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- [00:05]
Gideon Resnick
Good morning. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals how much has been spent on the Iran war so far and asks Congress for billions more to keep it going. Politico breaks down his day on the Hill.
- [00:16]
Leo Shane
There's just a lot of confusion over how much the war has cost and what the Defense Department is asking for
- [00:22]
Gideon Resnick
as experts search for the source of a dreaded parasite. The Washington Post tells us whether we can eat lettuce. And some good news for heavy coffee drinkers. It's Wednesday, July 22nd. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News today. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced some bipartisan scrutiny yesterday as he sought more money for a war that many lawmakers remain skeptical of. During an appearance on Capitol Hill, Hegseth revealed that the US had spent $37.5 billion on the war up to this point, though critics suggested that was an undercount. For that sum, Hegseth argued Iran had been dramatically weakened.
- [01:08]
Sahil Kapoor
The amount of damage that we've done to them over the course of these series of operations has put them in
- [01:12]
Gideon Resnick
the worst place they've ever been. This was Hegseth's first appearance in a congressional hearing since an interim peace deal collapsed between Iran and the US and it comes as four American service members have been killed in recent days in a war that's ballooning in cost. Hegseth was there to ask for another $67 billion to cover ongoing costs of the conflict. That led some, like Democratic Senator Patty Murray, to wonder whether this could be handled through money already granted to the DOD.
- [01:39]
Senator Patty Murray
Your department received $150 billion last year in the Republicans big beautiful bill. It also received a record 839 billion for fiscal year 2026, more money than you asked for last year combined. That is a trillion dollar budget for the year. And as I already mentioned, your department has yet to spend half of the reconciliation funds. Despite that, you are here today asking for tens of billions of dollars more for things that you've already asked for in your FY27 request or that have nothing to do with Iran. This administration has tried to sell this as an emergency request, but it may be better understood as an attempt to skirt the normal appropriations process.
- [02:24]
Gideon Resnick
Hegseth acknowledged the Pentagon had yet to spend about $75 billion that Congress had authorized for the department last year, but said that it was for other priorities. Leo Shane is a defense reporter at Politico who covered the hearing.
- [02:38]
Leo Shane
We've already heard from Democrats that they have no intention of supporting this war supplemental because it's de facto endorsement of the war. But there was some uncertainty with Republicans, too, over exactly how the money would be spent, where it would go, and whether or not DoD even needs the money.
- [02:54]
Gideon Resnick
One Republican, John Kennedy, expressed a certain level of exasperation in an exchange with Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Kaine.
- [03:02]
Leo Shane
I appreciate your discretion, but we're down to it. We need some hard answers and some straight talk. I think Senator Kennedy was more frustrated that Secretary Hegseth and General Kaine didn't provide a more direct response on how the money would be spent. He very clearly was supportive of giving DoD more money, but wanted them to say, if we don't have this money, these are the poor consequences. They never really got there.
- [03:27]
Gideon Resnick
Republicans hold slim majorities on the appropriations committees in the House and Senate, so it's not clear exactly when Hegseth would get the money he wants.
- [03:36]
Leo Shane
Everything is at a standstill with this committee at the moment, and frankly, without Senator McConnell there as an advocate for moving quicker, it is harder to get anything moved along in terms of getting the defense funding done, either in the supplemental or reconciliation bill or just the whole budget for fiscal 2027, Shane said.
- [03:55]
Gideon Resnick
In all likelihood, additional Iran war funding would probably not pass before Labor Day. America's ongoing support for Israel in the war with Iran and previously Israel's war in Gaza is causing divisions inside the Democratic Party, with a growing faction pushing for a change in policy toward the longtime U.S. ally. It's showing up in votes from members of Congress, it's coloring primary elections, and many Democrats are also speaking much more candidly about the country and its leadership. Last week, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani told the New York Times that his administration is considering arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives for the UN General assembly in September.
