00:01Deeper in debt. America's tab just crossed 40 trillion dollars. How fast it's growing and the ways that debt can
00:08hit your wallet. Plus, a new front against Iran. President Trump declares economic D-Day and threatens countries that help
00:16Tehran get around American sanctions. And to fight over who runs the FDA, Trump picks one of the architects of
00:24his childhood vaccine changes and a key Republican is already raising red flags.
00:31The stories that matter, clear and credible from across the country to around the world. These are your unbiased updates
00:38from Straight Arrow.
00:43Good morning. I'm Craig DeGrelli. Another trillion dollars in just five months. The U.S. national debt has now crossed
00:5040 trillion dollars, more than double what it was less than a decade ago.
00:55And the speed is part of the story. The national debt hit 38 trillion dollars last October. 39 trillion in
01:03March. And now, five months later, 40 trillion.
01:07The government continues to spend more than it takes in, with defense costs, Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the
01:14debt all consuming large shares of federal spending.
01:17That interest alone now costs the government more than a trillion dollars a year.
01:22The debt has more than doubled since the start of President Trump's first term, from just under $20 trillion to
01:29more than $40 trillion today.
01:30And the government is still adding to it.
01:33Just last week, the Treasury reported a $432 billion deficit for July, the fourth largest monthly shortfall in U.S.
01:42history.
01:43Court-ordered refunds of Trump's Liberation Day tariffs help push customs revenue into negative territory for a third straight month.
01:51So how does a $40 trillion national debt actually reach your wallet?
01:56So when you borrow that much money, it helps fuel greater inflation, number one.
02:01Number two, because the government is borrowing, you know, we're now up to $40 trillion,
02:05we're going to have to refinance about $13 trillion of Treasuries in the next year alone.
02:10So that's about $2 trillion of new borrowing to fund the deficit and $11 trillion of refinancing.
02:15That's a lot of debt in the market and a lot of capital that is taking up.
02:19That increases interest rates.
02:21So you're seeing Treasury rates much higher than they were recently, right?
02:25When Treasuries go up, all the other rates also follow.
02:28So your mortgage rate goes up, your car loan goes up, your credit card bills go up.
02:31And Congress could soon be dealing with the next debt limit fight.
02:35The current ceiling is $41.1 trillion.
02:38The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates the U.S. could reach that figure sometime between
02:44late winter and mid-summer of next year, forcing Congress to once again decide whether to raise
02:49or suspend the limit.
02:51President Trump is opening a new front in the war with Iran, this one aimed at obliterating
02:57Tehran's economy.
02:58On Truth Social, Trump announced what he called the most crushing economic operation ever taken
03:03against any country.
03:05He threatened massive financial penalties against any country that helps Iran evade U.S.
03:10sanctions, warning of, quote, economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.
03:16Trump is calling it economic D-Day.
03:19He says Tehran has had plenty of opportunities to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and
03:25end the war and has refused.
03:27The temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire expired Monday with no new deal.
03:31But Trump insists the pressure campaign is working.
03:35Right now, the Strait is open.
03:37A lot of boats are coming through.
03:39People aren't reporting that.
03:41And that may slow down a little bit at some point.
03:43But right now, a lot of boats are coming through.
03:46The naval blockade has been extremely effective.
03:49Zero.
03:50I mean, literally, while it's up, and it's been for quite a while, you know, except for
03:54a couple of little pauses where we opened it purposely with a deal, but the deal didn't
03:59terminate, you know, the deal didn't turn out to be what they said, you know, when they
04:02tell us one thing and they do another.
04:05Iran is already firing back with words.
04:08Its foreign minister dismissed Trump's economic D-Day this morning as a diversion from America's
04:14own crisis, unprecedented debt and surging interest costs.
04:17He also predicted Trump's new economic campaign would backfire and threaten the global economy.
04:23President Trump has picked Dr. Heidi Overton to run the Food and Drug Administration, and
04:29her confirmation fight is already taking shape.
04:32Overton is a physician and top White House domestic policy aide who regularly briefs the
04:38president on health issues.
04:39She's also become a familiar face alongside Trump as he pushes some of his biggest changes
04:44to American health policy.
04:46Just last week, Overton stood with President Trump as he signed an executive order aimed at
04:51reducing the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations.
04:55Now Trump wants her running the FDA, referring to Overton as a rock star on Truth Social, and
05:02saying Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently called her always right.
05:07But she will first need Senate confirmation, and one important Republican is already raising
05:12serious concerns.
05:13Senator Bill Cassidy, who chairs the committee that would consider her nomination, pointed
05:18directly to her role in the vaccine order, calling it nonsensical, and saying that alone
05:23is almost disqualifying.
