Weary U.S. Aircraft Carrier Leaves the Middle East

The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, with its crew of about 5,000 sailors, began a 13,000-mile, monthlong journey home today after 272 days at sea. A San Diego-based aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln has been deployed in the Middle East, supporting the war effort against Iran. Thousands of sailors aboard the ship have not had any days off to rest.

As the Middle East conflict dragged on months longer than U.S. officials initially projected, families members of sailors aboard the Abraham Lincoln started raising concerns about conditions. Those problems, including shortages of basic supplies, appeared to be piling up after a Navy base in Bahrain that served as a major logistics hub was largely destroyed.

Another carrier, the Japan-based George Washington, arrived this week to take the Lincoln’s place.

The war in the Middle East has reached something of a stalemate: The U.S. and Iran are not seriously negotiating, nor are they attacking at each other. President Trump has pivoted to issuing economic threats, promising last night to impose penalties on any nation that does business with Iran. These are the countries that could be most affected.

Treasury turns to interventionist tactics to lower borrowing costs

Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, announced this week that his department would be doubling the amount of government debt it is permitted to buy back from investors. The move was intended to calm the jittery bond market and keep borrowing costs from rising too fast. Investors, he argued, were misreading the market.

Earlier this month, Bessent also made a rare intervention in currency markets, propping up Japan’s yen. That move, too, was designed in part to keep U.S. interest rates in check. But success is not proving easy: bond yields were up again today. (Here’s why it matters that bond yields have risen, and how the A.I. boom plays a role.)

Our DealBook newsletter explained Bessent’s moves, and how they could put him at odds with the Fed. (Subscribe here!)

In other Trump administration news:

Russia takes advantage of Ukraine’s depleted stockpile

Russian forces launched a volley of missiles into Ukraine overnight, killing at least 15 people, injuring about 40 and damaging 30 residential buildings, a school and a children’s hospital, officials said.

The ***ault skipped an initial wave of drones Russia had become accustomed to firing in order to tie up Kyiv’s air defenses. The change in tactics suggested that Moscow is growing more confident of its ability to strike its targets, after signs that Ukraine is running out of interceptors, the only defenses capable of knocking down ballistic missiles.

For more: Many grocery store shelves were empty in Ukraine’s capital after Russia took aim at supermarket warehouses.

Mustangs under government protection are going to slaughter

About 73,000 wild horses roam federal public lands in the American West. Every year, to control the population, the federal government rounds up thousands and offers them up for adoption.

But The Times has found that the Bureau of Land Management has been quietly selling a large number of those horses, for as little as $25, no matter what the buyer intends to do with them. Records show that some mustangs sold by the government ended up on trucks bound for slaughter plants in Canada.

More top news

A highbrow novel becomes celebrity gossip

“Life of M.” an upcoming book by Rachel Cusk, author of the acclaimed “Outline” trilogy, has already generated a lot of discourse. That’s because the novel, about the trappings of fame, has a protagonist with an uncanny resemblance to Natalie Portman.

Some critics have described the book as a “literary ******ination” of Portman, who once called Cusk “one of my favorite writers.” When my colleague Alexandra Alter got on a call with the author, she insisted that whether or not M is based on a real celebrity “is not really the point,” and that explaining her creative process “would unravel the whole thing.” But Alexandra got her to unspool a bit of the mystery.

Where disabled daters can feel comfortable

Ellen Froliklong, 33, lost interest in mainstream dating apps after experiencing a mental health crisis. She feared being judged, or seen as “too damaged.” But for the last several months she has been dating Andres Rodriguez, a man who uses a wheelchair that she met on Dateability, an app for people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions.

Our health reporter Roni Caryn Rabin spoke with Froliklong and others who have used the app about what it’s like to look for a long-term partner.

Confusing plot. Bad graphics. Big hit.

Chinese moviegoers mocked “The Bull is Coming” at first. Its crude animation looked like something you would see in a PowerPoint presentation, and its plot was bizarre at best. But the teasing comments generated so much buzz that the low-budget children’s film became one of the year’s best box-office performers.

Many fans are celebrating its “clumsy sincerity” as a refreshing dose of authenticity in the age of A.I. Videos show moviegoers laughing uproariously throughout the movie. And businesses have started making plush toys resembling the main character, a young calf named Niu Lai.

Have an uproarious evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow — Matthew

Eli Cohen was our photo editor.

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