Israeli leaders said the strike was necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran long has insisted its program is peaceful and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran was not actively pursuing the bomb.

The strike came one day after the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors censured Iran for the first time in 20 years for not working with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more-advanced ones.

The US and Iran had been in talks that could have resulted in the US lifting some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium.

Here's a look at some major Iranian sites and their importance in Tehran's program.

Natanz enrichment facility

Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site.

Part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium.

Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or Pickax Mountain, which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate sabotage attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility.

Fordo enrichment facility

Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big a facility as Natanz.

Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes.

Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, although Iran only informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the US and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence.

Bushehr nuclear power plant

Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility.

Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency.

Arak heavy water reactor

The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns.

Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center

The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program.

Tehran Research Reactor

The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic program. The US actually provided Iran the reactor in 1967 as part of America's "Atoms for Peace" program during the Cold War. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns.

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Vice President Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants who rose through the California political and law enforcement ranks to become the first female vice president in US history, formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday – becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket.

More than four years after her first attempt at the presidency collapsed, Harris' coronation was prompted by President Joe Biden's disastrous June debate performance that shattered his own supporters' confidence in his reelection prospects and spurred discussion about whether he should stay in the race.

Just as soon as Biden abruptly ended his candidacy, Harris and her team worked rapidly to secure backing from the 1,976 party delegates needed to clinch the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at warp speed, with an Associated Press survey of delegates nationwide showing she locked down the necessary commitments a mere 32 hours after Biden's announcement.

Harris' nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99% of delegates casting ballots had done so for Harris. It said it would formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party's convention later this month in Chicago.

I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. I will officially accept the nomination next week.

This campaign is about people coming together, fueled by love of country, to fight for the best of who we are.

Join us: https://t.co/abmve926Hz

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 2, 2024

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted after Biden withdrew found that 46% of Americans have a favorable view of Harris, while a nearly identical share has an unfavorable view of her. But more Democrats say they are satisfied with her candidacy compared with that of Biden, energizing a party that had long been resigned to the 81-year-old Biden being its nominee against former President Donald Trump, a Republican they view as an existential threat.

Already, Harris has said that she doesn't plan to veer much from the themes and policies that framed Biden's candidacy, such as democracy, gun violence prevention, and abortion rights. But her delivery can be far fierier, particularly when she invokes her prosecutorial background to lambast Trump and his 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records in connection with a hush money scheme.

"Given that unique voice of a new generation, of a prosecutor and a woman when fundamental rights, especially reproductive rights, are on the line, it's almost as if the stars have aligned for her at this moment in history," said Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who was tapped to succeed Harris in the Senate when she became vice president.

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Dozens of protesters rallied outside the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC on Monday evening to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators staged a flashmob-style protest in the Cannon Building, which houses offices of House of Representatives members. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and give a speech on Wednesday before a joint session of Congress.

The protesters made their presence known by projecting messages onto the hotel's exterior, including his face with the caption "Wanted arrest, Netanyahu." They also chanted slogans expressing their opposition to the Israeli leader.

Outside the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC.

Apparently Netanyahu shifted rooms… pic.twitter.com/KxR6SnFrgj

— Greg J Stoker (@gregjstoker) July 24, 2024

Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing red T-shirts that read "Not In Our Name" took over the Cannon building, sitting on the floor, unfurling signs and chanting "Let Gaza Live!"

After about a half-hour of clapping and chanting, officers from the US Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began arresting protesters, binding their hands with zip ties and leading them away one by one.

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The director of the Secret Service is stepping down from her job, according to an email she sent to staff, following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission.

Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

"I take full responsibility for the security lapse," she said in the email to staff Tuesday. "In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director."

Cheatle's resignation comes a day after appeared before a congressional committee and was berated by hours by both Democrats and Republicans for the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump's life the Secret Service's "most significant operational failure" in decades and said she takes fully responsibility for the security lapses, but angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.

At the hearing Monday, Cheatle remained defiant that she was the "right person" to lead the Secret Service, even as she said she took full responsibility the security lapses. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace suggested Cheatle begin drafting her resignation letter from the hearing room, Cheatle responded, "No, thank you."

