Strait Of Hormuz Tension, Trump Primaries in Indiana, Mifepristone Court Reprieve

Summary

Up First from NPR: May 5, 2026

Episode Theme:
A high-stakes U.S. operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz threatens a fragile ceasefire with Iran, President Trump tests his influence by targeting Republican state senators in Indiana primaries, and the Supreme Court temporarily extends access to the abortion pill mifepristone amid ongoing legal battles.

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1. Rising Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz

(Segment Starts ~01:24)

Key Discussion Points:

• U.S. Operation Begins; Ceasefire Threatened:
  U.S. and Iran engage in direct fire as the U.S. launches a major operation to reopen the key maritime passage after weeks of uneasy peace.
• Details of the Exchange:
  • U.S. Navy destroyers escorted commercial ships through the Strait.
  • Iran attacked using missiles, drones, and small boats; all threats were repelled.
  • U.S. forces shot down drones/missiles and sank six Iranian boats.
  • Iran’s attack reached the United Arab Emirates, causing major fire at an oil storage facility — first such strike since the ceasefire.
  • Operation described as “a defensive umbrella across the Strait” — involving ships, helicopters, aircraft, early warning, and electronic warfare.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• Admiral Brad Cooper (U.S. Commander):
  • “Iran has launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships we are protecting. We have defeated each and every one of those threats.” (01:43)
  • “We have a much broader defensive package than you would have ever if you were just escorting.” (04:00)
• Greg Myrie (NPR National Security Correspondent):
  • “This worked yesterday with two commercial ships. It will have to be on a much larger scale and support a steady stream of traffic to be a real success.” (04:17)
  • “We should really be watching for three things: will large numbers of ships try to go through the strait, will Iran keep firing, and can the U.S. keep these ships safe?” (04:30)

---

2. Indiana Republican Primaries: Trump vs. Incumbents

(Segment Starts ~05:23)

Key Discussion Points:

• Trump’s Unprecedented Involvement:
  • Trump targets GOP state senators who defied him on redistricting.
  • His political operation coordinated candidate recruitment, major ad buys, and direct White House involvement.
  • Significance: Tests Trump’s potency in political retribution and party control.
• Scale and Money:
  • Normally obscure state senate races have drawn nearly $7 million for TV ads, with millions more for other campaign activity.
• Local Concerns vs. National Feuds:
  • Voters are primarily concerned with affordability; redistricting is not top-of-mind for most.
  • Most campaign ads attack incumbents as “Republican in Name Only” (RINO), not on redistricting specifics.
• Potential Political Fallout:
  • Trump’s approval is at a low; GOP faces tight margins nationally, raising the stakes of these primaries.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• State Senator Jim Bach:
  • “You go back as far as you can go. We've never had Washington meddle into our elections like they have this time.” (06:52)
• State Senator Spencer Deary:
  • “It is affordability. Affordability, affordability. I think one through three.” (07:35)
• Marty Opst (GOP Consultant):
  • “It goes to show the strength of his political operation and also in the fact that he still has a strong amount of support, particularly in conservative red states.” (08:41)
• Tamara Keith (NPR Sr. Political Correspondent):
  • “This is a test for President Trump. He is putting a lot of energy into taking out incumbent Republicans who have crossed him.” (07:48)

---

3. Supreme Court Temporarily Extends Mail-Order Abortion Pill Access

(Segment Starts ~09:15)

Key Discussion Points:

• Alito’s Stay & What’s Next:
  • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issues a one-week stay on a lower court order banning mail delivery of mifepristone.
  • The underlying Louisiana case challenges FDA’s authority and aims to further restrict access.
• National Impact:
  • Mifepristone facilitates over 60% of U.S. abortions and is used for miscarriage care.
  • The uncertainty triggered confusion among patients, healthcare providers, and manufacturers — highlighting how deeply medication abortion is embedded.
  • Prior case (2023, Texas) was dismissed on standing; this case may require the Court to rule on substantive access.
• Political Ramifications:
  • Trump faces pressure from anti-abortion groups to do more, but widespread voter support for abortion rights even in red states means the issue remains volatile ahead of the midterms.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• Julie Rovner (KFF Health News; NPR Contributor):
  • “There was mass confusion. Medication abortion today accounts for more than 60% of all abortions in the U.S. ... This order attempted to roll back its availability dramatically. Doctors, patients, and drug makers all had no idea what it meant on the ground.” (09:49)
  • “The telehealth option has basically allowed women to get around most state bans in the 20 states that now have them...it certainly looks like abortion is going to be front and center in this year's elections, too.” (11:43)

