00:00The U.S. pulls its bombers out of a key base in England.
00:04The move comes after a suspected terror plot, and Britain says Iran may have played a part.
00:10Plus, new questions about the fly Dubai co-pilot, the warning signs before he was hired, and
00:15the security gap now under scrutiny.
00:18And an alleged Chinese spy arrested at LAX, who the FBI says she was tracking and what
00:25she was sending back to China.
00:28The stories that matter, the facts you can trust.
00:33From across the country to around the world, this is Unbiased Updates from Straight Arrow.
00:40Hey everybody, I'm Christian Bryant in Washington.
00:43Thank you so much for starting your week with us.
00:45Let's get you caught up and ready for the day ahead.
00:48We begin with a major U.S. military move overseas.
00:51The Air Force has pulled all of its bombers out of a key base in England days after six
00:57people were arrested in an alleged plot to attack it.
01:00All of the American B-1 bombers deployed to RAF Fairford have now returned to their home
01:05bases in the U.S., according to Pentagon officials.
01:08The withdrawal involves at least 12 bombers, including several that had only recently arrived
01:13in England as a part of a regular rotation.
01:16Officials told NBC News the sudden departure wasn't triggered by a new threat, but was
01:21related to threat reporting that already existed.
01:24They did not elaborate on that.
01:26The move follows the arrests of six people in connection with a suspected plot to attack
01:31Fairford, a base the U.S. has used to launch strikes against Iran.
01:35And British Prime Minister Andy Burnham says there are, quote, strong indications Iran played
01:40a role.
01:41All six suspects have since been released on bail.
01:44And over the weekend, President Trump again said the U.S. has a decision to make about Iran.
01:49Iran's been decimated.
01:51So the only question is, it'll either be the easy way or the hard way.
01:56We'll have it the easy way or the hard way.
01:59Trump's comments follow his threat last week to bomb Iran before the midterm elections.
02:04This morning, the investigation into that attempted attack on a Fly Dubai flight is now focusing
02:09on a big question.
02:11How was the co-pilot allowed to fly in the first place?
02:14Investigators say the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machar with an emergency crash axe, then
02:20tried to take control of the plane as it flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
02:24That axe wasn't smuggled on board.
02:26It was already in the cockpit, standard emergency equipment used on passenger planes.
02:31The plane started dropping fast.
02:33Machar was badly injured, but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew
02:39to get inside and restrain the co-pilot.
02:41Reserve pilots on board took the controls and landed the plane in Saudi Arabia.
02:46Investigators now believe the co-pilot likely acted alone.
02:50U.S. officials say there's currently no indication Iran directed the attack, though the investigation
02:55is still early.
02:56But there are new questions about his background.
02:59Sources tell CNN he was removed from Oman's national airline last year after concerns about
03:05extremist views.
03:06And yet, he later went to work for Fly Dubai and was cleared to fly an Israel-bound passenger
03:11jet.
03:12Aviation experts say there is no single international standard for pilot background checks, and information
03:18about employment or security concerns doesn't automatically follow a pilot from one airline
03:24or country to another.
03:26Machar is recovering in Abu Dhabi, where Dubai's crown prince has now visited him on Sunday.
03:31The UAE is leading the investigation.
03:34Israel and Saudi Arabia are also investigating.
03:38Back here in Washington, the Supreme Court opens a new term later this morning, and first
03:42up is a case that could have a big impact on climate lawsuits across the country.
03:47Boulder, Colorado is suing ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy, accusing the oil companies of misleading
03:53the public about fossil fuels and contributing to climate-related costs the community is now
03:58facing.
03:59The companies want the case thrown out.
04:01But what the justices are actually deciding here is more narrow than the lawsuit itself.
04:06When this case is taken up by the Supreme Court, it's not going to be about whether the oil
04:12industry in fact was deceptive in its marketing practices or whether fossil fuels in fact have
04:18caused climate change or imposed certain costs upon the local government entities.
04:24This case is really about, is this a federal law question or a state law question?
04:29Exxon and Suncor argue climate change crosses state and national borders, so federal law should
04:35control.
04:36The Trump administration is backing them.
04:38Boulder says its claims are about the company's conduct and allegedly deceptive marketing,
04:44and state courts should be allowed to hear them.
04:47And the ruling could reach well beyond Colorado.
04:50Nearly 60 states and local governments have filed similar lawsuits against fossil fuel companies.
04:55A win for Exxon and Suncor could lead to many of those cases being dismissed.
05:00Only eight justices will hear today's arguments.
05:03Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself, and the court has not said why.
05:07A decision is expected by the end of June.
05:11To California now, where a woman is accused of spying for China and the person she was
05:16allegedly tracking, the son of Taiwan's president.
05:19The FBI arrested Wanying Heather Zhang at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday as she
05:24was preparing to board a flight to China.
05:27She's now charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
05:30Federal prosecutors say Zhang, who entered the U.S. through Seattle in 2025, surveilled one
05:36of the sons of Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-de, who reportedly lives in the U.S.
05:41The Justice Department says she sent Chinese officials photos, video, and license plate
05:46information involving the president's son and his family.
05:49Taiwan's presidential office is calling the alleged plot a, quote, typical case of transnational
05:55repression and thanking the U.S. government for protecting Taiwanese citizens.
06:00Zhang is expected to make her first appearance in federal court in Los Angeles today.
06:05President Trump has now formally created what he's calling the Super Intelligence Force,
06:10a new White House task force focused on AI.
06:13And he's putting Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton in charge.
06:17The group also includes FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Pentagon Technology Chief Emile Michael,
06:23and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Cooper.
06:26In a post on Truth Social, Trump says the task force will coordinate the federal government's
06:31approach to AI, including its work with tech companies, consumer groups, and critical
06:35infrastructure providers.
06:37He says the goal is to keep the U.S. ahead in what he calls superintelligence, his term
06:42for AI.
06:43But there's still a lot we don't know about what this group will actually do.
06:47Trump didn't announce any specific new regulations or enforcement powers.
06:52The task force will report directly to him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
06:58Finally this morning, a Hawaii landmark that stood for centuries is gone.
07:02The Hole Sea Arch off Hawaii's Big Island collapsed into the Pacific sometime late last month.
07:08Take a look at the before and after.
07:10The National Park Service says the arch inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was more than
07:15500 years old.
07:17And its collapse wasn't entirely a surprise.
07:20The U.S. Geological Survey had warned that waves were constantly eroding the rock and
07:25that eventually the arch would disappear.
07:27The park was closed around that time as Nolo moved through the Pacific.
07:31And a quick update on that storm.
07:33Nolo crossed the International Dateline, which means it's now classified as a typhoon rather
07:38than a hurricane.
07:39Before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
07:42At 9.30 Eastern, a federal appeals court hears the latest round in Harvard's fight with
07:46the Trump administration over federal grant funding.
07:49At 3, former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn is sentenced after being convicted of
07:55murdering his wife and staging the scene to look like an intruder did it.
07:58And at 3.30, Attorney Ben Crump and Congressman Maxine Waters joined Nolan Wells' mother to
08:04call for a federal investigation into the teen's death after a July 4th voting outing.
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08:22That's Unbiased Updates for this Monday.
08:25We'll see you here again tomorrow for the Unbiased Updates team and all of us at Straight
08:29Arrow.
08:30I'm Christian Bryant.
08:31Thank you so much for watching.
08:32Have a great one.
