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Fish oil supplements are a multibillion-dollar business, touting support for brain, heart, joint health and more. But a study suggests that although omega-3s— the main nutrient in fish oil supplements — play an important role in the brain, supplementation may not affect cognitive function or brain structure.
In the two-year, randomized controlled trial, 365 adults, aged 55 to 80, who did not have dementia but had risk factors, were given either high-dose DHA — a type of omega-3 — or a placebo.
The researchers found that supplementation did largely increase the level of omega-3s in the brain compared to placebo. But there was no noticeable effect from it, suggesting that increasing the levels of omega-3s in the brain did not translate into a reduced risk of dementia, said Hussein N. Yassine, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Personalized Brain Health at the University of Southern California.
“Omega-3s are relevant and important to the brain,” he said. “But as part of a whole diet — maybe not as a supplement.”
U.S. military officials estimate that the Trump administration’s war with Iran has cost more than $47 billion through mid-October, a rise of more than $3 billion over the past several weeks, according to a document reviewed by The Washington Post.
The total includes $29 billion in munitions that have been fired by U.S. forces since the conflict began eight months ago, the document shows. The destruction of other weapons platforms, such as fighter jets, has cost $6 billion, it says.
The latest figures do not account for damage to U.S. bases in the region, especially facilities in the Persian Gulf, which have been battered by Iranian drones and ballistic missiles.
The estimate was compiled by U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East. It marks the military’s latest and most detailed tally of the Iran war’s financial costs. Central Command last projected that the war had cost at least $43.6 billion through early September.
The rising expense has forced the Pentagon to shift billions of dollars from within its existing budget to cover shortfalls caused by the conflict as the military has had to rush troops and equipment to the Middle East and keep them there for months on end.
Per the most recent estimate, the Air Force had spent about $7.6 billion to sustain the military operation, whereas the Army and the Navy had spent $2 billion and $1.45 billion, respectively.
The Iran war, which was initiated by the Trump administration in tandem with Israel on Feb. 28, has proved deeply unpopular with the American public, polling shows. It has emerged as a central issue in next week’s midterm elections, with voters frustrated by the soaring cost of gas and other goods linked to Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the outset of the conflict, President Donald Trump predicted that hostilities would be over in about five weeks. His administration has been unable to secure a lasting ceasefire on terms that the president finds favorable to American interests, however, and he has threatened to resume attacks on Iran after the midterms.
Qatari mediators have been working “hard” on a deal that would see Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade on Iran’s ports that has caused a raft of economic problems for Tehran, said a senior diplomat involved in the discussions.
A key hurdle has been figuring out the sequencing of the concessions. Washington is pushing for Iran to make a number of concessions on the front end, such as restrictions on its nuclear program, while Tehran has pushed back, said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic dealings.
It is far from clear that renewed U.S. strikes on Iran would bring the conflict to a quick end.
While Iran is suffering significant economic pain due to the war and a U.S. naval blockade, recent classified assessments by the CIA conclude that Iran has several months of food and fuel stockpiled that would help it mitigate the effects of the revived U.S. military campaign Trump has threatened, a U.S. official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
Iran could respond to fresh U.S. strikes in three ways, the assessments say. Iran might attempt further restrictions of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, cranking up economic costs for the United States. It could attempt violent terrorist attacks on U.S. targets globally. And it could conduct cyber operations against assets in the United States.
The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to keep the warrant application that led to the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minnesota) residence in D.C. under seal as its investigation into her immigration paperwork plays out.
In a late-Tuesday filing, prosecutors said a request by more than a dozen media organizations, including The Washington Post, to make the warrant public was premature.
Decisions on whether to file charges and who to charge with what have not yet been made, prosecutors said, and investigators are still examining evidence seized as part of that Oct. 12 search.
“Unsealing everything now imperils the investigation,” the Justice Department said in the filing. The agency said it might not oppose making some of that information public in the future.
Agents are investigating whether Omar or members of her family — who immigrated to the United States from Somalia in the mid-1990s and later became U.S. citizens — lied on their immigration paperwork.
Omar, a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, has dismissed the probe as another example of the Justice Department targeting his perceived foes.
In pushing for the warrant’s release, media organizations have argued there is significant interest in the case. The warrant materials, including the affidavit filed to secure it, could shed light on the investigation’s targets, evidence agents have amassed so far, and how and when the probe began.
Research out Wednesday adds to the argument that young American adults may be more into religion than their predecessors, with data showing 18-to-22-year-olds are more likely to attend religious services, see religion as important in their lives, and pray daily.
