Briefing

HUAI'AN, CHINA China will keep one-child policy for another decade

TEHRAN Iranians to vote for eighth parliament since 1979 revolution

NORTON SOUND, ALASKA Defending champion and cancer survivor wins Iditarod race

NEW YORK CITY Bomb explodes in Times Square

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. Space shuttle Endeavour makes a rare nighttime launch

MILITARY SPENDING

Iraq Expenses

New estimates show the cost of the war may reach $12 billion a month this year. Economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Blimes estimate that U.S. spending in Iraq could get to $2.7 trillion overall--or more--by 2017. Here are some of the reasons:

[This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

$171 billion CURRENT COST OF IRAQ WAR

Annual cost of Afghanistan-Iraq war

In billions

$33.8 billion

*Includes 2001 figures

1 Personnel Costs [This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

Annual cost to the government

$180,000 Army sergeant Includes salary, benefits and government expenses

$445,000 Private security contractor

MANPOWER Private security forces commandeer high wages. In 2007 the State Department spent more than $4 billion on private protection.

2 Fuel Costs [This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

World crude-oil futures

Dollars per barrel

$110

Afghanistan war begins

OIL SPIKE The world price of oil has quadrupled since the Afghanistan invasion in 2001. In Iraq, prices are even higher because of long and unsafe supply links.

3 Equipment Costs [This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

Troop protection

The Humvee is being replaced by the more costly mine-resistant MRAP

Humvee $150,000

MRAP $800,000

UPGRADES The Pentagon replaced 18,000 humvees with mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) in 2003. They're superior--but not cheap.

Sources: The Three Trillion Dollar War; war cost: Congressional Research Services fiscal-year estimates; oil: Energy Information Administration; vehicles: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments

EXPLAINER

Why Girls Need Gym Class

Physical fitness has tangible effects on classroom performance, says a new study

WHAT'S THE LATEST? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) surveyed 5,000 students ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade and found that girls who got from 70 to 300 min. of physical education per week scored consistently higher on standardized tests. More exercise also translated into increased classroom participation and concentration skills.

WHAT ABOUT BOYS? The study found no correlation between gym class and test scores for boys, but that may be because elementary-school-age males tend to be more active outside school. And according to the CDC, boys are often more physically fit than girls, meaning gym-class dodgeball might not be enough to give them the same beneficial physiological effects.

WHY DOES IT MATTER? Many school districts are slashing PE to meet budgets; math and reading are what count on standardized tests--and in assessing schools' performance under No Child Left Behind. As a result, most kids have gym class only once or twice a week. That lack of physical exercise could be adversely affecting girls' academic development.

AFGHANISTAN

Cell-Phone Fatwa

Taliban insurgents are following through on their threat to target cell-phone towers if wireless firms continue providing nighttime service. Up to nine towers in southern Afghanistan have been attacked since last month. Why go after telecom? The Taliban believes informants use cell phones to alert U.S. troops after dark. According to the U.S. military, more than 50 high-level Taliban members were killed in 2007--many at night.

GIVING IN? Reluctant to be associated with the government, wireless companies have refused state security protection. And although the companies haven't admitted to caving in to Taliban demands, many Afghans have recently reported that their cell-phone service has been shut down after dark.

AEROSPACE

Tough Love for Boeing

The U.S. manufacturing giant is crying foul after it lost a $35 billion U.S. Air Force contract to a consortium including the European parent company of Airbus. Boeing has filed a formal protest with the government, saying the selection process was "seriously flawed."

SILVER LINING Boeing's loss of the aerial-tanker contract to a partly foreign rival may show that defense spending is about more than hometown pork for U.S. companies. Critics say Boeing approached the contract bid with a sense of entitlement; in a global market, this may be a needed wake-up call.