U.S., Israel’s war with Iran; Texas Latinos; SCOTUS : NPR
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Today’s best stories
The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has engulfed more of the Middle East as it enters its third day. Last night, the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel for the first time in more than a year. Israel responded with airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon. Iran targets neighboring countries that host US military bases. The Pentagon says three US service members were killed over the weekend. Congress is expected to vote on bipartisan war powers resolutions this week aimed at limiting President Trump’s military operations in Iran. Both efforts in the House and Senate face uphill battles to become law, with previous attempts to assert Congress’ authority to declare war having failed.
A plume of smoke rises following explosions reported in Tehran on March 1, 2026.
Atta Kenaré/AFP via Getty Images
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Atta Kenaré/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 On FirstNPR’s Jackie Northam says she spoke to people in Iran over the death of their supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reviews were mixed. Some said they were very happy about his death. On social media, some were seen dismantling his statues. But large crowds also attended pro-regime rallies to mourn his death.
- 🎧 The White House told NPR that Iran wants to restart nuclear negotiations. and that Trump will eventually talk to whoever is in charge. But a senior Iranian security official on X said Iran would not negotiate. Trump said the United States would continue combat operations in Iran until its objectives were achieved, although he did not specify what those specific objectives were. Without knowing what the United States wants to achieve, it’s difficult to predict how long the war will last, says NPR’s Franco Ordoñez.
- 🎧 If Iran continues to retaliate against the United States by targeting its Arab neighbors, These Gulf Arab states could decide to retaliate, thereby widening the war, says NPR’s Aya Batrawy. Britain, France and Germany say they will take action to defend the interests of their allies in the region. Saudi Arabia says Iranian drones targeted one of its largest oil refineries today. Oil prices rose sharply in early market trading yesterday.
- ➡️ See photos from Iran, Israel and reactions around the world following airstrikes. Satellite images offer a unique look at the destruction inflicted on Iranian military installations.
- ➡️ Multiple episodes from NPR Direct line explain the historical context relations between the United States and Iran as well as the protests that set the stage for this weekend’s attacks. Listen to the YouTube audio playlist.
Supreme Court today hears arguments in high-stakes gun case which brought together a rare range of people, from conservative gun rights groups to liberal civil liberties groups. At the heart of the battle is a federal law banning drug users from owning guns. This is the same law used to prosecute Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, for illegal gun possession. This time, judges must decide whether the government can criminalize gun ownership for marijuana users.
Ongoing Texas primaries offer first real test whether the Republican Party can maintain its grip on influential Latino voters. These voters fueled Trump’s victory in 2024, helping him win in parts of the state where the Republican Party has historically struggled. However, recent changes suggest that Texas’ Latino population may be starting to withdraw from the political party.
Life advice
Elizabeth Kanagawa, a certified child safety technician and owner of Three Littles, a children’s store that sells strollers and car seats in Washington, D.C., demonstrates how to adjust a car seat harness.
Beck Harlan for NPR
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Beck Harlan for NPR
Parents: It is very likely that your child’s car seat is not installed correctly. According to data from the National Digital Car Seat Check Form, 74% of the nearly 60,000 car seats checked by child passenger safety technicians (CPSTs) in 2025 were not used as intended by the manufacturer. Car accidents are one of the leading causes of death among American children, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Properly used car seats and booster seats significantly reduce this risk. Find out what a secure car seat base and secure tether looks like with Life Kit Visual Guide.
- 🚗 The biggest mistake parents make with car seats is seat belts. The car seat should not move more than one inch side to side or front to back when securing it in a fixed seat base. Shake it firmly to confirm.
- 🚗 The height of the harness depends on whether your child’s car seat is forward or rear facing. Place the harness at a height that controls the child’s movements and reduces the risk of injury. For example, in a forward-facing seat, place it at or slightly above the shoulder.
- 🚗 Long straps hanging from your child’s car seat are not optional. Attach these essential tethers to your vehicle’s rear seat anchor point, located on the parcel shelf, seat back, ceiling or floor.
For more tips on how to properly install a car seat, listen to this episode of NPR Life kit. Subscribe to THE Life kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.
Behind the story
by Chris Bentley, Here and now producer and Peter O’Dowd, Here and now host
A Minnesota moose wears a collar that collects GPS location data.
Courtesy of Morgan Swingen
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Courtesy of Morgan Swingen
Going on a hike is a great way to put things into perspective. Here and nowReverse Course’s environmental series recently took us to some pretty remote locations as we rubbed shoulders with scientists trying to protect two charismatic animals from the effects of climate change.
Peter climbed a “sky island” in southern Arizona. He emerged from the heat of the desert into a snow-capped forest, searching for an elusive endangered species called the Mount Graham red squirrel, so named because it only lives on this one mountain.
Chris searched the boreal forest in the Arrowhead, Minnesota area for moose. It followed scientists from the state and two local tribes as they scanned the wilderness aboard snowmobiles and helicopters for 9-month-old moose calves.
We were 1,500 miles apart, but we had similar moments of realization in the woods: the whirlwind of news and political posturing and Internet chatter seem so insignificant in the silence of the forest, hours spent in front of other humans, watching the snow pile up in the antlers of a bull moose or a little squirrel going about its routine of hiding pine cones as if it weren’t one of the few 200 individuals remaining on the planet.
Of course, what humans do matters a lot to these animals, which is why we were there in the first place to talk with scientists about climate change and habitat conservation. In our stories for Here and nowwe tried to convey our sense of awe and help people imagine a world with more space for nature, wild places and non-human ways of life.
Come take a hike with us on our podcast, Here and now, anytime.
3 things to know before you leave
A screenshot of George Mélière Gugusse and the Automaton. The pioneering French filmmaker’s 1897 short film, which probably features the first known depiction of a robot on film, was thought lost until it was found among a box of old reels that had belonged to a Michigan family and been restored by the Library of Congress.
The Frisbee Collection/Library of Congress
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The Frisbee Collection/Library of Congress
- The Library of Congress has found and restored a long-lost silent film, Gugusse and the Automatonby Georges Méliès. Méliès made the film almost 130 years ago.
- NASA reorients its Artemis lunar program and delays a planned astronaut landing. Instead of landing on the Moon with Artemis III, NASA hopes to do so with Artemis IV.
- OpenAI announced that it has reached an agreement with the Department of Defense to provide its technology to classified networks. This development came shortly after the president banned artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.
