The U.S. escalates military strikes against Iran over Strait of Hormuz control while oil prices surge ahead of midterms. Trump meets with executives and pitches a Venezuela deal unlikely to lower gas prices by November. In Massachusetts, incumbent Senator Ed Markey defeats a younger progressive challenger by positioning himself as the original progressive, revealing Democratic voters' complex relationship with incumbency and age. The U.S. and Iran are locked in a cycle of escalating military action over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran attempting to lay mines and retaliating against American strikes, though only one-third of pre-war oil volumes currently flow through the waterway.