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Today is Thursday, March 12th. We'll tell you about the cost of the war in the Middle east so far and why law enforcement in California is now tightening security. Also, which American company faced a major cyber attack linked to the war and what Iran's soccer team has decided about the upcoming World cup here in the U.S. plus, why so many lawmakers are quitting Congress, which popular platform is now the largest media company in the world, and what to expect at this year's south by Southwest kicking off this week. Those stories and even more news to know next. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Fighting across the Middle east is showing no sign of let up this morning. More attacks have been reported all around the region, but especially in the capitals of Iran and Lebanon. American and Israeli forces have continued the attacks on mostly military targets in Iran. And several Persian Gulf countries say they've come under attack from Iranian drones. But the US Military says Iran's retaliatory attacks have dropped drastically since the start of the war. Meanwhile, Israel struck dozens of targets across Lebanon. The Israeli operation in Lebanon started when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel in support of Iran. In the last several days, the attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 600 people and forced more than 800,000 from their homes. As far as the American involvement goes, President Trump again claimed victory last night. He said the war was really over in the first hour. And now 12 days later, it's just a question of when to stop. But all this fighting also adds to the total cost of the war. The Pentagon told Congress yesterday the American cost of the war was more than $11.3 billion in just the first six days. Even then, not all the expenses were accounted for, so the ultimate cost will be much higher. We'll talk more about the wider impact this war is having on the global economy later in this episode. The strike that killed 175 people at an Iranian girls school reportedly happened because of outdated American intelligence. That's according to the ongoing investigation by the US Military. It found intelligence officers used outdated information to label the school building as a military target since about a decade ago it was part of an Iranian naval base. But US Officials are still looking into why the incorrect targeting information was not double checked, especially since even on Google Maps you can see it's a school complete with an adjacent playground. Now, the strike appears to be one of the most devastating single military errors in recent decades, and some are questioning whether the military's use of AI to identify targets might have been a factor. The investigation is still underway. There's also been some backlash because the UN was able to verify damage at several World Heritage sites in Iran and and cultural property is supposed to be protected under international law. It's demanding an explanation. To be continued the FBI warned California police departments about potential drone attacks because of the war in Iran. News outlets like ABC News got ahold of a memo that said Iran wanted to conduct a surprise attack on the US west coast, likely California, using drones from a nearby ship. But sources have also said there's no credible intelligence to support this and that there's no indication Iran could successfully launch an attack even if it wanted to. Yesterday, when President Trump was asked if he was concerned about Iran backed attacks on U.S. soil, he told reporters he was not. Still, the LA Times reports the warning helped local and state authorities with their security strategies, and those officials say they'll keep sharing information to stay on top of any potential threats. The federal government is now making an effort to get court appointed care for certain veterans like those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Under a new arrangement, the Justice Department would give officials at the Veterans Affairs Department the authority to initiate legal guardianship proceedings. Then, if a court agrees the veteran can't make their own healthcare decisions, it would appoint a third party guardian to act in their best interest. Guardians can control a person's assets, where the person lives and who they're allowed to see. They can also force them into involuntary or institutional care. Critics have raised concerns about taking away many veterans rights and autonomy. But officials say all decisions will be made with due process in mind, and that it's just about making sure veterans are in the most appropriate setting for them. There are now about 33,000 veterans who are homeless in the U.S. about 14,000 of them live on the streets. Since the Homeland Security Department first shut down last month, the rate of unscheduled absences and callouts by TSA workers has more than doubled and more than 300 TSA officers have left the agency for good. Now officials say they're worried even more will leave if the shutdown continues much longer. Of course, the problem has already caused long lines for airline passengers around the country, but wait times do fluctuate quite a bit from one airport to the next. At some places the wait is just around 20 minutes, while at others it's closer to three hours. Despite the backlog, relief could be on the way for pre approved travelers who get expedited clearance coming into the U.S. dHS reactivated the Global Entry program yesterday. At first, the department said it had to pause the program as a way to preserve limited funds and personnel needed to process all other arriving travelers. But airlines and travel groups have been pushing the administration to restart the program since the lines for international travelers have been some of the longest. At this point, there's no telling when this shutdown might end since lawmakers are still at an impasse on funding. As one senator put it yesterday, they're negotiating, but not even close. Stay tuned. More news is still ahead, but first a break to tell you about our sponsor, Rosetta Stone. Think about this. If you start learning a new language now, by the time summer rolls around, you'll already feel more confident speaking and understanding that new language. Now is the perfect time to start, whether you have a trip coming up or you simply want to have that amazing new skill. I'm always so impressed when someone knows another language and I realized that I actually it can be me, especially with the right method. Rosetta Stone has been a trusted leader in language learning for over 30 years. They have a method that helps you naturally absorb your new language. You learn by connecting words, visuals and meaning in context, the way language is meant to be learned. They even have something called True Accent that gives you real time feedback on pronunciation, like having a personal coach. How cool is that? And of course, we're all so busy, so we need something flexible. Thankfully, Rosetta Stone allows you to access lessons from your desktop or mobile app whether you have five minutes or an hour. Ready to start learning a new language this spring? Visit rosettastone.com newsworthy to explore Rosetta Stone and choose the language