Good morning. This is the Up First newsletter — sign up to get it in your inbox and listen to the podcast for a quick news start.
Top stories
The Pentagon says the U.S. military campaign tied to Iran has already cost about $25 billion, Pentagon Comptroller Jay Hurst told the House Armed Services Committee. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, testifying alongside Hurst, called the operation a major success and pushed back on critics, accusing some Democrats of a “defeatist” view. He offered no timetable for an end to the campaign during often combative questioning.
There are no signs either the U.S. or Iran will back down from their blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, NPR’s Greg Myre told Up First. Traffic through the crucial shipping lane remains halted as both sides pursue measures aimed at inflicting economic pain and expecting the other to relent. Retired Navy Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan said the U.S. could sustain a blockade indefinitely; Iran is relying on mines at sea and shore-based drones and missiles to maintain its own. Donegan noted mine-clearing is possible but would require time and effort, and weakening Iran’s land-based capabilities would be harder. Diplomacy would be the surest way to reopen the strait, but talks remain stalled.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, tossing out a plan that created a second majority-Black district. The 6-3 decision split along ideological lines and narrows how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is applied. The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, said proving discriminatory intent should be required rather than only showing disparate impact — a standard critics say makes it far harder to challenge racially biased maps. Legal experts warn the ruling could reduce minority representation at multiple levels of government.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he will remain on the Fed’s board after his chairmanship ends next month, using the option to stay through early 2028. He said he plans to keep a low profile and not vie with President Trump’s nominee, Kevin Warsh, for leadership. Powell framed the move as a way to help protect the Fed’s independence amid intense political pressure: the president has threatened to remove Fed officials, and the Justice Department has opened a criminal probe involving the Fed.
The conflict’s effect on energy prices has nearly doubled U.S. jet fuel costs, pushing up the bill for government wildfire-fighting aircraft this summer. Last year the roughly 500 planes and helicopters used for large wildfires consumed about $50 million in jet fuel; officials warn a similar season now could push that cost toward $100 million, with taxpayers covering tens of millions more.
Deep dive: The homework debate
More schools are moving away from traditional homework, a shift supported by some teachers and parents who say students shouldn’t spend extra hours on schoolwork at home. Research on homework is mixed. A 2021 longitudinal study of more than 6,000 students in Germany, Uruguay and the Netherlands found lower-performing students who increased time on math homework made gains that lasted into the following year. By contrast, a 1998 U.S. study of more than 700 students found extra elementary-school homework had little effect on standardized test scores.
What to know:
– Learning academic subjects — especially math — requires practice, and some experts worry cutting homework could hurt achievement where scores are already low.
– Artificial intelligence is changing the equation: an EdWeek Research Center survey found 40% of teachers reduced assignments in the past two years, and 29% of those teachers said student use of AI made some tasks less valuable.
– Many education groups still recommend a rule of thumb of about 10 minutes of homework per grade level per night, but it’s hard to set assignments that take each student the same amount of time.
Picture show
Author Bruce Handy’s son Isaac once lost an orange balloon and promised to name a future pet “Balloon.” He kept the promise when the family later adopted kittens, and Handy turned the incident into a children’s book about loyalty and small griefs. Illustrator Julie Kwon used pen and ink plus a distinct orange wash to show how the boy’s world shifts after he loses his treasured balloon.
3 things to know before you go
1. Scientists used layers in baby teeth to identify a critical window when infant brains are most vulnerable to toxic metals, a study in Science Advances reports; those exposures have been linked to later behavior problems.
2. Millions of viewers watch more than 50 bald eagle nest cameras across the United States.
3. NPR’s Emily Feng reports from Homs, Syria, where returning residents are tending olive trees that offer a long-missed taste of home after nearly 14 years of war.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.