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Chapter 1: What recent military actions have occurred involving Iran and the U.S.?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. U.S. officials say Iran opened fire on American warships and commercial vessels today. It comes after the U.S. military said it was supporting efforts to open up the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump continued to defend the war as necessary.
Can't let them have a nuclear weapon or you're going to have problems like nobody would believe. And it's going very well.
U.S. officials say the military helped two American-flagged merchant vessels transit the strait. The national average for a gallon of regular gas is now above $4.45. In California, it's $6.11. That's up nearly 35 cents in just one week. Meanwhile, the oil cartel OPEC announced a boost in production, but as NPR's Camilla Dominovsky reports, that won't provide any near-term relief.
OPEC and its allies have lost some of their leverage over markets now that United Arab Emirates has left the group. But the bigger problem is that key members rely on the Strait of Hormuz to export crude. So whatever OPEC announces, the biggest question remains, how many ships are getting through that key waterway? And the answer to that is not many between Iranian tolls and the U.S. blockade.
In the U.S., gasoline prices had been easing since the ceasefire announcement, but between the global oil supply crisis and U.S. refinery outages, prices are rising aggressively again. Camila Dominovsky, NPR News.
In roughly half of all U.S. states, candidates who have denied election results in the past are now running for positions that will have a direct role in the certification of future elections. NPR's Miles Parks has more.
A few years ago, most people didn't know and frankly, probably didn't care who their state secretary of state was. But 2020 changed that. Republican Brad Raffensperger in Georgia declined President Trump's request to find votes. In Michigan, Democrat Jocelyn Benson had armed protesters visit her home.
Those two states are now among the dozens this year that are electing new secretaries of state and governors. And a new analysis from the nonprofit States United Action finds that many of those races will feature candidates who have denied election results in the past.
In 23 states, including five presidential swing states, candidates who have denied election results are running for offices that will have a direct role in certifying future elections. Miles Parks, NPR News, Washington.
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Chapter 2: How are rising gasoline prices affecting the U.S. economy?
Two children were killed and more than a dozen others were injured as a shooter opened fire during the school's first mass of the academic year. The shooter later was found dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot. Tiny pieces of plastic in the atmosphere may be contributing to global warming, according to a new study.
NPR's Rebecca Hershel reports, when plastic particles get small enough, they can become airborne.
Most microplastics and nanoplastics are smaller than a single bacteria cell. They come from plastic garbage and are all different colors as a result. A new study conducted by scientists in the US, China, and Italy looked at plastic bits that are dark in color. Darker colors absorb more heat.
They found that dark-colored plastic particles in the atmosphere may be contributing to global warming by trapping extra heat from the sun. However, the warming effect from plastics appears to be relatively small compared to other heat-absorbing particles like soot. The study was published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.
Amsterdam has banned advertisements for both meat and fossil fuel products. Ads for burgers, cars, and airlines have been stripped from billboards, bus stops, and train stations. Politicians say the move's about bringing Amsterdam's streetscape into line with the local government's own environmental targets.
Amsterdam's trying to become carbon neutral by 2050 and to cut meat consumption in half over the same period. This is NPR News.
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