Wednesday morning news: September 9, 2026

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U.S. strikes more Iranian oil tankers » The U.S. military says it has destroyed five more Iranian oil tankers.

U.S. Central Command says Iran fired ballistic missiles at a Navy warship twice this week. Those missiles did not find their mark.

American forces then struck four tankers in the Gulf of Oman and one near Iran's main oil port at Kharg Island. Central Command says it first ordered the crews to abandon ship.

Secretary of State and acting national security advisor Marco Rubio:

RUBIO: The back and forth is pretty straightforward, and that is that Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships and, uh, for every time they do that or try to do that, they're gonna lose tankers.

That makes eight Iranian tankers in four days.

Iranian state media say Iran answered by firing missiles at American bases in Jordan. The Pentagon hasn't confirmed that.

The renewed fighting has sent energy prices higher. Brent crude nearly hit $100 per barrel Tuesday, the highest since late July.

Election » Voters in New Hampshire cast primary ballots on Tuesday. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher reports.

BENJAMIN EICHER: In the U.S. Senate primary, Republicans picked John E. Sununu … whose brother and father both served as a governor of the state.

Sununu had President Trump's endorsement … and soundly defeated former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who was running for a seat in New Hampshire, which he now calls home.

Democrats chose Congressman Chris Pappas … for the U.S. Senate seat the retiring Jeanne Shaheen is giving up. Pappas defeated Karishma Manzur [kah-RISH-mah man-ZOOR], who was favored by the party’s socialist wing. She ran on government-run healthcare and on cutting off military aid to Israel.

And GOP Governor Kelly Ayotte cruised to the nomination in her reelection bid.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

9/11 event at White House  » President Trump stood on the grass at the Ellipse near the White House Tuesday … next to a large steel beam cut from the wreckage of the World Trade Center’s South Tower after 9/11.

TRUMP: This battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer, and no terror can destroy.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation brought the beam. The group takes its name from Stephen Siller … the New York firefighter who ran the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on foot, gear on his back, to reach the towers that morning, giving his life to save others.

Friday, 25 years to the day, the beam goes back through that same tunnel.

And Trump Tuesday posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther. He died in the South Tower at age 24 … after leading people to safety … and running back into the building to save more.

TRUMP: We will never forget. We say it and we mean it. We will never forget those we lost, and we will never forget the immortal heroes of September 11th, 2001.

Trump will mark the 25th anniversary on Friday at the Pentagon.

Russia-Ukraine latest » The head of NATO is calling for member states to step up their financial support of Ukraine.

Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday said Ukrainian allies had recently pledged 70 billion euros...that's about 81 billion dollars...to help Kyiv in its war against Russia. But he says...that's not enough.

RUTTE: Nations must dig deeper. We do not have a choice, I believe.

U.S. Pentagon Policy Chief Elbridge Colby added that NATO allies must be prepared to dig in for the long haul:

COLBY: As you all well know, Russia is reconstituting its forces and its defense industrial capacity. We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine's requirements to persist in the months and years ahead.

But there were possible signs on Tuesday of some progress toward ending the war.

USHAKOV: [Speaking Russian]

A spokesman for the Kremlin said President Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin by phone yesterday. He said Trump told Putin he wanted a swift end to the war… and a complete restoration of relations between Washington and Moscow. The spokesman said both men agreed that such an outcome would have enormous trade and economic benefits for both countries

The White House did not immediately comment on the discussion.

Operation Meridian saving kids » The Marshals Service in Ohio just carried out what it calls the largest missing-child operation in state history. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Federal marshals found 79 missing children across Ohio. The operation ran throughout August, in several cities.

Some of the children were as young as six. Authorities say they had gone missing for a variety of reasons … suspected sex trafficking, abuse, and running away.

Officers pulled a 13-year-old girl out of a crawlspace under a bedroom closet floor. They found her missing older sister later that day at a restaurant.

In Toledo, deputies found a 16-year-old girl with a grown man. Marshals say she was previously reported as a trafficking victim.

Officials say counselors and caseworkers are now working with the children.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Amazon plane crash probe » Investigators have been walking the runway at Miami International Airport … where a fatal crash occurred.

The airport does not have so-called arrestor beds, crushable pads meant to stop runaway planes from overshooting the runway … as a Boeing 767 cargo plane did on Sunday. Investigators are trying to figure out if that safety measure could have prevented five deaths when the jet struck a van. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said that van ...

HOMENDY: … was owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation, which is a contract cleaning company for the airlines. In the van were seven persons on board.

The pilot and copilot are out of the hospital. As of Tuesday, two other people were still in critical condition.

Investigators have both flight recorders, and are already reading the data. The safety board says two of Miami's four runways stay closed until investigators finish at the scene.

I'm Kent Covington.

Coming up… threats to free speech in the United Kingdom. Plus, one woman’s work to keep the memory of 9/11 victims alive.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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