Tuesday Briefing – The New York Times

A Houthi missile hit a U.S.-owned ship

An anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthi fighters struck the Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned cargo vessel, off the coast of Yemen yesterday. The ship and its crew, which had been headed toward the Suez Canal, were not seriously harmed, according to the U.S. military’s Central Command. The ship turned around to leave the area.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia, have claimed that they are acting in response to the Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip. Their attacks have disrupted a vital trade route to and from the Suez Canal and prompted U.S.-led airstrikes last week. The group considers “all American and British ships” to be enemy targets, a Houthi spokesman said, and he warned that its response “is coming.”

The strike came a day after the U.S. said it had shot down a missile that Houthi fighters fired at one of its Navy ships in the Red Sea. Senior U.S. military officials are bracing for much larger Houthi retaliatory attacks and are preparing a set of escalating military responses should President Biden order more strikes.

In other news from the war:

• Hamas said that two Israeli hostages had been killed in Israeli airstrikes and released images that appeared to show their bodies. The Israeli military cast doubt on the claim.

• A group of volunteers was among the first people to reach the victims of the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7. The trauma of what they witnessed may last a lifetime.

• Two Palestinian men in stolen cars ran over Israelis in a suburb of Tel Aviv yesterday, the Israeli police said. One person was killed and 17 others were injured, officials said.

The race for second place in Iowa

Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses yesterday, the first step in his bid to reclaim the Republican nomination for the third consecutive presidential election. Read our recap.

The victory, called by The Associated Press only 31 minutes after the caucuses had begun, accelerated his momentum toward a potential rematch in November with President Biden that could play out on both the campaign trail and in the courtroom.

Ron DeSantis, who had predicted victory in Iowa, came in a distant second. Nikki Haley finished third, appealing particularly to moderate, suburban and college-educated voters. The result was a setback for both Republicans, who had spent as much time and money battling each other in Iowa as battling the front-runner.

Quotable: In remarks, Trump said he wanted to “congratulate Nikki and Ron for having a good time together.”

Other news: Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur and political newcomer, dropped out of the race after a disappointing fourth-place finish.

Iran launched missile strikes in Iraq and Syria

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps launched a missile attack against what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil. At least four civilians were killed early Tuesday, according to the Kurdistan Regional Security Council in Iraq.

A separate ballistic-missile attack hit targets in Syria connected to the Islamic State, the Guards said. Direct attacks by the Guards have been far less frequent than those conducted by Iran’s proxies.

ARTS AND IDEAS

The Emmys

“Succession” — HBO’s chronicle of a feuding media dynasty — last night took best drama honors for the third and final time at the Emmys. The show swept nearly all the major acting drama awards at the ceremony, and Jesse Armstrong, the show’s creator, won his fourth Emmy for best drama writing — one for each “Succession” season. See all the winners.

“The Bear,” the FX and Hulu series chronicling an oddball Chicago-based restaurant staff, took best comedy honors for its freshman season, and Jeremy Allen White, who portrays the high-strung lead chef, won his first Emmy for best actor in a comedy. “Beef,” on Netflix, won for best limited series; Lee Sung Jin won for writing and direction; and Steven Yeun and Ali Wong won for acting.

Overall, it was a deeply unusual Emmy Awards, delayed by three months because of the monthslong screenwriter and actor strikes. It was the first significant postponement of the award show since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and it placed the awards directly in the middle of Hollywood’s busiest awards show stretch.

For more: See the best outfits of the night.

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