A new military clash between the U.S. and Iran. Eleven people are presumed dead after a paper mill implosion in Washington state. Plus, a look at a new sporting competition where doping is encouraged.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
Here’s what to know today.
Iran claims attack on American base in response to U.S. strikes
Iran said it targeted an American airbase in response to new U.S. strikes that it called a “blatant violation” of both the shaky ceasefire between the two countries and international law.
This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
The new clash began when the U.S. shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones and struck a ground control station around Bandar Abbas, a port city near the Strait of Hormuz, that the military assessed as presenting a direct threat to U.S. forces and commercial shipping, a U.S. official said.
The exchange raised further doubts about diplomatic efforts to end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Hours earlier, President Donald Trump signaled an agreement between the two sides wasn’t close, and that he would not be rushed by international economic pressure or the political pressure of upcoming midterm elections.
The Pentagon is buying 300,000 drones in a competition designed for a new kind of war
A $1.1 billion Drone Dominance Gauntlet program to purchase 300,000 drones aims to address a deficit in the U.S. military’s use of first-person view, or FPV, drones, which are swiftly becoming ubiquitous in modern-day wars.
The program is unlike other Pentagon procurement processes. Rather than manufacturing expensive bespoke systems, companies are invited to apply to compete with FPV drones already on the market. Pilots are given time to learn each machine before using it to complete a series of scenarios. The top-performing systems are guaranteed an order from the Pentagon.
🎙 Senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett will answer your questions about the Supreme Court, major legal cases and more during a live Q&A today at 3 p.m. ET. Submit your questions here.
11 presumed dead in Washington state paper mill implosion
A chemical tank implosion at a Washington state paper mill is feared to be the deadliest industrial accident in modern history, Gov. Bob Ferguson said, as officials confirmed two deaths and said nine other people are presumed dead. Seven additional employees are hospitalized with injuries, officials said.
The implosion happened Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave plant in Longview and involved a tank built to hold 900,000 gallons of “white liquor,” a noxious chemical used in the paper-pulping process, officials said.
Among the victims killed was 52-year-old Gilbert Bernal, whose son, Eli, also worked at the plant and described the scene after the implosion. “Just that big steam cloud, it was everywhere,” Eli said. “It was so vast, just like a cloud on the floor.”
More about the recovery efforts.
Republicans brace for money problems after Paxton’s win in Texas
As the dust settles following Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s defeat of Sen. John Cornyn for the GOP Senate nomination, some Republicans now worry they’ll have to spend more than anticipated to boost their candidate in the general election.
Paxton’s $7.6 million in fundraising so far pales in comparison to his opponent, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico who has raised more than $40 million. One GOP consultant estimated that Republican groups will most likely have to quadruple their original spending for the race, potentially pulling resources from other key battleground races as the party fights to keep its Senate majority. But as the race in 2018 between Democrat Beto O’Rourke and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz showed, money isn’t everything.
How efforts to boost Paxton are taking shape.
More politics news:
- For subscribers: Incumbents in both parties are losing in primaries for different reasons, senior politics editor Scott Bland writes in an analysis. And it could get worse.
- Talarico said in an interview with NBC News that he “missed the mark” in some of his previous comments about sensitive cultural issues.
- The U.S. reiterated that its diplomats remain in Kyiv, dismissing a suggestion from the European Union’s top diplomat that Washington had evacuated its embassy in the Ukrainian capital.
- Former first lady Jill Biden said she thought Joe Biden was “having a stroke” during the 2024 debate that led to him dropping out of the presidential race.
Read All About It
- A buffalo named “Donald Trump” due to its blond comb-over has been spared sacrifice in Bangladesh after it went viral on social media, prompting authorities to step in.
- A former CIA senior officer with top secret-level clearance is accused of secretly stashing more than $40 million in gold bars in his home and lying about his background.
- Matthew Perry’s assistant was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for giving the “Friends” star the ketamine injections that led to his overdose death.
- CBS News reportedly declined to renew its contract with the “60 Minutes” correspondent whose segment about a notorious El Salvador prison was abruptly pulled off the air.
- The U.S. Coast Guard will reopen the search for Lynette Hooker, who went missing in April after falling overboard in the Bahamas, after GPS data from the boat appeared to contradict her husband’s account of his whereabouts.
- CVS Caremark will resume covering the weight loss drug Zepbound later this year, drugmaker Eli Lilly said.
- A baby gorilla at the Seattle zoo was delivered via a rare C-section.
Staff Pick: At the Enhanced Games, doping is encouraged and money is the lure
If you didn’t know better, the sporting event that took place last weekend in Las Vegas looked like a regular track, swimming or weightlifting competition. But what made the inaugural Enhanced Games so controversial — and such a spectacle — was under the surface. Thirty-eight of the 42 athletes competed while taking a personalized cocktail of drugs.
Is this the future of sports? The event’s organizers believe so, and have built a supplement business around selling many of the same performance-enhancers used by the athletes. International sporting competitions such as the International Olympic Committee, meanwhile, have condemned the concept as a moral and ethical quagmire. Would the drugs even help? That’s what I went to Vegas to find out. — Andrew Greif, sports reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
It’s not too late to stock up on summer essentials like citronella and deodorant. Plus, NBC Select’s editors found the best cooling shirts (a game changer for family barbecues) and the best spray sunscreens, according to dermatologists.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.