AP The Morning Wire

"Hegseth estimates Iran War has cost $37.5 billion."

Views expressed in this geopolitical news and analysis are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 22 July 2026, 1309 UTC.

Content and Source:  "AP The Morning Wire."

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQhVWzcXFJFZgdvGXlNtvDzgRxF

https://apnews.com.

Please check email link, URL, or scroll down to read your selections.  Thanks for joining us today.

Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com).

View in Browser

News without an agenda. AP is a not-for-profit organization with no corporate parent, no shareholders and no government influence. Our mission is journalism, not profit margins. Your donation supports independent reporting that serves the public interest, not corporate shareholders. Donate today.

By Nadja Lovadinov July 22, 2026

Hello and thanks to those who wrote to wish me a nice vacation. Croatia was gorgeous and I’m happy to be back. In today’s news: Hegseth is grilled on Capitol Hill over Iran war funding; the Trump administration is deferring more than $1 billion in Medicaid money for California and Minnesota; and ChatGPT maker OpenAI says its system hacked another AI company on its own. Also, a look at how the bagel crossed continents to become an iconic American food. Finally, Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to bring flooding and strong winds to the Gulf Coast. If you live nearby, use our hurricane tracker to stay updated. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Tuesday, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) WORLD NEWS Hegseth estimates Iran war has cost $37.5 billion Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, while facing fiery questions at a Senate hearing Tuesday. Read more.

Why this matters: Hegseth and other officials appeared as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities including farm aid and voting law changes. Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money.  The hearing came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the U.S. death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US and Iran attacks rage as officials question whether diplomacy can stop march toward war resuming Trump will attend the dignified transfer of 4 US service members killed in the Middle East What to know about Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, home to underground nuclear site threatened by Trump Trump approves nuclear agreement that may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, 2 AP sources say NYC can’t arrest Netanyahu but the federal government should, Mamdani says POLITICS Trump administration says it’s deferring $1B in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new actions — which come after previously announced Medicaid funding deferrals in those states — are part of the administration's strategy to “stop the fraud before it happens.” Read more.

Why this matters: It’s the latest in a series of punitive steps the Trump administration has linked to allegations of fraud in mostly Democratic-led states. The tactic is part of the administration’s sweeping campaign to show it’s cracking down and saving taxpayers money when rising healthcare costs and other economic stressors have made affordability a top voter concern in November’s midterm elections. But the federal government hasn't provided “data or explanation on how the deferral amount was calculated or what it was based on” to Minnesota, said John Connolly, the temporary commissioner and state Medicaid director for Minnesota’s Department of Human Services. California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Andy Biggs wins Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Katie Hobbs for Arizona governor Have progressives peaked? The next few weeks will be crucial in Democrats’ tug-of-war House passes temporary government funding bill months early to avoid election season shutdown 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote after error in New Jersey motor vehicle system, governor says Appeals court upholds White House adviser Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress convictions The Gates Foundation met with Epstein about 30 times despite staff concerns, an external review says Appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to block release of recordings of ghostwriter interviews BUSINESS OpenAI says its AI technology acted on its own in an ‘unprecedented’ hack of another company AI startup Hugging Face said last week that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent autonomously acting on its own. Read more.

Why this matters: The disclosure comes amid heightened concerns about the cybersecurity capabilities of powerful models. In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.  Hugging Face co-founder Clément Delangue said he spent the past 24 hours working with OpenAI, “and we strongly believe there was no malicious intent on their part. It’s quite mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously!" Delangue added that it “might be the first incident of its kind.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Judge approves a $1.5B Anthropic settlement over pirated books used to train the Claude chatbot  ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Canada-US: Joint bridge-opening event cancelled after Trump announces tariffs Ukraine: New commander-in-chief forged his reputation fighting Russia in 2014 Ohio: 2 married couples from Honduras were among 5 adults who drowned in river Kaylee Hottle: Deaf ‘Godzilla’ actor killed in car crash at 18 ESPN: Layoffs tied to NFL Network acquisition begin 1 in 15 million pregnancy: Woman gives birth to identical quadruplet girls Today in History: In 1999, the ill-fated Woodstock music festival began WATCH Car on fire: Texas officer rescues man 240 million-year-old Mastodonsaurus: See how its skeleton is cleaned A CHANGE OF PACE A poppy seed bagel. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) An immigrant story with a hole in the middle Poppy seed, plain or everything bagel? As part of our “American Objects” series marking 250 years of the U.S., Josh Cornfield tells the story of the humble bagel’s fascinating journey from Eastern Europe to American bakeries and supermarkets. Bagels have passionate fans who argue over the best preparation, as seen in our earlier report on the debate over a law that could change the flour used in New York bagels. I take mine with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Write to me and let me know what your go-to bagel order is.

Let me know here which stories you'd like to see more of in Morning Wire. You can invite a friend to subscribe here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Nadja

SUPPORT THE AP. DONATE.

Manage preferences or unsubscribe | Privacy Policy *Advertisers have no control over editorial decisions or content. If you're interested in advertising, contact us here. ADVERTISEMENT