U.S-Iran peace talks; tariff refunds; Louisiana shooting : NPR
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Today’s best stories
US forces seize Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, » President Trump said in a social media post. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the Iranian ship refused to comply with US warnings for six hours before the US fired on and boarded the ship. Trump said U.S. Marines had custody of the ship. The incident marks the latest escalation as the ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran comes to an end this week.
The sun rises Saturday behind an oil tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the island of Qeshm, Iran.
Asghar Becharati/AP
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Asghar Becharati/AP
- 🎧 Even before the United States took custody of the ship, Trump and Iranian officials were trading accusations of ceasefire violations, NPR’s Tamara Keith said. First. Trump wants the Strait of Hormuz to reopen to stabilize oil markets. He also set a red line for Iran’s nuclear program. The average gas price hovers around $4 per gallon for regular gasoline. Keith spoke with a Trump supporter who stopped using his van and started fasting to cut costs. He told Keith he was still convinced Trump would change the situation. But Keith says at some point people might lose 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 isn’t gone yet. Iran never confirmed that talks would take place, NPR’s Jane Arraf said. This morning, Iran’s official news agency quoted a senior official as saying Iran had “no plans” for the next round of negotiations. At the same time, Iran said this morning that it was examining new American proposals received in “recent days.” The United States has not revealed what these proposals are, and Iran has not provided details.
- ➡️ How are the negotiations going with Iran? NPR spoke with people who have already done it.
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 scheduled to go live this morning. U.S. Customs estimated it owed $166 billion in tariff refunds. The agency is only launching the first phase of payments, so not all goods imported under illegal tariffs will be immediately eligible. Federal guidelines indicate that once refund requests are approved, importers could take between 60 and 90 days to get their money back.
- 🎧 NPR’s Scott Horsley says the refund process could be complicatedsince 330,000 businesses were wrongly forced to pay these rates. The process is supposed to be fairly simple and similar to what happens if someone accidentally pays too high a fare. But Customs has never tried to pay so many refunds at once, Horsley says.
A gunman killed eight children and injured two women in northwest Louisiana, according to the Shreveport Police Department. The incident stemmed from a domestic dispute. The adult suspect is dead, authorities said. He is 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 said.
Live better
Wegovy and Zepbound are GLP-1 weight loss treatments. Medications made by compounding pharmacies are also available and popular.
JoNel Aleccia/AP
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JoNel Aleccia/AP
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound are intended for lifelong use to treat chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity. But many people who start them eventually give up, either because obesity treatment is designed as a time-limited intervention or because of cost, loss of insurance or side effects. Some plan to resume treatment later. Research has not yet revealed the health effects of using and stopping these medications.
- 💉Consumer behavior regarding GLP-1 is evolving faster than research into the effects of their use in different situations. There is little research on the health effects of periodic use. But other studies show that weight regain after stopping GLP-1 is faster than with a behavioral diet.
- 💉 Experts warn that temporary use of these drugs can harm health by reducing lean muscle mass each time treatment is resumed.
- 💉While muscle loss is standard in any diet or weight loss program, GLP-1 can cause greater muscle loss, leading to a bonier, looser appearance, says Mahmoud Salama Ahmed, a medical chemist at Texas Tech University.
- 💉 When people stop taking the medications, they quickly regain fat. Meanwhile, Ahmed says it’s unclear how — or to what extent — the muscle they lost will eventually come back.
Image exhibition
Rajeshwari, 44, notes the chilies she has picked from the fields. Its sharp eyes spot the pale white pods of the red sea. “We sort and classify these peppers by hand,” she explains. “The ones with a rich red color are the best, but even if the paler ones are of lower quality, we can still sell them at the market.”
Viraj Nayar for NPR
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Viraj Nayar for NPR
On a scorching day in Mattiyarenthal, a village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, women farmers work hard on chili plants, their pungent, pungent scent filling the air. Women carry out more than 70% of agricultural activities in the region. Women farmers say the demanding nature of work in the chili fields discourages men. But for women, the Chilean plant is a godsend. The few months of hard work can earn them enough extra income to keep their home running for the rest of the year. Check out photos of these neglected women farmers.
3 things to know before you leave
An illustration provided by NASA depicts Voyager 1, the spacecraft farthest from Earth.
AP/NASA
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AP/NASA
- Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object ever built, is running out of energy. NASA announced that it had shut down one of the spacecraft’s remaining scientific instruments in order to extend its life.
- Communities across the Midwest are cleaning up after tornadoes and severe storms ripped through parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri on Friday.
- When Jay was 22, a bad decision landed him in the county detention center. Sitting alone in his cell, he began to lose hope until an unsung hero from the next cell asked him to pray for him. The interaction took place nearly a decade ago, but Jay says he still thinks about that pivotal moment in his life.
This newsletter was edited by Treye Green
