US embassy hit in Baghdad; Trump officials push for Cuba shakeup

This morning, Israel says it has taken out two top leaders in Iran as new attacks hit

American targets in the region.

Plus, is Cuba next on the Trump takeover list?

A new report says the U.S. wants the Cuban President ousted as the island goes dark and

fuel runs dry.

And a judge blocks RFK Jr.'s vaccine overhaul, calling out how the changes were pushed through.

The stories that matter clear and credible from across the country to around the world.

These are your unbiased updates from straight-earth news.

Good morning.

I'm Craig DeGreli.

We start with news just in this morning with key takeouts in the war with Iran.

Israel says it has killed two top Iranian leaders.

Israel's defense minister announcing this morning that Israel killed the secretary of the

Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larajani, in a strike overnight.

The Israeli military also says Golam Reza Soleimani died in an Israeli attack on Monday.

They say he led the revolutionary guards all volunteer by siege force for years, a group

used to crack down on protests, and he played a key role in recent unrest.

Meanwhile, a U.S. embassy and American allies are facing new attacks.

In this video, appears to show air defense systems intercepting drones targeting the

U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

It's not clear if there was any damage or injuries.

A witness tells Reuters at least three drones were heading toward the compound.

Two were shot down, and a third struck inside, sending smoke into the air.

The United Arab Emirates temporarily shut down its airspace early today.

Its military says it was responding to missile and drone threats from Iran.

This is big.

President Trump says he is now delaying a planned trip to China as the war continues.

He told reporters Monday he asked to push the trip back by, quote, a month or so.

China's foreign minister says the U.S. clarified the delay is not tied to tensions in the

straight of Hormuz.

Earlier, Trump said he wanted clarity on whether China would help secure the important

shipping route.

The president is also facing backlash.

After claiming a former president told him, he wished he had bombed Iran.

I've spoken to a certain president who I like, actually, a past president, former president.

He said, I wish I did it.

I wish I did, but they didn't do it.

I'm doing it.

Yeah.

Which president?

I can't tell you this.

I don't want to embarrass him.

I'd be very bad for his career, even though he's got no career.

Aides for all four living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama

and Joe Biden deny that claim.

Now to a different matter, the Trump administration is quietly pressing for a leadership shake-up

in Cuba.

New York Times reports U.S. officials have told Cuban negotiators that President Miguel

Diaz Canal needs to step aside if the two countries are to reach a broader agreement.

According to people familiar with the talks, Washington is not trying to dismantle Cuba's

communist system, but wants Diaz Canal removed as the public face of the government while

negotiations move forward.

U.S. officials believe replacing him could open the door to economic changes and potential

deals with American businesses.

Diaz Canal has led Cuba since 2018.

He was the first president since the 1959 revolution whose last name was not Castro.

Remember Fidel and Raul?

The Castro family still holds major influence behind the scenes.

The talks are happening while Cuba's economic and energy crisis continues to deepen.

Officials say the country's entire electrical grid failed on Monday, plunging the islands

roughly 11 million residents into darkness.

It's the third nationwide blackout in just four months.

Crews have restored limited power in parts of Havana and a handful of hospitals, but large

areas of the island remain without reliable electricity.

Fuel shortages are also worsening the crisis.

Long lines have formed outside gas stations and tankers carrying fuel have been stuck at

ports while the country scrambles to secure energy supplies.

Diaz Canal says Cuba has gone three months without oil shipments and blames the shortages

on U.S. sanctions and an energy blockade.

President Trump has suggested the United States could take a much bigger role in the

island's future, saying this week he believes he could have the, quote, honor of taking Cuba.

A federal judge has blocked health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping changes to

the nation's childhood vaccine schedule, a significant setback for one of the administration's

most controversial health policy moves.

The ruling sides largely with major medical groups that argued the administration improperly

changed vaccine recommendations and reshaped the federal advisory panel that helps guide them.

In his opinion, the judge sharply criticized the administration for bypassing the CDC's

independent vaccine advisory committee, calling the move, quote, a technical procedural failure

itself and a strong indication of something more fundamentally problematic and abandonment

of the technical knowledge and expertise embodied by that committee.

Kennedy removed all 17 members of that committee last year and replaced them with new appointees,

several of whom have been critical of vaccines.

Under Kennedy federal health officials revised the childhood immunization schedule, reducing

the number of diseases routinely recommended for vaccination.

The judge also put on hold actions taken by Kennedy's reworked advisory panel, which

had been scheduled to meet again this week in Atlanta.

The Trump administration is already signaling it plans to fight the decision.

In a statement to Stradio News, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services

said the administration, quote, looks forward to this judge's decision being overturned,

just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.

A jury in Utah has convicted a mother who wrote a children's book about grief after her

husband's death of murder.

The panel found Corey Richens guilty on multiple counts, including aggravated murder and fraud,

tied to insurance payouts after the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richens.

Prosecutors say she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail she gave

him.

They say she was millions of dollars in debt and she believed she would inherit his estate,

valued it more than four million dollars.

Eric Richens' family says the verdict brings them long awaited justice.

Four years ago, our family lost the brightest light.

Eric is deeply loved and missed every single day.

We are grateful to everyone who is worth tirelessly to bring justice for Eric.

Our focus is now on honoring Eric's life and supporting his voice as we all continue to

heal.

Sentencing is set for May 13 on what would have been Eric Richens' 44th birthday.

The aggravated murder conviction alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

The man accused of planting pipe bombs on Capitol Hill in 2021 is now asking a judge to throw

out the case, arguing he's covered by President Trump's blanket January 6th pardons.

Fence attorneys for Brian Cole Jr. say the case is tied to the events of January 6th,

even though investigators believe he planted the bombs the night before.

Investigators found the device has unsafely detonated them the afternoon of January 6th

outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Investigators say the bombs did not go off, but were capable of exploding.

Cole's attorneys argue his actions were part of the same political dispute surrounding

the 2020 election and the certification of the vote and say the language of Trump's

pardon is broad enough to include him.

A White House official rejects that argument telling Politico the bombs were placed January

5th and the pardon applies to events at or near the Capitol the next day.

The FBI arrested Cole this past December.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges, including transporting explosives and attempted use

of explosives.

Finally this morning could there be another planet?

Astronomers say yes, it's an exoplanet that sits just outside our solar system.

They're calling an L-98-59D.

Got that?

Located about 35 light years from Earth.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope helped spot it and researchers say it's unlike anything

we've seen before.

Look at this.

The planet appears to be covered in oceans of molten rock with an atmosphere rich in sulfur

gases.

Scientists say that combination would likely make it smell like rotten eggs and makes it

highly unlikely to support life.

The findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Researchers say the planet is larger than Earth in both size and mass.

It offers new insight into how extreme worlds form beyond our solar system.

That is really neat.

Alright, before we head out, here's what we're tracking on this St. Patrick's say, Illinois

voters headed the polls for primary elections, including a closely watched race to replace

retiring Senator Dick Durbin and several house contests.

In Savannah, one of the country's largest St. Patrick's Day Parades gets underway this

morning, drawing thousands of visitors to the historic Georgia city.

Also this morning on Capitol Hill, both House Democrats and Republicans hold press conferences

after their weekly closed-door party meetings.

At two top U.S. intelligence leaders appear before the House Intelligence Committee for

the annual worldwide threats hearing, outlining the biggest security risks facing the United

States.

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Those who are unbiased updates for this Tuesday, we'll see you back here tomorrow.

For all of us here at St. Eiro News, I'm Craig DeGrelli, have a great day.