Blockade

restored

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military says it has reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports in response to Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after the signing of the interim deal aimed at permanently ending the war. Another wave of U.S. strikes on Iran, and Iranian attacks on shipping and U.S. allies, left the deal in tatters.

That agreement was supposed to reopen a waterway that is key to world energy supplies and give negotiators time to hammer out a permanent end to the war. Instead, fighting has once again engulfed the region, threatened the global economy and brought warnings to commercial airlines.

Darline Graham

takes office

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sister of the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has been sworn in to fill his seat, just three days after his death. Darline Graham was sworn in at the Senate on Tuesday.

Darline Graham was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday to fill the remaining months of her brother’s term. A separate special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Lindsey’s Graham’s seat, as he had been seeking a fifth term this year.

Darline Graham will be the state’s first female senator. She has not previously held public office.

Brain drug

shows promise

WASHINGTON (AP) — An experimental drug might help slow early Alzheimer’s disease in a markedly different way than current treatments — by lowering the brain’s production of a protein called tau.

Today two Alzheimer’s drugs can modestly slow cognitive decline by clearing away buildup of a different protein, amyloid. But tau plays a role, too, and there are no tau-targeting drugs. Researchers at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference reported new findings Tuesday suggesting Biogen’s experimental drug diranersen also might offer that benefit.

The company plans a larger study to tell. It’s one of multiple novel, but early-stage, attempts to fight the mind-robbing disease.

Inflation

data improves

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose after a report showed U.S. inflation was not as bad last month as economists expected. Tuesday’s gains came even though oil prices continue to climb on worries that the United States and Iran may return to all-out war.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%. Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market, which fell following the better-than-expected inflation data.

Chip stocks and other AI winners rebounded, while big U.S. banks reported strong profits. IBM kept indexes in check after falling sharply.