Trump denies weapons shortage reports; FAA investigates Marine One close call

Ever wonder what we learn that doesn't make it into a two-minute story

That's what Offscript is all about. Longer conversations, extra reporting. And then to make things more complicated, environmental factors often interact with genetics

And the context behind the headlines from the people who know the stories best

President Trump chose to go to Michigan and make his presence felt

and make himself part of the conversation there. Unbiased updates Offscript, Thursdays at Straight Arrow

Is the Strait of Hormuz about to reopen? Iran says the deal is close

As President Trump denies reports, the U.S. has depleted its weapons stockpile

Plus, too close for comfort. Trump's Marine One helicopter comes within hundreds of feet of a passenger jet

after what appears to be an air traffic control mix-up. And a new kind of flu shot

The FDA clears the first mRNA vaccine for seasonal influenza. 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, President Trump is pushing back on reports. The United States is running low on key missiles

while expressing new optimism about talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Yesterday, we told you about reports that the U.S. has sharply drawn down

some of its most important missile stockpiles during the war with Iran

Early this morning, Trump rejected those reports, writing that the U.S. has massive amounts of munitions

while warning the leakers of what he called treasonous statements are being hunted down and could face long prison sentences

But the Washington Post reports Trump privately clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week

after learning the shortages were more serious than he believed. The Post says concerns about U.S. munitions have also factored into his military decisions

Meanwhile, Trump said a deal involving the Strait of Hormuz could come this week

Iran said today it is in the final stages of drafting an agreement with Oman

but said the talks are about shipping routes and vessel movement, not a full reopening of the strait

In Las Vegas Wednesday, Trump reiterated that the U.S. is in talks with Iran while also doubling down on threats

I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to kill people

I do not want to kill people But at some point we gonna We had We were We were set for the biggest attack of any attack and we hit him very hard for the last few months

But we were we were all set for the biggest attack since World War Two

And they called me and they said, please don't do it. Let's talk

And then they don't. They said, we never said that. You know what? The fake news knows they did say that, but we are talking. Let's see what happens

Trump said he still prefers a negotiated deal with Iran, but warned the U.S. is prepared to take further military action if talks fall apart

Federal aviation officials are investigating a close call involving President Trump's Marine One helicopter after it departed before air traffic had been fully cleared at Reagan National Airport

The incident happened Tuesday as Marine One lifted off from the ellipse just south of the White House, heading to Joint Base Andrews

Under standard procedure, the crew must give Reagan National's control tower at least three minutes' notice so controllers can stop other air traffic

Air traffic recordings show the chopper pilot tried several times to make that call, but the transmission was never clearly received

Marine One departed while commercial air traffic was still moving, prompting the tower to warn the crew that an American Airlines regional jet was taking off

The pilot acknowledged the traffic and said the helicopter would take a momentary delay

The FAA says the two aircraft briefly lost the required separation, but were already moving away from each other and never came dangerously close

Officials tightened flight rules around Reagan National after last year's deadly mid-air collision

between an Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people as the American flight was inbound from Wichita, Kansas

The FAA is now reviewing this latest incident to determine whether any additional corrective action is needed

President Trump is still leaving the door open when it comes to the future of his top federal prosecutor in Washington

even as the man hoping to become the next attorney general says the president has every right to fire her

The questions around Jeanine Pirro continue after her office dropped the felony case against former Olympian David Hearn and three other people

accused of damaging the new Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Prosecutors now say new evidence shows the damage was caused by a botched installation, not vandalism

But Trump has repeatedly rejected that conclusion something he says he told Pirro to her face this week Everybody known that vandalism all you have to do is look at the tape If you look at the tape plus we have a witness or two witnesses that saw the vandalism

So certainly when there was vandalism, it was actually, in my opinion, it was major vandalism

And I told her I was not happy. Trump told reporters he has not decided whether Pirro will keep her job

Wednesday, Todd Blanche was asked whether firing Pirro would send a message to federal prosecutors who make charging decisions

He didn't weigh in on the case itself, but he made one thing clear. Hypothetically, if the president chose to fire a United States attorney, it turns out he's allowed to do that because he's the president of the United States

And by the way, if President Trump wanted to fire anybody within his administration, he understands he has the power to do that

The comments come as Blanche's own nomination to lead the Justice Department faces a critical test in the Senate

Republicans can afford to lose just one more vote after Senator Susan Collins announced her opposition

That leaves Louisiana's Bill Cassidy and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski as two of the last undeclared Republicans ahead of a confirmation vote expected as early as today

Now to medical news. The FDA has approved the first mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine

Trump administration's health officials on Wednesday approved Moderna's M. placebo vaccine for adults 50 and older

The approval comes with a condition. Moderna must complete an additional clinical trial to further study the vaccine in adults 65 and older

In a late-stage clinical trial, the shot was about 27% more effective than a standard flu vaccine

Like Moderna's COVID shots, it uses messenger RNA technology. The company says that platform can produce a new vaccine in about two to three months

compared with roughly six months for traditional egg-based flu vaccines, giving scientists a better chance to match the strains circulating each season

The approval comes after the FDA earlier this year delayed its review of the vaccine before reversing course and moving ahead with the application

For the first time since celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was hospitalized, his family and team are speaking out

Paramedics rushed Hilton to a Miami hospital Tuesday night after he appeared on a TikTok live stream covered in blood from apparent self prompting multiple 911 calls and a response from Miami Sheriff deputies They say they found Hilton alone inside the home and used de techniques

Emergency services then got him to a hospital for medical care. The sheriff's office says its crisis response unit and licensed mental health professionals also provided support to his family

On Wednesday, Hilton's family and team posted their first public statement since the incident

Quote, we can confirm that Perez is receiving medical care and our family's focus right now is on his well-being

We kindly ask that you respect Perez's privacy as well as the privacy of his family during this difficult time

They also thank people for their support and said they will provide additional updates if they're able

TikTok says its automated system flagged the live stream, but a moderation error delayed its removal

The company says it alerted law enforcement, removed the video and disabled the account

Finally this morning, a look at the sun like we've never seen it before

Scientists in Hawaii have captured the highest resolution images ever of the sun's surface

revealing details that were invisible until now. The photos taken with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope show feathery, wave-like patterns stretching across the sun

Researchers believe they're seeing a phenomenon called the Kelvin-Hemmholtz instability, something scientists have long predicted but have never observed this clearly on the sun

The discovery could help explain how energy moves through the sun's atmosphere

and improve scientists' understanding of solar activity. The findings were published this week in the journal Nature

Wow. I believe we just blinded you with science. All right. There's more to the story

That's why we created Offscript. It's a new show where we go beyond the headlines, talk with journalists behind the reporting

and dig into stories we just can't fit into this short morning show

You can watch Offscript later today on our app or at san.com slash offscript

No noise, no sides. Unbiased Updates gives you the facts straight. You can watch us anytime at san.com or on the app

or join our other listeners on Spotify. At Straight Arrow, we fear no fact

Those are your unbiased updates for this Thursday. We'll see you back here tomorrow, Friday. We love that

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