Here are the top stories you need to know this morning.
Pentagon updates Iran war costs
The Pentagon now estimates the cost of the U.S. military actions tied to the war with Iran at roughly $29 billion, up from about $25 billion reported two weeks earlier. That total does not include repairs to U.S. facilities hit by Iranian strikes; a senior defense adviser told reporters those repairs could add at least another $4 billion. Defense leaders signaled they will seek supplemental funding from Congress to cover ongoing operations and related expenses. Lawmakers and some Republicans have expressed frustration with the White House over the flow of information about the campaign, and officials say the conflict is creating political and economic headwinds ahead of the fall elections.
FDA commissioner resigns
Dr. Marty Makary resigned as head of the Food and Drug Administration after 13 months on the job. His tenure was marked by controversy and resistance from some corners of the public-health community and from parts of the administration. The White House named Kyle Diamantas, the deputy commissioner for food, as acting commissioner. Officials familiar with internal deliberations say pressure from the White House to approve flavored vaping products was a key factor in Makary’s departure. Diamantas is a lawyer rather than a physician, and the administration may face delays confirming a permanent commissioner.
Students show math gains, reading still lagging
A new Education Scorecard from scholars at Stanford and Harvard finds that the pandemic’s big drops in reading and math were part of a longer “learning recession” that predated COVID-19. The report’s encouraging finding: most states are finally posting gains in math. Reading progress is more limited; the states that have improved reading scores tended to have recently changed laws or policies about how reading is taught in schools. Overall recovery remains uneven and incomplete.
Concerns about public corruption enforcement
Legal experts warn that a series of pardons by President Trump—at least 15 in the last year that involved former elected officials and known co-conspirators—along with moves to weaken the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, are eroding enforcement against public corruption. The Public Integrity Section, created after Watergate to handle election and corruption cases, has been pared back, and scholars say the combined actions risk signaling that corruption will not be treated as seriously as before.
Deep dive: a split between the administration and MAHA supporters
A growing rift has emerged between the Trump administration and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement over pesticide policy. The administration argues glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup) is vital to U.S. agriculture and issued an executive order to support its use; MAHA activists and many health-minded voters view the herbicide as harmful. That disagreement could pull some MAHA-aligned voters away from the Republican coalition. Farmers already face higher costs for machinery, fuel and fertilizer—pressures made worse by the war in Iran and trade policy—and shifting away from glyphosate would be expensive for many small and midsize operations. Observers also note MAHA’s priorities—reducing ultra-processed foods and pesticide use—often require actions by agencies like the EPA and USDA, where policy and politics complicate rapid change.
Picture show: standardizing cacao quality
A program called Cacao of Excellence, launched in 2009, has developed standardized methods to evaluate cacao beans, similar to systems used for wine and coffee. Chocolate scientists and graders now use a shared process to assess fermentation, aroma and defects, helping buyers and sellers compare quality and potentially allowing farmers to earn higher prices for premium beans. Photographs from a lab in Perugia show the sensory and visual tests used in the certification process.
Three quick items
• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is returning to television with a family reality show, The Great American Road Trip, set to debut ahead of the country’s 250th birthday.
• A new JAMA Network Open study estimates about 32 million U.S. children live in homes with firearms; nearly 7 million of those children live in households with at least one unlocked, loaded gun.
• Domestic air travel has rebounded overall, but very short flights of a few hundred miles have declined, according to aviation data.
This summary was prepared from public reporting and recent briefings to provide a concise update on major developments.