NPR News: 03-02-2026 7AM EST

0:00The U.S. launches a military operation against Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. On State of the World, we'll bring you the latest on the operation, as well as reaction from the region and around the globe. Listen to State of the World on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kurova Coleman. The U.S. and Israel are continuing to pound Iran with air strikes, hitting key military targets. Iran is retaliating, striking Israel and some Gulf states. NPR's Jackie Northam reports. A new front opened in the war in Lebanon after Iran backed his bullet, fired rockets into Israel. It responded with air strikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, further widening the three-day-old war. Three U.S. service members have been killed and President Trump says more may die before the conflict is over. The White House says Iran wants to restart negotiations, and that Trump will eventually talk with whoever is in charge.

1:02But a top Iranian security official said on social media that Iran will not negotiate. Meanwhile, U.S. Central commands his several U.S. warplanes crashed in Kuwait due to friendly fire. The crews managed to eject, and an Iranian drone forced the shutdown of one of Saudi Arabia's largest oil facilities. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Reports from Lebanon say at least 31 people there have been killed by Israeli strikes. Schools have been closed in Beirut, and NPR's Jawad Riskala says they've been turned into makeshift shelters. I'm here outside the school in Beirut where people fleeing from the southern suburbs have come to take shelter. Outside there are people coming with mattresses and blankets on motorcycles and by car and on foot, coming to have a safe space to sleep, coming for their safety. Is Jawad Riskala NPR News Beirut? Iranian Red Crescent Society says 555 people have been killed in the attacks in Iran.

2:06It's not clear if this includes victims from a weekend attack on a girl's elementary school. Iranian media say more than 168 children were killed. Members of the Trump administration are expected to brief Congress tomorrow on the U.S. war in Iran. This comes as lawmakers were already expected to take up measures this week on limiting the president's war powers. NPR's Luke Garrett reports top lawmakers involved in intelligence have different views of the war in Iran. Republican Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tom Cotton, celebrated the operation on CNN and called it necessary to deter Iran from long-range missile development. It's much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrow out of the sky. Cotton said the stage is set for regime change. But a ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, a Democrat, called the operation a, quote, war of choice. He said he seen no intelligence that Iran posed a direct threat to the U.S. before the attack. Warner told CNN regime change is unlikely. We have had a very little visibility into what happens next

3:11after the Supreme Leader is eliminated. Both Warner and Cotton expect continued fighting in the coming days. Luke Garrett and PR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR news. The Department of Homeland Security is still partially shut down. Congress still has to agree on a spending bill. Democrats want changes in how federal immigration agents operate. The lapse in funding means that TSA agents and airports are going without full paychecks. The body of civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson will lie in state today in South Carolina's capital. Jackson was born in South Carolina, although he based his civil rights group, the rainbow push coalition in Chicago. Jackson died last month at the age of 84. Flags in South Carolina will be lowered to half staff. There's a celestial event coming early tomorrow morning. A total lunar eclipse will redden the moon. NPR's Amy Held reports this phenomenon is called a blood moon. The moon orbits Earth, which orbits the Sun.

4:14A few times a year they all line up, creating a kind of cosmic shadow show called an eclipse. It's lunar when the Earth is in the middle, casting its shadow onto the full moon. It looks red because the shorter wavelengths of blue and violet can't quite get through Earth's atmosphere, but the longer wavelengths of red and orange can, and a blood moon is made. It happens gradually over hours. In the U.S. totality starts Tuesday morning around 3 a.m. pacific that six eastern. It can also be seen from parts of Asia, Australia, Central and South America, Africa and Europe miss out. NASA says this is the last total lunar eclipse for almost three years. The next New Year's Eve to ring in 2029. Amy Held and PR News. On Wall Street and pre-market trading down futures are down. This is NPR. 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.

5:15That's plus.npr.org.