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Today’s top stories

Fighting between the U.S. and Iran resumed after Iran launched missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East yesterday, just before 6 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The U.S. intercepted all missiles. U.S. and Saudi forces responded with attacks on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, marking a rare show of force from Saudi Arabia in this conflict. The escalation in violence happened on the same day President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy at the White House. Netanyahu wanted to use his meeting with the president to mend the U.S. and Israel’s rocky relationship.

• 🎧 Five months into a war Israel and the U.S. launched together, both sides face conflicting priorities, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. Israel wants to continue fighting to address security threats from Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel does not want Trump to sign any agreement that would hinder its ability to defend itself, Ordoñez says. Trump supports maintaining Israel’s security, but seeks a swift end to an unpopular war. He also wants to open the Strait of Hormuz and tackle rising gas prices. Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution tells Ordoñez that Trump and Netanyahu have a cooperative relationship, complicated by the fact that neither side knows how to end the conflict.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is set to testify today before a Senate committee as part of ongoing investigations into the origins of COVID-19. The hearing follows years of debate over whether COVID-19 originated from a Chinese lab. The current scientific consensus is that the virus spread naturally from an animal source to humans. Ahead of the hearing, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released diary entries that he says Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist during the COVID-19 pandemic, wrote between December 2019 and December 2022. Paul posted more than 1,000 pages of entries over the weekend, took them down on Monday and then reposted them yesterday with redactions. Paul posted on social media that the diary entries showcase a disconnect between Fauci’s private writings and what he told the American people. Fauci’s legal team wrote a letter to Paul last month saying that the senator was waging a “years-long public crusade” against Fauci.

Federal Reserve policymakers are meeting today to discuss interest rates. Kevin Warsh, who became Fed chairman two months ago, said earlier this month that he and the rate-setting committee are committed to bringing prices under control. In June, committee members indicated that their next move would likely be a rate hike. But inflation eased somewhat last month, which could lead the Fed to maintain current rates for now.