---

Key Timestamps for Reference

• 01:24: Strait of Hormuz U.S.-Iran clash begins
• 02:45: Admiral Cooper explains the operation
• 04:17: Analysis of the defensive strategy’s effectiveness
• 05:23: Indiana primary context and Trump’s involvement
• 06:52: State Senator Jim Bach on unusual outside spending
• 07:35: Issues driving the local races
• 08:41: Marty Opst on Trump’s influence
• 09:15: Supreme Court’s mifepristone decision and implications
• 10:36: Legal process and what comes next in the case
• 11:43: How abortion access is affecting national politics

---

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Admiral Brad Cooper:
  “We have defeated each and every one of those threats.” (01:43)
• State Senator Jim Bach:
  “We've never had Washington meddle into our elections like they have this time.” (06:52)
• Julie Rovner:
  “Medication abortion today accounts for more than 60% of all abortions in the U.S. ... Doctors, patients and drug makers all had no idea what it meant on the ground.” (09:49)

---

This episode delivers a crisp roundup of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, the evolving test of Trump’s clout within the GOP, and the legal and political uncertainty surrounding abortion access—surfacing both the immediate events and their far-reaching implications for U.S. domestic and foreign policy.

Transcript

[Layla Faldil]

The U.S. and Iran traded fire Monday as the U.S. plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz began.

[Admiral Brad Cooper]

Iran has launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships that we are protecting.

[Emmy Martinez]

Does this mean the ceasefire is over?

[Layla Faldil]

I'm Layla Faulded. That's a Martinez. And this is up first from NPR News. In Indiana, President Trump is working hard to primary Republican state senators who defied him on redistricting.

[State Senator Jim Bach]

We've never had Washington meddle into our elections like they have this time.

[Layla Faldil]

How much pull does the president still have inside his own party?

[Emmy Martinez]

And the Supreme Court is allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be sent by mail for one more week while a legal challenge from Louisiana moves forward. What happens after that? Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

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[Emmy Martinez]

the Strait of Hormuz under a major U.S. operation to reopen the waterway.

[Layla Faldil]

Yeah, the U.S. and Iran traded fire on Monday, threatening a month old ceasefire. The shooting erupted when the US Launched the operation to reopen the strait. Here's Admiral Brad Cooper, the US Commander, describing the first day Iran has launched

[Admiral Brad Cooper]

multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships we are protecting. We have defeated each and every one of those threats.

[Emmy Martinez]

For more, we're joined by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myrie. Greg, I mean, the focus for the past month has been these halting peace efforts. So are we now all heading back to more fighting?

[Greg Myrie]

Well, at this point, we can say we did see a major change in direction yesterday. Over the past month, the US And Iranian naval blockades have kept the region very tense. Lots of back and forth about negotiations, but relatively quiet. Now we see the US Was using this time to prepare for this operation. And there was a lot of confusion initially yesterday, reports of shooting in and around the Strait of Hormuz, of the US and commercial ships on the move. It was hard to make sense of it. We finally got some clarity when Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command in the Middle east, held a hastily arranged conference call with US Journalists in Washington.

[Emmy Martinez]

So how did Admiral Cooper explain the

[Greg Myrie]

operation so he said multiple US Navy destroyers passed through the strait going into the gulf itself and assisted these two US Flagged commercial ships coming out of the Gulf and going through the strait in the other direction. Now, these commercial ships and the new US Navy ships all came under attack from Iran. Cooper said the U.S. forces shot down the incoming drones and missiles and that US Helicopters sank six Iranian small boats. Iran also fired across the strait and hit the United Arab Emirates. It fired missiles and drones. It set off a major fire at the country's largest oil storage facility. This was the first time the Emirates had come under attack since the ceasefire.

