US debt hits record $40 trillion; Trump shows off new White House helipad

Deeper in debt, America's tab just crossed $40 trillion

How fast it's growing and the ways that debt can hit your wallet. Plus, a new front against Iran

President Trump declares economic D-Day and threatens countries that help Tehran get around American sanctions

And to fight over who runs the FDA, Trump picks one of the architects of his childhood vaccine changes

And a key Republican is already raising red flags. 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. Another trillion dollars in just five months

The U.S. national debt has now crossed 40 trillion dollars, more than double what it was less than a decade ago

And the speed is part of the story. The national debt hit $38 trillion last October, $39 trillion in March, and now, five months later, $40 trillion

The government continues to spend more than it takes in, with defense costs, Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the debt all consuming large shares of federal spending

That interest alone now costs the government more than a trillion dollars a year

The debt has more than doubled since the start of President Trump's first term

from just under $20 trillion to more than $40 trillion today. And the government is still adding to it

Just last week, the Treasury reported a $432 billion deficit for July

the fourth largest monthly shortfall in U.S. history. Court-ordered refunds of Trump's Liberation Day tariffs

help push customs revenue into negative territory for a third straight month

So how does a $40 trillion national debt actually reach your wallet

So when you borrow that much money, it helps fuel greater inflation, number one

Number two, because the government is borrowing, you know, we're now up to $40 trillion

we're going to have to refinance about $13 trillion of treasuries in the next year alone

So that's about $2 trillion of new borrowing to fund the deficit and $11 trillion of refinancing

That's a lot of debt in the market and a lot of capital that is taking up. That increases interest rates

You're seeing treasury rates much higher than they were recently, right? When treasury rates go up, all the other rates also follow

So your mortgage rate goes up, your car loan goes up, your credit card bills go up

And Congress could soon be dealing with the next debt limit fight

The current ceiling is trillion The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates the U could reach that figure sometime between late winter and mid of next year forcing Congress to once again decide

whether to raise or suspend the limit. President Trump is opening a new front in the war with

Iran, this one aimed at obliterating Tehran's economy. On Truth Social, Trump announced what

he called the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country. He threatened

massive financial penalties against any country that helps Iran evade U.S. sanctions, warning of

quote, economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale. Trump is calling it economic

D-Day. He says Tehran has had plenty of opportunities to make a deal to reopen the

Strait of Hormuz and end the war, and has refused. The temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire expired Monday

with no new deal, but Trump insists the pressure campaign is working

Right now, the strait is open. A lot of boats are coming through. People aren't reporting that

And that may slow down a little bit at some point. But right now, a lot of boats are coming through

The naval blockade has been extremely effective. Zero. I mean, literally, while it's up, and it's been for quite a while, you know

except for a couple of little pauses where we opened it purposely with a deal

But the deal didn't terminate. You know, the deal didn't turn out to be what they said

when they tell us one thing and they do another. Iran is already firing back with words

Its foreign minister dismissed Trump's economic D-Day this morning as a diversion from America's own crisis

unprecedented debt, and surging interest costs. He also predicted Trump's new economic campaign would backfire

and threaten the global economy. President Trump has picked Dr. Heidi Overton

to run the Food and Drug Administration, and her confirmation fight is already taking shape

Overton is a physician and top White House domestic policy aide who regularly briefs the president on health issues

She's also become a familiar face alongside Trump as he pushes some of his biggest changes to American health policy

Just last week, Overton stood with President Trump as he signed an executive order aimed at reducing

the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations. Now Trump wants her running the FDA

referring to Overton as a rock star on Truth Social and saying health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr

recently called her always right. But she will first need Senate confirmation

and one important Republican is already raising serious concerns. Senator Bill Cassidy, who chairs the committee

that would consider her nomination pointed directly to her role in the vaccine order calling it nonsensical and saying that alone is almost disqualifying Overton could also face questions about abortion

Before joining the White House, she celebrated the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe versus Wade

And that's especially relevant now because the FDA is reviewing the safety of mifepristone, the widely used abortion pill

If confirmed, Overton would replace Dr. Marty Makari, who resigned in May after clashes with the White House over issues including vaping policy and access to abortion pills

Now to South Carolina, where the investigation into Hayden Penetier's death is expanding with the DEA now joining local police

The 36-year-old actress's cause of death has not been determined, and authorities have not said whether drugs played a role

But we're learning more about what first responders encountered. Paramedics called the scene a possible overdose in communications with dispatchers

And reports say Narcan, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, was found inside the Greenville apartment

The New York Times reports emergency workers found Penetir unresponsive and in cardiac arrest Sunday and were unable to revive her

The coroner says toxicology results are still pending. The DEA has become involved in other high-profile celebrity death investigations, including the 2023 overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry

That investigation ultimately led to five people being charged, including two doctors and the woman prosecutors called the Ketamine Queen

Back to Washington, President Trump has spent a lot of time remaking parts of the White House

And this morning, we now have a pretty detailed look at his latest project

Trump personally took reporters out to the South Lawn Wednesday to show off the new White House helipad and some of the changes he ordered along the way

At one point, Trump said he had part of the work redone because he didn't like the slope

The new landing area is being built with white granite rather than the grass that Marine One has traditionally landed on

The project is designed in part to accommodate the next generation of Marine One helicopters

which officials have worried could damage the White House lawn. But Trump also has something else in mind for it

Entertaining. And again, this is going to be used for a lot of different celebrations

a lot of different big meetings where, as an example, President Xi is coming in a little while, a couple of weeks

And we didn't plan to have this done, but it's gone so well. And there's a deadline

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected at the White House in late September

And workers told Trump they expect to finish the helipad just days before his arrival Trump even left a little something behind signing the back of this giant granite eagle that will become part of the presidential seal on the helipad

The new helipad will also change one of the White House's most familiar images

Marine One landing directly on the South Lawn. Trump says the new construction will be there, quote, long after we're gone

Finally this morning, it's not exactly a royal reunion, but it could be a step in that direction. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex

are planning a move back to the UK. Harry, Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet

are expected to return as private citizens, not working royals. It's a major change for a couple

who left Britain for California in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties. And it's a

change for Harry himself. Just last year, he said he, quote, couldn't see a world where he would

bring his wife and children back to the UK because of his long-running dispute over security

But the family did return together last month, meeting privately with King Charles and Queen

Camilla, their first family visit with the king in years. Now the Telegraph reports Harry and

Meghan plan to live in a private, non-royal residence near London. They're also expected

to keep their homes in California and Portugal. King Charles reportedly learned of the plans on

Sunday and is said to be pleased. You know what? I wonder what William and Kate are going to say

or think. Well, now I've got something to read in the supermarket checkout line. The tabloids

Should be fun. Unbiased Updates gives you the headlines. Offscript gives you everything that

comes next. It's a new podcast where we talk to the straight arrow journalists behind the reporting

and dig into stories we can't fit into the morning show. Watch Offscript later today

only on san.com or on the app. 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. Ever wonder what we learned 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