Why the US is betting big on laser weapons

This week, the news was full of big stories.

The United States wants to add laser weapons to its military to protect against cheap drones, because stopping drones with normal missiles costs a lot of money.

Lasers are powerful beams of light that can destroy targets from far away.

The US and Iran are having a tense standoff, and the US president said Iran must make a deal or surrender.

Iran is talking with Oman instead, about letting ships pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway for trade.

Some ships near the Red Sea were attacked, and there were explosions at a big port in Dubai.

In Thailand, a very sad shooting happened at a school where a teenage boy is believed to have shot his grandparents, teachers and classmates.

In the United States, a doctor named Abdul El-Sayed won an important election in Michigan and could become the first Muslim senator in the country.

Scientists are also watching a piece of a SpaceX rocket that crashed into the Moon.