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 Live from NPR in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Iran continues to say it's close to a deal with Oman to open the Strait of Hormuz, but reiterated demands on the U.S. today. NPR's Frank Lankford has more. Mohamed Bagherz-Olgaad, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the Strait won't reopen until the U.S. quote, corrects its behavior, according to Iranian state media. Iran's demands include the U.S. ending the war and, quote, aggression against Iran's allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq. Iran also insisted the U.S. provide full compensation for damage from past attacks on the country. The demands appeared to dampen hopes that the Strait was about to reopen. President T initially predicted the war would last four to five weeks. It's now approaching six months. The war has increased gas and other consumer prices, which T had pledged to bring down. The midterms are three months away. NPR reached out to the White House for comment on Iran's conditions but has yet to hear back. Frank Lankford, Tel Aviv.

The Senate passed a temporary spending bill that would keep the government funded through early December. NPR Scott Newman reports the bill now heads to the House. In a 90 to 6 vote, the spending measure was passed in the early morning hours Saturday by lawmakers before they head home for a five-week recess. The bill, which still must be approved by the House, generally keeps the government funded at current levels through December 11. Most Democrats voted for the bill after securing a provision that blocks money for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They also rejected a $1 billion request from the White House to begin work on a new T-class battleship. Since the 1990s, Congress has frequently relied on temporary spending measures instead of passing a comprehensive budget. Scott Newman, Washington.

Families across the country are struggling more than ever to pay for child care. State Impact Oklahoma's Beth Wallace reports from the Sooner State, where data shows the cost of infant care has gone up more than a third since 2022. There are many reasons for the soaring costs. During the pandemic, some states held off on adjusting how much they reimbursed child care providers for families on subsidies. Federal COVID money dried up. And inflation is driving up prices, resulting in providers making cuts. Providers like Rachel Proper of Oklahoma City's Child Care Incorporated. We had to cut quality measures and really kind of get down to doing basic child care as opposed to really doing those things that are exceptional and bring magic to our classrooms. States are experimenting with fixes to spread out child care costs and lighten the load on families.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is in Serbia today for talks on economic ties and security issues. The visit is the first by a Ukrainian president in eight years, and it comes as Russian attacks on Kyiv and its surrounding region, killed at least four people, including a child. Zelenskyy says deliveries of Patriot air defense interceptors has slowed. And he says the U.S. has agreed to let Ukraine manufacture Patriot systems, but that the bureaucracy is slowing the process of obtaining the license.

Hollywood continues to set summer box office records, NPR's Bob Mondello has more. Going into this weekend, after just seven days in theaters, Spider-Man Brand New Day had posted half a billion dollars in ticket sales in North America. That's faster than any movie in history. You're in danger. What? Please, you just have to trust me. Come on. Estimates have Spidey zipping past $1.5 billion worldwide by Sunday. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan's IMAX epic, The Odyssey, has reached a billion dollars in ticket sales worldwide. And that there's no snappy Odyssey spider catchphrase for them as a box office phenomenon, they're doing better than Barbenheimer did in 2023. Hi, Barbie. Hi, Ken. All of which has industry analysts predicting a $4 billion summer for North American cinemas and Hollywood's first $10 billion domestic year since 2019.

On Wall Street, stocks soared this week as investors shrugged off news that U.S. employers cut more than 20,000 jobs last month. For the week, the Dow was up 3 percent, the Nasdaq up more than 5 percent.