Wednesday morning news: June 10, 2026

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MARK MELLINGER, NEWS ANCHOR: U.S. strikes Iran after Apache incident » The U.S. military struck several sites in Iran Tuesday, pursuing targets like air defense systems and radar installations. The defensive airstrikes were in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

A U.S. official says the helicopter collided with an Iranian drone, and it’s not clear if the collision was intentional. But President Trump blamed the crash on Iran and said the U.S. must respond.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson:

JOHNSON: We lament that that has become necessary. And the reason it did, as you all know, is because Iran struck U.S. assets and personnel.

Johnson says he was notified of the strikes ahead of time and spent several hours Tuesday in The Situation Room with the president and his team.

In a military first, an unmanned drone boat rescued the two American aviators who’d been operating the downed aircraft. President Trump says both service members are safe and uninjured.

Iran has vowed to respond to the American airstrikes, putting further stress on the fragile ceasefire that’s been in place for two months.

House passes ICE & CBP funding » On Capitol Hill…

AUDIO: On this vote, the yeas are 214. The nays are 212. The bill is passed.

Legislation providing $70 billion dollars to fund Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs & Border Protection (CBP), is headed to President Trump’s desk. After the Senate passed the bill last week, the House—as you just heard—narrowly followed suit Tuesday.

Democrats objected to funding ICE and CBP without changes in immigration enforcement tactics… resulting in a lengthy partial government shutdown. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries continued to rail against the bill Tuesday:

JEFFRIES: Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, it should be just, and it should be humane. That’s not what is going on right now as it relates to Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine.

Republicans ended up moving the funding into a reconciliation bill… which only needs a simple majority to pass, rather than the typical 60-vote Senate threshold. But even that got delayed after bipartisan concerns over the creation of a fund meant to compensate people who thought the government had been weaponized against them. 

The White House dropped the idea for that fund last week.

Trump sticks with Pulte amid FISA reauthorization fight » President Trump is doubling down on his pick of Bill Pulte to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence… even as Democrats threaten to hold up a key national security measure over the move.

Trump says Pulte will take over as acting DNI on June 19th. Democrats say Pulte has no national security experience, and is only ascending to the role because he is a Trump ally.

They say they won’t reauthorize Section 702 of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, until Pulte is withdrawn. Democratic California Congressman Pete Aguilar:

AGUILAR: Look, pull back Bill Pulte… and then nominate someone who actually has national security or defense background.

Section 702 of FISA expires this week. It allows U.S. intelligence to collect communications from foreign targets without a warrant.

Pulte’s appointment is only temporary, and House Speaker Mike Johnson says the president is getting close to naming a nominee to permanently lead the office of national intelligence.

Hilton makes California governor general election, Platner wins Maine primary » Republican Steve Hilton has advanced to face Democrat Xavier Becerra in November’s election for California governor.

After a week of counting mail-in ballots… several news organizations on Tuesday projected Hilton, a former Fox News host, as the second-place vote-getter in last week’s primary. He beat out billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer for the right to face Becerra, who had the most primary votes.

A few states held fresh primary elections last night, including Maine… where the controversial Graham Platner won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. 

Platner, who’s facing a slew of accusations ranging from violent to lewd behavior, wasted no time addressing his supporters.

PLATNER: Now the national pundits, the political establishment, they keep looking for… that one headline, that one moment in my life, that they can define the campaign by. But in trying so hard to understand me, they failed to understand that this is not about me at all… This is a movement about us.

He will try to unseat Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the fall.

Voters in Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina also headed to the polls Tuesday.

Karmelo Anthony guilty verdict » Near Dallas, Texas, a jury has convicted a teenager of murder and sentenced him to 35 years in prison for killing a fellow athlete at a track meet last year.

Karmelo Anthony is now 19. He stabbed Austin Metcalf, a competitor from a rival team, to death after an altercation over Anthony’s refusal to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team. Witnesses say Anthony provoked Metcalf, Metcalf shoved Anthony, and Anthony then stabbed Metcalf in the chest.

The case created a firestorm as social media posts amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black, Metcalf was white. Tempers were running high Tuesday as protesters on both sides confronted one another outside the courthouse.

SOUND: [Protesters clash]

Lawyers on both sides told the jury the tragedy had nothing to do with race. 

Anthony’s lawyers claimed self defense, but the jury rejected that.

Hegseth to visit troops in Cuba » Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth is traveling to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, today. And, as WORLD’s Travis Kircher reports, his visit could signal more significant action ahead.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: The U.S. already has an oil blockade in effect against Cuba, and President Trump has threatened to oust the country’s communist leaders by force, similar to the U.S. military’s removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro earlier this year.

The U.S. recently indicted former Cuban leader Raul Castro on federal charges.

President Trump has repeatedly said Cuba is next on his foreign policy agenda after the conflict in Iran comes to a close.

In addition to visiting U.S. troops in Cuba today, Hegseth is also visiting service members at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida.

For WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher.

And I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: Hunter Baker is here for Washington Wednesday. And later, leadership of the Southern Poverty Law Center… testifying before Congress as the organization faces federal charges.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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