Iran deal awaits Trump’s signature; Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes on pad

A breakthrough with Iran. The U.S. says there's a tentative 60-day ceasefire agreement on the table

What it could mean for the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program

Plus, a fireball in Florida. Blue Origin's new Glenn rocket explodes during a launch pad test just days before its next mission

And Trump on the money? The Treasury Department preparing for a possible $250 bill featuring the president

and critics are not holding back. The stories that matter, clear and credible

from across the country to around the world. These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow

Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli. The United States and Iran are moving closer to a longer

term deal this morning, but President Trump has not yet signed off on it. The tentative

Memorandum of Understanding would extend the current ceasefire for 60 days and open a new

round of talks over Iran's nuclear program. That's what a U.S. official familiar with the

negotiations told the Associated Press. Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed Thursday the two

sides have reached a preliminary agreement, but he said major questions still need to be resolved

before any final deal can be reached. There are certain details that are going to have to be

figured out that are going to take a little bit of time to think about. I mean, just take, for example, even if you come to an agreement on, let's say, destroying the enriched stockpile

how do you do it? When do you do it? How do you actually get access to it? Because I think we're making progress. We'll get to a point where we could potentially sit down and settle these issues

but that requires us to make a little bit more progress. I can't guarantee that we're going to

get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it. Even as talks continue, the U.S. is keeping

pressure on Tehran. The Treasury and State Departments announced new sanctions Thursday

targeting Hong Kong-based companies the U.S. says helped move and finance Iranian oil

The State Department said the sanctions target what it called the financial lifelines of Iran's

military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Wait till you see this. This morning

a major setback for Blue Origin after its new Glenn rocket exploded during a test

on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The fiery blast happened during an engine firing test as the company prepared for a satellite mission scheduled for next week Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos called it a very rough day but said no one was hurt and teams are already working to determine what caused the failure

You see the fireball right there. The loss is another blow for the New Glenn program

Just last month, the rocket was grounded after an engine problem left a satellite in the wrong orbit

Blue Origin plans to use New Glenn for future NASA missions, including delivering landers to the moon as part of the Artemis program

The company had been targeting a full launch for a prototype moon lander

It's too early to know whether this explosion will force that timeline to slip

A proposal to put President Trump on a new $250 bill is moving from political messaging to actual Treasury planning

The Trump administration is preparing for the possibility of a commemorative note tied to America's 250th anniversary celebration

even though current federal law bars living people from appearing on U.S. currency

The Treasury Department says it has started planning work connected to legislation introduced last year by South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson

Wilson's bill would require the government to print a commemorative $250 note featuring Trump's portrait

The congressman introduced the bill in February of 2025, but it's been sitting in committee ever since

The Washington Post first reported that Treasury officials pushed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to prepare prototypes and mock-ups of the bill

One version shows Trump's portrait centered on the note. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson faced questions about the plan during Thursday's White House briefing

It's all in the hands of the, it's all up on Capitol Hill

So at Treasury, we prepare things in advance. So we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed, but we will stick to the law

Current law only allows deceased individuals to appear on U.S. currency. So Congress would have to change federal law before any bill could move forward

The administration is also working on other America 250 commemorative items tied to Trump, including a proposed $1 coin

Do you think politically it a good idea to put his face on a bill when people are struggling to afford gas You know I don really understand this Washington Post article that who hears from the Post

Yeah, terribly written, terribly edited. Because basically what it says is that Treasury is

following the law and that we've created the bill and that it's up to Congress, but that

we follow the bill and it's up to, I didn't really understand what the story was. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted the proposal on X

posting, quote, hard no on a Trump $250 bill. Get over yourself. No vote has been scheduled on the

legislation. A federal judge is letting President Trump's push to limit mail-in voting move forward

at least for now. A Trump-appointed judge in Washington rejected an effort by Democrats and

civil rights groups to temporarily block the president's executive order overhauling parts

of the election system. The order calls for a federal list of eligible voters and would direct

the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on that list. U.S. District Judge Carl

Nichols ruled it's too early to step in because the order has not actually been implemented yet

But he left the door open for future legal challenges if the administration moves forward

with specific changes. Trump signed the order back in March after a Republican-backed election

bill stalled in Congress. He's long attacked mail-in voting, claiming it's riddled with fraud

even though multiple audits and investigations, including some run by Republicans, found no

evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Elections officials and postal workers have warned

the plan could create confusion and disrupt how mail-in ballots are handled before the midterms

A separate challenge to the executive order is still playing out in federal court in Boston

A growing list of musicians is backing out of a major concert series planned for the National Mall this summer

The event is part of the Great American State Fair, a two-week celebration marking America's 250th birthday

But several artists now say they didn't know about the event's connections to Trump-aligned organizers when they agreed to take part

Martina McBride, Morris Day and the Time, the Commodores, Bret Michaels, and Young MC have all pulled out

Young MC said on social media that artists were never told about any political involvement before signing on Others are sticking with the show Vanilla Ice remains on the schedule and Flo Rida is still expected to perform Organizers with Freedom 250 reject the criticism saying the event is

nonpartisan and designed to bring people together through music, culture, and a celebration of the

country's 250th anniversary. Finally this morning is something a bit light and joyful to leave you

with on this Friday. For most kids, swimming lessons are a summer rite of passage. Well

as it turns out, the same goes for baby otters. Three rare giant otter pups have just emerged

from their den at the Chester Zoo in England. Look, at 15 weeks old, their parents, Bonita

and Manu, are wasting no time introducing them to the water. Keepers say the lessons

started the way many do, a little encouragement, a little nervousness, and eventually a big splash

The two males and one female are learning how to dive, paddle, and navigate the pool on their own

And so far, they seem to be taking to it just fine. Giant otters, by the way, are the largest

otter species in the world and are considered endangered in the wild. Conservationists estimate

only a few thousand remain across South America, mostly in the Amazon River basin

I still remember when my mom signed us up for swimming lessons as a kid. It was always early in the morning when the pool water was the coldest

We would stand around the pool like shivering before jumping in. Oh, my gosh. Glad this turned out better

All right. Before we head out, here's what we're tracking today. This morning, former Attorney General Pam Bondi sits for a closed door interview with House investigators

as part of the committee's Jeffrey Epstein probe. At 10, Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister

and Foreign Minister at the State Department. Tonight in Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico makes a campaign stop in San Antonio

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Go to san.com slash newsletters. Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Friday

We'll see you back here next week. For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli

Have a great day and a fantastic weekend