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Pete Hegseth asks Congress for billions more in military funding. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy fires his commander in chief after major protests. And an Idaho teen’s death provides a glimpse into the effect that anti-trans laws have had on trans people in America.
Here’s what to know today.
Hegseth estimates cost of Iran war at $37.5 billion and asks for more money
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he estimated the cost of the Iran war so far has totaled $37.5 billion, and he’s asked Congress for $67 billion more for the rest of the budget year. The new figures, which Hegseth revealed yesterday at a contentious Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, come as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slows to a near standstill and as President Donald Trump pledged retaliation for the recent killings of three U.S. Service members.
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Hegseth’s $37.5 billion figure is higher than the $30 billion figure presented to lawmakers earlier this month. Meanwhile, NBC News has reported that the Defense Department’s internal overall cost for the war so far is much higher: between $80 billion to $100 billion.
The $67 billion extra that Hegseth is requesting is in addition to the $891 billion that has been approved for the Pentagon through Sept. 30. Trump is separately requesting $1.5 trillion for the 2027 fiscal year, starting Oct. 1.
Senate Democrats clashed with the defense secretary over the lack of progress in a war that Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. has already won.
How Hegseth responded to Democrats’ questions.
With shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz increasingly throttled, Iran has also opened a new front in its campaign to pressure the global economy by disrupting another key trade route: the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia this week, a threat that had already appeared to slow traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with multiple ships appearing to change course on Tuesday, according to MarineTraffic data. That strait is the gateway to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, which had been a crucial alternative route for oil exports disrupted by the war.
The international benchmark Brent crude was up today more than 4% to around $95 a barrel.
More Iran war coverage:
- The U.S. military identified a third service member believed to have been killed in Jordan after an Iranian attack last Friday as Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York.
- For subscribers: Just four cargo ships and two oil tankers made it through the Strait of Hormuz in the 24-hour period from 4 a.m. ET Monday to the same time Tuesday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to keep the waterway closed as long as Washington’s “wrongdoing in the region” continued.
Trump-backed Rep. Andy Biggs wins GOP bid for governor
Rep. Andy Biggs will face Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in the Arizona governor’s race this fall after Biggs won yesterday’s Republican primary. Biggs, a former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has questioned the 2020 election results, enjoyed Trump’s endorsement in the primary, but that dynamic could play differently in the battleground state in November. Read more about Biggs.
In the race for secretary of state, Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin won his party’s primary, setting up a general election against Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Kolodin has led several lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections in his state. Now, he’s running to be the chief election officer in a battleground state during the 2028 presidential campaign. Read more about Kolodin.
More politics news:
- A “serious software error” caused roughly 6,600 noncitizens to be unwittingly registered to vote in New Jersey from 2023 to 2024, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.
- The U.S. attorney who was fired after less than an hour as the top government attorney in the Western District of Washington has sued the Trump administration.
- For subscribers: Election officials fear prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket could lead to “insider threats” and further fuel distrust around the midterm elections.
- For subscribers: New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham once told Trump he wasn’t welcome in Manchester. How the two leaders get along now could have far-reaching effects.
Zelenskyy fires commander-in-chief after protests
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired his military commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, days after his firing of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov led to rare wartime protests on the streets of Kyiv. Fedorov’s firing last week came after public disagreements with Syrskyi, known as “The Butcher,” over military strategy. Zelenskyy did not give a reason for firing Fedorov, one of his closest allies, but said he was effectively left with a choice between the two men.
After spending the weekend speaking to other top commanders, Zelenskyy is now removing Syrskyi and replacing him with Mykhailo Drapatyi. It remains unclear whether Fedorov will remain in the government, though Zelenskyy met with him yesterday and offered a government position aimed at unifying the country’s technology sector.
Why protesters were furious after Fedorov’s firing.
Syrskyi said today that Ukraine had recaptured 270 sq miles of its territory this year, as he confirmed he was leaving the top military job.
RFK Jr. says cyclosporiasis outbreak is ‘under control’
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened more than 6,500 people in Michigan alone was “under control,” even as health authorities continue the search for answers.
The FDA has linked the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce from a Taylor Farms facility in central Mexico. But Mexico’s health secretary, David Kershenobich, said that the country’s own investigation had not found evidence that the outbreak originated there. Kennedy, however, claims that officials have “identified the source of the outbreak” after performing “extensive forensics.”
The health secretary also responded to concerns that federal agencies were not conducting enough cyclospora surveillance.
Staff Pick: Idaho pushed anti-trans laws for years. Then a teen died.
After May Pollard died on a late-January morning, a detective asked her parents a question: Had anyone wanted to hurt her? “A lot of America,” her mother, Elyse Thorpe, answered.
Elyse’s emotional response came from the years of pain she had watched May endure since she came out as a transgender girl. She avoided eating or drinking at school for fear that she would need to go to the bathroom — and she panicked when she had to use the one for boys. She talked of hurting herself if she couldn’t start taking estrogen. She hated how state laws highlighted the only way she was different when she longed to fit in.
It was more than any kid should have to go through, and, at 16, May died by suicide.
Suicide is complex. It stems from a combination of causes, such as mental health conditions, and cannot be attributed to any one factor. But May’s life and death provide a glimpse into the tremendous and tragic effect that anti-trans laws and political rhetoric have had on trans people across America — especially kids. — Jo Yurcaba, national reporter
Read All About It
- Communities on the U.S. Gulf Coast distributed sandbags and closed beaches as Tropical Storm Bertha threatened to bring flooding and strong winds today, from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana.
- For subscribers: One of the two men accused of zip-tying and holding hostage two national forest employees in California had a violent criminal charge dismissed because of overcrowding at mental health facilities, a prosecutor said.
- France has become the first country in the European Union to pass a social media ban for children under 15.
- Kaylee Hottle, a deaf child actor who starred in the “Godzilla vs. Kong” franchise, was killed in a car accident in Maryland. She was 18.
- Nearly 63 million Americans tuned in to watch Spain beat Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, shattering viewership records and underscoring soccer’s growing appeal in the U.S. after decades of efforts to broaden its audience.
NBC Selected: Online Shopping, Simplified
Lululemon’s summer sale may have wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean the savings are over. There are a number of items still discounted right now. Speaking of sales, the popular Lands’ End tote bag is 40% off for a limited time.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