- [04:43]
Leo Shane
I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in the Hague. He's a war criminal who has been
- [04:50]
Gideon Resnick
charged by the International Criminal Court. Mamdani has been making that promise since his campaign for mayor. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the prime Minister back in 2024, alleging that he has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel's war in Gaza. Some Democrats have pushed back on Mamdani's comments or questioned the practicality of it, including Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who has threatened to flip parties if his own continues to criticize Israel. He spoke to Fox News on Sunday.
- [05:20]
Leo Shane
Such a tough guy to say that kind of thing. He has no way to do that. Of course. Obviously America's not even part of that corrupt court. And so he's just a clown to even say that.
- [05:33]
Gideon Resnick
Mamdani's comments came on the heels of a vote in which more than 100 House Democrats, nearly half said that they were in favor of cutting off aid to Israel. The symbolic amendment did not pass, but important Democrats backed it. Like the House's number two, Catherine Clark of Massachusetts, and Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, it encapsulated a significant shift in many Democratic lawmakers position on the U. S Israeli alliance. As NBC Sahil Kapoor noted, that shift has been building for years.
- [06:02]
Sahil Kapoor
You have to go back to the Obama era. I think it was 2015, Prime Minister Netanyahu comes to Congress to S.L.a.m. the Obama administration's Iran deal and an extraordinary and unusual rebuke of a US President in the halls of the Capitol. And I would say looking back now, that was probably the first break in the dam. And despite that, you had the Obama and Biden administrations had plenty of disagreements with Netanyahu, but they mostly kept it in House. They decided not to be very public about it, in part because US Public opinion was overwhelmingly favorable toward Israel and to continuing unconditional US Support for Israel. But that has changed a lot.
- [06:49]
Gideon Resnick
But now there could be electoral consequences for some Democrats if they don't take a more critical stance towards US Israeli relations. It's been a central issue in 2026 Democratic primary contests, with progressive candidates in New York, Colorado and elsewhere challenging establishment Democrats over their past and present positions on Israel, winning over big chunks of the primary electorate.
- [07:12]
Sahil Kapoor
Democrats are now facing a lot of pressure from the electorate, especially their own voting base, to stop this unconditional support for Israel. There are quite a few Democrats who simply won't vote for a candidate who they think is enabling the status quo on Israel policy in the Middle east in a Democratic primary. But we are absolutely seeing this emerge as one of the litmus test issues as far as the electorate is concerned,
- [07:40]
Gideon Resnick
and it seems likely that it will continue to dominate going into presidential primaries ahead of 2028. To some extent, candidates are reflecting what's been a shift in broader public sentiment, too. The share of Americans with a favorable view of Israel has plummeted from about 75% in early 2021 to 46% in February, according to a Gallup survey. That drop was seen across party lines, but was especially dramatic among independents and Democrats, and a recent New York Times Siena poll found 74% of Democratic voters oppose additional economic and military aid to Israel. It is a very confusing time to be eating in America as investigators continue to try to pinpoint the source or the multiple sources of a mysterious parasite that's making thousands of people seriously sick. You've likely heard concerns about iceberg lettuce
- [08:38]
Lena Sun
by now, and I know a lot of people have a question like, okay, iceberg lettuce, well, what about other stuff? Is other stuff okay to eat?
- [08:46]
Gideon Resnick
Lena sun writes about public health and infectious disease for the Washington Post. She's been following this multi state outbreak of cyclospiriasis and talking with experts about what you need to know to stay safe. She says a lot of the confusion around the outbreak right now has to do with messaging. The FDA said on Monday it has overwhelming epidemiological data pointing to produce supplier Taylor Farms as one possible source of the outbreak. But then the agency issued a retraction on Sunday for one particular sample test for lettuce coming in along the southern border.
- [09:20]
Lena Sun
And so that sample was turned out to be a false positive. They told Taylor Farms. And I believe that Taylor Farms was misleading in the statement that they put out saying FDA apologized and I think it led a lot of people to believe that somehow FDA was walking back. The link to Taylor Farms it has not.
