AI Summary
5 min readLive from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Pentagon says the cost of the war with Iran so far is $25 billion. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testified today on Capitol Hill. Hegseth was defending the administration's proposed $1.45 trillion defense budget with a focus on rebuilding U.S. military industry. But it's the first time he's appeared under oath since the Iran War started. And Democrat Adam Smith asked why President Trump ordered the attack after claiming to have destroyed Iran's nuclear weapons program last year. "We had to start this war, you just said, 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was coming to the same thing." Hegseth has said the biggest adversaries are Democrats and some Republicans who are criticizing the war. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
The Federal Reserve has voted to hold interest rates steady as the war with Iran continues to drive up energy prices. The rate-setting meeting was likely the last one that Jerome Powell will preside over as Fed chairman. This morning, the Senate Banking Committee endorsed President Trump's nominee Kevin Warsh to take over as head of the central bank when Powell's term expires next month.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:04) **Pentagon Puts Iran War Cost at $25 Billion** - Secretary of Defense Pete Heggseth testifies before Congress, defending a $1.45 trillion defense budget and facing questions about the cost and justification of the war.
- 2 (01:05) **Fed Holds Rates Steady; Powell Successor Endorsed** - The Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged as the Iran War drives up energy prices, while the Senate Banking Committee advances President Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell.
- 3 (01:28) **James Comey in Court Over Social Media Post** - Former FBI Director James Comey makes a brief court appearance as the DOJ scrutinizes a post featuring seashells arranged in numbers that prosecutors allege were a coded call for violence against President Trump.
- 4 (02:03) **London Stabbings Investigated as Terrorism** - British authorities are treating a stabbing attack in London as an act of terrorism after two Jewish men were assaulted on Golders Green Road.
- 5 (03:01) **King Charles III Visits 9/11 Memorial in New York** - The British monarch and Queen Camilla begin their U.S. state visit by paying respects at the National September 11 Memorial, accompanied by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
- 6 (03:20) **Pam Bondi to Testify on Epstein Case Handling** - Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on May 29 regarding the Justice Department’s handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- 7 (03:41) **International Climate Conference Focuses on Fossil Fuel Transition** - Officials from 55 countries gather in Colombia for a conference dedicated to moving away from fossil fuels, an effort given new urgency by the energy crisis from the war in Iran.
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