Good morning.You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels say they plan to blockade the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, a crucial route for Saudi Arabia's oil exports on the Red Sea.
The waterway currently allows Saudi Arabia to export millions of barrels of oil per day.The Houthis' announcement comes as tensions in the region are already shaken by 10 days of fire exchanged between the U.S.
and Iran as they try to assert control over the effectively closed Strait of Hormuz.A blockade of the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait could disrupt energy markets and drive up energy prices.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee today, as the White House seeks nearly $90 billion in funding, mostly for military operations in Iran.
Lawmakers will have the rare opportunity to grill him about the conflict, especially since the Pentagon hasn't updated the press since May.The meeting coincides with President Trump's visit to Dover, Maryland, to recover the bodies of two soldiers who were killed in Jordan last Friday.The source of the Cyclospora illness outbreak remains unknown, but the Food and Drug Administration continues to recommend that consumers avoid iceberg lettuce grown or processed by Taylor Farms in Mexico.
This is despite its announcement that a prior test falsely identified the Cyclospora parasite in a lettuce sample from the company.The FDA announced on social media that the false-positive lab sample doesn't affect its ongoing outbreak investigation or the strong data supporting Taylor Farms' current voluntary recall.
There are more than 1,600 confirmed cases of diarrhea linked to the parasite, with a growing number of suspected cases in the thousands.Living in a small space doesn't mean you have to sacrifice comfort and style.With some clever planning, you can transform y...