Thursday morning news: July 9, 2026

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U.S. and Iran carry out new strikes » The U.S. is once again striking Iran. 

American forces reportedly hit more than 80 targets—including air defenses, radar sites, and dozens of small boats. It's retaliation for Iranian attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this week, the waterway that normally carries a fifth of the world's oil.

Aboard Air Force One last night, President Trump promised an overwhelming response:

TRUMP: Every time they hit us, we're gonna hit 'em twenty. And we did it last night, we did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night. They hit actually three boats, not two.

Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Kuwait says it shot down two ballistic missiles and 13 drones. Bahrain intercepted several more.

All of that came after Trump said he believes last month's ceasefire with Iran is now "over." He added that negotiations may continue, though he now feels they may just be a waste of time.

Patriot missile license for Ukraine » Trump returned last night from Turkey where he spent two days at a NATO summit in Ankara.

While there, during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said he is giving Zelenskyy something he's been lobbying for: the right to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles.

TRUMP: We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool, right? / Very. / This way he can't complain that we're not giving them enough. I said, “Make them yourself.”

Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that Ukraine needs more Patriot missiles to shoot down the ballistic missiles Russia continues to fire into Ukraine.

And Moscow launched another attack on Wednesday.

SOUND: [Kharkiv attack]

Local officials say two people were killed and dozens injured after missiles struck the city of Kharkiv.

Trump, though, remains optimistic about the prospects for peace. He had this to say after Zelenskyy was asked if he would ever visit Moscow for negotiations.

TRUMP: I don't know that he'd go to Moscow. Maybe he would. Would you go to Moscow?

ZELENSKYY: It's difficult. There are lots of Ukrainian drones there. [LAUGHTER] It's dangerous for me. Dangerous.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has suggested Moscow as a possible meeting location.

Trump-Greenland » Also at the NATO summit, Trump again pushed for the United States to take control of Greenland:

TRUMP: Greenland is very important for the United States, but it's not important for Denmark. We need it for protection of the world.

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark—a NATO ally—and both reject the idea. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen:

FREDERIKSEN: Greenland is of course not for sale. We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenlandic people right for self-determination. And we are a sovereign state, and we need everybody to respect our territorial integrity.

NATO chief Mark Rutte is trying to thread the needle—agreeing that the U.S. has a point about keeping China and Russia out of the Arctic. And he is pushing for some kind of arrangement that will satisfy Trump while respecting the sovereignty of Greenland and Denmark.

RUTTE: I will make sure that that deal is step by step being implemented.

For now, officials from the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland are meeting to work out next steps.

Beshar on McConnell health » The governor of Kentucky is pressing longtime Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell to break his silence about his health. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has that story:

MARY MUNCY: Democratic Governor Andy Beshear sent the Republican lawmaker an open letter Wednesday, urging transparency.

The 84-year-old stepped down as GOP Senate leader last year, but plans to serve out his term ending in January.

NBC reports paramedics performed CPR on someone in cardiac arrest at his address that same day. He hasn't been seen publicly since; aides say only that he's “improving.”

The three-week silence has fueled speculation about his condition—after a string of health scares in recent years.

Governor Beshear wrote that Kentuckians are worried about McConnell's “ability to hold office.”

If McConnell left the Senate, Kentucky's governor could not name a temporary replacement—one of the few states where that's true. The seat would stay vacant until an election can be held.

For WORLD, I'm Mary Muncy.

Democrat Senate candidate to drop out after sexual assault claim » In Maine, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate says he plans to drop out of the race following sexual assault allegations.

A woman who says she dated him years earlier, claimed Graham Platner drunkenly forced himself on her.

The candidate responded on Wednesday:

PLATNER: The things that have been claimed did not happen. It’s not real.

That from an 11-minute video in which he said the accusation was politically driven.

PLATNER: A corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury, and executioner. Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end.

Platner says he is bowing out, not because of the accusation, at least not directly, but because Democratic leaders have cut off resources, ending his ability to run a successful campaign.

Drone strikes on civilians kill at least 20 in Sudan » In Sudan, drones are killing civilians—even families on their way to weddings. 

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: At least 20 people were killed in the latest strikes.

A guided drone struck a vehicle near Omdurman on Tuesday, killing all 10 people aboard—including five women from the same family—as they drove to a wedding. A day earlier, another drone killed 13 more on their way to a wedding in North Kordofan.

Rights groups blame the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, and say the attacks were deliberate. The UN now calls drones the leading cause of civilian death in Sudan's war.

That war between the army and the RSF has killed nearly 60,000 people directly. And indirectly, rights groups say hundreds of thousands have died from resulting famine and disease.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

And I'm Kent Covington.

Coming up, a South African couple explains why they fled the country. Plus, teenagers get creative to earn a summer paycheck.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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