05:26Overton could also face questions about abortion.
05:28Before joining the White House, she celebrated the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v.
05:33Wade.
05:34And that's especially relevant now because the FDA is reviewing the safety of Mifepristone, the
05:40widely used abortion pill.
05:41If confirmed, Overton would replace Dr. Marty Makari, who resigned in May after clashes with
05:47the White House over issues including vaping policy and access to abortion pills.
05:52Now to South Carolina, where the investigation into Hayden Penetier's death is expanding with
05:58the DEA now joining local police.
06:01The 36-year-old actress's cause of death has not been determined, and authorities have
06:06not said whether drugs played a role.
06:08But we're learning more about what first responders encountered.
06:11Paramedics called the scene a possible overdose in communications with dispatchers.
06:16And reports say Narcan, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, was found inside
06:22the Greenville apartment.
06:23The New York Times reports emergency workers found Penetier unresponsive and in cardiac arrest
06:29Sunday, and were unable to revive her.
06:32The coroner says toxicology results are still pending.
06:35The DEA has become involved in other high-profile celebrity death investigations, including the
06:412023 overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry.
06:44That investigation ultimately led to five people being charged, including two doctors and the
06:50woman prosecutors called the Ketamine Queen.
06:53Back to Washington, President Trump has spent a lot of time remaking parts of the White House.
06:59And this morning, we now have a pretty detailed look at his latest project.
07:03Trump personally took reporters out to the South Lawn Wednesday to show off the new White
07:08House helipad and some of the changes he ordered along the way.
07:12At one point, Trump said he had part of the work redone because he didn't like the slope.
07:17The new landing area is being built with white granite rather than the grass that
07:22Marine One has traditionally landed on.
07:24The project is designed in part to accommodate the next generation of Marine One helicopters,
07:29which officials have worried could damage the White House lawn.
07:33But Trump also has something else in mind for it.
07:36Entertaining.
07:37And again, this is going to be used for a lot of different celebrations, a lot of different
07:42big meetings where, as an example, President Xi is coming in a little while,
07:47a couple of weeks, and we didn't plan to have this done, but it's gone so well.
07:52And there's a deadline.
07:53Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected at the White House in late September, and workers
07:59told Trump they expect to finish the helipad just days before his arrival.
08:03Trump even left a little something behind, signing the back of this giant granite eagle
08:08that will become part of the presidential seal on the helipad.
08:11The new helipad will also change one of the White House's most familiar images, Marine One
08:17landing directly on the South Lawn.
08:19Trump says the new construction will be there, quote, long after we're gone.
08:23Finally this morning, it's not exactly a royal reunion, but it could be a step in that direction.
08:29Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are planning a move back to the UK.
08:35Harry, Meghan, and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, are expected to return as private
08:40citizens, not working royals.
08:42It's a major change for a couple who left Britain for California in 2020 after stepping
08:48back from royal duties.
08:50And it's a change for Harry himself.
08:52Just last year, he said he, quote, couldn't see a world where he would bring his wife and
08:57children back to the UK because of his long-running dispute over security.
09:02But the family did return together last month, meeting privately with King Charles and Queen
09:07Camilla, their first family visit with the king in years.
09:11Now the Telegraph reports Harry and Meghan plan to live in a private, non-royal residence
09:16near London.
09:17They're also expected to keep their homes in California and Portugal.
09:21King Charles reportedly learned of the plans on Sunday and is said to be pleased.
09:26You know what?
09:26I wonder what William and Kate are going to say or think.
09:30Well, now I've got something to read in the supermarket checkout line.
09:34And the tabloids should be fun.
09:37Unbiased Updates gives you the headlines.
09:39Offscript gives you everything that comes next.
09:42It's a new podcast where we talk to the straight arrow journalists behind the reporting and dig
09:47into stories we can't fit into the morning show.
09:49Watch Offscript later today, only on san.com or on the app.
09:54No noise, no sides.
09:55Unbiased Updates gives you the facts straight.
09:58You can watch us anytime at san.com or on the app.
10:01Or join our other listeners on Spotify at Straight Arrow.
10:04We fear no fact.
10:06Those of you Unbiased Updates for this Thursday, we'll see you back here tomorrow, Friday.
10:09We love that.
10:10For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
10:12Have a great day.
10:16Ever wonder what we learned that doesn't make it into a two-minute story?
10:20That's what Offscript is all about.
10:22Longer conversations, extra reporting.
10:24And then to make things more complicated, environmental factors often interact with genetics.
10:29And the context behind the headlines from the people who know the stories best.
10:34President Trump chose to go to Michigan and make his presence felt and make himself part of the conversation there.
10:40Unbiased Updates Offscript, Thursdays at Straight Arrow.