that's right for you. Go to rosetta.com newsworthy and begin your language learning journey now. Now back to the news. There are still 92 days before the store start of the FIFA World cup, but one team is already out. Iran's sports and youth minister confirmed yesterday the Iranian national team will not be taking part, saying the players are not safe in the U.S. of course, this is because of the war happening in the Middle east, but a team withdrawing from the tournament so soon before it begins is unprecedented and Iran could be punished for it. Iran is scheduled to play against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in June. Now, it's not clear what's going to happen with those games, but reports say it's possible Iraq or the UAE might take Iran's place. New analyses say the Iran war has triggered the biggest oil supply disruption in history. It mostly has to do with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is considered the world's most important energy transfer route. Yesterday, Iran claimed responsibility for attacking at least one commercial ship in the strait, as well as at least two others in the Persian Gulf near the strait, and it's promising to do the same with any others that try to pass. American forces have hit Iran's navy as well as its drone and missile crews in hopes of reducing the threat. But Iran is still landing blows. Plus, it set out naval mines and Iranian submarines are lurking below. To address the crisis, the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil. That's the largest such action in the organization's history. And 172 million barrels will be coming from the strategic oil reserve here in the US Starting next week. Still, the IEA says it won't be enough to offset the impacts of the crisis. That could grow if the Strait of Hormuz does not open back up quickly. Already, oil prices have surged past $100 a barrel and gas prices have gone up around the world. In the US drivers are paying an average of 20% more since the war began, reports say. Food prices are also likely to go up in the US and volatility in the stock market could threaten Americans retirement savings. If the war continues for a while, experts say the effects could multiply since Americans are likely to cut back on spending and businesses could stop hiring or resort to layoffs. All of this is expected to come up in less than a week, the next time the Federal Reserve is set to meet. An Iranian linked hacking group claimed responsibility for a destructive cyber attack yesterday. It targeted the US Based medical device and services provider Stryker that makes products like surgical tools and medical implants. And the group said its motivation was the deadly school strike in Iran. The hacking group said more than 200,000 systems, servers and mobile devices were wiped and 50 terabytes of critical data were taken. Stryker didn't get into those specifics, just saying the attack caused disruptions like outages on the network and that some systems are still hard to access. That said, Stryker believes the incident is now contained. American national security officials have long warned Iran could respond to military strikes with cyber attacks against American businesses, so companies are being encouraged to beef up their cybersecurity now. YouTube is now officially the world's largest media company, beating even Disney. A financial research firm crunched the Numbers and found YouTube hit $62 billion in revenue last year. That's more than a billion dollars more than Disney. For YouTube, most of its money came from ads in fact, the streamer now generates more ad revenue than Disney, NBC, Paramount and Warner Bros. Combined. And in January of this year, YouTube also generated more viewership on American TVs than the four company streamers combined. YouTube is only expected to keep growing too, partly because of subscriptions like YouTube, premium NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTube TV and more. Plus, it's investing heavily in artificial intelligence, and researchers say Google owned YouTube is actually one of the only media companies expected to become stronger in the age of AI the worlds of tech, film and music are coming together this week in Austin, Texas. It's time for south by Southwest. This week long festival kicks off today and runs from 9am until 2am every day for the next seven days. All across the city. It's seen as a launchpad for startups to get investments, indie bands to attract major labels and filmmakers to premiere projects. Plus, there are plenty of free events, parties and big star sightings this year. On the film side of things, there are new releases like Pretty Lethal starring Uma Thurman, and Power Ballads starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas. And there's a new Apple TV series debuting called Margot's Got Money Troubles with Michelle Pfeiffer and Nicole Kidman. The music lineup includes Christina Aguilera, Calvin Harris, Alanis Morissette, Lainey Wilson and Foster the People. There's a tech program featuring executives from Spotify, OpenAI, Cloudflare and so on, and the conference lineup will include events with people like Serena Williams, Steven Spielberg, Mark Cuban, Jane Fonda, and many, many more. South by Southwest typically draws more than 300,000 people to Austin each year. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Thing to Know Thursday. But first, this episode is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first baked from Frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries and fresh pastas. 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For a limited time, Wild Grain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box plus free croissants for life, which are also delicious when you go to wildgrain.comnewsworthy to start your subscription today. That's $30 off your first box and free croissants for life when you visit wildgrain.comnewsworthy or you can use the promo code Newsworthy at checkout. Now back to Thing to Know Thursday so we've been talking a lot about lawmakers trying to get reelected this midterm year, but there are also quite a few deciding to call it quits. 56 House members and 10 senators have decided not to run for reelection. That's the most retirements from Congress this century, and it doesn't even include the senators who are running for other offices but aren't up for reelection this year. In retirement announcements, some lawmakers explain by saying they feel they've hit an appropriate retirement age. Others say they want to tend to their health or their families. And then there are those who specifically say they don't like their workplace or the political environment as a whole, citing the gridlock on Capitol Hill or their security in the face of more threats. Most of those who are leaving don't represent especially competitive districts, so their decisions aren't expected to have much of an impact on the midterm elections. But there are some who are leaving swing districts up for grabs in a year where the balance of power is being watched closely. No matter what happens come election time, it's clear Congress will look a lot different come January. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll catch you up on more news to know tomorrow. Until then, have a great day.