I've divided our 5-week trip into three phases: Part 1:  Iceland and the Azamara Journey cruise to watch the Total Solar Eclipse. Part 2:  Our stops in Montreal and Vancouver. Part 3:  Silverseas Silver Whisper cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu. But before I finish with Part 3, some news of the day. The war between the U.S. and Iran: The estimate, which covers the war’s direct costs through Aug. 1, is in line with the Pentagon’s most recent public accounting from July, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that the war had cost $37.5 billion. A later report from the Defense Department's inspector general determined that the conflict cost an estimated $33.4 billion between February 28 and June 30.   But the new CBO analysis finds that the price of the war is continuing to rise, estimating that the government will spend another $2 billion to $3 billion each month the conflict continues. It also notes that the war has significantly depleted U.S. munition...

 First, cost of the Iran War.   Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimates $37.5 billion . The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report last month , just after the now-defunct ceasefire was signed, that estimated the war had cost somewhere between $34 billion and $42 billion .   Congressional Democrats estimate the "real" cost of the Iran war is far higher than Pentagon figures, with just impact on American consumers of over $100 billion. They argue the official military tally of $37.5 billion ignores key expenses, including munition replacements, long-term deployments, and severe economic impacts on U.S. consumers. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] Now that a new shipping route has been mostly shut down, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, oil prices of course are continuing to rise .  This second front further will increase gasoline and food prices for you.  From Google AI: The average American household has paid over $500 extra (about ...