Iran denies breaking ceasefire; USPS tables pensions amid ‘cash crisis’

The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran continues with peace talk set for Saturday

This morning, what President Trump said about Iran's hold on the key oil passageway, the Strait of Hormuz

Plus, a soldier who survived a deadly Iranian drone attack in Kuwait at the start of the war

claims the U.S. military was unprepared for the force of the blast

And First Lady Melania Trump speaks out about Jeffrey Epstein, what she calls lies, and why she decided to make a public statement

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. This morning, Iran is denying it has violated the two-week

ceasefire with the United States and Israel, as President Trump accuses Tehran of not following

through on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump taking to social media Thursday night to say Iran

is, quote, doing a very poor job of allowing oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz, saying that was

not the deal. Only a small number of ships have passed through the waterway since the ceasefire

began earlier this week. As a result, oil prices have climbed again. Iran's paramilitary Islamic

Revolutionary Guard Corps is claiming innocence, saying in a statement this morning that Iran has

absolutely not carried out any launches toward any country during the ceasefire

However, some Middle Eastern countries have reported Iranian attacks since the ceasefire began

Kuwait saying this morning that it was targeted by drones from Iran. And Saudi Arabia's state-run news agency is reporting that officials say its east-west pipeline

which carries oil out to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was damaged in recent attacks

Meanwhile, tensions remain high as Israel continues to carry out attacks on Lebanon

after its massive assault there on Wednesday, which left more than 100 people dead

The Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and an Israeli border town overnight

The back-and-forth attacks threaten to derail the ceasefire. The U.S. and Israel insist Lebanon was not part of the deal

while Iran and other world powers including France and the UK say it is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now says he wants direct talks with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah It comes as negotiations between Iran and the United

States are set to take place this weekend in Pakistan. Vice President J.D. Vance will lead

the U.S. delegation. Some survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces so far

during the war, say the Pentagon is not telling the full story of what happened

On March 1st, an Iranian drone attack on a U.S. outpost in Kuwait

killed six U.S. Army members and injured more than 20 others. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the drone used in the attack as a squirter

meaning that it squirted through the unit's defenses. But members of the unit assigned to that outpost told CBS News that's not quite accurate

One saying painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood, adding that the unit was unprepared to provide any defense for itself and not in a fortified position

They say in the hours before they had received a warning that an attack was possible, but they had been given the all clear about 30 minutes before chaos erupted

CBS protected this soldier's identity. Everything shook and it's something like what you see in the movies

You know, everything, your ears are ringing. Everything's fuzzy. You know, your vision is blurry. You're dizzy

You know, there's dust and smoke everywhere. He also said the injured soldiers had to take care of themselves and each other in the wake of the blast, which was a devastating direct hit

Our medical capabilities there at Schwable were very limited. We had to evacuate ourselves and get ourselves to the hospital

CBS reports a Pentagon spokesperson would not comment on the soldier's claims

citing an active investigation into the attack. Now to a different topic

In a rare and seemingly out-of-the-blue public statement, First Lady Melania Trump is denying any ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

In remarks at the White House on Thursday, Melania Trump said fake images and statements

about her and Epstein have been circulating on social media, and that she and her lawyers are fighting back against, quote, unfounded and baseless lies

The first lady also looked to quash rumors that it was Epstein who introduced her to Donald Trump

The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today I am not Epstein victim Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump

I met my husband by chance at the New York City party in 1998

The First Lady also called on Congress to hold a public hearing with Epstein's survivors

In a statement, senior advisor to the First Lady Mark Beckman said

the First Lady decided to speak out now because, quote, enough is enough and the lies must stop

An MSNOW reporter who says she spoke on the phone with President Trump

says Trump told her he did not know the First Lady was going to make a statement about Epstein

The United States Postal Service says it is in a severe financial crisis

and is taking a major step to conserve cash. Starting today, the Postal Service is temporarily suspending

its employer contributions to the federal retirement system, a move it says will free up about $2.5 billion this fiscal year

The move comes as Postmaster General David Steiner warns the USPS could run out of money within 12 months without major changes

including cutting delivery from six days a week to five or fewer

The Postal Service also wants to raise the price of a forever stamp from $0.78 to $0.82

And, starting April 26th, some postage prices will face a temporary 8% surcharge

tied to transportation costs from the Iran war. The former Columbia University grad student at the center of a high-profile deportation case

for his pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel actions at the university more than a year ago

is now one step closer to being removed from the country. The Federal Immigration Appeals Board has rejected the appeal of Mahmoud Khalil

According to Khalil's lawyers, the board issued a final order of removal on Thursday

Khalil was born in Syria, has citizenship in Algeria, but is a legal permanent resident of the U.S

Federal authorities arrested him last March, alleging that he led anti-Israel protests at

Colombia and the demonstrations were aligned with Hamas. Khalil claims he was only a spokesman for

the Palestinian cause. He spent more than 100 days in immigration detention facilities

Khalil released a statement after Thursday ruling saying The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it The Board of Immigration Appeals is run by the Justice Department

A federal appeals court in New Jersey ruled earlier this year that Khalil's case must go through the immigration court system

before he can challenge its rulings in federal court. Finally this morning, it's another big day for NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon

The space capsule is coming home and its return will culminate with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean as the country watches and holds its collective breath

The Orion will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and in perhaps the most tense part, mission control will lose contact with the crew for about six minutes

Orion will be falling at roughly 24,000 miles per hour. Experts say the heat from the speed plus the atmosphere and the friction will hit, get this, 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, turning the Orion into a flying fireball

It has a big heat shield to protect it. Fingers are crossed at NASA and beyond that all goes well

Here's the lead flight director. It's 13 minutes of things that have to go right

Our guidance is working very well right now. All of our trajectory calculations are showing that the vehicle is on almost the best path it could be

and that our correction burns are very small this evening and then tomorrow

But let's not beat around the bush. We have to hit that angle correctly

Otherwise, we're not going to have a successful reentry. The splashdown will take place off the coast of San Diego

with the final phase lasting about 13 minutes and the space module coming down from 400,000 feet

NASA will begin coverage at 630 Eastern with the actual landing in the water expected just after 8 p.m

The 10-day mission has been highlighted by a spectacular lunar flyby, beautiful pictures of the moon and the Earth, including an image known as Earthset

It has been great, and to NASA we say, well, it's an understatement, right

Good luck tonight, and we hope by the end of the night they're all saying mission accomplished

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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 great day and a wonderful weekend