7m ago / 7:48 AM EDTTrump says he spoke with Sen. Lindsey Graham hours before his deathTrump told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” yesterday that he spoke with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Saturday night, hours before the senator died.Trump said that “other than being tired, he was fine,” adding that he believed Graham’s death was a “quick end, and maybe that’s not the worst way to go.”Read the full story here.20m ago / 7:35 AM EDTLindsey Graham dead at 71, leaving a legacy as a Trump booster, foreign policy hawk and powerful chairmanSen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who died unexpectedly Saturday at the age of 71, leaves behind a legacy defined by his hawkish foreign policy views, a key chairmanship that helped transform the Supreme Court and his evolution from a fiery critic of Trump to one of his staunchest allies.Keep reading — subscribe.49m ago / 7:05 AM EDTU.S.-Iran strikes escalate over the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to collapse ceasefireThe U.S. launched another round of strikes on Iran yesterday, part of an effort it said was intended to thwart its attacks on traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to the world’s oil supply.Tehran said it retaliated with strikes across the region, targeting U.S. facilities.The latest round of strikes began at 5 p.m. ET, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. It said on X around 10:30 p.m. that the strikes had been completed. The goal was to curb Iran’s ability to target commercial shipping in the strait at a time when the U.S. has declared it open for business and Iran has said it’s closed.Read the full story here.49m ago / 7:05 AM EDTTrump to host top IndyCar drivers at the White House ahead of D.C. Grand PrixTrump will host top IndyCar drivers at a White House event this afternoon ahead of next month’s Grand Prix here, a White House official told NBC News.Keep reading — subscribe.49m ago / 7:05 AM EDTMitch McConnell says he suffered fall, was unconscious in first statement since hospitalizationMitch McConnell said yesterday in his first public statement since he was hospitalized nearly a month ago that he was “briefly unconscious” after he suffered a fall.In the statement, accompanied by a photo of McConnell smiling in a hospital chair alongside his wife, Elaine Chao, he said doctors have not yet cleared him to return to the Senate floor to vote.Read the full story here.49m ago / 7:05 AM EDTRepublicans scramble to find a replacement for Sen. Lindsey Graham ahead of the midterm electionsRepublicans are starting to scramble to find both a temporary and a permanent replacement for Graham, who in June won the GOP Senate primary in South Carolina and was expected to cruise to re-election to a fifth term in November.Hours after GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death, Trump said he had a preferred replacement in mind but declined to share a name out of respect for Graham.Read the full story here.49m ago / 7:05 AM EDTSen. Gary Peters endorses Haley Stevens in Michigan Senate raceSen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is endorsing Rep. Haley Stevens in the hotly contested primary to replace him in the Senate. “Over the last eighteen years, while serving the people of Michigan, I have been surrounded by many extremely talented and dedicated partners who work tirelessly for our state. Haley Stevens has been that partner in Congress,” Peters said in a statement announcing his endorsement. Peters later added that Stevens “will be ready on day 1 to fight for Michigan.”Stevens called Peters “a mentor, a friend, and a role model throughout my career” in a statement touting the senator’s endorsement. “Senator Peters knows what it takes to win in Michigan, and he knows what Michigan needs from our next U.S. senator: grit, effectiveness, hard work, and Michigan common sense. I am honored to have his support in this campaign,” Stevens said.The four-term congresswoman is facing off against former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, a staunch progressive, in the race to replace Peters, who opted not to run for re-election this year. Michigan’s other Democratic senator, Elissa Slotkin, has not endorsed in the race, citing a “tradition” of elected Democrats in Michigan remaining neutral in primaries. Peters’ endorsement also comes less than a week before El-Sayed is set to rally with two of his high-profile backers: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The primary is Aug. 4.