NPR is reporting that El Niño has formed amid warmer-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific, which could lead to a range of impacts across the United States.
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to travel to Switzerland this Friday to sign a tentative deal aimed at ending the war with Iran. The specifics of this agreement remain unclear. President Donald J Trump announced that the ceasefire would be extended and the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on Friday, allowing merchant ships to sail unimpeded through the major waterway. However, questions persist regarding how quickly commercial vessels can resume their journeys and whether Iran will permit free passage. Industry analysts indicate that approximately 1,500 ships are currently stranded inside the Persian Gulf, awaiting clearance to depart.
NPR's Aya Batrawy tells Up First that President Trump and every country in the region, with the exception of Israel, are seeking to end the war with Iran due to its economic damage. Iran insists that any ceasefire agreement must address Israel's conflict against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran states that the first clause of the deal, set for signing on Friday, mandates a halt to attacks on Lebanon, which has not yet occurred. The conflict between Israel and Lebanon has created a significant rift between Israel and the U.S., with President Trump admitting to cursing at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during phone calls. Batrawy said Netanyahu faces elections this year and needs to demonstrate that Israel's policies are not dictated by the White House. President Trump has spent much of his time at the G7 summit in France discussing his tentative agreement with Iran and is scheduled to hold a press conference today before returning to Washington.
New Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is set to hold his first news conference this afternoon. President Trump selected Warsh to lead the central bank with the expectation that he would advocate for lower interest rates. In May, the cost of living increased by 4.2% from a year ago, marking the largest annual rise since 2023. This surge is primarily attributed to rising energy prices linked to the U.S. war with Iran. The Fed is unlikely to lower interest rates until inflation moderates.
President Trump experienced a rare defeat in primary endorsements yesterday as Georgia Republicans chose billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson as the party's nominee for governor. Jackson defeated GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and will challenge Democratic former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in November. Rep. Mike Collins, President Trump's preferred candidate to challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, won his two-candidate runoff, according to the Associated Press. The Collins-Ossoff matchup is expected to be nationally watched as both major political parties compete for control of the Senate. Other primaries were held yesterday in Alabama, Oklahoma and the District of Columbia.
For the first time in nearly three decades, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new chemical UV filter, bemotrizinol, for sunscreens sold in the U.S. Dr. Heather Rogers, a dermatologist and fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, said bemotrizinol offers protection against both UVA and UVB rays and is photostable, meaning it breaks down more slowly and provides better overall protection compared to avobenzone, a common U.S. ingredient that lacks photostability. Bemotrizinol has been widely used in European and Asian sunscreens for decades. The FDA's approval process in the U.S. is longer because it regulates sunscreens as over-the-counter drugs, requiring rigorous testing for safety and effectiveness. Alexa Friedman, a senior scientist at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, said animal testing indicated no concerns of reproductive harm, and human clinical trials found no skin irritation even after repeated applications.