Trump vows more Iran strikes; Artemis II launches toward the moon

President Trump says the war in Iran is not slowing down

This morning, the question, how long does this go? Plus, nearly three dozen countries scrambling to reopen a critical oil route

The U.S. sitting it out after Trump tells allies it's their problem

And we have liftoff. Artemis II is up and already on its way toward the moon

This morning, the first check on how that mission is holding up. 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 DeGrelly. We begin this morning with President Donald Trump saying the

war with Iran could end soon, but offering no clear timeline. In a primetime address Wednesday

Trump said the United States is on track to complete its military objectives shortly

but did not give a specific end date. He also repeated that negotiations are underway

Iran continues to deny that. An Iranian military spokesman responded Thursday, warning of stronger, wider, and more destructive attacks against the U.S. and Israel

State media now reports Iran's military says the war will continue until it forces what it calls surrender and permanent regret

And while Trump says the conflict could wrap up in two or three weeks, he also made clear more strikes are coming

Thanks to the progress we've made, I can say tonight that we are on track

to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly. We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks

we're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong yet if during this period of

time no deal is made we have our eyes on key targets if there is no deal we are going to hit

each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously

we have not hit their oil even though that's the easiest target of all because it would not give

them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding, but we could hit it and it would be gone and

there's not a thing they could do about it. The White House is also warning of new threats in

the region. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is urging all Americans to leave immediately

citing intelligence that Iran-aligned militias could launch attacks in the next 24 to 48 hours

And U allies including Israel Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates report fresh Iranian attacks overnight In a related topic leaders from more than three dozen countries are meeting today

to try to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after Iran blocked one of the world's most critical oil routes

The meeting comes as oil prices jump more than 6 percent and Asian markets slide

after President Trump said the U.S. will continue to hit Iran hard

Iran has restricted passage through the strait since the fighting began on February 28th

disrupting a key shipping lane that carries a major share of the world's oil

Prices have stayed above $100 a barrel for much of the past month

35 countries are taking part, including the UK, which is hosting the talks

along with France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates

The U.S. is not attending. Trump says securing the waterway is not America's responsibility

telling allies to, quote, go get your own oil. So far, no country has stepped forward to reopen the strait by force

though the UAE has offered to help the U.S. do so. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says military planners are working on options

to protect shipping once the fighting ends. In Washington, Republicans now say they have a plan to reopen homeland security

while pushing a separate path to fund immigration enforcement without Democrats. The deal would restart funding for parts of the Department of Homeland Security through September after weeks of disruption

That includes agencies like the TSA, where long lines and staffing issues have already hit airports and caused major backups

But immigration enforcement is being split off. Republicans say ICE and Border Patrol would continue operating using existing funds while they work on a new funding bill

President Trump is pushing the plan, calling for a GOP-only bill that bypasses the Senate filibuster

He's setting a deadline of June 1st to get the legislation to his desk

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is backing the approach after the Senate already passed a version of the funding plan

House Speaker Mike Johnson had rejected that plan late Friday night, but he's now on board with this two-track strategy

Democrats say they're open to restarting DHS funding, but continue to oppose funding immigration enforcement without new limits on how agents operate

such as no masks and judicial warrants before entering a person's home

The Senate could take up the plan as early as this morning. It is still unclear when the House will move or if Republicans can stay unified long enough to get it passed

The Trump administration is lifting sanctions on Venezuela acting president opening the door to closer ties and new business with the United States Treasury officials removed Delce Rodriguez from the U sanctions list

reversing restrictions that had been in place since 2018. That move allows her to access certain blocked assets

and work with American companies and investors. A notice from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control

shows her name deleted from the specially designated nationals list. The decision follows a major shift in Venezuela

U.S. forces captured former leader Nicolas Maduro earlier this year and brought him to New York to face drug trafficking charges

He has pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez, once Maduro's deputy, is now leading the country

and working directly with the Trump administration. The U.S. formally recognized her as Venezuela's leader last month

and has begun steps to reopen its embassy, in Caracas. The administration is also easing restrictions on Venezuela's oil sector

allowing U.S. companies to invest and operate there. After more than 50 years without a clear

answer, a Utah teen's killing is now definitively tied to one of America's most notorious

serial killers. 17-year-old Laura Ann Amy disappeared on Halloween night in 1974 after

leaving a party alone. Searchers found her body about a month later. Investigators had long

suspected Ted Bundy, but until now they could not prove it. A jury convicted Bundy of multiple

murders in Florida in 1979, and the state executed him in 1989. Before his death, he confessed to

killing 30 women, though investigators believe the number could be far higher. Although Bundy did

claim that he committed the murder of Laura, the confession he gave was deemed to be not enough

evidence to close the case. We can now say without a doubt that Theodore Ted Bundy did in fact murder

Laura and Amy in the fall of 1974 and that law enforcement now has DNA testing results that are

compatible with the latest DNA testing standards. This will make any future DNA test comparison

easier for those law enforcement agencies who still have open cases involving Bundy

Ted Bundy has been linked to killings across a bunch of states

including Utah, Florida, Washington, Colorado, Idaho, California, Vermont, and Pennsylvania, with crimes dating back to at least 1969

Finally this morning, a big moment for the U.S. space program. I hope you saw it

Artemis II lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center last night and the Orion capsule is now in orbit around Earth preparing to head toward the moon RS engines lit Four three two one Booster ignition

and lift off. The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins

That was awesome. The launch went off without a hitch, with crowds watching along Florida's space coast

The spacecraft now begins a four-day journey traveling roughly 248,000 miles to the moon

The crew will not land. Instead, they'll circle the moon and head back

A full test run for NASA's plan to return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as next year

Longer term, the program is designed to push human exploration toward Mars

Artemis II is the first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years

Wow. With four astronauts on board. Today, the crew is running system checks, testing communications, navigation, and propulsion

to make sure the spacecraft is ready for the 10-day mission. And on Monday, they hit a key milestone, entering the moon's sphere of influence

where lunar gravity takes over and Orion begins its pass around the moon

I am so glad I saw it. it was like watching history. And I said, it was fantastic. All right, before we head out

a special shout out this morning to Mr. Patrick Yauch and his Washington, D.C. seminar class

at Milton High School in Wisconsin. I held a Zoom call with the class yesterday and fielded

questions on a variety of topics, many of them current events. I talked about how we

as journalists and the media, handle those topics in terms of coverage, fairness, balance

and how to remain unbiased. Good questions from the students, and I hope some valuable lessons

were learned. All right, now here's what we're tracking today. New jobless claims are out this

morning, a fresh read on the labor market as layoffs tick up. Then at the Vatican, Pope Leo

the 14th marks Holy Thursday, leading the Mass of the Lord's Last Supper and the traditional foot

washing. At one, a final vote from the National Capital Planning Commission on President Trump's

plan to add a ballroom to the White House. Later today in Colorado, an appeals court rules on Tina

Peters, the former county clerk serving jail time in an election system breach case. No noise

no spin, just the story. NewsGuard gives us a perfect score for reliability. All sides gives us

a center rating with balance certification. We give you the news straight. 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 News, I'm Craig DeGrowley. Have a great day