Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut down by Iran for about two months now,
“but now the U.S. is making a new effort to reopen the waterway to commercial shipping”
despite some attacks on U.S. vessels as NPR's Tom Bowman reports it's unclear whether the effort can reassure shippers. So far, just two U.S. flagships have crossed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. I reached out to a couple of industry groups and they had the same response. It's just too dangerous, they believe.
And until they have a confident Iran will not shoot at the ships, or if there's a solid piece of agreement with the U.S., they doubt you'll see many or any cargo ships moving. There was some 1,500 ships stuck in the Persian Gulf and get this 1,000 of them are large ocean-going ships, such as oil tankers and Piers Tom Bowman reporting. The White House says deals with drug makers requiring many of their prescription prices
to drop could save 529 billion dollars over the next decade.
Democrats have said they want more details about the agreements made between drug makers and the government.
“Trump says his prescription drug pricing plan is critical for Republicans in November mid-term”
elections, which will decide majorities in the House and Senate. Similar to the leaders of Indiana, Georgia and Michigan, Kentucky's governor, is taking emergency measures to lower gas prices in the Commonwealth, Karen Zarr, with member station WUKY reports. Governor Andy Beshear's signed emergency measures that will freeze Kentucky sales tax on
gasoline, starting in July, and declared a state of emergency that would lower prices by 10 cents a gallon beginning next week. If it's approved by the State's Attorney General, Beshear said he doesn't see negotiations to end the war with Iran moving forward, and it's time to quote "be proactive." You don't see a path towards the straight opening up, the war ending, and gas prices going
down, then you have to act. Beshear has also urged members of Congress to suspend the federal gas tax. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr, in Lexington.
“It's getting more expensive to use residential air conditioners in the summer, NPR's Rebecca”
Herscher reports the cost of cooling and average house is risen by more than a third since
2020. The cost of cooling your house is rising because electricity prices are going up. That's because of a combination of higher fuel costs, increased electricity demand from AI data centers, and inflation. A new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association warns the cost
of cooling and average home in the United States will be about 8% higher this summer compared to last summer. The high cooling costs come as millions of people in the US are already struggling to afford basic food and transportation, with high gas prices and grocery prices straining family budgets, Rebecca Herscher and PR News.
The US stock market rose to new records today after oil prices eased, you were listening to NPR News from Washington. Ukraine says recent Russian strikes killed at least 22 people in wounded more than 80 others. President Vladimir Zelensky criticized Moscow for launching the attacks after Russia announced a temporary ceasefire for later this week.
Russia warned a retaliation if Kiev disrupts this week's victory day festivities marketing the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. A new study finds warning labels on alcohol listing the risks of diseases like cancer would encourage people to drink less and PR's Maria Gidoi has more. The current alcohol warning label has been in place since 1988.
It states that drinking poses risks during pregnancy or while driving, along with a notice that alcohol quote may cause health harms, but research shows people tend to tune out these warnings. In a new study, researchers tested eight revised labels that included disease advisory language, with more than 1,000 US adults who had at least one drink a week.
Study co-author Anna Grumman of Stanford says participants ranked all of the new warnings more effective than the current one. And the warnings that especially resonated with consumers tended to be about cancer, some most vulnerable weren't aware of the alcohol contributes to cancer. Studies show a link to at least seven types of cancer.
The more people drink, the higher the risk, Maria Gidoi, and PR News. Drivers in the self-proclaimed pizza capital of the United States will soon be able to get pizza state license plates, according to Connecticut Insider, the DMV will issue the plates that bears the image of a pepperoni pizza slice. Connecticut officially staked its claim as the pizza capital of the US on its highway welcome
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