination attempt during his visit to Syria.
00:52Two bombs exploded outside the hotel where Macron had been staying.
00:56His office says he had already left to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharah when the blast occurred.
01:03Syrian state TV says 18 people were wounded, but so far no group has claimed responsibility.
01:09Macron is still expected to depart Damascus to attend the NATO summit in Turkey, which starts today.
01:15President Trump is also heading to Ankara, where he's expected to keep pressing NATO allies to spend 5% of
01:22GDP on defense.
01:23NATO, meanwhile, plans to unveil billions of dollars in new military projects as it tries to show Trump that allies
01:31are following through on their spending commitments, according to the Associated Press.
01:35At an event dubbed the Big Reveal, several leaders are expected to announce new defense deals, many with American companies.
01:42Trump has long argued NATO rise too heavily on the United States, once calling the alliance, quote, a paper tiger.
01:49Ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Ruda said the alliance is already delivering more military capability.
01:56After years of underinvestment, we are producing real capabilities.
02:01European allies and Canada are now on a trajectory to equalize the defense spending with the United States.
02:09And not just that, they are taking on more leadership within NATO's command and control structure,
02:16stepping up on conventional defense, on efforts to bolster our deterrence in defense.
02:22Ukraine is also expected to dominate the summit, with President Volodymyr Zelensky set to meet with Trump on the sidelines.
02:29A U.S. official told Reuters the president wants to renew efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
02:36Back to the Middle East, the week-long lull in the Strait of Hormuz appears to be over.
02:41A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman caught fire early this morning after being struck by what the British
02:48military described as an unknown projectile.
02:51The Wall Street Journal and Axios report U.S. officials believe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on two commercial
02:59ships near the Strait.
03:01The attacks come just as the United States and Iran's week-long understanding to avoid military action in the Strait
03:07has expired.
03:08Iran has not claimed responsibility.
03:11It's also unclear whether the United States will respond militarily.
03:15But President Trump said on Monday, Iran needs to reach a peace deal soon or face the consequences.
03:21Look, we're going to win one way or the other.
03:24We're either going to make a deal or we're going to finish the job, OK?
03:27And it won't be tough to finish the job.
03:29I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to affect 91 million people.
03:35The attacks also come as peace talks remain on hold, while Iran mourns slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
03:43Thousands have filled the streets of Tehran as days of funeral processions continue before Khamenei is buried in Mashhad on
03:50Thursday.
03:51Iran has warned the United States against any military action during the funeral, saying its forces are ready to respond.
03:59Politics now, Maine's highly competitive U.S. Senate race, has taken another major turn.
04:05The Democratic nominee, Graham Plattner, is denying a new sexual assault allegation, but he's also acknowledging the political damage, saying
04:14his campaign is now considering its next steps.
04:17A Maine woman told Politico that Plattner raped her during an encounter at her home in 2021 after she repeatedly
04:25told him to stop.
04:26Plattner categorically denies the allegation.
04:29The claim comes just weeks after The New York Times reported that several women described what they called reckless, unsettling
04:36or volatile behavior during past relationships with Plattner.
04:40He denied those allegations as well.
04:42Monday afternoon, Plattner released a video saying the new claims are false, but acknowledging they could have major consequences for
04:50his campaign.
04:51Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the
05:00political reality it will inflict.
05:02We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.
05:06The allegation is already reshaping the race.
05:09The Maine Democratic Party is calling on Plattner to withdraw, while national Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Ruben Gallego and Congressman
05:17Ro Khanna, have pulled their endorsements.
05:19Republican Senator Susan Collins called the allegations appalling, but said it's up to Democrats to choose their nominee.
05:27Under Maine law, Democrats can replace Plattner on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13th.
05:33What started as an angry email to the head of ICE ended with federal agents at a man's front door.
05:40Now a new lawsuit is asking whether the government crossed a First Amendment line.
05:45David Strever, a U.S. citizen from Rochester, New York, says he sent a scathing email to then-ICE director
05:52Todd Lyons after a deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota earlier this year.
05:56Months later, according to the lawsuit, Homeland Security agents showed up at his home while he was overseas in Finland,
06:03leaving his wife a warning notice saying his email may have violated federal law.
06:08Nest camera video captured the agents at the door right here.
06:11The lawsuit says agents later tracked Strever to a New York City hotel once he returned to the U.S.
06:18while he was traveling with his seven-year-old daughter.
06:21On the trip home, he told her they might encounter federal agents.
06:24The lawsuit says she broke down in tears, telling her father, I don't want them to kill you.
06:30The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed the suit on Monday, arguing the government retaliated against protected political speech
06:38in violation of the First Amendment.
06:40The Department of Homeland Security disputes that, saying it investigates credible threats against its employees and officers and denies it
06:48is trying to silence critics.
06:49The lawsuit also points to at least one other upstate New York woman, who says federal agents delivered a similar
06:56warning after she publicly criticized ICE.
06:59President Trump's January 6th clemency applies to about 1,500 people.
07:04But a federal judge says it does not cover the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Republican and
07:11Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the Capitol attack.
07:15Prosecutors have charged Brian Cole Jr. in connection with two pipe bombs found outside the RNC and DNC headquarters in
07:23Washington.
07:24The devices never detonated, but the FBI has said they were viable.
07:29Cole has pleaded not guilty.
07:31His attorneys argued the case should be dismissed because his alleged actions were part of the events surrounding January 6th.
07:38But U.S. District Judge Amir Ali rejected that argument on Monday.
07:43The judge ruled the pardon applies only to people who had been charged or convicted of January 6th related offenses
07:50when it was issued.
07:52Cole had been neither.
07:53The ruling allows the case to move forward.
07:56Cole is scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a status hearing.
08:00Finally this morning, the U.S. Men's World Cup run is over.
08:04After days of controversy surrounding Filar and Baligan's reinstatement, it was Belgium that delivered the final blow in Seattle.
08:12Belgium rolled past the United States 4-1 in the round of 16.
08:17Charles de Cattellera scored twice as Belgium took control early, capitalizing on a string of U.S. turnovers.
08:24After all the attention surrounding his reinstated red card, Baligan had little impact on the match.
08:30U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino called it a very bad day, adding that in the World Cup, one-off
08:37night is all it takes to end a tournament.
08:39It marks the fourth time in the last five World Cups that the United States has been eliminated in the
08:45round of 16.
08:46Belgium advances to the quarterfinals.
08:48Adding insult to injury and a clear reference to the FIFA reinstatement of Baligan,
08:53the Belgian Red Devils X-Page posted after the game, overturned this.
09:00Wow. Oh, man. Zing.
09:04Oh, well. As they say, that's the way the ball bounces.
09:07All right. Have you signed up for our Unbiased Updates newsletter?
09:10It's a great way to start your day a bit smarter.
09:13Go to san.com slash newsletters.
09:15Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes of news.
09:19Watch us anytime at san.com or on the app.
09:21And to our rapidly growing audience on Spotify, we see you, and we're glad you're along for the ride.
09:27Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Tuesday.
09:30We'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:31For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:33Have a great day.