Researchers have been trying to understand what seems to be a religion buzz around the youngest American adults, with faith leaders across the country reporting growing attendance and interest.
The Pew Research report shows “mixed signals” about what’s going on.
Forty-one percent of adults age 18 to 22 say they attend religious services at least monthly, compared with 27 percent of adults age 23 to 26 and 33 percent of adults born in the 1990s or earlier.
That youngest group exhibits religious behaviors at higher rates than those in their mid-20s. That holds true for praying daily, viewing religion as very important and identifying with a religion.
But adults born in the 1990s or earlier scored higher on those metrics than the 18-to-22-year-olds.
Among all U.S. adults, the percent who attend religious services — either in person or online — is now at 45 percent, up from 40 percent in 2023.
A continuous world cruise came to an unexpected end in Cambodia on Tuesday, forcing passengers to disembark as the operator suspended operations due to “extraordinary increases in fuel costs.”
Villa Vie Residences, which operates the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey, said in a news release that it would evaluate restructuring and recapitalization options. The ship sold permanent residences starting at about $120,000, as well as five-year residences, a three-year voyage and short-term rentals.
The announcement said that fuel expenses had shot up from an average of $1,800 a month per cabin to more than $6,000 — a cost that could not be passed on to passengers.
“Since the conflict [in Iran] began in late February, we have taken significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port,” the company’s statement said. “Those measures have not been enough to offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs, and we have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses.”
Villa Vie said it was working with the passengers to find “temporary living arrangements.”
The company did not immediately answer questions about how many passengers and crew were on board or what will happen to them.
Randy Cassingham, a writer who has lived on the ship since late 2024, wrote on his site Residential Cruising that passengers received a message after 7 a.m. telling them they had to disembark by 2 p.m.
He said in an email that he had to find his own hotel, and was not aware of the company helping anyone find a place to stay or paying for accommodations.
“The evacuated residents are exhausted both physically and emotionally,” he wrote on the website.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in the state’s governor’s race Tuesday.
“Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions,” Murkowski said in a statement. “Alaska needs a serious conversation about our fiscal future, as well as a focus on the cost of energy and growing our economy.”
In a statement, Kreiss-Tomkins said he was honored by Murkowski’s endorsement, adding that the state’s unique priorities require “cooperation, not political conflict.”
When contacted by text about the endorsement, Kreiss-Tomkins responded with flexed-arm and rocket emojis.
Kreiss-Tomkins is the leading candidate based on public polling in a four-way race against three Republicans. Bernadette Wilson, a business executive, is running with President Donald Trump’s backing. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting.
Murkowski, who depends on independent and crossover voters in her own races, endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola in her 2022 and 2024 races for the U.S. House (though she endorsed Peltola’s Republican opponent in this year’s Senate race).
As a state representative, Kreiss-Tomkins worked to create a bipartisan governing coalition, which controls both chambers of the state legislature. He served in the state House from 2013 to 2023, winning a district that voted for Trump.
Alaska Republicans have gone after Murkowski in the past, including in her 2022 primary and in 2010, when she won as a write-in candidate. Wilson campaigned against Murkowski in 2010 and blasted her for endorsing Kreiss-Tomkins.
“Given that Senator Lisa Murkowski abandoned Alaska values a long time ago, I am not surprised that she has endorsed ‘Just Keep Taxing’ JKT,” Wilson wrote on X.
DNA testing connected serial killer Ted Bundy to the death of another teenage girl in Utah more than 50 years ago, authorities said Tuesday.
The body of Melissa Ann Smith, 17, was discovered by hunters in October 1974, officials told a news conference.
For decades, Smith’s death remained a mystery — until earlier this year, when investigators in Utah County used DNA evidence to identify what they said was another Bundy victim, 17-year-old Laura Aime, whose body was found in November 1974.
The breakthrough prompted investigators in the Smith case to compare samples taken from both bodies, officials said.
The DNA evidence, “alongside evidence related to pattern, motive, means and opportunity, establishes that Ted Bundy was responsible for Melissa Ann Smith’s murder,” Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said.
Bundy was executed in 1989 after confessing to the killings of at least 30 people. Bundy had confessed to Aime’s death before his death, without providing any details, according to the Associated Press.
“The voices and cherished memories of Melissa Ann Smith and Laura Ann Aime and others involved in these cases ring louder than the hate and sedition of the one who took their lives,” said Mike Reynolds, a sergeant with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
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