Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
The U.S. conducted another round of strikes on Iran, military officials saying the strikes
“were designed to degrade Iran's ability to target commercial ships.”
Meanwhile, President Trump says any damage done to ships in the Iran war will be paid for with Iranian assets of the U.S. as frozen. And earlier, Yemen's Iran backed who the rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The escalations have sent oil prices surging, and Piersolina Seljuk has more on the ripple effects.
Today, we saw airline stocks really have a rough trading day because the surge in oil prices suggests the surge in jet fuel. Another piece of news today came from the mortgage market, which is also interestingly connected to all this. It's kind of a reflection of how the price of oil goes into the cost of shipping all kinds
of things. And so there's a concern about inflation, how the government would respond with interest rates, already fuel prices are driving up the yield on the 10-year treasury bond, and this is the part of the matters. That has been boosting mortgage rates.
“The average rate for a 30-year mortgage hit, 6.58 percent this week, the highest in nearly”
a year. And Piersolina Seljuk reporting. Tennessee's new congressional map will stay in place for the midterm elections.
A second federal judge denied a request to reverse the state's mid-decade redistricting
plan before next month's primaries. Ariana Bakiyao of member station WPLN reports a legal challenge to the map is still ongoing. A lawsuit challenging the new map is still underway. The ACLU and WACP and other voting rights groups contend that splitting Memphis into
three districts dilutes the majority black city's voting power. Republican lawmakers re-drew the state's congressional map in May, heating a call from President Trump to create more GOP-friendly districts ahead of the midterm elections. Tennessee Republicans say the change was about politics, not race. Trump has endorsed a state senator in the GOP race to flip Memphis's former congressional
district red.
“For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bakiyao in Nashville.”
A group of Russian hackers is getting more advanced when it comes to spying on sensitive emails about national security in the U.S. Ukraine and Europe. And Piersolina McLaughlin reports digital espionage remains a major part of the war in Ukraine. Security firm proof point teamed up with the U.S. government to reveal new details about
a group of Russian hackers referred to as "laundry bear." According to a new advisory, the group has been spying on government and defense-related targets in the West since at least last summer, simply by getting their victims to open or preview a malicious email. The hackers took advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability in software used by email
providers, Zimbra. The flaw has been fixed, but without installing updates, users are still at risk. A major concern during the ongoing war in Ukraine. Gentlemen, Glawlin and Piers News. Sharp drops for Google parent company Alphabet and Tesla led to the worst U.S. stock market
close in a month. This is NPR. More than two dozen states are suing the Trump administration after it required them to transmit lists of registered voters to the Department of Homeland Security and help with immigration enforcement in order to get disaster aid.
The states argue putting conditions on congressional approved funding for national disasters and emergencies violates the Constitution. Among the millions who saw the Odyssey this week were many high school English teachers. The summer blockbuster about Odysseus's 20-year journey home made them eager to get back to the classroom and Piers Sequoia Corrillo reports.
Casey Crowe, hers, has taught high school English for the past 16 years. And getting his students at Monticello High School in Eastern Illinois to care about a story
written thousands of years ago has always been a challenge.
Even though the Odyssey is a favorite of English teachers, it takes a bit of convincing to sway some students. Many teachers use clips from past adaptations, like the 1997 Hallmark Mini Series, a great teaching tool. But one that crowd her students find, quote, silly.
So after he saw the Odyssey, he posted his gratitude for the film's director on TikTok. "I just saw the Odyssey and I want to say it on behalf of all English teachers, thank you, Christopher Nolan, thank you." A welcome update for a long beloved epic, Sequoia Corrillo, and Piers News. More than 2,000 volunteers are helping Polish scientists restore a Macedon Sora skeleton.
The massive aquatic predator was unearthed in southern Poland in 2023. Volunteers from across the country have joined the restoration effort, learning to carefully chisel away rock from the bones. This is NPR News. The last time Antonio May's senior heard from his son, it was in a note, the 16-year-old
left and the family's garage. "He told me you've no make me cry." Antonio Junior left home to join a protest in Seattle. A week later, he was shot and killed there. "I need some a ref made, just as for my son."