The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. That's despite a threat on Trump's life from Iran leading to additional security for the former president in the days before the July 13 rally.

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Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a declaration in Beijing vowing to form a government together, the groups said Tuesday, in the latest attempt at resolving their long rivalry. The statement was signed by 14 Palestinian factions, including terrorist organizations such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front.

According to The Associated Press, both sides said the accord, which provided no guarantees or timeline, was only an initial step. Previous such declarations have failed, raising doubt over whether the China-sponsored negotiations might lead to a resolution between Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for the past 17 years, and Fatah, the main force in the US-backed Palestinian Authority that administers parts of the West Bank.

Israel swiftly denounced the agreement. Israel's foreign minister said no joint governance between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza would take place "because Hamas' rule will be crushed." The US and other Western countries have refused to accept any Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless it expressly recognizes Israel. This factor has wrecked past unity attempts, along with the factions' own competition for power.

The Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a declaration in Beijing on ending the schism and strengthening Palestinian unity, reports.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the signing ceremony. pic.twitter.com/J44Gm9TOLv

— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) July 23, 2024

The conference lasted two full days, and at its conclusion, a statement to the Arab media read: "The national factions agreed during their meeting in China to achieve comprehensive Palestinian national unity, which will include all Palestinian forces and factions, within the framework of the PLO; and commitment to establishing an independent Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem, in accordance with UN resolutions and ensuring the right of return under Resolution 194."

The declaration comes at a sensitive time, as the war in Gaza rages on into its 10th month and as Israel and Hamas are weighing an internationally backed ceasefire-hostage proposal that would wind down the war and free dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

There are two main possibilities for the significance of the declaration. The first is that this is once again merely a declarative agreement to please the Chinese hosts or the Palestinian public. The second is that the military pressure in the Gaza Strip, to the point of collapse of the organization's military wing, is bringing the Hamas leadership abroad to a more flexible position to make decisions as they see fit.

The agreement also underscored China's attempts to have a growing role in Middle East diplomacy after its success in mediating the restoration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. "To be sure, China is still in the process of trying to earn credibility as a global mediator," said James Char, a research fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

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With President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year.

Democrats are set to hold their convention in Chicago on Aug. 19-22. What was supposed to be a coronation for Biden now becomes an open contest in which nearly 4,700 delegates will be responsible for picking a new standard-bearer to challenge Republican Donald Trump in the fall.

The path ahead is neither easy nor obvious, even with Biden endorsing Harris. There are unanswered questions about logistics, money and political fallout.

Can Biden redirect his delegates?

Biden won every state primary and caucus earlier this year and only lost the territory of American Samoa. At least 3,896 delegates had been pledged to support him.

Current party rules do not permit Biden to pass them to another candidate. Politically, though, his endorsement is likely to be influential.

What could happen at the convention?

With Biden stepping aside, Democrats technically start with an open convention. But realistically, his endorsement pushes Democrats into murky territory.

The immediate burden is on Harris to solidify support across almost 4,000 delegates from the states, territories and District of Columbia, plus more than 700 so-called superdelegates that include party leaders, certain elected officials and former presidents and vice presidents.

Will anyone challenge Harris?

Even before Biden announced his decision, Democrats floated California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as potential contenders in addition to Harris. Yet some Democrats argued publicly, and many privately, that it would be a no-brainer to elevate the first woman, first Black woman and first person of south Asian descent to hold national office.

Given how important Black voters – and Black women especially – were to Biden's nomination and his choice of Harris as running mate, it would be risky, to say the least, for Democrats to pass her over for a white nominee. Democrats already faced historical headwinds before Biden's withdrawal. Newsom and Whitmer, both of whom are white, and any other Democrat would also have to weigh the short-term and long-term benefits of challenging Harris now versus preserving goodwill for a future presidential primary.

Yet, fair or not, Harris also has not been viewed as an especially beloved or empowered vice president. The best scenario for her and Democrats is to quickly shore up support and project a united front. Democrats could even go forward with their plans for an early virtual vote – a move they'd planned to make sure Biden was selected ahead of Ohio's general election ballot deadline.

What happens to Biden's campaign money?

