NPR This Morning

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The U.S. military said it shot down incoming drones and missiles and sank six Iranian small boats yesterday as it launched an operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The incident threatened the fragile, month-old ceasefire between the two countries. Iran also fired on the United Arab Emirates, an American ally, and set off a major fire at the country's largest oil storage facility. The attack marks the first time Iran has attacked the Emirates since the ceasefire began.

🎧 Adm. Brad Cooper, head of Central Command in the Middle East, says the military has set up a "defensive umbrella across the Strait of Hormuz” to escort ships through the waterway. Cooper said the U.S. forces' defensive package has multiple layers, including ships, helicopters, aircraft, airborne units, early warning and electronic warfare. NPR's Greg Myre tells Up First that the approach worked yesterday for two commercial ships, but it will have to be on a larger scale and support a steady stream of traffic to be successful. Myre says that as the operation continues, some key things to watch for are whether a large number of ships try to pass through the Strait and whether the U.S. can keep them safe.

It is primary day in Ohio and Indiana, and two very different decisions that Republicans made on gerrymandering will be on display. In Indiana, President Trump is seeking to oust incumbent Republican state senators whose votes helped defeat a redistricting plan. Ohio lawmakers had to create new maps because multiple earlier versions were either rejected by the courts or adopted without bipartisan support since 2021. The current map features some minor adjustments to the state's boundaries, and not all of the changes favor the Republicans.

🎧 State senate primaries are typically sleepy affairs that are focused on local issues. But NPR’s Tamara Keith says that AdImpact data shows nearly $7 million has been spent on TV ads in these Indiana primaries. Indiana state Sen. Jim Buck tells Keith that the money spent this cycle is unprecedented. He says that for previous campaigns, spending $150,000 on his race would be a lot. This time, more than a million has been spent on ads calling him a "Republican in Name Only." Keith spoke to Marty Obst, a longtime Republican consultant in Indiana. He's involved in the effort to oust Republican incumbents and tells Keith that the president is the leader of the party, and Republicans need to fall in line or there will be consequences.