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Today's top stories
U.S. forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump said in a post on social media. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the Iranian ship refused to comply with U.S. warnings over the course of six hours before the U.S. fired on the ship and boarded it. Trump said U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel. The incident is the latest escalation as the ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran nears its end this week.
- 🎧 Even before the U.S. took custody of the ship, Trump and Iranian officials had been trading accusations of ceasefire violations, NPR's Tamara Keith tells Up First. Trump wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened to stabilize oil markets. He has also set a red line for Iran's nuclear program. The average price of gas is hovering at near $4 a gallon for regular. Keith spoke with a Trump supporter who has stopped using his pickup truck and started fasting to cut costs. He told Keith he still trusts that Trump will turn things around. But Keith says that at some point, people could run out of patience.
- 🎧 Trump says he is sending a team of negotiators to Pakistan today for in-person talks to end the war. But Vice President Vance has not left yet. Iran has never confirmed that talks would take place, NPR's Jane Arraf says. This morning, Iran's state news agency quoted a senior official, who said that Iran had "no plans" for the next round of negotiations. At the same time, Iran this morning said it was examining new U.S. proposals received in "recent days." The U.S. has not revealed what those proposals are, and Iran did not elaborate.
- ➡️ What is it like to negotiate with Iran? NPR spoke with people who have done it before.
Two months after the Supreme Court ruled that most of Trump's tariffs were unconstitutional, the federal government has launched an online portal for business owners to request refunds. It is set to go live this morning. U.S. Customs has estimated it owes $166 billion in tariff refunds. The agency is launching only the first phase of payouts, so not all goods imported under the illegal tariffs will qualify immediately. Federal guidance says that after refund requests are approved, it could take 60 to 90 days for importers to get their money.
- 🎧 NPR's Scott Horsley says the refund process could be a scramble, as 330,000 businesses were wrongly forced to pay these tariffs. The process is supposed to be pretty straightforward and similar to what happens if someone accidentally overpays a tariff. But Customs has never tried to pay this many refunds all at once, Horsley says.
A gunman killed eight children and wounded two women in northwest Louisiana, according to the Shreveport Police Department. The incident stemmed from a domestic disturbance. The adult male suspect is dead, according to authorities. He was believed to be the father of seven of the children killed. One of the women shot was his wife and the mother of seven of the children, police say.
Living better
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Zepbound are intended for lifelong use to treat chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity. But many people who start them end up quitting, either because obesity treatment is framed as a limited-duration intervention or because of the cost, loss of insurance or side effects. Some plan to restart the medication later. Research has yet to reveal the health effects of cycling on and off these drugs.
- 💉Consumer behavior for GLP-1s is moving faster than research on the effects of their use in different situations. Limited research exists on the health effects of periodic use. But other studies show that weight regain after stopping GLP-1s is faster than with behavior-focused diets.
- 💉 Experts warn that temporary use of these drugs can undermine health by reducing lean muscle mass each time treatment is resumed.
- 💉While muscle loss is standard with any diet or weight-loss regimen, GLP-1s can cause more dramatic muscle loss, resulting in a bonier, looser-skinned look, says Mahmoud Salama Ahmed, a medical chemist at Texas Tech University.
- 💉 When people stop taking the drugs, they quickly regain fat. Meanwhile, Ahmed says it is unclear how — or how much — the muscle they lost will eventually return.
Picture show
On a searing hot day in Mattiyarenthal, a village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, women farmers toil over chile pepper plants as their sharp, pungent scent fills the air. Women carry out more than 70% of agricultural activities in the region. The women farmers say that the demanding nature of the work in the chile pepper fields discourages men. But for the women, the chile plant is a godsend. The few months of hard labor can earn enough extra income to keep their homes running for the rest of the year. See photos of these overlooked women farmers.
3 things to know before you go
- Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object ever built, is running out of power. NASA announced it has shut down one of the spacecraft's remaining scientific instruments to prolong its life.
- Communities in the Midwest are cleaning up after tornadoes and severe storms tracked through parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri on Friday.
- When Jay was 22 years old, a poor decision landed him in the county detention center. Sitting alone in his cell, he began to lose hope until an unsung hero in the cell next door asked to pray for him. The interaction happened nearly a decade ago, but Jay says he still thinks about that pivotal moment in his life.
This newsletter was edited by Treye Green
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