Biden's campaign recently reported $91 million cash on hand. Allied Democratic campaign committees brought the total at his disposal to more than $240 million. Campaign finance experts agree generally that Harris could control all those funds since the campaign was set up in her name as well as Biden's. If Democrats do nominate someone other than Harris, party accounts could still benefit the nominee, but the Biden-Harris account would have more restrictions. For example, legal experts say it could become an independent expenditure political action committee but not simply transfer its balance to a different nominee.

How will a vice presidential nomination work?

The vice presidential nomination is always a separate convention vote. In routine years, the convention ratifies the choice of the nominee. If Harris closes ranks quickly, she could name her choice and have the delegates ratify it. In an extended fight, though, the vice presidency could become part of horse-trading – again, a return to conventions of an earlier era.

Can Republicans keep Harris off state ballots?

Any curveball during a US presidential campaign is certain to produce a flurry of state and federal lawsuits in this hyper-partisan era, and some conservatives have threatened just that.

State laws, though, typically do not prescribe how parties choose their nominees for president. And some GOP figures – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey – have worked already this year to ensure their party did not deny Democrats' routine ballot access.

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Thousands of workers at Disney's theme park and resort properties in California voted late Friday to authorize a potential strike, as contract negotiations drag on over wages, sick leave and other benefits.

The strike authorization was approved by an overwhelming margin, nearly 99% of the members who cast votes, according to a union statement. The election was held by a coalition of four unions, which represents 14,000 Disney ride operators, store clerks, custodians, candy makers, ticket takers, parking attendants and other employees.

The vote does not mean a strike will happen, only that union leaders now have the option to call a strike in the event that they are unable to negotiate a new contract deal with Disney. Leaders from both sides return to the bargaining table starting Monday.

"We greatly appreciate the important roles our cast members play in creating memorable experiences for our guests, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that focuses on what matters most to them while positioning Disneyland Resort for growth and job creation," the company said in a statement.

Elizabeth Gonzalez, a day custodial cast member at Disney California Adventure, said in the union statement that she knows colleagues who work two and even three jobs or live in a car to make ends meet.

"I am worried as a future mom for the family I'm creating right now," she said. "Disney can't call themselves a family friendly company while so many cast members and their families are struggling."

Union members have been in talks with Disney over wage increases, safety measures, attendance policies and other benefits since April.

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Donald Trump's campaign says he is "fine" after what law enforcement officials are treating as an apparent assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Shots from rooftop: How the Trump assassination attempt unfoldedhttps://t.co/rfIEtp5Ton#Trump #TrumpRally #AssassinationAttemptAgainstTrump #Election2024 #US pic.twitter.com/z6svNuVC8O

— Israel Hayom English (@IsraelHayomEng) July 14, 2024

In a social media post, Trump said he was "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear." The former president was quickly whisked from the stage by Secret Service agents, his ear covered in blood.

He later sent an email to his backers saying. "THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM DONALD TRUMP," the email statement read. "I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!"

Video: The assassination attempt of Donald Trump

The email included his signature and portrait.

A prosecutor said the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead, and the Secret Service said two spectators were critically injured, but then updated the statement saying at least one was killed.

Photo by New York Times photographer Doug Mills shows bullet flying just behind Trump's head. pic.twitter.com/0ncIBC0i1v

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) July 14, 2024

President Joe Biden and political leaders of all stripes condemned the attack. "There's no place in America for this type of violence," Biden said. "It's sick. It's sick."

The White House said President Joe Biden spoke with former President Donald Trump on Saturday evening. No further details were provided on the call. Biden will convene a briefing with homeland security and law enforcement officials at the White House on Sunday morning.

At 6:02 pm Saturday, to the strains of "God Bless the U.S.A.," former President Donald Trump took the stage at fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, waving at the cheering crowd and settling into his regular rally speech under a scorching midsummer sun.

A few short minutes later, Trump pointed to a projection of a chart that showed a spike in illegal border crossings under the man he's running against, President Joe Biden. "That chart's a couple of months old," Trump told the crowd. "And if you want to see something really sad –"

That's when the shots rang out, at least five. Trump clutched his ear as dark-suited Secret Service agents dashed toward him. He dropped to the ground as the agents yelled, "Get down!" The thousands of rallygoers packed into the field in front of him moved as one, dropping down as silence spread across the grass, punctuated only by an occasional scream.