[Emmy Martinez]

Any sense of how big this US Effort will be and what the ultimate goal is?

[Greg Myrie]

Yeah. Cooper said the military has set up what he called a defensive umbrella across the Strait of Hormuz. Now, we've heard a lot of talk about a possible U.S. navy escort of oil tankers. And this is something the US did way back in the 1980s. But the way Cooper described it, this is not just one Navy ship escorting one oil tanker at a time. This approach is more comprehensive.

[Admiral Brad Cooper]

I think we have a much better defensive arrangement in this process where we have multiple layers that include ships, helicopters, aircraft, airborne early warning, electronic warfare. We have a much broader defensive package than you would have ever if you were just escorting.

[Greg Myrie]

So this worked yesterday with two commercial ships. It will have to be on a much larger scale and support a steady stream of traffic to be a real success.

[Emmy Martinez]

Okay, I realize we're in the first stage still, but what are the chances of it being a success?

[Greg Myrie]

Admiral Cooper says the US has reached out to dozens of ships and shipping companies and this plan has received an enthusiastic response. But our NPR colleague Jackie Northam spoke with shipping companies and a union representing workers on these vessels. They say they still got a lot of questions, that this doesn't sound like a guarantee of safety and that they weren't prepared to change their risk assessment at this point. So we should really be watching for three things. Number one, will large numbers of ships try to go through the strait? Number two, will Iran keep firing on these ships? And third, can the U.S. keep these ships safe?

[Emmy Martinez]

That's NPR's Greg Myy. Greg, thanks a lot.

[Greg Myrie]

Sure thing. A.

[Emmy Martinez]

Today is primary day in Ohio and Indiana, and we're closely watching half a dozen state Senate primaries in Indiana.

[Layla Faldil]

Yeah, you heard that right. State Senate. But there are national implications for these local races. President Trump said the incumbents should be primaried. The results will test Trump's power of political retribution.

[Emmy Martinez]

NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith was in Indiana last week. Joins us now. Tamara. Indiana is a big red state. So why is the President of the United States involved in this state Senate primaries?

[Tamara Keith]

Yet the GOP controlled state Senate in Indiana rejected President Trump's efforts to get them to redraw the state's congressional district lines. And Trump responded by saying the Republicans who voted no should be ashamed of themselves and should be primaried. And then his political team got to work with outside groups, recruiting challengers, spending millions of dollars to boost their campaigns. He even met with the challengers at the White House.

[Emmy Martinez]

All right, so put that into perspective for us.

[Tamara Keith]

Yeah. These are state Senate primaries, usually relatively sleepy affairs focused on local issues. But according to data from Ad Impact, there's been nearly $7 million spent just on TV ads. You can add millions more for mailers and other campaign efforts. I went out door knocking with State Senator Jim Bach, and he told me, this is unprecedented.

[State Senator Jim Bach]

I mean, you go back as far as you can go. We've never had Washington meddle into our elections like they have this time.

[Tamara Keith]

He told me that in past cycles, if he spent $150,000 on his race, that would be a lot of money. This time, he's had more than a million dumped on him with ads calling him a Republican in name only or Rhino. He's not a never Trumper. He campaigned for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

[Emmy Martinez]

So what are these races about? Are they about redistricting? Trump something else?

[Tamara Keith]

Well, I asked State Senator Spencer Deary that, and he said the fight over the congressional maps isn't what voters talk to him about.

[State Senator Spencer Deary]

It is affordability. Affordability, affordability. I think one through three. And most people kind of remember that we did something with redistricting, but they don't really know the ins and outs. It's kind of in the weeds.

[Tamara Keith]

And most of the ads aren't even talking about redistricting. Still, this is a test for President Trump. He is putting a lot of energy into trying to take out incumbent Republicans who have crossed him. He's also very involved in the upcoming primaries for Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, who voted for impeachment after January 6, and Congressman Thomas Massie in Kentucky, who has been a general pain in Trump's side.

[Emmy Martinez]

Thing is, though, President Trump has record low approval ratings right now, and Republicans are defending narrow majorities in Congress. So why focus on primaries in red states?

