00:00A big upset in Wisconsin this morning.
00:03David Crowley defeats Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong after jumping back into the race just last month.
00:10Plus, the search is not over.
00:12Rescuers are still digging through the rubble in Columbia as the death toll from the massive earthquake climbs.
00:18And after more than four years in Russian custody, an American is free.
00:23Former Marine Robert Gilman is home, but his health is now the big concern.
00:30The stories that matter, clear and credible from across the country to around the world.
00:36These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow.
00:42Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:44We begin this morning with results from Tuesday's primaries, including a comeback win in Wisconsin
00:49and a runoff for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat in South Carolina.
00:53Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin,
00:59defeating Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong.
01:02It's a striking turnaround for Crowley, who dropped out of the race last month,
01:06then jumped back in after another leading Democrat dropped out.
01:10Governor Tony Evers then endorsed Crowley in the closing days of the race,
01:15helping Democrats coalesce around his candidacy.
01:18Hong had led in polling, and her loss cut short another test of how far the party's progressive win
01:24can extend its recent primary wins into a presidential battleground.
01:28Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany also won his party's nomination for governor,
01:33setting up a Crowley-Tiffany mashup in November.
01:36In South Carolina, Lindsey Graham's sister, Senator Darlene Graham,
01:40and Congressman Ralph Norman are headed to a runoff later this month
01:44in the special Republican primary for Graham's former Senate seat.
01:48Both talked overnight about the sudden short campaign and the two weeks still ahead.
01:53I have buried my precious brother.
01:56I have taken on the role of a United States senator,
01:59and I have had this brutal campaign schedule, and I'm still standing.
02:06If that doesn't tell you I'm a strong person and a fighter, nothing will.
02:12So I think I can handle the next two weeks.
02:14How unexpected this was to have Lindsey Graham not here.
02:20He just, he's a fixture.
02:21You thought he would be here.
02:23And that being said, it was, when you looked at the landscape,
02:28it was a short time frame to put together a campaign.
02:32And one more upset in Minnesota.
02:34Republican voters chose state House Speaker Lisa DeMuth
02:37over Trump ally Mike Lindell for their party's nomination for governor.
02:41DeMuth will face Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in November.
02:46Pakistan's defense minister says the U.S. and Iran may be getting closer to a deal,
02:52saying the two sides are near some sort of an arrangement.
02:55That's despite President Trump once again claiming the U.S. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz,
03:01and saying the situation with Iran is going, quote, absolutely fine.
03:05But Trump also made clear he does not trust Tehran's representatives
03:09and once again left open the possibility of renewed military action.
03:14I don't trust Iran.
03:16Why?
03:16Are you saying I trust Iran?
03:18I'm the last person to trust Iran.
03:20They've lied to me constantly.
03:22We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now.
03:26They don't have control.
03:27We have total control.
03:28We own it.
03:29And at some point, maybe they'll do something and then they get blown away.
03:33But we right now, we're in a very good position.
03:37Iran, however, insists it controls security in the Strait
03:40and says it will remain closed until the U.S. meets its conditions.
03:45Tehran is also rejecting Trump's counter demand for compensation as part of any peace deal.
03:50Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen say they targeted a ship
03:55carrying Saudi military equipment in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Tuesday.
04:00That claim has not been verified.
04:02And Yemen's internationally recognized government says the ship was carrying food supplies.
04:07Six people were killed in the attack, including three Pakistani nationals.
04:11It's part of a new escalation by the Houthis,
04:14who have also attacked the government-held port city of Mocha and other parts of Yemen in recent days.
04:19In the Gulf of Oman, U.S. Central Command says a Navy helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles
04:26into the engine room of a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship after it ignored repeated warnings
04:32and tried to break the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
04:36CENTCOMP says it's the third ship disabled since the blockade resumed last month.
04:41In Colombia, rescuers are digging through the rubble by hand,
04:45racing to find people still alive after Monday's devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
04:51The quake knocked down buildings, damaged roads, and left thousands of families searching for loved ones.
04:58The death toll is still shifting.
05:00Colombia's president put the number of dead at 181,
05:03while the country's public ministry later said at least 224 people have been killed.
05:08More than 1,300 people are reported injured and more than 3,000 missing.
05:13In Cali alone, the mayor says the quake killed 95 people and injured 949,
05:20with another 239 believed to be trapped in the rubble.
05:24Rescuers have saved at least 86 people there so far.
05:28Crews work through the night, in some places forming human chains to move bricks and concrete,
05:33then stopping to listen for signs of life.
05:35And there have been rescues.
05:38In Cali, one volunteer described hearing someone whistle back from beneath the collapsed building.
05:44Rescuers later pulled out a man and a baby.
05:47President Abelardo de la Esprea, sworn in just three days before the quake,
05:51has declared a national disaster.
05:53And the United States' response is now underway.
05:56A disaster assistance response team is heading to Colombia,
05:59and the Trump administration has committed $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food, and other relief.