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"Oh, Joe."

That gasp, from patrons at a Chicago bar when President Joe Biden first stumbled verbally in his debate with Donald Trump, spoke for a lot of Americans on Thursday night.

In watch parties, bars, a bowling alley and other venues where people across the country gathered to tune in, Trump supporters, happily, and Biden supporters, in their angst if not dread, seemed to largely agree they had witnessed a lopsided showdown.

By the end of the 90-plus minutes, some Democrats were saying what partisans say to put the best face on things: It's still early. One debate doesn't necessarily sway the United States. Judge him by what he's done and wants to do, not by how he says things.

But many were let down.

Biden "just didn't have the spark that we needed tonight," Rosemarie DeAngelus, a Democrat from South Portland, Maine, said from her watch party at Broadway Bowl. Trump, she said, showed "more spunk or more vigor" even if, in her view, he was telling a pack of lies.

Fellow Biden supporter and bowling alley attendee Lynn Miller, from nearby Old Orchard Beach, said: "It's like somebody gave Trump an Adderall and I don't think they gave Joe one." (The drug is used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.)

"I've never seen Trump seem so coherent," Miller said. "And I hate to say this, but Joe seemed a little bit off. But I still support him over Trump because Trump lied about every single thing that happened."

Trump supporters certainly agreed that the difference in energy and coherence between the candidates was striking. Wearing her red MAGA hat at a festive pro-Trump party in the Detroit suburb of Novi, Bonnie Call said of Biden: "He just cannot think on his feet at all. President Trump is just on."

In McAllen, Texas, near the Mexico border, London's Bar & Grill is normally loud on a day close to the weekend, but many patrons were quiet as they absorbed the debate from TV screens. Here, Biden supporters, Trump supporters and undecided voters mingled.

Among them, Vance Gonzales, 40, a moderate Democrat, said the debate convinced him that "we need another Democratic candidate, to be honest, because this is not competitive." He said of Biden: "He's not on point with anything. I think it's disappointing."

Marco Perez, 53, voted for Biden in the last election and voiced frustration with what he was hearing and seeing. "I want to hear more facts, more action as opposed to more finger-pointing, more accusations or false accusations," he said.

His friend Virginia Lopez, sitting with him, came away still not knowing whom she will support in November. She heard snappy but unsatisfying answers from the Republican. "Trump is just deflecting in all the answers and he's just lying," she said. "It doesn't feel like a real debate."

Biden? "I just feel like he's too old," she said.

Sitting up at the bar, Hector Mercado, 72, a veteran wearing a U.S. military beret, was a distinctive patron as he listened intently to the debate. Although he was a Democrat for several years, he switched parties under Ronald Reagan, a Republican.

Mercado heard Biden accuse Trump of making derogatory comments about veterans, but it didn't sway his support for Trump. "Yeah, he said a few things bad about veterans at one point back in the early days," he said of Trump. "But now he's saying, 'No, I back up the veterans and I never had any problems with him. I got a raise in my VA disability when Trump was president."

Biden's performance left him cold. "I think Trump is stronger," he said, "and Biden is a little weak."

In a Tijuana migrant shelter over the border in Mexico, people mainly from southern Mexico who are hoping to apply for asylum in the U.S. watched the debate in folding chairs in front of a screen on the wall.

The migrants, most of whom have been waiting for months for their appointments in that process, stared blankly at the screen as a Spanish-translated version of the debate played on. They watched an American democratic ritual in motion.

Andrea, who did not give her last name due to threats of violence back home, has lived at the shelter for nine months. Her debate takeaway: "Well, I feel that the people of the United States don't love Mexicans now."

At Hula Hula, a tiki bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, patrons cheered wildly as their city got a mention from Trump — even if it came up when the Republican was complaining about lawlessness. Biden supporter Amy Pottinger of Seattle said the Democratic president did best when Trump made him angry.

"Once he started talking about Roe v. Wade, it was like Biden woke up and was here," she said.

