For the last nine months, the US has

launched strike after strike on small

boats in the waters of South America.

very little. We're saving hundreds of

thousands of lives with those pinpoint

attacks. It's

officials say the campaign is meant to

cut off the flow of drugs into the US

and in recent weeks it's been quietly

ramping up the attacks. There was a boat

strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. In all,

there have now been almost 60 strikes

killing nearly 200 people. From the

start, many legal experts have called

these attacks illegal extrajudicial

killings, stressing that the military is

not allowed to intentionally target

civilians who pose no threat of imminent

violence. Now, on top of that, experts

tell the Times that the boat strikes

have also been ineffective and have not

curbed the flow of cocaine into the

country. If the strikes were slowing the

supply, public health researchers say

the price on the street for the drug

would go up. They say that hasn't

happened. Similarly, if less cocaine was

getting in, epidemiologists say dealers

would be trying to stretch their supply

by cutting it with other ingredients.

But an analysis of cocaine samples

doesn't reflect that. And signs are also

emerging that traffickers are simply

using other methods for smuggling,

shifting to land routes or putting more

cocaine on container ships. One public

health expert who tracks cocaine use in

the US told the Times that the boat

strikes are basically the same as quote

bombing a handful of McDonald's in

Dallas, Texas and claiming that you've

made America healthy again recently in

the Senate.

General, what evidence do you have that

this campaign is actually degrading

cartel operations rather than simply

destroying some low-level assets, boats?

The general overseeing the campaign

faced sharp questions from lawmakers

about the strikes.

I cannot stand before you and tell you

that there's a percentage drop in

American deaths in in inside the United

States or number of a certain percentage

of of drugs reaching the United States.

He acknowledged that targeting the boats is not a long-term solution. He said the US needed to work more with its allies in South America and that quote strikes aren't the answer to the country's drug problem.

A new disclosure form that reveals

details of President Trump's stock

portfolio is adding to concerns about

potential conflicts of interest. The

form shows that in the first few months

of this year, Trump's investment

portfolio made more than 3600 trades,

buying and selling shares in big banks,

manufacturers, and tech giants. That has

raised questions, not just because the

federal government regulates those

industries, but also because of the

timing of some of those trades, which

have coincided with the president

appearing to publicly endorse specific

companies. For example, in February,

Trump's financial adviserss bought more

than a million dollars in stock of the

computer giant Dell. Nine days later,

I also want to thank Michael and Susan

Dell. Dell, go out and buy a Dell

computer.

Trump lavished praise on the company in

a speech as he highlighted the

founders's philanthropy.

They make a great product. They're not

looking for any publicity. I give them

publicity.

Then this week, the Pentagon announced

it was giving Dell a nearly $10 billion

defense contract. The co-president of

Public Citizen, a nonprofit group that

has criticized the Trump family's

ongoing business activity, told the

Times that with Trump, quote, "It is

impossible to know where personal

profitm ends and policym starts." While

there is a law that prohibits federal

employees from taking official action to

benefit their own interest, it does not

apply to the president. Still, the White

House has rejected any concerns about

the trades, saying Trump quote only acts

in the best interests of the American

public. And the Trump Organization says

all of his stock trades are controlled

by third-party investment managers.

Now, a few quick updates from across the

Middle East. First,

one ship they start yelling at that

Iranian Navy, "We want to go out. Open

the horos."

They were screaming and begging to be

let out.

Yes.

The Times has been talking with sailors

who've been stranded in the straight of

Hormuz.

Every day my wife, my son and daughter,

they called papa when you are coming

back home. Every day they call.

They described being on constant lookout

for the threat of missile or drone

strikes and watching their stockpiles of

food and medicine on board dwindle as

Iran has kept the critical waterway shut

down for 3 months and counting. Now,

diplomats involved in the talks between

the US and Iran say the two sides are

closing in on a preliminary agreement

that could finally reopen the strait.

Negotiators would then continue to work

separately on a longerterm peace deal.

On today's episode of the Daily, you can

hear more from some of the thousands of

sailors who've been caught in limbo as

the war has dragged on. A second update

now from Lebanon,

where the country is facing a new surge

of deadly attacks from Israel despite a

ceasefire. Israeli forces said they

carried out strikes on more than 130

Hezbollah targets across the country

this week. Many of them were in

residential areas. Meanwhile, Hezbollah,

the Iranbacked militia, has been

continuing its own attacks on Israeli

troops who've invaded and occupied the

southern part of Lebanon. The renewed

violence could threaten the delicate

talks between Iran and the US since Iran

has demanded that any deal to end the

fighting also include Lebanon.

And

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu says that he has directed the

Israeli military to expand its control

over Gaza. Speaking at a conference

yesterday, he said Israel currently

controls 60% of the territory. When

members of the audience shouted that

Israel should take it all, Netanyahu

said, quote, first of all, 70. Let's

start with that. Since a ceasefire

between Israel and Hamas went into place

last year, Israel has continued its

operations in Gaza to put pressure on

the militant group. It's gradually been

taking more and more land there,

sometimes by simply picking up and

moving the concrete blocks that it's

used to mark the boundaries. That has

meant that Gaza's roughly 2 million

residents, who mostly live in territory

controlled by Hamas, have been forced

onto a smaller and smaller slice of

land.