- [09:44]
Gideon Resnick
The outbreak has been concentrated in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Federal and state health investigators have been talking with people who got sick about what they ate and they found a connection. Taco Bell restaurants that used iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms supplied from Mexico. Now, Mexico's health ministry says there's no evidence linking lettuce from their country to the outbreak. Still, the company has voluntarily recalled all iceberg lettuce from the US Market sourced from central Mexico. And Taco Bell has voluntarily removed all affected lettuce from their restaurants nationwide. But Taylor Farms lettuce goes to more places than just Taco Bell. It also goes to Cisco, one of the world's largest food suppliers, which distributes food to hospitals, nursing homes, schools and restaurants and grocery stores. Like Walmart, Cisco has stopped distributing Taylor Farms lettuce from Mexico and Walmart removed some products from its shelves. But sun told us that contaminated lettuce can be very hard to track.
- [10:42]
Lena Sun
It goes into so many things, but also because lettuce has a very short shelf life. Many of the products maybe that were contaminated, maybe they're no longer on the shelves. So it's really hard to find some, something that's contaminated and say, aha, here's the thing.
- [11:00]
Gideon Resnick
Plus an expert on food safety from George Washington University told her that lots of products carry the risk of being contaminated with this parasite. And it's important to remember that investigators have not ruled out other sources of contamination.
- [11:13]
Lena Sun
And until they close the investigation, which is not anywhere closed yet, I think people need to remember that it's probably not just iceberg lettuce. It's probably not just Taco Bell. We just don't know what else might be contaminated. And it's also possible because it's so tricky to figure out that they may never figure it out.
- [11:32]
Gideon Resnick
Not all produce is contaminated or at risk, but past outbreaks in the US have been linked to things like raspberries, cabbage, basil and leafy greens. To stay safe, food safety experts recommend two things. Wash your produce thoroughly, always, and use heat to your advantage. For any produce that can be cooked or any takeout that you want to reheat, you should aim for an internal temperature of at least 158degR. Now if you are concerned that you have an item in your fridge that's part of the Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce recall, we're going to include a link to a detailed list of recalled products in our show.
- [12:07]
Leo Shane
Notes.
- [12:15]
Gideon Resnick
Here are a few other stories we're following today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lost not one but two of his most important military figures as he attempts to quell mass protests. It began with a generational power struggle of sorts. 60 year old commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrsky was in a bitter dispute with the 35 year old defense Minister Mykolo Fedorov, the man credited with pushing forward Ukraine's drone strategy. Zelenskyy ultimately sided with the more conservative commander in Chief Syrsky and fired Fedorov. But that brought thousands to the streets, forcing Zelenskyy to fire Syrsky yesterday as he attempts to maintain unity in a country still under Russian Siege. In the US a software error led to almost 400 non citizens voting in New Jersey elections. According to the state's governor. The glitch was related to motor vehicle data. People who indicated that they were not citizens when applying for driver's licenses or ID cards between 2023 and 2024 nevertheless became eligible to vote. Around six and a half thousand people were mistakenly registered in total of which fewer than 400 actually voted. Democratic Governor Mikey Sherrill said she was, quote, appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time. Sherrill won her 2025 election by nearly half a million votes. In all 3.3 million ballots were cast in that election, and as the Washington Post points out, 400 ineligible votes would amount to about 1/100th of a percent of all the votes cast. And finally, if you have a coffee in your hand, we have some good news for you. The American Heart association says regular coffee consumption could be linked to a lower risk of stroke, diabetes and heart failure following a major review. In fact, even as many as five cups a day is considered safe for most adults. They say that when it comes to the health benefits, though, it's all about the brewing. These heart Healthy links apply strictly to paper, filtered or instant coffee. Unfiltered options like a French press, espresso or Turkish coffee retain a natural compound that can clog arteries over time. So drink up. I guess if you can handle the caffeine blast of five mugs in a day, you can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. After a T. Rex fossil recently shattered an auction record selling for more than $50 million, Bloomberg Businessweek explores why billionaires cannot see stop buying up prehistoric treasures. If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News plus Narrated to find that story and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.