Good morning. We’re covering a Houthi attack on a U.S.-owned ship and missile strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Plus: The race for second place in Iowa.

A Houthi missile hit a U.S.-owned ship

An anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthi fighters struck the Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned cargo vessel, off the coast of Yemen yesterday. The ship and its crew, which had been headed toward the Suez Canal, were not seriously harmed, according to the U.S. military’s Central Command. The ship turned around to leave the area.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia, have claimed that they are acting in response to the Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip. Their attacks have disrupted a vital trade route to and from the Suez Canal and prompted U.S.-led airstrikes last week. The group considers “all American and British ships” to be enemy targets, a Houthi spokesman said, and he warned that its response “is coming.”

The strike came a day after the U.S. said it had shot down a missile that Houthi fighters fired at one of its Navy ships in the Red Sea. Senior U.S. military officials are bracing for much larger Houthi retaliatory attacks and are preparing a set of escalating military responses should President Biden order more strikes.

In other news from the war:

• Hamas said that two Israeli hostages had been killed in Israeli airstrikes and released images that appeared to show their bodies. The Israeli military cast doubt on the claim.
• A group of volunteers was among the first people to reach the victims of the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7. The trauma of what they witnessed may last a lifetime.
• Two Palestinian men in stolen cars ran over Israelis in a suburb of Tel Aviv yesterday, the Israeli police said. One person was killed and 17 others were injured, officials said.
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• Former President Donald Trump in Clive, Iowa, on Monday. Doug Mills/The New York Times

The race for second place in Iowa

Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses yesterday, the first step in his bid to reclaim the Republican nomination for the third consecutive presidential election. Read our recap.

The victory, called by The Associated Press only 31 minutes after the caucuses had begun, accelerated his momentum toward a potential rematch in November with President Biden that could play out on both the campaign trail and in the courtroom.

Ron DeSantis, who had predicted victory in Iowa, came in a distant second. Nikki Haley finished third, appealing particularly to moderate, suburban and college-educated voters. The result was a setback for both Republicans, who had spent as much time and money battling each other in Iowa as battling the front-runner.

Quotable: In remarks, Trump said he wanted to “congratulate Nikki and Ron for having a good time together.”

Other news: Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur and political newcomer, dropped out of the race after a disappointing fourth-place finish.

Erbil, Iraq, last year. A missile attack on the city killed four civilians early Tuesday, officials said. Safin Hamid/Agence France-Presse

Iran launched missile strikes in Iraq and Syria

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps launched a missile attack against what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil. At least four civilians were killed early Tuesday, according to the Kurdistan Regional Security Council in Iraq.

A separate ballistic-missile attack hit targets in Syria connected to the Islamic State, the Guards said. Direct attacks by the Guards have been far less frequent than those conducted by Iran’s proxies.

THE LATEST NEWS

Around the World

Bjorn Steinbekk, via Reuters

• Iceland’s president said that parts of the country were facing “a daunting period of upheaval” as volcanic activity increased.
• The Pacific nation of Nauru cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, days after voters in Taiwan elected a presidential candidate that Beijing sees as a staunch separatist.
• Iran released two journalists whose coverage of a woman’s death in police custody led to nationwide protests. But the country extended the sentence of an imprisoned activist who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.
• In Dublin, where rents are soaring, two-thirds of younger adults still live with their parents

Other Big Stories

Rory Doyle for The New York Times

• Oligarchs in Ukraine have lost billions of dollars from attacks on their factories, and their influence has been curtailed by the government’s wartime powers.
• What Else Is Happening
• A 45-year-old man was fatally shot on a subway train in New York after intervening in an argument over loud music.
• Employee mental-health services have little positive — and sometimes a negative — effect on well-being, according to a large British study.
• Residents on Greek islands want to curb a wave of construction that has started to cause water shortages amid an influx of tourists and home buyers.
• “Oppenheimer” won the top honor at the Critics Choice Awards, another sign that it is an Oscar front-runner.

A Morning Read

When it comes to aesthetic trends, social media loves a catchy name. The latest is “bookshelf wealth” — owning a great number of books and, critically, staging them appropriately. Some bibliophiles are not amused. 

SPORTS NEWS

Andrey Rublev: A tennis hothead desperately searching for peace.

Israeli soccer player detained: Turkey briefly detained Sagiv Jehezkel after he displayed a pro-Israel message during a game.

The Victor Osimhen story: A difficult childhood and the 15 minutes that saved his soccer career.

Australian Open: Naomi Osaka was eliminated in the first round of the tournament. It’s a testament to the challenge of a comeback, our columnist writes.

ARTS AND IDEAS

The Emmys

“Succession” — HBO’s chronicle of a feuding media dynasty — last night took best drama honors for the third and final time at the Emmys. The show swept nearly all the major acting drama awards at the ceremony, and Jesse Armstrong, the show’s creator, won his fourth Emmy for best drama writing — one for each “Succession” season. See all the winners.

“The Bear,” the FX and Hulu series chronicling an oddball Chicago-based restaurant staff, took best comedy honors for its freshman season, and Jeremy Allen White, who portrays the high-strung lead chef, won his first Emmy for best actor in a comedy. “Beef,” on Netflix, won for best limited series; Lee Sung Jin won for writing and direction; and Steven Yeun and Ali Wong won for acting.

Overall, it was a deeply unusual Emmy Awards, delayed by three months because of the monthslong screenwriter and actor strikes. It was the first significant postponement of the award show since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and it placed the awards directly in the middle of Hollywood’s busiest awards show stretch.

For more: See the best outfits of the night.

Cook: Turn cauliflower into shawarma.

Watch: “The Book of Clarence” is a retelling of the story of Jesus that’s both irreverent and devoted.

Dazzle: Be inspired by red-carpet looks from the Critics Choice Awards.

Cope: Establish healthy habits with these tools.

Read: In “More,” a memoir, Molly Roden Winter recounts the highs and lows of juggling an open marriage with work and child care.

Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today’s Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha

P.S. Contributors to The Times’s Travel desk shared the stories behind their selections for our list of 52 places to go in 2024.

You can reach Natasha and the team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..