Macron safe after Syria blasts; Platner weighs dropping Senate bid after rape allegation

President Trump heads to Turkey this morning looking for NATO allies to open their wallets

Plus, Maine's Democratic Senate nominee may be running out of time. A new rape allegation has Graham Plattner publicly weighing whether to stay in the race

And after all the drama, the United States is going home. With Foller and Balogin back on the field, Belgium routes the Americans to end their World Cup run

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 de grelli we begin with breaking news this morning french president

emmanuel macron is safe after what may have been an assassination attempt during his visit to syria

Two bombs exploded outside the hotel where Macron had been staying. His office says he had already left to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara when the blast occurred

Syrian state TV says 18 people were wounded, but so far no group has claimed responsibility

Macron is still expected to depart Damascus to attend the NATO summit in Turkey, which starts today

President Trump is also heading to Ankara, where he's expected to keep pressing NATO allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense

NATO, meanwhile, plans to unveil billions of dollars in new military projects

as it tries to show Trump that allies are following through on their spending commitments, according to the Associated Press

At an event dubbed the Big Reveal, several leaders are expected to announce new defense deals, many with American companies

Trump has long argued NATO relies too heavily on the United States

once calling the alliance, quote, a paper tiger. Ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Ruda said the alliance is already delivering more military capability

After years of underinvestment, we are producing real capabilities. European allies and Canada are now on a trajectory to equalize the defense spending with the United States

And not just that They are taking on more leadership within NATO command and control structure stepping up on conventional defense on efforts to bolster our deterrence in defense Ukraine is also expected to dominate the summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky set to meet with Trump on the sidelines

A U.S. official told Reuters the president wants to renew efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine

Back to the Middle East, the week-long lull in the Strait of Hormuz appears to be over

A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman caught fire early this morning

after being struck by what the British military described as an unknown projectile. The Wall Street Journal and Axios report U.S. officials believe Iran's

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on two commercial ships near the strait. The attacks

come just as the United States and Iran's week-long understanding to avoid military action

in the strait has expired. Iran has not claimed responsibility. It's also unclear whether the

United States will respond militarily. But President Trump said on Monday, Iran needs to

reach a peace deal soon or face the consequences. Look, we're going to win one way or the other

We're either going to make a deal or we're going to finish the job. OK, and it won't be tough to

finish the job. I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to affect 91 million people

The attacks also come as peace talks remain on hold while Iran mourns slain Supreme Leader

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Thousands have filled the streets of Tehran as days of funeral processions

continue before Khomeini is buried in Mashhad on Thursday. Iran has warned the United States

against any military action during the funeral, saying its forces are ready to respond

Politics now. Maine's highly competitive U.S. Senate race has taken another major turn

The Democratic nominee, Graham Plattner, is denying a new sexual assault allegation

but he's also acknowledging the political damage, saying his campaign is now considering its next

steps. A Maine woman told Politico that Plattner raped her during an encounter at her home in 2021

after she repeatedly told him to stop. Plattner categorically denies the allegation. The claim

comes just weeks after the New York Times reported that several women described what they called

reckless, unsettling, or volatile behavior during past relationships with Plattner. He denied those

allegations as well Monday afternoon Platner released a video saying the new claims are false but acknowledging they could have major consequences for his campaign Any accusation of non behavior is categorically false regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful the political reality it will inflict

We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward. The allegation is already reshaping the race

The Maine Democratic Party is calling on Plattner to withdraw, while national Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Ruben Gallego and Congressman Ro Khanna, have pulled their endorsements

Republican Senator Susan Collins called the allegations appalling, but said it's up to Democrats to choose their nominee

Under Maine law, Democrats can replace Plattner on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13th

What started as an angry email to the head of ICE ended with federal agents at a man's front door

Now a new lawsuit is asking whether the government crossed a First Amendment line

David Strever, a U.S. citizen from Rochester, New York, says he sent a scathing email to then-ICE director Todd Lyons

after a deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota earlier this year. Months later, according to the lawsuit, Homeland Security agents showed up at his home while he was overseas in Finland

leaving his wife a warning notice saying his email may have violated federal law

Nest camera video captured the agents at the door right here. The lawsuit says agents later tracked Strever to a New York City hotel once he returned to the U.S

while he was traveling with his seven-year-old daughter. On the trip home, he told her they might encounter federal agents

The lawsuit says she broke down in tears, telling her father, I don't want them to kill you

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed the suit on Monday

arguing the government retaliated against protected political speech in violation of the First Amendment

The Department of Homeland Security disputes that, saying it investigates credible threats against its employees and officers

and denies it is trying to silence critics. The lawsuit also points to at least one other upstate New York woman

who says federal agents delivered a similar warning after she publicly criticized ICE

President Trump's January 6th clemency applies to about 1,500 people. But a federal judge says it does not cover the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the Capitol attack Prosecutors have charged Brian Cole Jr in connection with

two pipe bombs found outside the RNC and DNC headquarters in Washington. The devices never

detonated, but the FBI has said they were viable. Cole has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys argued

the case should be dismissed because his alleged actions were part of the events surrounding

January 6th. But U.S. District Judge Amir Ali rejected that argument on Monday. The judge ruled

the pardon applies only to people who had been charged or convicted of January 6th related

offenses when it was issued. Cole had been neither. The ruling allows the case to move forward

Cole is scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a status hearing. Finally this morning

the U.S. Men's World Cup run is over. After days of controversy surrounding Falar and Baligan's

reinstatement, it was Belgium that delivered the final blow in Seattle. Belgium rolled past the

United States 4-1 in the round of 16. Charles de Cattellera scored twice as Belgium took control

early, capitalizing on a string of U.S. turnovers. After all the attention surrounding his reinstated

the red card, Balogun had little impact on the match. U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino called it a very bad day

adding that in the World Cup, one-off night is all it takes to end a tournament

It marks the fourth time in the last five World Cups that the United States has been eliminated in the round of 16

Belgium advances to the quarterfinals. Adding insult to injury and a clear reference to the FIFA reinstatement of Balogun

the Belgian Red Devils X-Page posted, After the game, overturn this. Wow

Oh, man. Zing. Oh, well. As they say, that's the way the ball bounces

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and we're glad you're along for the ride. 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 DeGrelli. Have a great day