Across the US in recent years, there's

been a growing effort to help lowincome

Americans by giving them cash. Unlike

government programs like food stamps

that target specific needs, the

so-called cash transfer programs

basically leave it up to the recipients

to decide how to use the extra money.

Research into the benefit of this kind

of program has found mixed results, but

a new study published in the Lancet

Public Health has one of the most

optimistic recent assessments. It showed

that a cash transfer program in Flint,

Michigan, significantly improved the

health of moms and their newborns. The

study followed women in the city where

the majority of mothers earn under

$10,000 a year. For the research, a

group of pregnant women were given a

one-time payment of $1,500

and then $500 a month for the first year

of their child's life. Researchers found

that after getting the money, more women

received prenatal care, the rate of

premature births declined, and fewer

babies were born underweight. One of the

authors of the report said that quote,

"Moms told us because of these dollars,

I can take a day off work and pay for

gas to go to my prenatal appointment."

And finally,

Slouchy

T L A C H T L I

Mendoqua

M A D O U A

Rishiaras

R E T I A R I U S. Script's national

spelling bee came down to a fierce spell

off last night with the top two

contenders trying to get as many words

right as they could in 90 seconds.

Bromo cryptine

vo c r i

kashaw c.

Ultimately shay peri a 14-year-old from

southern California came out on top as

an eighth grader. This was his last year

of eligibility and he clenched it. The

high-speed spell-off format was

introduced a few years ago to keep the

bee from going on and on. In the past,

the more traditional back and forth

could drag out late into the night and

result in multiple winners, like the

year when eight kids had to share the

title. The new champion, Shray, told the

announcers that there was one word that

made him nervous last night. Bouvenes,

which yeah, that's fair. But he got it.

And overall, he said he was not

intimidated.

Spelling fast is what I do every day.

So, you know, a spell off just kind of

came naturally and it was just like

another day of spelling for me.

Just another day.

Those are the headlines. If you'd like

to play the Friday news quiz, it is just

after these credits. This show is made

by Will Jarvis, Margaret Kadifa, Jake

Lucas, Yan Stewart, and me, Tracy

Mumford. Original theme by Dan Powell.

Special thanks to Isabella Anderson,

Lissa Anderson, Sam Dolnick, Miles

McKinley, and Zoe Murphy.

Now, time for the quiz. Every week, we

ask you a few questions about stories

the Times has been covering. Can you get

them all? Here we go.

First up, recently an employee at a

major tech company launched a pop-up

radio station for everyone who works

there.

It featured AI generated songs which

were all made specifically in response

to a big announcement by the company.

Your question, what was the custom

soundtrack all about?

Give those lyrics a close listen.

Frozenile

package on the table. I haven't seen you

in a while.

The answer.

The curated anthems were all about

layoffs at Meta, which eliminated 8,000

jobs. The radio station offered songs in

many kinds of genres, quote, to support

your diverse coping preferences.

Definite points for creativity, but I

will just say you don't necessarily have

to go the AI route when classics like

this already exist.

Thank you, Johnny Paycheck.

And next question. In his time as

Secretary of Health and Human Services,

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has put out some

memorable videos. I'm not just talking

about all the workouts in jeans. There

was also a video where he was chugging a

glass of milk in the hot tub with Kid

Rock. And this week, he posted a video

to his personal social media account

where he was wrangling wildlife

bare-handed.

Okay. Okay.

Hi, buddy. Yeah.

Honey, honey, let her go. Oh my god.

The video was filmed on Dr. Oz's patio,

and Oz along with Kennedy's wife can be

heard in the background trying to help

or just cringing.

Bobby, Bobby, please.

Your question, what creatures did

Kennedy pick up?

The answer. Kennedy cornered two black

racer snakes, which are nonvenenomous.

That is good because they were

definitely nipping at his hands. The

Times actually checked with some snake

experts to rate Kennedy's technique. One

said it wasn't the worst wrangling he'd

ever seen, but he did not recommend just

grabbing snakes by the tails. Another

snake wrangler emphasized that really

the best advice is always going to be

just leave them alone.

And last question.

Out here, we're going to have 4,000

seats right in front of the front door

of the White House.

At the White House, construction is now

underway on the South Lawn for the cage

that UFC fighters will brawl in next

month.

You see the kind of pounding he'll take

and then all of a sudden it's over and

the other guy's not in good shape,

right? The event will be part of

celebrations for the country's 250th

birthday. It also conveniently will be

taking place on Trump's birthday. Now,

Trump is not the first president with an

interest in this kind of sport. Several

former American presidents were

wrestlers. Your question, can you name

the president who is actually in the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame?

The answer entering the ring at 6'4 in

tall, not including the top hat, it is

Abraham Lincoln. According to the

Wrestling Hall of Fame, Lincoln fought a

lot in his 20s and had only one recorded

defeat.

That is it for this week's news quiz. If

you want to tell us how you did, our

email, as always, is the headlines@ny

times.com. The show will be back on

Monday, which will be June. Somehow it's

going to be June. See you then.