Iran fires back after overnight strikes; Maine ICE shooting raises new questions

The U.S. hits Iran for a third straight night, and this morning Iran fires back as the fight

over a critical global shipping route escalates. Plus, another deadly ice shooting

This morning, the witness account and why officials now say the man who died was not

the person agents were after. And from little sister to U.S. Senator, why South Carolina's governor chose Darlene Graham

Nordone to finish her brother's term. 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

We begin with the third straight night of U.S. strikes against Iran

as President Trump follows through on his threat to hit the country hard

Iran is firing back this morning with Bahrain confirming new attacks after U.S. Central Command said its latest wave of strikes lasted five hours and hit military targets across Iran

The military says the goal was to further weaken Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping

after several ships were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days

Trump told Fox News the U.S. is now, quote, going to keep the strait and probably run it

We're knocking out all of their offensive capability and we're controlling the straits

We're putting the blockade back. And it's a blockade not for anybody but Iran

In other words, anybody doing business with Iran can't go through, everyone else will be able to go through

So it's a blockade. It's a very strong blockade. The blockade was probably more effective even than hitting them

But I think the combination is the thing that really does. Trump also says the U.S. will impose a 20 percent fee on cargo ships passing through the strait

Iran, meanwhile, says the waterway is now completely closed. For the second time in a week, an ICE agent has shot and killed an immigrant who is not the person

agents were trying to arrest. That's according to a lawmaker. Senator Angus King says Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen initially told him

ICE had a final deportation order for the man who was killed. But King says Mullen called back hours

later to clarify that the victim was not the target of the arrest operation. The man's identity has

not been officially released but two main immigrant advocacy groups identified him as a 26 year old Colombian man who was authorized to work in the United States and had a social security number According to King the shooting happened during an attempted

traffic stop after Mullins said the driver tried to use his vehicle as a weapon. Security

video from nearby businesses seems to show a white car circling the area before an SUV

rammed it, bringing it to a stop. A witness says the driver appeared to have already been

shot before agents pulled him from the vehicle. Ice agent got out, tried to open the door and had

a difficult time, but eventually opened it and pulled the guy out. His face was bloody, his head

was bloody, and I clearly heard the victim say, I tried to stop. Clearly heard him say that

King also says the ICE agents involved were not wearing body cameras. Maine Senator Susan Collins

says the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and the FBI are now

investigating the shooting. Politics now. Lindsey Graham's Senate seat now has a temporary successor

and it's someone who has been by his side for virtually his entire life. South Carolina Governor

Henry McMaster has appointed Graham's younger sister, Darlene Graham Nordone, to serve the

remainder of his term through early January. The announcement came just hours after President Trump

publicly urged McMaster to make the pick, calling it a fabulous tribute to the late senator

At a news conference Monday, McMaster called Graham irreplaceable before asking his sister

to carry on his work. It's my honor to ask his little sister, Darlene Graham

to finish his work for him now. It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important

work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president

and carry forward the efforts of my brother. I think this is what Lindsay would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way

The two siblings shared an unusually close bond. After both parents died within 15 months of each other, Graham became his 13-year-old sister's legal guardian

and later legally adopted her so she could receive his military benefits

Nordeaux has often appeared alongside her brother at campaign events and most recently served on South Carolina's Commission for the Blind

The appointment drew quick endorsements from fellow South Carolina Senator Tim Scott

who wrote, There is no one better who understands Lindsay love for family our state and our country She will become South Carolina first woman U senator when she sworn in later today The appointment is temporary A special Republican

primary is set for next month, with several high-profile Republicans, including Congressman

Nancy Mace and Congressman Ralph Norman, weighing bids for the seat. Later this morning, two Supreme

Court justices make a rare appearance on Capitol Hill, not to defend a ruling, but to defend the

court's security budget. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan will testify before

House and Senate appropriators, asking lawmakers for millions of dollars to expand protection

for the nation's highest court as threats against judges continue to climb. The request includes

money to hire more Supreme Court police officers, improve security when justices travel, and begin

planning a new off-site visitor screening facility outside the courthouse. The push comes after a

series of high-profile security incidents. In 2022, an armed man traveled to Justice Brett

Kavanaugh's Maryland home intending to kill him after the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe

v. Wade. More recently, Justice Barrett's Virginia home was targeted in a swatting attack

and her sister's South Carolina home was the scene of a pipe bomb hoax. Those threats have

transformed security around the court. The Supreme Court police now provide around-the-clock

protection for the justices and their families. And the force continues to grow as it recruits

new officers to meet expanding responsibilities. Lawmakers could also press the justices on

several of the court's recent high-profile decisions. This will be the first congressional

testimony by sitting Supreme Court justices since 2019. A federal judge is sharply criticizing the

Trump administration over the president's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, saying the case

was used to manipulate the judicial process. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that Trump

pursued the lawsuit for an improper purpose, arguing he sued the IRS even though the agency

was under his own administration, not a legal adversary. The case ended in a settlement that

shielded Trump from future IRS audits and initially created a $1.7 billion

anti-weaponization fund to compensate people who say they were wrongly prosecuted during the Biden administration

That fund was later scrapped after bipartisan criticism that it could be used to funnel taxpayer money to Trump political allies The judge also referred Trump attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action

A second Justice Department lawyer is barred from filing motions in Florida's Southern District for up to a year

The case is also expected to come up tomorrow when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche

appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing. The White House continues to argue the lawsuit was justified because the IRS failed to prevent Trump's tax returns from being leaked to news organizations in 2018 and 2020

Finally this morning, it turns out the Milky Way may be living up to its name

Listen to this. Astronomers say they've discovered a naturally occurring sugar floating in a giant cloud of gas and dust near the center of our galaxy

Using two radio telescopes in Spain, researchers detected a sugar molecule in a massive cloud within the interstellar medium

the gas and dust that fills the space between stars. The same type of sugar is found naturally in raspberries and is also used in some self-tanning products

Scientists say finding it in deep space adds to growing evidence that many of life's basic chemical ingredients

may be more common across the universe than once believed. Researchers hope discoveries like this will help answer one of science's biggest questions

whether comets and asteroids delivered some of the building blocks that ultimately made life on Earth possible

One word reaction. Sweet! All right, busy morning on Capitol Hill and at the White House

Here's what we're tracking today. Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett

make their appearance before the House, then later Senate lawmakers. That same hour, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers his first semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress

Also this morning, House Democrats and Republicans hold news conferences after their weekly caucus meetings

At 11, President Trump welcomes Iraq's prime minister to the White House

Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes in news. Watch us anytime at san.com or on the app

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We do appreciate it. Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Tuesday. We'll see you back here tomorrow

For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelly. Have a great day