U.S. and Iran exchange strikes. And, House passes ICE and Border Patrol funding

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The U.S. conducted strikes on Iran last night after an American helicopter was downed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. President Trump blamed Iran for the incident. Starting at 5 p.m., the U.S. strikes targeted "Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz," the U.S. Central Command said. CENTCOM described the action as a " proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression ," and added that U.S. forces remain vigilant and ready to defend against any further Iranian threats. Trump said it was necessary to retaliate against Iran to uphold U.S. credibility. Iranian officials say they did not target the U.S. helicopter and suggested it went down in an accident. The troops on the downed helicopter were unharmed.

President Trump speaks to the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina held their primaries yesterday, determining their candidates for several key matchups for the November general elections. In Maine, voters chose Democrat Graham Platner to challenge long-time Republican Sen. Susan Collins for the state's U.S. Senate seat. Here are Maine's primary election results .

The House narrowly voted yesterday to allocate roughly $70 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, concluding a 115-day standoff over immigration policy. The spending measure includes $38 billion for ICE, about 3.5 times the previous annual budget approved by Congress. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk and is set to fully finance these operations for the remainder of his term, adding to the tens of billions already approved last year.

Bill Gates is set to appear before members of Congress today to answer questions about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation. Gates has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes . The closed-door interview will not be recorded, but the Republican-led committee plans to release a transcript in the days afterward, similar to what it did after former Attorney General Pam Bondi testified. The Microsoft co-founder is among many influential figures mentioned in Justice Department documents about the disgraced financier. Appearing in the files does not necessarily imply criminal wrongdoing.

The Last Ship is the first musical to be staged at New York's Metropolitan Opera. It draws upon Sting's childhood growing up in the shadow of a shipyard. Mark Senior hide caption

This week, The Last Ship becomes the first musical to be staged at New York's Metropolitan Opera. The show is inspired by rock star Sting's childhood spent in the shadow of a shipyard. When it first opened on Broadway in 2014, the musical struggled at the box office and received sharp reviews. In the renewed version, Sting takes on the lead role of foreman Jackie White, delivering his now raspy voice. He is joined on stage by his frequent collaborator, reggae star Shaggy. Sting says he first had the idea for this show in 1990, when he returned to his community of Wallsend, England, and found that the shipyard was closing down just as his parents were dying. Much of the music and lyrics are drawn from Sting's 1991 album The Soul Cages , and weave elements of his family's story into ballads, Celtic folk music and classical recordings that his mother collected. Listen to snippets of the musical and read more about Sting's inspiration for the story.