In today’s newsletter: A Kentucky Republican is the latest Trump target after bucking the president on issues ranging from budget legislation to the Epstein files. Crew survive a mid-air collision during an Idaho air show. And the hantavirus “hot spots” in the United States.
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Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie confronts Trump’s wrath in GOP primary
Rep. Thomas Massie is no stranger to a primary challenge. But this year, President Donald Trump’s fury with the Kentucky libertarian has reached a boiling point.
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Tomorrow, voters will decide whether Massie is re-elected — or becomes the latest casualty of Trump’s campaign to unseat foes inside the Republican Party. He’ll face off against Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation farmer who was personally recruited by the president.
“People aren’t going to be voting for me or voting for him on election day,” Massie told NBC News. “They’re either going to be voting for me or voting against me.”
Tensions between Massie and Trump worsened after the lawmaker voted against the “big, beautiful bill” and pushed to release the Epstein files, a move he acknowledged “put me on the wrong side of the president for quite a while.”
Trump has called Massie a “pathetic LOSER,” a “lightweight” and a “sick Wacko.”
Massie has only a handful of GOP allies left on Capitol Hill as he fights a costly race. The primary is the most expensive in history, with ad spending totaling more than $32 million — largely dominated by groups pouring into negative ads against Massie.
On Saturday, Trump successfully ousted Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., after recruiting and backing a primary opponent, GOP Rep. Julia Letlow.
Here’s what Massie and other Republicans told us.
More politics news:
- Trump allies and Christian leaders kicked off America’s 250th birthday with a religious rally on the National Mall.
- NBC News spoke to GOP officials to hear what they are hopeful — and worried — about six months from the midterms.
- This House primary in Pennsylvania is giving hints about where the national Democratic Party is headed.
▶️ Tune in to Here’s the Scoop’s special Supreme Court Edition, where Senior Legal Correspondent Laura Jarrett goes deep on major cases.
Aviators eject as jets collide midair at Idaho Air Force base show
An air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, was abruptly canceled yesterday after two fighter jets collided in midair and crashed to the ground. All four members of the aircrew ejected, a Navy official said. The four were in stabilized condition, the base said.
The crash occurred about 2 miles northwest of the base during the second day of the Gunfighter Skies Air Show, the base said.
Dramatic video showed the pair of fighter jets colliding midair before spinning toward the ground in a fiery crash amid black plumes of smoke. Four parachutes were visible deploying near the crash site.
How the Middle East conflict is worsening Somalia’s slide into famine
Mustafe Denbil runs an agricultural shop and farm in northern Somalia, but three months after he ordered fertilizer and pesticides, the supplies his business needs are still stranded in Dubai.
He says the delays, driven by disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East, are hitting farmers and families across the country, as soaring food and fuel prices deepen an already severe hunger crisis and push Somalia closer to famine.
Six million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity in the East African nation, among the places most exposed to ripple effects from the Strait of Hormuz crisis due to the combined shocks of extreme weather, aid cuts and import dependence.
“We’re really hoping that war to end, because it’s life-threatening to us,” Denbil told NBC News.
Where does hantavirus lurk in the U.S.?
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship arrived this morning in the Netherlands, ending a seven-week, 8,500 mile journey that was hit by up to 11 infections and three deaths from the rare disease.
There are currently no cases of hantavirus in the U.S. linked to the cruise ship outbreak, and the Andes strain that killed three passengers hasn’t been found in North America.
There are currently no cases of hantavirus in the U.S. linked to the cruise ship outbreak, and the Andes strain that killed three passengers hasn’t been found in North America.
But there is a type of hantavirus here — predominantly the Sin Nombre virus — that causes a potentially fatal lung syndrome that is raising concern. It’s spread from rodents to people, typically when urine, saliva or feces particles containing the hantavirus get into the air.
Arizona has one of the highest numbers of infections in the U.S., and recent research by Virginia Tech has identified at least three states that are emerging as hot spots: Virginia, Colorado and Texas.
But just because an area has rodents infected with hantavirus doesn’t necessarily mean that humans who live near them are at risk.
Read All About It
- New York officials urged commuters to work from home today as a strike by Long Island Rail Road workers threatens to disrupt travel for hundreds of thousands of riders.
- A woman gave birth in a Brooklyn courtroom, just hours after being discharged from a hospital, according to police and witnesses.
- SpaceX is preparing to launch a new version of its megarocket tomorrow, a prototype of the system NASA could use to go to the moon.
Staff Pick: Got maggots? These doctors are bringing the bugs into their practice on purpose
As the medical fellow at NBC News, I’ve had the privilege of reporting while also completing medical school. I’ve been in the operating room for several wound washouts and debridements, and was devastated and surprised to find that, even in some young patients, the surgeons predicted that their wounds would worsen to the point of requiring a life-saving amputation.
I’m always interested in creative and unexpected approaches to solving medical problems, so I began looking into ways that wounded limbs could be salvaged. This led me to the small corner of medicine where maggots were being used as a last resort for wound care when other options had failed.
Maggots have a long history within medicine. Mayan and Aboriginal Australian cultures reportedly used maggots to tend to their ill, and Napoleon’s military surgeon-in-chief observed that they could be used to clean the wounds of injured soldiers. Sometimes, looking to the future requires us to remember the past.
— Mustafa Fattah, NBC News medical fellow
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
As you prepare for summer vacation, make sure to invest in travel necessities that will make your trip easier. We never board a plane without these Amazon essentials. You might also want to consider this $35 safety device and a highly rated pill case to keep your medicine organized.
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