DHS funding bill heads to House; Judge says Anthropic not a ‘supply chain risk’

Senators finally passed a Homeland Security funding bill in the wee hours of the morning

before heading home for Easter break. How the measure ices out ice, but without Democrats getting the reforms they had hoped for

Plus, President Trump extends the deadline for Iran to open the key oil shipping passageway

the Strait of Hormuz. How much longer he's giving the Iranians to comply with U.S. demands

And an alleged serial killer accused of terrorizing women on Long Island

dating back to 1993 might be ready to admit it. The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world

These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow News. Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. We begin with breaking news this morning

The U.S. Senate early Friday passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security

and end the partial government shutdown. Senators worked late into the night

finally coming to an agreement after two this morning, Eastern time. The vote seemingly ends

the standoff that led to massive lines and long wait times at airports across the country

as TSA employees have been working without pay for 40 days and faced missing their second

paycheck in a row today. In that time, nearly 500 TSA employees have quit and thousands have

called out sick, leading to those long lines at the airports. The Senate bill would fund all of

DHS except ice enforcement and removal operations and parts of Customs and Border Protection

which have been sticking points for Democrats in the wake of the deadly ice shootings of two

American citizens in Minneapolis in January. However, Democrats did not get the ice restrictions

they were seeking on such things as ice agents wearing masks and judicial warrants before entering

a home. Since the White House and Republicans refused Democrats' demands, senators agreed to

strip out ICE funding from the measure completely and pursue that in a separate bill. The House is

expected to take up this bill when it meets today, ahead of a two-week recess. Even if they don't

pass it President Trump has said he will have newly sworn Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen quote immediately pay our TSA agents in order to address this emergency situation President Trump has once again delayed his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

It had been today, but has now pushed back into early April

The president announced Thursday he's giving Iran more time to reopen the crucial global oil

shipping lane or face massive attacks to the country's critical infrastructure. Trump wrote on Truth Social

As per Iranian government request, I am pausing the period of energy plant destruction by 10 days

to Monday, April 6, 2026 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Talks are ongoing, and despite erroneous

statements to the contrary, they are going well. During a cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump stated

that Iran allowed several oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as a show of good faith

Oil prices edged slightly higher early this morning following Trump's announcement, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, up more than 1 percent to about $109 a barrel at one point

The U.S. benchmark is also up more than 1 percent, sitting at around $95 per barrel this morning

Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues its attacks on Iran, saying this morning it struck ballistic missile and aerial defense system production sites across the country overnight

including in the capital of Tehran. The Israel Defense Forces also says it hit a key sea mine production facility

A federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked two Trump administration actions against Anthropic

The Pentagon's move to label the AI company a supply chain risk

and President Donald Trump's directive telling federal agencies to stop using Anthropics technology, including the chatbot Claude

U.S. District Judge Rita Lynn issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday pausing those measures while the case proceeds

In her order, Lynn wrote that the government's actions appeared arbitrary and capricious

and said the authority had typically been used against foreign adversaries, not American companies

The case centers on how the military could use Anthropik's AI tools

NPR and AP reported that Anthropik said it would not allow Claude to be used for autonomous weapons or to surveil American citizens while the Pentagon argued the military should decide how to use tools it buys from contractors

Lynn wrote that if the concern were the chain of command, the Pentagon could simply stop using Claude

Instead, she wrote, the measures appeared intended to punish Anthropic. A victory for the Trump administration and the federal government

when it comes to its raid and seizure of ballots and boxes of election materials in Georgia

pertaining to the 2020 presidential election. The federal judge has ruled the FBI agent who oversaw the operation in Fulton County earlier this year

will not have to testify at a hearing in the case later today

Fulton County officials are seeking the return of the ballots seized in that raid

They subpoenaed Hugh Raymond Evans to testify, claiming he misstated and omitted key facts

in obtaining the search warrant for the election site. However, a U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of the federal government on Thursday

and quashed the subpoena. The FBI took more than 700 boxes of ballots and documentation

from the Fulton County Elections Hub at Operations Center in late January

President Trump has long claimed there was voter fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere

However, audits and numerous court cases have legally rejected his allegations and efforts to challenge the results

A man accused of preying on women on Long Island, New York for nearly two decades is reportedly ready to admit that he's a serial killer

Multiple news outlets are reporting that Rex Heuerman will change his plea from not guilty to guilty next month to killing seven women

Heuerman is a former architect accused of carrying out the so-called Gilgo Beach murders decades ago, some involving prostitutes

The families of the victims reportedly have been notified. Prosecutors say they have DNA evidence and cell phone records from Heuerman's Long Island home tying him to the killings

Searchers blew the case wide open in 2010 when they found human remains along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach

Police later discovered other victims near the shore and in remote areas

It took more than a decade for investigators to pinpoint Heuerman as a suspect and make the arrest in 2023 Investigators reportedly have cell phone records indicating the alleged killer had been in touch with the victims and a search of his computer supposedly turned up a checklist described as a blueprint of how to commit the murders and destroy evidence He is expected to

plead guilty at his next court appearance on April 8th. Finally this morning, President Trump is

bucking tradition and soon to become the first sitting president whose signature will be featured

on paper currency. U.S. Treasury Department made the announcement Thursday, saying it's part of

Trump's broader celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary. His name will appear alongside

that of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the $100 bill starting in June, with other bills to

be printed in the following months. The U.S. Treasurer's name, which has been printed on money

for more than 165 years, will be taken off. This marks the latest move to put Trump on money

Just last week, a federal arts panel unanimously approved a commemorative gold coin featuring Donald Trump's image

part of a series of coins the U.S. Mint will produce as part of America's 250th birthday celebrations

It will be the first time a sitting or living president will be featured on a coin

Federal law bars living people from appearing on coins, but the Trump administration claims the Treasury Department has the authority in this case

All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today. At 9 a.m. Eastern, a federal judge will begin hearing arguments over whether the FBI should have to return ballots and other materials seized in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of the Trump administration's investigation into the 2020 election

Also at 9, the U.S. House of Representatives will meet, expected to vote on the Senate's bill to fund the DHS, likely ending the partial government shutdown that's caused massive lines and wait times at airports nationwide

At 5.30 this evening, President Trump will headline Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Miami

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Go to san.com slash newsletters. Those are your unbiased updates for this Friday

We'll see you back here on Monday. For all of us at Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelly

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend. We'll see you on Monday