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At present’s high tales
At present, the Home is predicted to vote on a measure to constrain President Trump’s authority to wage battle in Iran, sooner or later after an analogous decision did not advance within the Senate. Senators voted 47-53, largely alongside get together strains. The U.S. and Israel are persevering with to assault Iran because the battle heads into its sixth day. Iran says the U.S. will “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship yesterday off the coast of Sri Lanka. The assault killed not less than 87 individuals.
Folks wave flags in mourning of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei throughout the U.S.-Israeli navy marketing campaign in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. The Iranian authorities in the end postponed public mourning rituals for the supreme chief.
Majid Saeedi/Getty Pictures
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Majid Saeedi/Getty Pictures
- 🎧 NPR’s Ruth Sherlock, who’s in Turkey, tells Up First that she has spoken to traumatized Iranians crossing the border. She says everybody was too scared to supply their names as a result of talking to Western media has gotten individuals arrested in Iran. A physician described to Sherlock the fear of being engulfed in smoke and witnessing many civilian casualties. Sherlock provides that Iran’s retaliatory strikes geared toward U.S. navy bases and property within the Gulf area have crippled these nations’ economies. Qatar’s prime minister mentioned yesterday that they like diplomacy, however the aggression “cannot go unanswered.”
- 🎧 A panel of clerics in Iran is deciding who will exchange Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an airstrike in the beginning of the battle. There are 4 frontrunners into consideration. The main contender is Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah. In line with NPR’s Jackie Northam, Mojtaba can be seen as a establishment choice, however analysts inform her Iran’s present system can’t maintain itself. They are saying that Iran, which has been weakened by battle, protests and a battered economic system, wants to rework to have legitimacy.
- 🎧 China is sending envoy Zhai Jun to the Center East to assist mediate within the battle, NPR’s Jennifer Pak says. The international ministry did not say particularly the place he would go to. Pak says there are two causes China is stepping in: financial pursuits within the area and a diplomatic alternative to behave as a peace seeker. China has not prolonged any navy help to Iran thus far. Pak says different nations could query whether or not it’s strategically worthwhile to associate with China if it is not offering safety safety within the battle.
- ➡️ For the reason that battle started, visitors has slowed down within the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway via which about 20% of the world’s crude oil and pure gasoline passes. Try this animation to see the distinction between Feb. 28 and March 3.
- ➡️ A precision airstrike on an Iranian navy advanced on Saturday hit a neighboring elementary college on Saturday, killing some 165 individuals, a lot of them schoolgirls. An NPR overview of satellite tv for pc imagery suggests the varsity could have been struck resulting from outdated concentrating on data.
This 12 months, greater than 80 Gen Z and millennial candidates are difficult or working to succeed Home Democrats 65 and older, in accordance with a report by Democratic fundraising platform Oath, first obtained by NPR. This marks a huge spike from the earlier cycle, which noticed 24 Democratic candidates underneath 50 difficult older incumbents. Whereas veteran politicians usually coast to reelection, this 12 months’s midterms present cracks within the longtime dynamics. Incumbent challengers have historically struggled to lift cash. However this 12 months, some younger challengers are additionally breaking via on that entrance, in accordance with an NPR evaluation of marketing campaign finance knowledge.
Minnesota sued the Trump administration this week, accusing the federal authorities of weaponizing Medicaid towards the state as “political punishment.” The dispute facilities round roughly $250 million that the state spent on Medicaid final summer time. The administration is withholding matching funds, citing allegations of fraud. Medicaid is the general public medical health insurance program for low-income individuals. It is a state and federal partnership — for each greenback a state spends on Medicaid, the federal authorities matches it. For months, right-wing media and politicians have hammered Minnesota with claims it has fraud-ridden social companies, main the state to publish its personal fraud fact-check web page. Well being coverage specialists say the federal authorities’s actions to withhold and defer funding break with regular fraud-handling precedent.
At present’s hear
NPR’s 2026 School Podcast Problem finalists’ faculties and universities.
LA Johnson/NPR
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LA Johnson/NPR
The NPR training group listened to a whole lot of compelling pupil tales from 75 campuses throughout 35 states to pick out the finalists of their fifth annual NPR School Podcast Problem. A pupil’s private narrative about incomes a school diploma whereas elevating a baby and a glance again on the wealthy sounds of a New York Metropolis neighborhood via the recollections of a recording artist are two of the compelling tales they chose. Within the coming days, the judges will choose the Grand Prize winner from the highest 10 podcasts. Within the meantime, you’ll be able to hearken to the finalists.
If you cannot get sufficient of those pupil podcasts, the group has additionally chosen a number of honorable mentions.
Deep dive
Prosecutors are anticipated to argue that Dwell Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, have engaged in anticompetitive practices that profoundly hurt musicians, venues and ticket patrons.
NurPhoto/NurPhoto by way of Getty Pictures/NurPhoto
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NurPhoto/NurPhoto by way of Getty Pictures/NurPhoto
The federal antitrust trial towards Dwell Nation, one of many world’s largest leisure firms, started earlier this week. Prosecutors argue that Dwell Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster use anticompetitive practices that deeply hurt musicians, venues and ticket patrons. The Justice Division filed the lawsuit in 2024, however requires ticketing reform have been rising for years. This trial is the largest authorized motion towards the corporate but, with probably the most potential to alter the dwell leisure business’s establishment. Here is what you’ll want to know:
- 🎫 Dwell Nation manages greater than 400 artists and owns or controls greater than 265 North American venues. Ticketmaster controls about 80% of main ticketing. The federal government alleges that artists are pressured to make use of Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster’s promotional companies to carry out at its venues.
- 🎫 If discovered responsible of violating antitrust legal guidelines, the DOJ might break up Ticketmaster and Dwell Nation. The DOJ authorized the merger of the 2 firms in 2010.
- 🎫 If Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster separate, followers will seemingly really feel the distinction as a result of a market with extra competitors will exist. A wider array of choices might decrease costs and costs, in accordance with Brian Berry, government director of the Ticket Coverage Discussion board.
3 issues to know earlier than you go
RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JULY 01: In an aerial view, houses are seen underneath building at a brand new housing growth on July 01, 2025 in Richmond, California. In line with a report by the U.S. Commerce Division’s Census Bureau, U.S. building spending fell 0.3% in Could as increased mortgage charges and rising stock impacted single-family housing tasks. (Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures)
Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures
- About 7% of recent single-family homes at the moment are obtainable for hire slightly than sale, which may decrease costs for renters and patrons. Builders accomplished greater than 10 instances as many “build-to-rent” houses within the U.S. in 2024 as a decade earlier.
- Mifepristone, a drugs used for first-trimester abortion and miscarriage administration, faces a significant authorized problem. The swimsuit challenges the FDA’s 2023 rule permitting it to be prescribed by telemedicine and mail supply. NPR desires to listen to about your expertise with the drugs.
- On this week’s Far-Flung Postcard, NPR’s Claire Harbage plunged underwater for an journey in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat islands, a vibrant marine biodiversity hotspot.
This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
