Iran strikes U.S. targets in the Gulf after fresh American attacks over a downed helicopter. Staffing shakeups at U.S. health agencies point to a new leadership vision. And Space X’s target share price is too rich for some investors.

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Iran vows more ‘devastating’ strikes after fresh wave of U.S. attacks

The U.S. and Iran traded attacks after the downing of an American Apache helicopter while it was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.

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U.S. Central Command said yesterday afternoon that fresh strikes had been launched against Iran in retaliation for the downing of the aircraft, which Tehran has not claimed responsibility for. Shortly after 9 p.m. ET, it said they were over.

Iranian forces targeted “a number” of American bases in the Middle East in response, Khatam al-Anbiya, the operational headquarters of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said early this morning. Khatam al-Anbiya vowed there would be further “devastating and more wide-ranging strikes” if the U.S. continued to attack Iran.

U.S. Central Command said the two helicopter crewmembers were rescued by an unmanned boat — a first for American forces — after the aircraft went down off the coast of Oman.

Before accusing Iran of targeting the helicopter, President Donald Trump said that “We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal” to end the war and reopen the strait. He has repeatedly expressed optimism while a deal has failed to materialize. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said this morning that Tehran will “need to assess the situation” before it can move forward with peace talks.

Follow our live coverage here.

Staff Pick: The leadership vacuum plaguing U.S. health agencies

Weeks ago, I set out to connect the dots between the unusual string of terminations and resignations of top health officials and to figure out why it has taken the Trump administration so long to appoint replacements.

In conversations with current and former federal health officials and staffers, a pattern quickly emerged: Many of the leaders who left were outsiders and disruptors brought on to advance the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. By contrast, the folks tapped to replace them are more conventional picks, akin to those chosen under the first Trump administration.

With signs pointing to a new leadership vision, several sources said they still worried that the White House was slow-walking new appointments, either to maintain greater influence over the agencies or to limit their power. As it stands, the FDA and CDC are missing permanent directors, and the surgeon general role has been vacant for Trump’s entire second term. — Aria Bendix, health reporter

Maine voters set up a Senate showdown

Republican Sen. Susan Collins will face Democrat Graham Platner in the general election this fall in what will be a marquee election in Maine in the fight for control of the Senate. Collins and Platner both won their primaries in a predictable result. What happens next is anything but certain.

Collins is the only Republican senator from a state that Trump lost in 2024, making her an inviting target for defeat. But Collins, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, has repeatedly defied attempts to oust her. Platner is unlike any other opponent she has faced, but a string of controversies and allegations has prompted unease among Democrats.

More on Platner’s checkered past.

In other primary elections:

→ No Democratic or Republican candidates for Maine governor are expected to get majority support, meaning a ranked-choice vote will be used to determine the nominees. And Maine’s Republican former Gov. Paul LePage is moving on to the general election in Maine’s 2nd District, but a ranked choice vote is needed to determine the Democratic nominee.

→ In California, which had primary elections last week, former Fox News host Steve Hilton advanced to the general election in the gubernatorial race, where he will face former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. That means billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer is out of the running after spending more than $215 million of his own money on his campaign.

→ In South Carolina, Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson advanced to a Republican primary runoff in the governor’s race, while Sen. Lindsey Graham won his Republican primary.

→ And in Nevada, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democrat Aaron Ford won their primaries.

More politics news:

• House Republicans passed a roughly $70 billion package to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term.

• For subscribers: Dozens of detainees are reported to be on a hunger strike at a California ICE detention center, where they allege filthy water and moldy food.

May inflation is expected to hit highest point in over 3 years

Inflation is likely to have increased for a third straight month in May, with economists predicting that this morning’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index will show the annual rate hit 4.2%. That’s well above the 2.4% level it was before the war in Iran and its highest point since early 2023.

High energy prices are to blame, analysts at Lloyd’s Bank said. Since the Iran conflict began, oil prices have risen nearly 40%, and consumers are still paying around 40% more on average at the gas pump than they did before the war began. As the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and energy stockpiles are drained, experts fear there will be more pain to come.

The trickle-down effects of higher energy costs.

Is SpaceX stock worth $135 a share? Pros weigh in on IPO

SpaceX insiders are certain to reap a huge return when the company begins trading on the stock market on Friday, and Elon Musk is expected to become the world’s first trillionaire. But its target price of $135 per share — or 93 times its annual revenues, one expert calculated — will be too rich for some investors. One of them is Anders Schelde, chief investment officer of a $26 billion Danish pension fund, who decided against investing in part because of the nosebleed valuation, he told NBC News.

Musk’s Tesla, by comparison, trades at 17 times its annual revenue, while Google’s parent company Alphabet trades at 10 times its annual revenue, said Rich Clayton, research director at SOC Investment Group.

SpaceX’s rich offering price wouldn’t be such a big concern but for the fact that so many investors are essentially being forced to buy it.

Read the full analysis here.

Read All About It

• A jury sentenced 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison after he was found guilty in the 2025 murder of a fellow Texas high school student.

• The FDA approved a chemical compound for sunscreen that’s popular in Europe and Asia.

• Elementary and middle school students are spending less time reading for fun than ever before.
• Pope Leo XIV will offer his formal blessing to the highest spire of what is now the world’s tallest church, when he holds Mass today at the iconic Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

• Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Runway Show aims to include “women of all sizes, ages and races.” But this year’s event highlighted a less glamorous reality.

• Meet the four astronauts NASA plans to send on the Artemis III mission, the next major step in its return-to-the-moon program.

• For subscribers: Apple didn’t blow anyone away with its updates and upgrades at this year’s developers conference. That was exactly the point.

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

PSA: Stanley Quenchers, Hydro Flask water bottles and Yeti tumblers are up to 51% off right now. Plus, the 100 best sunscreens to help keep you protected from sunburns all summer long, according to NBC Select’s editors.

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