00:00Central Command says Iran tried a sneak attack on American forces, how the U.S. responded, and what comes next.
00:08Plus, Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill, his newly released COVID diaries likely to take center stage.
00:16And a smiling photo is not ending questions about Mitch McConnell's health.
00:20Now Kentucky's governor is demanding proof.
00:25The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:31These are your Unbiased Updates from Straight Arrow.
00:37Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:39We begin this morning with a new escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran, after both sides
00:45traded strikes overnight.
00:47Jordan says its air defenses shot down five missiles fired from Iran early this morning.
00:53U.S. Central Command says Iran's Revolutionary Guard also launched multiple ballistic missiles at American forces in the region in
01:01what it calls an attempted surprise attack.
01:04CENTCOM says every missile was successfully intercepted and no U.S. personnel were harmed.
01:10The attack followed days of drone strikes that the U.S. says were carried out by Iran-aligned groups in
01:17Iraq.
01:17Hours later, U.S. and Saudi forces launched joint precision strikes on multiple logistics and weapons sites used by those
01:26Iran-aligned groups, according to CENTCOM.
01:29The Iraq-based Popular Mobilization Forces says at least 20 of their fighters were killed and 32 others wounded.
01:37They also claimed the attacks at seven of their headquarters.
01:39Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it stopped three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
01:46Neither the extent of any damage nor whether any crew members got hurt has been confirmed.
01:51In Washington, the Senate has confirmed President Trump's pick to lead the office of the Director of National Intelligence.
01:58In a 51-47 party-line vote Tuesday night, the Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence.
02:06Republicans had hoped to confirm Clayton in June, but President Trump delayed the process, temporarily installing Bill Pulte as Acting
02:14Director while pressing Congress to pass the Save America Act.
02:18Democrats also raised concerns during Clayton's confirmation hearing after he repeatedly declined to say that Joe Biden won the 2020
02:26presidential election.
02:27Republicans, meanwhile, say Clayton will help return the office of the Director of National Intelligence to its original mission.
02:34It has been clear for months that under this administration, the main qualification to be DNI is the willingness to
02:43use the position to spread conspiracy theories about elections and to help Donald Trump make it harder for Americans to
02:51vote.
02:52Mr. Clayton assured the committee that he would assist our efforts to return the office of the Director of National
02:58Intelligence to its original size, scope and mission.
03:01He also pledged to work with the committee to secure the essential funding the intelligence community needs.
03:07Clayton takes over as Congress continues to debate renewal of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key surveillance that
03:15expired last month.
03:17More than 1,000 pages from Dr. Anthony Fauci's private pandemic diary are now public, just ahead of his return
03:24to Capitol Hill this morning.
03:26Republican Senator Rand Paul released the entries ahead of today's Senate hearing on the origins of COVID-19.
03:33Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, subpoenaed Fauci to testify.
03:38The entries cover Fauci's private thoughts from the start of the pandemic through his retirement in 2022.
03:44Paul argues the notes conflict with Fauci's public messaging about COVID's origins.
03:50Fauci has repeatedly denied claims that he helped cover up the possibility of a leak at a Chinese lab.
03:56The entries show scientists wrestling early with where the virus came from.
04:01In a January 2020 entry, Fauci wrote the Wuhan market was not the source, but rather, quote, the amplifier.
04:09The diaries also reveal Fauci's often tense relationship with President Trump,
04:14including private frustration with what he described as the president's rambling news conferences.
04:20Trump went on Truth Social on Tuesday and called Fauci a phony.
04:25The demands for more transparency surrounding Senator Mitch McConnell's health are growing.
04:31Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is now publicly calling on the 84-year-old Republican to prove he's still able to
04:37serve or step down.
04:40McConnell has been hospitalized and in rehabilitation since a fall in June that left him briefly unconscious.
04:46On Monday, his office released a new photo of the senator with his wife, Elaine Chao,
04:51along with a statement from the attending physician saying he continues to undergo intensive physical therapy.
04:57But the governor says that's not enough.
04:59In a letter, Beshear wrote,
05:01As governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of
05:07Kentucky
05:08and provide proof of your capacity to serve or resign.
