00:01Calling the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz a wall of steel, President Trump says the U.S. is
00:06in total control.
00:08Why Iran disputes that and claims it is still closed.
00:12Plus, an Apache helicopter crashes near Fort Hood, killing two soldiers and sparking a big fire.
00:18This morning an investigation is underway as to why the so-called most advanced aerial fighting vehicle in the world
00:24went down.
00:25And the White House press secretary says she's leaving the administration.
00:30The key reason why Caroline Levitt is headed home at the end of the month.
00:36The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:42These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow.
00:48Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:50This morning it's not completely clear who is in control of the Strait of Hormuz,
00:54as both President Trump and Iranian officials continue to make opposing claims.
00:59Trump taking to social media overnight, reiterating his assertion that the United States has total control over the Strait,
01:06adding, I think we will keep it.
01:08Iran continues to dispute that, saying it controls the Strait, leaving ships wary to pass through the key lane.
01:16According to Reuters, the number of vessels tracked transiting the Strait has fallen to a one-week low of just
01:22eight.
01:22Iran's Persian Gulf Strait authority, which was recently created to police maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,
01:29said in a post of its own that Trump's assertions, quote,
01:33do not change the reality that the Strait will remain closed until Washington agrees to Tehran's conditions.
01:39Iran is also accusing the U.S. of committing war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions,
01:45specifically saying the U.S. has targeted civilian infrastructure.
01:49Meanwhile, dozens of countries around the world and the European Union are calling on Iran to stop executing protesters
01:56and to free political prisoners.
01:58It comes after Iran recently publicly hanged two men accused of killing four police officers
02:04during nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic in January.
02:09We are learning new details about President Trump's decoy flight from Turkey last month.
02:14Multiple sources say the decision to pull off the elaborate ruse,
02:18in which Trump secretly transferred from the old Air Force One to a military aircraft in a catering truck,
02:25was made just a few hours before takeoff,
02:28after U.S. and Turkish intelligence picked up on an Iranian plot to fire a missile at the presidential jet.
02:34Intelligence officials also reportedly believed the Iranians had information about Trump's movements
02:39while in Turkey for the NATO summit.
02:42We've also learned that the two most senior members of Trump's cabinet,
02:45Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant
02:49and several other top White House aides stayed on the original plane for the trip home,
02:54while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the secret flight with President Trump.
02:59This morning, two soldiers are dead after an Army Apache helicopter crashed violently
03:05into a central Texas field, then touched off a grass fire that forced evacuations.
03:11The AH-64 Apache went down Wednesday afternoon near Salado, about 50 miles north of Boston.
03:17The first 911 call came in around 1.30.
03:21Later that afternoon, authorities said the fire was still out of control,
03:24with evacuations underway and a nearby road shut down.
03:27By 7 p.m., the fire had burned 155 acres, but crews had it 85 percent contained.
03:33No homes or buildings were damaged, and authorities said no one else was hurt.
03:38The helicopter was based at Fort Hood.
03:40The Army has not released the soldiers' names.
03:43The Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Hood is leading the inquiry.
03:48Back in Washington, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt is leaving the Trump administration
03:54just weeks after returning from maternity leave.
03:56The 28-year-old, who made history as the youngest White House Press Secretary,
04:01will step down at the end of the month after about a year and a half on the job.
04:05Levitt gave birth to her second child, a daughter, in May,
04:09and says trying to balance two young children with one of the most demanding jobs in Washington
04:14has become too much.
04:15In a post on X, she wrote that since returning to work, she has felt she cannot be the best
04:21mom
04:21her children deserve, while also giving the job the time and attention it requires.
04:26Levitt called the decision bittersweet, but she isn't completely leaving President Trump's orbit.
04:32Trump says Levitt will become one of his top outside advisors and an influential Republican voice
04:37heading into the midterms.
04:39He also called her one of the best White House press secretaries in history.
04:43So far, the White House has not announced who will replace her behind the podium.
04:48The Justice Department has taken a rare step in Washington,
04:53convening a special grand jury that could be used to investigate
04:56some of the most controversial cases handled by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
05:01The Washington Post is first to report it,
05:03and right now it is not clear what case or cases the grand jury will actually take up.
05:08But this is not your typical grand jury.
05:11Its 23 members can focus on one case or a group of related cases
05:15and can even issue a public report naming people accused of wrongdoing
05:19whether or not they are ever charged.
05:22The Post says the grand jury will be overseen by Stephen Vandervelden,
05:26one of Pirro's top allies,
05:27who has already worked on some of her office's most high-profile investigations.
05:32Those include the probe into then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
05:36and an inquiry into whether D.C. police purposely skewed crime statistics.
05:41And all of this comes after President Trump publicly turned on Pirro
05:46over her decision to drop the reflecting pool vandalism case
05:49against former Olympian David Hearn.
05:52Although the Post reports prosecutors submitted the paperwork for this special grand jury
05:56before Pirro dropped the Hearn case.
05:59Special grand juries are rare, and legal experts tell the Post
06:03there is no known recent precedent for seeding one in Washington.
06:08Finally this morning, what a sight in various parts of Europe on Wednesday.
06:12A total solar eclipse as the moon passed between the sun and the Earth,
06:17turning day into night with the sky appearing to be an eerie gray color.
06:22In London, the Royal Observatory Greenwich captured the moment the moon went passing through
06:27and covered about 90% of the sun.
06:30Crowds gathered at parks and other vantage points to watch the spectacle.
06:34A fantastic view in Spain as a total solar eclipse took place in the northern and central parts of the
06:41country.
06:41The sun just gradually disappeared.
06:44It's the first time that this has happened there since 1905.
06:48Some of this spectacular video was captured in Madrid.
06:50People in Portugal, Greenland, and Iceland also witnessed the phenomenon.
06:56Totality lasted less than three minutes, with the maximum duration reported off Iceland's west coast.
07:01It ended over the Mediterranean.
07:04I still remember the last total eclipse we had here in the U.S.
07:07It was in the spring of 2024.
07:09I sat on my back deck for at least an hour here in Omaha, Nebraska.
07:12It was like one in the afternoon.
07:14All of a sudden the sky starkened.
07:16The birds started chirping wildly.
07:18They raced into the trees, winds picked up, there was a cold front.
07:22And just like that, it was nighttime in the middle of the afternoon.
07:24It was so, so cool.
07:26And of course, I had those special glasses for the viewing.
07:29Oh my gosh, it was memorable.
07:32All right, we give you the headlines here.
07:34Offscript gives you everything that comes next.
07:36It's a new show where we talk with journalists behind the reporting and dig into stories we just can't fit
07:41into this short morning show.
07:43Watch Offscript later today, only on SAN.com and the Straight Arrow app.
07:48No noise, no sides.
07:50Unbiased Updates gives you the facts straight.
07:52You can watch us anytime at SAN.com or on the app.
07:55Or join our other listeners on Spotify.
07:58At Straight Arrow, we fear no fact.
08:01Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Thursday.
08:03We'll see you back here tomorrow.
08:04For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
08:07Have a great day.
08:08Ever wonder what we learn that doesn't make it into a two-minute story?
08:12That's what Offscript is all about.
08:13Longer conversations, extra reporting.
08:16And then to make things more complicated, environmental factors often interact with genetics.
08:21And the context behind the headlines from the people who know the stories best.
08:25President Trump chose to go to Michigan and make his presence felt and make himself part of the conversation there.
08:32Unbiased Updates Offscript, Thursdays at Straight Arrow.
08:37Unbiased Updates Offscript
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