NPR is reporting that the U.S. military has completed a second wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, including air defense sites, radar systems and mine-laying capabilities. It said these actions were in response to recent Iranian attempts to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian Guard Corps spokesperson stated that the U.S. strikes resulted in civilian and military casualties, and Iran has retaliated by targeting U.S. assets in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. Travel warnings for Americans in the Middle East have been heightened.
NPR also said that new data from maritime intelligence firm TankerTrackers reveals approximately 4 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily in August, largely undetected by Iran. While this is only a third of pre-war levels, it is significant. Iran is reportedly nearing an agreement with Oman to temporarily reopen the waterway, having developed maps for maritime control and traffic division, though Iran has been silent on the status of these talks recently. President Donald J Trump has indicated he is not in a rush to resume negotiations with Iran, but Iranian officials have called for a return to diplomacy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has acquired enough body cameras to equip all its officers and agents, according to NPR. The agency has faced concerns about transparency and accountability, particularly after more than two dozen shootings during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin expects every field officer to have a body-worn camera by the end of September.
In Massachusetts, Sen. Ed Markey won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, fending off a challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton. The 80-year-old progressive's victory comes as the Democratic party grapples with the age of its elected officials. NPR noted that Markey's incumbent status and progressive politics likely bolstered him in the reliably blue state, despite voters in other states choosing younger, more progressive candidates in recent primaries.
NPR is also reporting that the House voted 370-48 to extend federal spending at current levels until Dec. 11, pushing the funding dispute past the midterm elections. The Senate had previously passed this legislation, and President Trump is expected to sign the funding measure.
Separately, NPR's "Living Better" series highlights a study revealing that many women with recurrent urinary tract infection symptoms may not actually have UTIs. Instead, their symptoms often stem from hormonally driven inflammation and pelvic floor dysfunction, which mimic UTI symptoms but require different treatments. Issues contributing to misdiagnosis include clinicians not always culturing urine, patients not receiving proper "clean catch" instructions for urine samples, and medical professionals often being taught to treat classic UTI symptoms as a UTI unless proven otherwise.
In other news, the trailblazing science fiction author Octavia Butler's novel "Survivor" is now available, nearly half a century after its original release. Butler had previously blocked reprints, feeling the book was not up to par with her other work. Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, 88, has released his debut album of orchestral works, "Life Is a Dream," composed over six decades. Jurors remain deadlocked in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman charged with killing her three children in 2023. Novelist and poet Wendell Berry has died at 92; President Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal in 2012.