Armed Services members in the dark on details of war costs

WASHINGTON — The House and Senate Armed Services panels have yet to be briefed on the costs of the Iran war, members and aides said Thursday.

This week, Pentagon officials gave the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee an estimate of $11.3 billion for the war’s first week, a figure first reported Wednesday by The New York Times. The Senate Armed Services Committee held a classified briefing on the overall war effort on Tuesday with Pentagon officials and top officers.

But neither the House nor Senate Armed Services panels, which authorize nearly $1 trillion in annual defense spending and set national security policies in law, have yet received a briefing focused on the details of the war’s costs. The war entered its 13th day on Thursday and how long it will continue remains unclear.

Such a briefing on costs could give Armed Services members and staff an opportunity to probe what the Pentagon is including — or perhaps not including — in cost estimates that are fast becoming an outsize piece of the federal fiscal picture.

—CQ-Roll Call

Who was the Michigan’s Temple Israel shooter: What we know about Ayman Ghazali

DETROIT — The suspected gunman who attacked a West Bloomfield Township synagogue on Thursday has been identified as a Dearborn Heights man.

Ayman Ghazali, 41, a restaurant worker, allegedly crashed his truck into the Temple Israel synagogue just after noon on Thursday and opened fire with a rifle. Authorities said he was killed by security guards.

A temple security guard was injured in an exchange of gunfire and taken to a local hospital for treatment, officials said. They have not given details about a possible motive, but an FBI official said on Thursday that the attack is being treated as a "targeted" act of violence against the Jewish community.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday that the suspected attacker acted alone. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed late Thursday that Ghazali was the individual who carried out the attack.

—The Detroit News

Trump EPA moves to roll back recent limits on ethyene oxide, a carcinogen

The Trump administration on Friday moved to roll back Biden-era limits on emissions of ethylene oxide, a cancer causing chemical, often used in the sterilization of medical devices.

The Environmental Protection agency said repealing the rules, which fall under the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, would “safeguard the supply of essential medical equipment” — saving approximately $630 million for companies over 20 years. California is home to about a dozen such facilities.

The government said the emissions are part and parcel of protecting people from “lethal or significantly debilitating infections that would result without properly sterilized medical equipment.”

“The Trump EPA is committed to ensuring life-saving medical devices remain available for the critical care of America’s children, elderly, and all patients without unnecessary exposure to communities,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

—Los Angeles Times

Afghanistan says Pakistan strike on Kabul leaves 4 dead

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Afghanistan said fresh Pakistani airstrikes killed at least four people and hit a fuel depot site of a domestic airline, as fighting between the two sides intensified.

The Taliban government and police said Friday that the targets included a fuel storage site of private airline Kam Air near Kandahar Airport in the south of the country and a house in the capital Kabul killing four people.

The two sides renewed clashes last month, with Islamabad’s defense minister Khawaja Asif declaring “open war” against the Taliban government after striking military targets.

At the center of the dispute is Islamabad’s claim that Kabul is giving refuge to militant groups which carry out repeated violent attacks inside Pakistan. The Kabul government denies the accusation.

—Bloomberg News