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Today’s top stories
The Pentagon estimates the war in Iran has already caused $25 billion in losses.According to Pentagon Comptroller Jay Hurst. Hurst testified before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who during his combat testimony gave no indication of when the war might end.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday about the Iran war. Hegseth described the military campaign as a major success and criticized ‘defeatist’ Democrats, who rejected his assessment of the war.
Rod Lamky Jr./AP
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Rod Lamky Jr./AP
- 🎧 There is no sign that the US or Iran will back down from their blockade of the Strait of HormuzNPR’s Greg Myre explains first up. Shipping traffic through the waterway is halted, and both sides say they are suffering economic losses. Both sides also believe that the other will give up first, Myre says. Retired Navy Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan says the US could continue the blockade indefinitely. Iran also believes it can maintain the blockade using a mix of mines in the sea and drones and missiles from the coast. Donegan told Myre that the US could clean up Iran’s mines, but that it will take time to do So that Iran’s army can be further weakened on the ground. Myre says a negotiated agreement would be the safest way to reopen the strait, but those talks are currently stalled.
The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Louisiana’s 2024 electoral map There was an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander”. The map established the second majority-black congressional district. The judges’ 6-3 decision fell on partisan grounds. While the court technically upheld Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the decision contributes to a series of decisions weakening the landmark 1965 law protecting the collective voting power of racial minorities. Experts expect this decision to reduce minority representation at all levels of government.
- 🎧 The court’s decision reinterprets long-standing protections against racial discrimination in Section 2NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang says. Decades ago, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to say that Section 2 should focus on any discrimination Effect of redistribution scheme. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s majority opinion that the focus should be on Section 2 Intentionally racial discrimination. Legal expert Atiba Ellis told Lo Wang this Racist intent must be proven Extremely difficult, and the decision essentially asks the plaintiff to “find a smoking gun now.” Lo Wang says that with the further weakening of the Voting Rights Act, the US could see the largest drop ever in the representation of Black members of Congress.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell plans to remain on the central bank’s governing board For the term after his term as Speaker expires next month. Powell’s announcement highlights the economic and political pressure the Fed has faced in recent years.
- 🎧 The Fed Chairman typically steps aside after his term ends.NPR’s Scott Horsley says. Powell is exercising his right to remain on the governing board, at least for the time being, beginning in 2028. He said he was doing this to help Protect the Fed’s operational efficiency Without political pressure. Horsley says President Trump has threatened to fire Powell and another Fed governor. The Justice Department also launched a criminal investigation into the feds. Powell and his allies have so far resisted the Trump administration’s efforts. But Powell says the fight is not over yet. He says he plans to keep a low profile after he is no longer chairman and will not compete with Trump’s nominee Kevin Wersh to be the central bank’s next leader.
Jet fuel prices in the US have nearly doubled due to the war in Iran, increasing the cost of fighting wildfires Aircraft operations this summer. Taxpayers will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more this year to cover the costs of fighting those fires. Last year, the U.S. government used 500 or more aircraft to fight most major wildfires, burning about $50 million worth of jet fuel. If this year is similar to last season, the fuel bill could double to about $100 million.
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Federal survey data shows that the amount of math homework given, especially to fourth and eighth grade students, is declining.
Stanislav Pytel/Getty Images
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Stanislav Pytel/Getty Images
Educators and researchers have observed a trend for years: More teachers are moving away from homework. Some teachers and parents say this is a good thing, and that students should not spend six or more hours per day in school and complete more school work at home. But research on homework is complicated. Some studies show that students who spend more time on homework perform better than their peers. A 2021 longitudinal study of more than 6,000 students in Germany, Uruguay and the Netherlands found that low-performing students who increased their time on math homework still improved in the subject a year later. But other studies also show minimal effects of homework on academic performance. A 1998 study of over 700 American students found that assigning more homework in the elementary grades had no significant effect on standardized test scores. What else we know about the homework debate:
- ✏️ Like other skills that require training, mastering academic subjects, especially mathematics, requires practice. Some experts worry that reducing homework could threaten math achievement at a time when math scores are already low across the US.
- ✏️ Artificial Intelligence has complicated the homework debate. An EdWeek Research Center survey found that 40% of teachers have reduced homework assignments over the past two years. Of those, 29% said students’ AI use reduced the value of work.
- ✏️ Education groups and researchers commonly recommend 10 minutes of homework each night per grade level. But it is almost impossible to assign work that will take the same amount of time for each student to complete.
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Courtesy Chronicle Books
When author Bruce Handy’s son Isaac was little, he fell in love with an orange balloon and lost it. Isaac was upset by what happened and promised that one day, if he ever got a pet, he would name it Balloon in honor of his lost pet. When she and her sister found the kittens six months later, she kept her promise. Handy was so impressed by his son’s devotion to the balloon that he decided to write a children’s book about it. Handy says that losing a balloon as a child is one of the most universal experiences, which is why it’s easy to connect to the little boy’s story in the book. Illustrator Julie Kwon used pen and ink to tell the story and carefully used the right shade of orange to show how the young boy sees the world after losing his prized possession. See some of his pictures and read more about one child’s singular devotion here.
3 things to know before you go
- Scientists have discovered a key window when children’s brains are most sensitive to toxic metals by analyzing the layers of their teeth, according to a new study in the journal Nature. science advancement. Those toxic metals have been linked to behavioral problems in later life.
- Millions of people are connected to more than 50 Bald Eagle Nest cameras across the US
- In this week’s edition of NPR’s Far-Flung Postcards, Emily Feng takes readers to Homs, Syria, where olive trees promise a taste of home that was missing for nearly 14 years because of the civil war.
Who edited this newspaper? Suzanne Nuyen.
