$1,000 The Iran war has cost the typical American household $1,000 since it began in February, according to an estimate shared by Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.    Zandi cites the rise in fuel and food costs resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as the main driver. He added that his estimate “is, if anything, conservative.”    “The true cost is likely higher—meaningfully higher. It’s fair to ask whether it was worth it.” So how are the MOU discussions going?  Not well.   Iran refuses more US talks as Qatar says  no high-level meetings are taking place About that Heat Dome . Temperatures might reach 115F. I checked DC temperatures, for this is where the 250th celebrations will be held, and the highs don't look that bad, reaching 100F today and tomorrow, reaching 97F on Saturday and 93 with rain on Sunday. Even lower for New York City:  Thursday and Friday up to 98F, 95F with showers and maybe lightning on Saturd...

From the  New York Times  this morning: More than half of the major actions Trump has taken appear to violate laws or the Constitution, according to a Times analysis.   Here’s a look at all of them . The abrupt end to $44 billion in aid has been chaotic. And wasteful. Hundreds of millions of dollars of food may soon rot in the ports and warehouses where it is stuck. The battle against deadly disease, too, could suffer. Until last month, the United States   provided medication   for 20 million H.I.V. patients. The secretary of state said that work should continue, but now the program is in disarray. Without the meds, those lives are at risk and so is the effort to stop the spread and mutation of H.I.V.   ...the core of U.S.A.I.D.’s mission has been helping the world’s poor, and it was a means to an end. “You have to understand,” a veteran American diplomat told me, “we didn’t do this work because we’re all a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals. We did it for in...