At the same Chicago bar where patrons exclaimed about Biden's stumbles — the M Lounge in the South Loop — the president scored with this zinger to Trump: "You have the morals of an alley cat."

"Whoa!" the viewers there said.

But at a Democratic watch party in downtown Atlanta, it was a night of jitters.

"I'm so nervous, I feel like my kid is going onstage," Georgia state Sen. Nikki Merritt said early on, patting her stomach as if she had butterflies.

Technicians struggled with sound and video. During one outage, the crowd chanted "Let's Go Joe!"

"I want to hear Joe Biden talking to the voters and ignoring the crazy man in the room," said Matthew Wilson, the Georgia Democratic Party's vice chairman.

But there was no ignoring the man they called crazy.

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The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the oldest aircraft carriers in the US Navy's fleet, continues its operations in the Red Sea, undeterred by the repeated false claims of Yemen's Houthi rebels that they have hit or even sunk the vessel.

According to The Associated Press, the Houthis and online accounts supporting them have repeatedly alleged striking or sinking the carrier as it leads the US response to the rebels' ongoing attacks targeting commercial vessels and warships in the crucial Red Sea waterway.

"I think it's been about two or three times in the past six months we've allegedly been sunk, which we have not been," Captain Christopher "Chowdah" Hill, the carrier's commanding officer, told AP during a recent visit to the ship. "It is almost comical at this point. They're attempting to maybe inspire themselves through misinformation, but it doesn't work on us."

In an effort to counter the Houthi claims, the Navy has allowed journalists to visit the Eisenhower and witness its operations firsthand. During their stay, the journalists explored the nuclear-powered ship's 1,092-foot (332-meter) length and observed its flight deck operations, with no visible signs of damage or distress.

Benvenuto! #MightyIKE sails with the @ItalianNavy ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591) during a transit in the Atlantic Ocean while participating in composite unit training exercise (COMPTUEX). #WeLikeIKE #GreaterEachDay pic.twitter.com/aSKzo36o9X

— USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (IKE) (@TheCVN69) July 9, 2023

"Other than rust on its side from the hot, humid Red Sea air and water apparently leaking from a pipe in a dining room, the ship appeared no worse for wear," AP reported. "Its flight deck bore no blast damage or gaping holes, just the stink of jet fuel, pooled puddles of oily water, and the scream of engines before its F/A-18 fighter jets took flight."

In addition to allowing media access, Hill has been actively engaging in an information warfare campaign of his own through social media. "The whole intent of the social media outreach was to connect with families, to bring them closer to the ship. So if I can post pictures of sons and daughters, husbands and wives out here, or even fathers and mothers, get it out there, it just kind of brings the family closer to us. And again, that's our support network. But it also took on another role because everyone else was watching to see what we're doing."

"We're going to celebrate 'Taco Tuesdays' because it's my absolute favorite day of the week. That will never end," the captain said. "If you call that an information warfare campaign, you can. It's just who I am, you know, at the end of the day." Hill's social media posts also often feature lighthearted content, such as images of the ship's support animal, a Labrador-golden retriever mix named Captain Demo.

Woof woof! Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads out there from your favorite furry friend, Capt. Demo! Today, I want to give a special shoutout to all the #MightyIKE dads who work hard to keep everyone smiling. You make every day paws-itively awesome. pic.twitter.com/RU63S0tLtR

— USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (IKE) (@TheCVN69) June 16, 2024

 Despite the Houthis' efforts to undermine morale, Lt. Joseph Hirl from Raleigh, North Carolina, expressed the seriousness with which the crew takes the combat situation, wearing a patch reading: "Go Navy, Beat Houthis."

The prolonged deployment, which has already been extended twice, and concerns over munitions availability remain challenges for the Eisenhower and its crew. However, Captain David Wroe, the commodore overseeing the guided missile destroyers escorting the carrier, acknowledged the need to use appropriate weapons against the Houthis' asymmetrical warfare tactics.

As the Eisenhower continues its patrol alongside the USS Philippine Sea, a cruiser, and two destroyers, Hill remains confident in his crew's readiness and his leadership approach. "I came to a realization at some point in my career that, one of the things that all humans require is to be loved and valued. So I shouldn't be afraid, as a leader, to try to love and value everybody," he said.

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