KARAH RUCKER: COMING UP – A COLLISION BETWEEN TWO MILITARY HELICOPTERS IN ALASKA HAS LEFT THREE ARMY SOLDIERS DEAD.

AND –TICKETMASTER ONCE AGAIN IN THE HOT SEAT OVER IT’S LATEST TICKET SALE DEBACLE.

THE DAILY RUNDOWN STARTS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS STRAIGHT-ARROW NEWS. BRINGING YOU UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACTS. I’M KARAH RUCKER.

3 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED AFTER ARMY HELICOPTERS COLLIDE

TWO U.S. ARMY HELICOPTERS COLLIDED AND CRASHED IN ALASKA ON THURSDAY WHILE RETURNING FROM A TRAINING FLIGHT, KILLING THREE SOLDIERS.

TWO OF THE SOLDIERS DIED AT THE SCENE OF THE CRASH AND A THIRD DIED ON THE WAY TO A HOSPITAL. ANOTHER SOLDIER WAS INJURED AND IS IN THE HOSPITAL.

EACH OF THE HELICOPTERS HAD TWO PEOPLE ABOARD.

THE ARMY SAID THE CAUSE OF THE CRASH IS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

THIS IS THE SECOND CRASH INVOLVING MILITARY HELICOPTERS IN ALASKA THIS YEAR WHERE TWO SOLDIERS WERE INJURED IN A  ROLLOVER ACCIDENT.

IT ALSO FOLLOWS THE DEADLY CRASH OF TWO U.S. ARMY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTERS — KILLING NINE SOLDIERS IN KENTUCKY LAST MONTH.

PENCE TESTIFIES IN 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PROBE

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE APPEARED BEFORE A GRAND JURY INVESTIGATING THE AFTERMATH OF THE 2020 ELECTION AND THE ACTIONS OF THEN-PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND OTHERS.

THE VICE PRESIDENT TESTIFIED FOR MORE THAN SEVEN HOURS ON THURSDAY.

*IT MARKS THE FIRST TIME IN MODERN HISTORY A VICE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN COMPELLED TO TESTIFY ABOUT THE PRESIDENT HE SERVED BESIDE.

SMITH’S INVESTIGATION AROUND TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO BLOCK THE ELECTION RESULT HAS LONG SOUGHT TO QUESTION PENCE UNDER OATH GIVEN HIS PROXIMITY TO TRUMP AT THE WHITE HOUSE.

RUSSIA FIRES BARRAGE OF AIRSTRIKES ON UKRAINE, KILLING 12

NEW TODAY – RUSSIA HAS FIRED A BARRAGE OF MORE THAN 20 CRUISE MISSILES AND TWO EXPLOSIVE DRONES AT UKRAINE. AS A RESULT — AT LEAST 12 PEOPLE HAVE DIED.

THE DEADLIEST STRIKE OF FRIDAY’S BUNCH WAS AT LEAST ONE MISSILE THAT TORE INTO AN APARTMENT BUILDING. 10 PEOPLE DIED AS A RESULT. THE TIMING OF THE AIRSTRIKE CAME AS RESIDENTS WERE ASLEEP.

THE CAPITAL OF KYIV, ALSO CAME UNDER ATTACK, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ABOUT TWO MONTHS. OFFICIALS SAID THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES THERE AS THE COUNTRY’S AIR DEFENSES WERE ABLE TO INTERCEPT 11 MISSILES AND TWO DRONES. 

THE HEAD OF THE UNITED NATIONS SAYS EACH CIVILIAN KILLED CONSTITUTES A POTENTIAL WAR CRIME AGAINST THE KREMLIN.

CHINA FLIES COMBAT DRONE AROUND TAIWAN

STAYING ABROAD – A NEW TYPE OF CHINESE COMBAT DRONE HAS BEEN SPOTTED FLYING AROUND TAIWAN TODAY – SEEN AS THE LATEST UPTICK IN MILITARY TENSIONS THERE. THIS IS ACCORDING TO TAIWAN’S DEFENSE MINISTRY.

IN ITS DAILY UPDATE ON CHINESE MILITARY ACTIVITIES — THE DEFENSE MINISTRY REPORTED 19 AIRCRAFT HAD ENTERED THE ISLAND’S AIR DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE. ONE OF WHICH WAS THE AIRCRAFT CHINESE STATE MEDIA HAS REFERRED TO AS THE TWIN-TAILED SCORPION – SOMETHING CAPABLE OF HIGH-ALTITUDE, LONG-RANGE MISSIONS, AND IS EQUIPPED TO CARRY A HEAVY-WEAPONS-PAYLOAD.

THE LATEST TENSION COMES THE SAME MONTH THAT CHINA RETALIATED AGAINST THE ISLAND FOLLOWING TAIWAN PRESIDENT TSAI ING WEN’S MEETING IN LOS ANGELES WITH HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY.

TICKETMASTER’S DEBACLE IN CORONATION TICKET SALES

TICKETMASTER IS BEING ACCUSED OF CREATING ANOTHER DEBACLE IN TICKET SALES — ISSUING TICKETS FOR KING CHARLES’ CORONATION CONCERT. 

THE TICKETING GIANT WAS TASKED WITH DISTRIBUTING AROUND 20-THOUSAND TICKETS, WHICH WERE ALLOCATED BY GEOGRAPHIC SPREAD OF THE U-K’S POPULATION, INSTEAD OF ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.

ANGRY FANS TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO COMPLAIN THEY HAD RECEIVED MESSAGES THAT THEY’D WON TICKETS ONLY TO FIND THAT THE TICKETS WERE ALL GONE WHEN THEY ATTEMPTED TO CLAIM THEM.

TICKETMASTER RAN INTO TROUBLE IN NOVEMBER WHEN THE SITE COULDN’T HANDLE THE HEAVY DEMAND FOR TAYLOR SWIFT’S TOUR.

SINCE THEN — MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO WHETHER TICKETMASTER IS TOO BIG OF A MONOPOLY IN THE TICKET SALE SPACE.

NFL DRAFT ENTERS SECOND ROUND

THE CAROLINA PANTHERS CHOSE ALABAMA QUARTERBACK BRYCE YOUNG WITH THE FIRST OVERALL PICK OF THIS YEAR’S N-F-L DRAFT. 

THE HOUSTON TEXAS CHOSE OHIO STATE QUARTERBACK C-J STROUD SECOND OVERALL…AND THEN SURPRISINGLY TRADED BACK UP TO THE THIRD PICK, WHERE THEY WENT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BALL AND NABBED ALABAMA LINEBACKER WILL ANDERSON JR. 

THE SECOND ROUND BEGINS TONIGHT.

THESE ARE YOUR TOP STORIES. THANKS FOR WATCHING THE DAILY RUNDOWN. WE’RE ON A MISSION TO BRING BACK TRUSTWORTHY JOURNALISM BY SERVING ONLY YOU — NOT AN AGENDA. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR WORK AT STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS DOT COM. WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK. UNTIL THEN I’M KARAH RUCKER. HAVE A GREAT DAY!