05:13Beshear told Bloomberg TV that Senate Majority Leader John Thune should look into McConnell's condition if the senator does not
05:19respond.
05:21Mitch McConnell owes the people of Kentucky, who are his boss,
05:25who have elected him repeatedly, a lot more transparency than this.
05:30All we've gotten are two photos and statements that virtually anybody could put out there.
05:37If Mitch McConnell won't level with the people of Kentucky and the United States,
05:41Senator Thune has a duty to do so.
05:44Thune said Tuesday he had seen Beshear's letter,
05:47but called it a matter between McConnell and the people of Kentucky.
05:51McConnell's office so far has not commented.
05:53The former Senate Majority Leader is not running for re-election in November.
05:57A Georgia teen who killed two students and two teachers at Appalachee High School
06:03will spend the rest of his life in prison.
06:06On Tuesday, a judge sentenced 16-year-old Colt Gray to life without the possibility of parole
06:11for the September 2024 school shooting that also wounded nine others.
06:16Gray showed little reaction as he stood to be handcuffed after the judge handed down the sentence.
06:21The decision came just days after he pleaded guilty to 55 counts, including four counts of murder.
06:29Four lives were stolen.
06:31Two of them really just beginning.
06:33And it wasn't done out of fear or anger.
06:36You weren't being bullied at Appalachee.
06:38It wasn't done out of hatred.
06:41You didn't even know anyone at that school.
06:44It was done for the infamy of it.
06:46Your crimes do reflect permanent incorrigibility, and I will send you to life without parole
06:52for each of the malice murders that you committed.
06:56Prosecutors argued Gray planned the attack for more than a year and carried it out in search of fame,
07:03citing his writings, online posts, and jailhouse phone calls.
07:06Defense attorneys asked for the possibility of parole pointing to his age,
07:10troubled upbringing, and mental health struggles.
07:13The attack at Appalachee High School was the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history.
07:18Students returned to campus for the new school year on Friday.
07:21Meanwhile, Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, is set to be sentenced Thursday after his conviction earlier this year
07:28for giving his son the rifle used in the mass shooting and leaving it unsecured.
07:33Finally this morning, I'm no astrophysicist, but apparently space can be a pretty rough place.
07:41Listen to this.
07:42Astronomers have captured what they believe is a rare glimpse of a black hole
07:46about 750 million light years from Earth tearing a star apart.
07:52That bright flash of light you see is believed to be an orphan black hole as it shreds the star.
07:59There's even a name for the phenomenon, a tidal disruption event.
08:03Unlike most supermassive black holes which sit at the centers of galaxies,
08:08this one appears to be wandering far from the galaxy's core, earning the nickname Orphan.
08:14NASA says the black hole's gravity overpowered the star,
08:18pulling it apart and releasing an intense burst of light.
08:22Scientists first detected the event last November,
08:24and their findings were published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
08:29Wow, some pretty wild colors there, really bright.
08:32Perhaps we blinded you with science.
08:35See what I did there?
08:37All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
08:40At 8.30 this morning, Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies on Capitol Hill.
08:43Later this morning, South Carolina honors the late Senator Lindsey Graham
08:47with a state funeral before a private burial.
08:49At 2.00, the Federal Reserve is set to announce its latest interest rate decision,
08:54followed by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh hosting a news conference.
08:58That next hour, President Trump joins Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for an announcement at the White House.
09:04Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes in news.
09:07Watch us anytime at san.com or on the app.
09:10And to our rapidly growing audience on Spotify, we see you, and we're glad you're along for the ride.
09:16Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Wednesday.
09:18We'll see you back here tomorrow.
09:20For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:22Have a great day.
09:23Sometimes the most interesting part of a story never makes it into the headlines.
09:28That's why we created Unbiased Updates off-script, an exclusive show where we turn off the prompter for smart insights
09:35about the stories shaping your week.
09:37There is evidence, right, that it's foreign actors who are creating these accounts.
09:43Unscripted conversations, transparent reporting, and the context behind the headlines from the people who know the stories best.
09:50No spin or agenda.
09:52That website was only created one day before announcing his candidacy.
09:57Unbiased Updates off-script, Thursdays at Straight Arrow.
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