Wunderry Plus subscribers can listen to USA Today's the excerpt ad free right now.

Join Wunderry Plus in the Wundery app.

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Monday, May 20th, 2024. This is the excerpt.

Today Iran's president is dead.

Plus we take a closer look at a secession push in eastern Oregon,

and Taurus are paying big bucks to storm chase.

The president of Iran is dead after a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan

border, officials in state media said earlier today. President Ibrahim Raise and other officials and

other officials were killed in the crash.

The death of Iran's president is not expected to upend the country's

domestic or foreign politics,

but it comes during raised international tensions and will likely increase speculation over who will eventually replace Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah al-Ili Kamini.

Raise was viewed as a possible successor to the 85 year old cleric.

The helicopter went down yesterday and it's not immediately clear what caused the crash.

The officials have been missing for over 12 hours and

search operations were hindered by fog, blizzards, and difficult terrain throughout the

night. Raise's death comes amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and recent direct military exchanges between

Iran and Israel that risks sparking a wider regional war.

Domestically, Iran's theocratic government has been facing anger over corruption, its sanctions hit economy, and calls for an end to clerical rule.

A ballot initiative in Oregon is the latest secession effort around the country.

I spoke with USA Today, National Correspondent Trevor Hughes, to learn more.

Trevor, thanks for wrapping on.

...