NPR News: 03-02-2026 4PM EST

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump says the war with Iran could last four to five weeks or longer. And moments ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, the U.S. is targeting the missile capabilities of a country that has been a nuclear threat. There would come a point where they have so many conventional missiles, so many drones, and it can inflict so much damage that no one can do anything about their nuclear program. That is what they were trying to do. They put themselves in a place of immunity where the damage they can inflict on the region would be so high that no one can do anything about their nuclear program or their nuclear ambitions. They are producing, by some estimates, over 100 of these missiles a month. Secretary Rubio was due to brief congressional leaders on the Iran war. NPR's Aya Batrawi is in Dubai with a reaction from Gulf States that have been hit in Iran in retaliatory strikes against U.S. partners in the region. The real thing to look out for is how long this goes on for. If according, as we've heard from some leaks from Israel or as we've heard Trump say that

1:02this could go on for weeks, if this goes on for weeks, there's no expectation that the Gulf countries are going to sit by idling and continue to have vital installations attacked and targeted and their economies brought to a standstill without taking some kind of action and response. And until now, we have not seen the Gulf countries go and respond militarily to Iran. They've just been defending their airspace, but that could change. And if that changes, we're talking about a much bigger war. NPR's Aya Batrawi. In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, France is offering a station its nuclear weapons across here for the first time in what President Manimukra calls a nuclear doctrine of forward deterrence. Here's NPR's own orbearsly. At a nuclear submarine base off the coast of Brittany, Macomb pledged a new doctrine of forward deterrence that would involve deeper cooperation with seven other European countries, including Germany and Poland, Macron offered to temporarily move nuclear warheads to Allied European countries and pledge to increase the size of his country's arsenal.

2:03NPR's own orbearsly reporting, voters in North Carolina will head to the polls tomorrow for primary and one congressional race. They could indicate whether Democrats are unhappy with their party's approach in Congress, Colin Campbell of WNC reports. Incombat Congresswoman Valerie Fouche is facing a strong primary challenge in a deep blue district from Nitta Alam. Alam is a Durham County Commissioner who's backed by Senator Bernie Sanders, and she's calling for stronger opposition to Trump's immigration enforcement and Middle East policy. While Fouche wants to strip funding from ICE and reform the agency, Alam wants to abolish it entirely. Both candidates have condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. A newly formed outside group running ads for Alam wants to reduce military aid to Israel, and a new group connected to the artificial intelligence company Anthropic is putting more than a million dollars behind Fouche. That's Colin Campbell reporting. You're listening to NPR News. South Carolina is welcome home its native son, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, people are

3:06paying tribute at the state house, where the late civil rights trailblazer lies in state before a church service. South Carolina Public Radio's Louis Alfredo Garcia reports. People from all walks of life are making the trip to Columbia, South Carolina, to find comfort in each other's presence and grief. Charlie Tillman drove about 120 miles, but his back pain stops him from joining the hours long line to see Jackson. He says just being in the city was oddly comforting. It's about the same as when we heard that President Kennedy was assassinated when I was in school. And Dr. King, it's like heart, breath-taking and heart hurt, but I'm just glad I could make this event even 120 miles drive was a joy and it's a joy to be here. About this church service will cap off the day for NPR News, I'm Louis Alfredo Garcia in Columbia, South Carolina. Myanmar State Run Media says the military junta has granted amnesty to thousands of prisoners, including those jailed or in hiding for their political opposition.

4:08There was, however, no sign that former leader Ong San Suu Chi would be released from confinement. Elano Cortinas now preparing to hold the Paralympic Winter Games, which opens March 6th. Tomorrow Cortina Dumpetso will host the symbolic moment when the Paralympic Flames, from various routes, converged to create a single flame ahead of the official opening. The Paralympic Games will draw more than 650 athletes competing in 79 metal events. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime Membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org, that's plus.npr.org.