The U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker Wednesday as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal to end the war. The Islamic Republic said it was reviewing the latest American proposals.
A fighter jet shot out the rudder of the tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to breach the American blockade of Iran's ports, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.
The attack occurred as Iran and the U.S. are officially in a ceasefire. Trump threatened Tehran with a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached that includes opening the critical Strait of Hormuz.
—The Associated Press
Members of the House Oversight Committee questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for several hours at a closed-door deposition Wednesday over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lutnick’s transcribed interview with the committee comes several months after he admitted during a congressional hearing that he had lunch with Epstein on the financier’s private island — years after Lutnick said he had cut contact with the convicted sex offender.
Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he felt Lutnick had been “very transparent” in describing limited interactions with Epstein, saying that the commerce secretary “corrected” the discrepancies in prior statements. Meanwhile, Democrats, speaking to reporters outside Wednesday’s session, criticized the responses that the commerce secretary had given about his contradictory comments.
—Spectrum News' Christina Santucci
Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that's becoming increasingly clear — while President Donald Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have some momentum ahead of November's midterm elections.
The biggest test of Trump's power came in Indiana, where he backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. Five of the president's candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash.
Meanwhile in Michigan, a Democrat comfortably won a state Senate race in a bellwether district, the latest in a string of special election victories. Over in Ohio, primaries locked in candidates for two major races with national implications.
—The Associated Press
A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington Monument this week was following the path of Vice President JD Vance's motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing Wednesday.
Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was shot multiple times during Monday's confrontation and was in the back of an ambulance on his way to a hospital when he said, "'F**k the White House' and "Kill me, kill me, kill me,'" a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.
The sworn statement does not specify whether investigators believe Marx had a particular target.
—The Associated Press
• A 600-person search continues for missing U.S. soldiers off Morocco's coast
• U.S. military strike on alleged drug boat kills 3 in eastern Pacific
• FBI searches Virginia Senate leader's office as part of corruption probe, source says
• CNN founder Ted Turner, a brash and outspoken television pioneer, has died at age 87