06:07An American, former Marine, is back on U.S. soil this morning after more than four years in a Russian
06:13prison
06:13and growing fears he might not survive.
06:16The Russian government released Robert Gilman Tuesday
06:19on what both the U.S. and Russia describe as humanitarian grounds.
06:24President Trump says he discussed Gilman's release with Vladimir Putin
06:28and that Russia asked for no one in return, no prisoner swap.
06:33Trump also spoke with Gilman on his flight home
06:36and says the 32-year-old had one request when he landed, a great cheeseburger.
06:40The lighter moment belies just how serious Gilman's condition has been.
06:45His advocates say he spent weeks in what they describe as a dissociative stupor
06:50and was essentially moved to a Russian hospital where he was fed through a tube.
06:54The Russians arrested him in 2022 after he was accused of kicking a police officer while on a train.
07:00Massachusetts Senator Democrat Ed Markey worked with Gilman's family for two years
07:04to help secure his release, but says it took far too long.
07:09And while this news is deeply welcome,
07:13It is a tragedy that it took Robert's near-death condition
07:19for this case to receive the attention which it required
07:24for his release to be negotiated.
07:28Because of bipartisan work, Robert Gilman is free.
07:32Robert Gilman is heading back to his family.
07:35Gilman's family and American officials have accused Russia of abusing him in custody.
07:40He is now expected to undergo medical and psychological treatment
07:43at a U.S. military hospital in Texas.
07:46Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X,
07:49the U.S. is still seeking the immediate return of other Americans held in Russia,
07:53including wrongfully detained American Stephen Hubbard.
07:56Gilman is the third former U.S. Marine detained by Russia in recent years,
08:01after Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, who were both eventually freed in prisoner swaps.
08:06The White House now wants the Justice Department to look at whether it can bring a new case
08:11against the man accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
08:16That's after federal prosecutors dropped the original case
08:19and said the damage wasn't vandalism after all.
08:22The Wall Street Journal was first to report that White House officials have asked the Justice Department
08:26to explore whether David Hearn could be prosecuted again.
08:30Federal prosecutors initially accused Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist,
08:35of pulling a part of the new coating on the bottom of the reflecting pool.
08:39But they later dropped the felony case after new information showed the damage was caused
08:44by what they called a botched installation, not vandalism.
08:47President Trump has publicly blasted U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for dropping the case
08:52and urged her to revisit the decision.
08:55Now, after prodding from the White House, the Justice Department is looking at whether
09:00there's another path forward, possibly a misdemeanor case.
09:03A judge is expected to decide whether the original case should be dismissed with prejudice,
09:08which could prevent the Justice Department from charging Hearn again over the same alleged conduct.
09:14This is now landing on a Justice Department with a new boss.
09:17Todd Blanche was sworn in as Attorney General Monday and has said the President has both the right
09:22and the duty to weigh in on Justice Department matters.
09:26Finally this morning, for those who grew up in the 80s, this may bring back some memories.
09:32Want to play Nintendo after school?
09:34Well, one of those old games you may have played is now at the center of a pretty remarkable discovery
09:40in Wisconsin.
09:41A Wisconsin pop culture store owner told Nintendo collector Jason Ganos,
09:46he had an old box of Super Mario cartridges sitting in storage.
09:50It turns out they weren't just old.
09:53The box held 97 pristine copies of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt.
09:58And Ganos discovered they were in an ultra-rare variant made in 1993,
10:04two years after the bundle was thought to have been discontinued.
10:08This happened to be a new variant of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt.
10:11Not just any new variant.
10:12We found out that it was the last known production date for this game.
10:17Previously, they thought that they stopped manufacturing these in 1991.
10:22These were made in 1993, and that was long after they discontinued that bundle.
10:28The Super Nintendo was out at that point.
10:30And they're not just rare, they're in fantastic condition.
10:34Five of the 97 received a perfect 10 from a professional sports authenticator,
10:39something Ganos says had never happened before for an NES cartridge.
10:43Most of the collection goes up for auctions starting Friday.
10:46Ganos calls the whole discovery serendipitous and says he won't even guess what they will sell for.
10:53But he's about to find out.
10:55Yep, back in my day, we couldn't wait to play.
10:57It was Pac-Man, Galaxian, Space Invaders.
11:01Eight tokens for a buck at the Putt-Putt Golf and Games in Tonawanda, New York.
11:05Sheridan Drive.
11:06Loved it.
11:07Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes of news.
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11:15We thank you for making us part of your morning routine.
11:18Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Wednesday.
11:20We'll see you back here tomorrow.
11:21For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
11:24Have a great day.
11:24Ever wonder what we learned that doesn't make it into a two-minute story?
11:29That's what Offscript is all about.
11:31Longer conversations, extra reporting.
11:33And then to make things more complicated, environmental factors often interact with genetics.
11:38And the context behind the headlines from the people who know the stories best.
11:42President Trump chose to go to Michigan and make his presence felt and make himself part of the conversation there.
11:49Unbiased Updates Offscript, Thursdays at Straight Arrow.
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