[Tamara Keith]

Marty Opst, a longtime Republican consultant in Indiana involved in this effort to oust the incumbents, told me that the president is the leader of the party And Republicans need to fall in line or there will be consequences. And he feels good about their chance of success today.

[Marty Opst]

I think it goes to show the strength of his political operation and also in the fact that he still has a strong amount of support, particularly in conservative red states around the country.

[Tamara Keith]

A Trump political adviser not authorized to speak on the record said these incumbents are headed to their, quote, political slaughter. And there's plenty of campaign cash to send a message in Indiana and continue to defend Republican majorities in Congress.

[Commercial Sponsor Voice]

All right.

[Emmy Martinez]

That's NPR's Tamara Keith Tam, thanks.

[Julie Rovner]

You're welcome.

[Emmy Martinez]

The abortion pill mifepristone can be prescribed online and sent through the mail until at least early next week.

[Layla Faldil]

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued an order Monday temporarily pausing an appeals court decision. Louisiana brought the case against the Food and Drug Administration, arguing that access to medication abortion should be restricted.

[Emmy Martinez]

Here to discuss this is Julie Rovner, a longtime health policy journalist. So, Julie, the ruling that's on hold is from the 5th Circuit based in New Orleans. It said mifepristone could not be mailed anywhere in the country. What happened once that decision came down?

[Julie Rovner]

Well, I think it's safe to say there was mass confusion. Medication abortion today accounts for more than 60% of all abortions in the U.S. most of them using this drug. Mifepristone is also used to treat miscarriage. It's not just an abortion drug. And this order attempted to roll back its availability Dramat. Doctors, patients and drug makers all had no idea what it meant on the ground. And I should add that this came as kind of a surprise, not just because the ruling came down on a Friday after 5pm in the east, but because the Trump administration itself had asked the lower court to put the case on hold until the FDA finishes an ongoing review of mifepristone safety. Presumably, that won't happen until much later this year.

[Emmy Martinez]

So that brings us then to Justice Alito's order. What did that do?

[Julie Rovner]

Well, Justice Alito has only stayed the ruling for a week until next Monday. Parties in the case have just a couple of days to deliver their argument to the justices. And next week, the court could continue to keep the status quo where telehealth abortion is available, or it could allow the appeals court ruling to take effect or could do something else entirely. We'll have to wait and see.

[Emmy Martinez]

Now, if memory serves, I know that mifepristone access has been before the high court before.

[Julie Rovner]

That's right. There was a case out of Texas in 2023 that case asked not just for availability to be rolled back to what it was prior to 2021. That's when patients physically had to get the pill handed to them by a doctor, but it asked the court to cancel the pill's FDA approval altogether. That original approval, by the way, goes back more than a quarter of a century to when Bill Clinton was president. In that case, though, the court didn't get to the question of whether or not mifepristone should remain available because the doctors group that brought the suit didn't have standing to. So the justices effectively punted. That's less likely with this case out of Louisiana.

[Emmy Martinez]

Now, does this affect the political landscape ahead of the midterms?

[Julie Rovner]

Oh, yeah. This is something that the Trump administration almost certainly does not welcome. Anti abortion groups have been increasingly vocal about their frustration that the president hasn't done more to limit, if not outlaw, the abortion pill. And the telehealth option has basically allowed women to get around most state bans in the 20 states that now have them. President Trump has said several times he doesn't want to impose more restrictions on abortion because while anti abortion groups may have a big megaphone and a lot of money, most voters support abortion rights even in many of those red states. So instead of being able to finesse the issue between now and November, it certainly looks like abortion is going to be front and center in this year's elections, too.

[Emmy Martinez]

Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent with NPR's partner, KFF Health News. Julie, thanks.

[Julie Rovner]

Thank you.

[Emmy Martinez]

And that's up first for Tuesday, May 5th, Emmy Martinez.

[Layla Faldil]

And I'm Layla Faldil. Today's episode of up first was edited by Andrew Sussman, Megan Pratts, Diane Weber, Mohamed Albertisi and Jan Johnson. It was produced by Ziad Buch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynes. Our technical director is Carly Strange, and our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. Join us again tomorrow.

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