Morning Headlines

Iran fired missiles and drones at U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, killing one person and badly damaging Kuwait's international airport; the U.S. responded by striking an Iranian military facility on Qeshm Island. Ceasefire negotiations have since broken down, with Tehran suspending contact with mediators, raising fears of further escalation.

The world's most critical oil chokepoint is operating at a fraction of normal capacity, with the IEA calling it the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Over 1,550 vessels and 22,500 mariners remain stranded as Brent crude hovers near multi-year highs and global supply chains reroute at enormous cost.

Ukrainian long-range drones flew more than 1,000 km to hit one of Russia's largest oil transshipment terminals in St. Petersburg, setting it ablaze just as Vladimir Putin opened the city's annual international economic forum. A separate drone strike also damaged a Russian guided-missile corvette at Kronstadt naval base.

Senators voted 52–47 to fund ICE and the Border Patrol for three years, overcoming a Republican rebellion over an unrelated $1.8 billion Justice Department settlement fund that nearly derailed the bill. The legislation now heads to a House that has already left for the weekend.

Cambridge University researchers reported that an AI-designed vaccine candidate produced safe, broad immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and related bat coronaviruses not yet known to infect humans — the first time a vaccine designed entirely by artificial intelligence has completed a human trial. A larger Phase 2 efficacy study is now being planned.