Mamdani flexes political muscle; Trump’s Reflecting Pool headache grows

A big night for Zoran Mamdani's political machine

Three House candidates that he backed won their primaries, a sign the New York mayor's influence is spreading

Plus, a message to the White House. A handful of Senate Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke Trump's Iran policy

even if the vote won't actually change a thing. And the reflecting pool saga just keeps getting even more bizarre

Dead ducks, peeling coating, and new questions about what's really causing the problems

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

This morning, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani is showing that his political influence may extend well beyond City Hall

Three Democratic candidates backed by Mamdani won key House primaries Tuesday, giving the mayor a series of high-profile victories as he looks to expand his influence inside the party

In northern Manhattan and the Bronx, Daryliza Avila-Chevalier defeated veteran Congressman Adriana Espeya in one of the night's biggest upsets

Also, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander won his primary, while State Assemblymember Claire Valdez prevailed in the race to succeed retiring congresswoman Nydia Velasquez

The results mark another showing of strength for Mondani's political coalition and could give him a growing ally network in Washington if the candidates hold on in November

Also in New York, State Assemblymember Micah Lasher defeated three opponents as he hopes to succeed, retiring longtime Congressman Jerry Nadler and take Nadler's Manhattan-based seat

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Attorney General Allen Wilson won the Republican primary runoff for governor

after President Trump took the unusual step of endorsing both remaining candidates

In a key House race, former three-star Rear Admiral Nancy LaCour, who was fired earlier this year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, won the Democratic primary and will now compete for a Republican-held seat in November

For the first time since the war began the Senate has approved a resolution rebuking President Trump handling of Iran Four Republicans joined Democrats Tuesday to pass a war powers resolution aimed at limiting future U military action against Iran The 50 to 48 vote

marks the first time the Senate has approved such a measure this year, though the resolution does

not carry the force of law and is unlikely to change American policy. On Truth Social, Trump

dismissed the vote as, quote, poorly timed and meaningless, accusing lawmakers of making his job

more difficult. Meanwhile, there are signs diplomacy is moving forward. Pakistan, which has

been helping mediate between Washington and Tehran, says technical talks will resume next week after

what it described as a temporary break in negotiations. At the same time, Secretary of

State Marco Rubio is meeting with leaders across the Gulf region, saying he wants to ensure their

concerns are reflected as talks continue. Now, there's an Iranian issue with regards to Lebanon

and that is their support and sponsorship of Hezbollah. And so that factor will be discussed as part of our conversations with the Iranians

The UN's nuclear watchdog also says its inspectors will visit Iranian nuclear facilities

under the terms of the recent agreement, even as U.S. and Iranian officials have offered different accounts

of what inspections will look like going forward. Newly released testimony is shedding more light on tech billionaire Bill Gates

his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. A House Oversight Committee transcript shows Gates believed there was a serious probability Epstein had considered blackmailing him over

extramarital affairs. Gates testified earlier this month as part of the committee's investigation

into Epstein. He told lawmakers Epstein never actually attempted to blackmail him

but said the possibility crossed his mind. Gates testified that he began meeting with Epstein in

2011 because he believed the financier's connections could help advance global health

projects through the Gates Foundation. Gates, who has not been accused of wrongdoing related to

Epstein, also said he never visited Epstein's private island. The committee also released

testimony from Epstein's longtime assistant, Leslie Groff, who said she never witnessed any

illegal activity during her time working for him. President Trump has scored a major legal win in

and his push to speed up deportations. A federal appeals court has cleared the way

for the Trump administration to expand expedited removal nationwide The policy allows immigration officials to deport certain migrants without a hearing before an immigration judge For years

that process was mostly limited to people caught near the border who had recently entered the

country. But under the Trump administration's expansion, it can now be used anywhere in the

United States against undocumented immigrants who cannot show they've been in the country for more

than two years. The appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that had blocked the policy

last year over due process concerns. Writing for the majority, Trump-appointed judge Justin Walker

said Congress gave the executive branch broad authority to decide who can be subject to

expedited removal. Immigration advocates argue the policy could lead to wrongful deportations

of people who are unable to immediately prove how long they've lived in the United States

The Department of Homeland Security called the decision a victory for enforcing immigration law as written

The saga surrounding President Trump's troubled reflecting pool renovation has taken another turn

President Trump continues to blame vandals for the problems at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool

including what he describes as knife slashes to the liner and damage to the site

But new reporting from The New York Times says government documents tell a more complicated story

Those documents show Park Service workers found cuts in foam between expansion joints inside the pool

But the Times reports those cuts were not directly connected to the American flag blue coating that's now peeling off the bottom of the pool

The documents also show workers were already dealing with equipment problems and growing algae blooms before large pieces of the blue coating started floating to the surface

Trump says police have now arrested six people and cited seven others for damaging the site

Somebody went in with a knife and cut it. They cut it up good. And then they cut a 200, 350 foot slip in the form of lots of little slips, a real horrible stuff. And they destroyed the grass. Put a brand new big load of grass out there. They destroyed it. So it's all being fixed. But it's a shame. So I understand five or six people are arrested

Trump also says photos and video of the alleged vandalism will be released soon though no images have been made public so far Meanwhile National Guard troops and park police continue to patrol the area as crews prepare to drain part of the pool again for what

the president calls a permanent repair. Adding another layer to the controversy, environmental

groups are now calling for an investigation after a dead duckling was seen floating in the algae

filled water and somebody found two other ducks dead nearby. Trump says repairs will take place

around the 4th of July. Finally this morning, one day after Lionel Messi made World Cup history

Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a reminder that he's still writing his own record book

41-year-old Ronaldo turned back the clock Monday night, scoring a hat-trick as Portugal rolled

past Uzbekistan 5-0. The crowd in Houston loved it as teammates swarmed the Portuguese star after

his third goal. With the performance, Ronaldo becomes the first men's player to score in six

different World Cups, a stretch that began way back in 2006. He's also extended his record for

most international appearances with more than 230 matches for Portugal. Rinaldo has said this will

likely be his final World Cup, but he's showing few signs of slowing down as Portugal advances

to the knockout round. Next up, Ghana. Man, those games just keep getting better and better

All right, the president has a busy day ahead. Here's what we're tracking. First, he will head

to Capitol Hill later this morning to meet with Republican leaders as the party works through some

growing internal divisions. Then at noon, Trump is expected to sign a major housing bill designed

to boost home construction and expand access to mortgages. In the three o'clock hour, he will sit

down with NATO Secretary General Mark Ruta. And tonight he heads to the National Mall to kick off

events celebrating America's 250th birthday. Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few

minutes of news. You can watch us anytime at san.com or on the app. And to our rapidly growing

audience on Spotify, hey, we see you and we're glad you're along for the ride, that's for sure

Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Wednesday. Quick note, I'm going to take some time off. I'll

be off for the next week enjoying some R&R to start summer, if you will. Until then, Simone

Del Rosario will be updating you on Unbiased Updates. For all of us here at Straight Arrow

I'm Craig DiGrelli. Have a great day and I'll see you soon. you