It's Wednesday the fourth of the first of the first of daily brief.

I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage, and quite definitely still on the road.

All right, let's get briefed.

First up, U.S. forces enter direct military contact with Iran, shooting down an Iranian drone

near a U.S. aircraft carrier as tensions escalate further, with a second incident occurring

in the Strait of Khormuz.

I'll have those details.

Later in the show, Ukraine signs onto a ceasefire enforcement plan with Europe and the U.S.

As Russia continues to pound Ukraine's energy grid, well, there's nothing like continued aerial

assaults to show that you're serious about peace talks. Plus, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia is set to expire,

raising new questions about what comes next once formal limits on nuclear weapons are gone.

And in today's back of the brief, the government shutdown ends.

Well, look at that, leaving unresolved

questions, though, about long-term homeland security funding. But don't worry, like the swallows

returning to Capistrano, there will be other shutdowns. But first, today's PDB spotlight.

In two separate incidents, just hours apart, the U.S. and Iran crossed a critical threshold,

entering direct military contact for the first time in this current environment. The first

incident unfolded at sea. U.S. forces shot down an Iranian military drone after it approached

the USS Abraham Lincoln, that's the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier operating in the region.

According to U.S. officials, an Iranian drone flew toward the carrier strike group while the ship

was operating in international waters. Commanders assessed the aircraft's behavior as unsafe and

potentially hostile. A U.S. fighter jet was launched, and the drone was engaged and destroyed before it could close on the carrier.

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