NPR News: 03-02-2026 8AM 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, on Corvo Coleman, the Pentagon says a fourth U.S. service person has died of wounds from attacks by Iran. Three other U.S. military personnel were killed over the weekend. This news comes as the U.S. and Israel continue to attack Iran for a third day. President Trump says the strikes will continue at full force in the mid-east until U.S. objectives are met. Ben-Pierre's Franco-Artonia's reports Trump is not articulated what those objectives are. President Trump says hundreds of targets in Iran have been head including revolutionary guard facilities in Iranian air defense systems. He's boasting that Iranians around

1:02the world are cheering the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Hamanei. This wretched and vile man had the blood of hundreds and even thousands of Americans on his hands and was responsible for the slaughter of countless thousands of innocent people all across many countries. He has told some media outlets that the offensive could last four weeks. But except for those brief phone calls, it's been a very controlled message. And without knowing what those objectives are, it's hard to decipher what comes next. Franco-Artonia's NPR News. Meanwhile, Iran continues to fire on its neighboring states that host U.S. military bases that include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Oman. And Piers A. Batrami has more. If Gulf Arab states continue to get hit, they have said that they reserve the right to strike back to defend their national security. So that could happen and that would obviously widen the scope of this war dramatically. Also, we've heard the UK France in Germany saying they

2:08will take steps to defend their interests and those of their allies in the region. And some of those interests are about oil. Saudi Arabia says one of its largest oil refineries was targeted today by Iranian drones sparking a fire in temporarily shutting down production there. And Piers A. Batrami reporting. The FBI is investigating a weekend shooting an Austin as a potential act of terrorism. Two people were killed and 14 others were wounded. Remember station KUT Katie McAfee reports. The Austin Police Department confirmed the suspect as the 53-year-old Indyaga Diyakna who was fatally shot by police. Several state lawmakers say he was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Senegal who was wearing a sweatshirt that said property of a law. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis says the suspect opened fire after circling around a popular entertainment district in downtown Austin several times in an SUV. At one point he put its flashers on, rolled down his window, and began using a pistol shooting out of his car windows. The shooting is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism by a joint task force

3:12which includes members of the FBI, state law enforcement and APD. For NPR News, I'm Katie McAfee in Austin. You're listening to NPR News. First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council today. The UN says it's the first time a first lady or a first gentleman has done this. This comes as the U.S. takes the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of March. Mrs. Trump is expected to discuss the role of education in advancing world peace. Her UN visit comes as the Trump administration is attacking Iran. Today the U.S. Supreme Court hears a challenge to a long established gun law. NPR's Nina Tottenberg reports the law makes it a crime for a drug user to possess a firearm. The law has been on the book since 1968 and has often been used as a workaround to prosecute individuals suspected of other crimes. It was the law used to prosecute President Biden's

4:14son Hunter for illegal possession during the time he admitted he was a drug addict. In today's case the government describes the defendant as a drug dealer with ties to terrorists. But he's not been charged with being a terrorist or a drug dealer. When his home was searched however he did admit to recreational use of marijuana. An ambition that led to his prosecution for what the government calls persistent drug use of marijuana while in possession of a gun. Nina Tottenberg NPR News Washington. The Screen Actors Guild Actors Awards were presented last night. It was a big evening for the horror film Sinners by director Ryan Kugler. It won best cast in a motion picture. Many NPR employees are members of the SAG After Union. This is NPR.