Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dies: June 12 rundown

KARAH RUCKER:  COMING UP – FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WILL BE ARRAIGNED IN FEDERAL COURT TOMORROW. A NEW POLL REVEALS HOW THE GOP PARTY IS REACTING TO THE NEWS OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT’S INDICTMENT.

AND – A BRIDGE IN PHILADELPHIA COLLAPSED OVER THE WEEKEND.

THE DRAMATIC IMAGES OF THE AFTERMATH AND WHAT CAUSED THE HIGHWAY TO COME BARRELING DOWN. THE RUNDOWN STARTS NOW.

THIS IS STRAIGHT-ARROW NEWS. BRINGING YOU UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACTS.

THANKS FOR JOINING US. I’M KARAH RUCKER.

WE START WITH BREAKING NEWS THIS MORNING — THE FORMER ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER “SILVIO BERLUSCONI” HAS DIED AS THE AGE OF 86. HE LED THREE ITALIAN GOVERNMENTS FROM 1994 TO 2011. AND WAS ONE OF ITALY’S MOST PROMINENT POLITICIANS.

BERLUSCONI WAS A BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN WHO CREATED ITALY’S LARGEST MEDIA COMPANY BEFORE TRANSFORMING THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE. HE SERVED AS PART OF THE RIGHT-WING COALITION – BUT HIS POLITICAL CAREER WAS ALSO FULL OF CONTROVERSY – FROM SEX SCANDALS TO ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND A TAX FRAUD CONVICTION.

ALTHOUGH HE HAS BEEN OUT OF THE POLITICAL SPOTLIGHT FOR SOME YEARS —

SOME MEMBERS OF HIS PARTY SUGGEST HIS DEATH COULD **DESTABILIZE ITALIAN POLITICS IN THE COMING MONTHS. BERLUSCONI HAD BEEN SUFFERING FROM LEUKAEMIA.

TOMORROW – FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL BE ARRAIGNED AT A MIAMI FEDERAL COURT ON FEDERAL CHARGES STEMMING FROM THE DOJ’S PROBE INTO HIS HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS. TODAY — WE’RE GETTING A BETTER PICTURE OF HOW AMERICANS FEEL ABOUT THE HISTORIC INDICTMENT. 

IN A “CBS NEWS POLL” – MORE THAN HALF OF LIKELY-GOP VOTERS WOULD STILL VOTE FOR TRUMP IF THE ELECTION WERE HELD TODAY. AN OVERWHELMING 76 PERCENT OF REPUBLICAN VOTERS BELIEVE THE INDICTMENT WAS “POLITICALLY MOTIVATED”.

TRUMP’S FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL “BILL BARR” OVER THE WEEKEND CALLED THE IDEA OF PRESENTING TRUMP AS A VICTIM OF A WITCH HUNT IS QUOTE — RIDICULOUS.

TRUMP FACES 37 SEPARATE CHARGES – INCLUDE 31 COUNTS OF VIOLATING THE ESPIONAGE ACT. TRUMP IS EXPECTED TO PLEAD **NOT GUILTY IN COURT TOMORROW AS HE CONTINUES TO PLEAD HIS INNOCENCE.

AERIAL IMAGES ABOVE INTERSTATE-95 IN PHILADELPHIA SHOWS THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE WHEN A CHUNK OF THE HIGHWAY COLLAPSED AND BUCKLED ONTO THE ROADWAY UNDERNEATH. AUTHORITIES SAY A MASSIVE FIRE INVOLVING A TANKER-TRUCK CARRYING 85-HUNDRED GALLONS OF GASOLINE —

BURST INTO FLAMES – CAUSING THE BRIDGE TO GIVE OUT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED IN THE COLLAPSE.

THIS BRIDGE IN ONE OF THE NATION’S LARGEST CITIES CARRIES ABOUT 125 THOUSAND DRIVERS DAILY – BUT PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR “JOSH SHAPIRO” SAID THE BRIDGE WILL BE CLOSED FOR **MONTHS IN ORDER TO FIX THE DAMAGE.

DRIVERS WILL BE DETOURING THROUGH SIDE ROADS AND ARE EXPECTING MAJOR DELAYS.

NEW THIS MORNING — UKRAINIAN MILITARY OFFICIALS SAY THEIR TROOPS HAVE RE-CAPTURED ANOTHER VILLAGE FROM RUSSIAN FORCES IN THE (DON-ETS-ICK) DONETSK REGION. IT’S THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF EARLY SUCCESSES UKRAINE HAS REPORTED SINCE ITS LONG-AWAITED COUNTER-OFFENSIVE TO RUSSIA’S INVASION GOT UNDERWAY.

ON SUNDAY — UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS SAID THREE OTHER SMALL VILLAGES IN THE DONETSK REGION HAD ALSO BEEN TAKEN BACK. THE RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY HASN’T CONFIRMED ANY RUSSIAN RETREAT FROM THE VILLAGES —

HOWEVER — SOME RUSSIA  MILITARY BLOGGERS HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THE LOSS OF RUSSIAN CONTROL OVER THEM.

DESPITE THE EARLY SUCCESS — WESTERN ANALYSTS AND MILITARY OFFICIALS HAVE WARNED THE COUNTER-OFFENSIVE WILL LIKELY LAST FOR MONTHS — AND SUCCESS IS FAR FROM CERTAIN.

NORTH KOREA IS LOOKING TO STRENGTHEN ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA —

TWO FOES OF THE U.S. KIM JONG UN VOWING SUPPORT FOR THE KREMLIN —

DEFENDING THEIR DECISION TO INVADE UKRAINE – AND VOWING TO HOLD HANDS WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN TO BOLSTER A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN POWER.

NORTH KOREA’S RULER VOWED ITS SUPPORT FOR PUTIN TODAY TO MARK RUSSIA’S NATIONAL DAY. NORTH KOREA HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF SUPPLYING WEAPONS TO RUSSIA SINCE THE WAR BEGAN – ALL WHILE BOLSTERING ITS OWN ARSENAL IN LANDMARK DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE PAST FEW MONTHS.

NORTH KOREA AND RUSSIA SHARE A COMMON ENEMY IN THE U.S. – WITH BOTH LEADERS ACCUSING AMERICA AND THE WEST OF PROVOKING THE WAR IN UKRAINE.

TWITTER IS APPARENTLY REFUSING TO PAY ITS “GOOGLE CLOUD BILLS” AS ITS CONTRACT FOR RENEWAL IS UP THIS MONTH — ACCORDING TO PLATFORMER.

THIS WAS A DEAL STRUCK **PRIOR TO ELON MUSK TAKING OVER THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM. THE PURPOSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH GOOGLE CLOUD WAS TO FIGHT SPAM AND PROTECT TWITTER ACCOUNTS.

THIS IS THE LATEST CUT BACK IN THE COMPANY THAT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF TWITTER – SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN IN QUESTION SINCE MUSK’S TAKEOVER. SINCE HIS ACQUISITION – TWITTER HAS CUT COSTS DRAMATICALLY AND LAID OFF THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES. MUSK ORDERED THE COMPANY TO CUT SPENDING ON CLOUD SERVICES BY ONE **BILLION DOLLARS ACCORDING TO A REUTERS REPORT LAST YEAR.

MUSK HAS CRITICIZED TWITTER’S OVERZEALOUS SPENDING SINCE HE TOOK OVER.

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THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR THE RUNDOWN.

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WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW.

UNTIL THEN I’M KARAH RUCKER. 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!