NPR News: 03-06-2026 9AM EST

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corvo Coleman, the U.S. and Israel are continuing their strikes against Iran. Iran is also continued to fire at Israel, and at neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Israel is also widening its strikes on southern Lebanon. It's warned residents to flee for their lives. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shelchi reports displaced Lebanese are surging into the capital, Beirut. Beirut itself is just crowded with the displaced. You know, those with money are able to afford hotels or rent apartments. But then those who can't afford hotels are sleeping in their cars. And on the streets, the sidewalks are packed here with displaced families, mothers and children, huddled under blankets to stay warm, men sitting around little fires to keep warm, also smoking cigarettes. And Lebanese officials say over 95,000 people are now displaced. And Beirut's Hadeel Al-Shelchi reporting from Beirut. The Treasury Department is issuing a temporary waiver to allow refineries in India to purchase oil from Russia. And Beirut's

1:03Julia Simon reports on what energy experts are saying about this move. In a statement on X, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent wrote the 30-day waiver for India to buy Russian crude will, quote, not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea. This is a significant turn around, after months of the Trump administration leaning on India to stop accepting Russian oil. Experts tell MPR it's a move to try to avoid higher oil prices in the US and around the world. India is vulnerable to the current shortage of oil from the Persian Gulf because of the war with Iran. Around 40 percent of Indian crude imports come through the state of Hormuz, which is effectively blocked. Julia Simon, MPR News. President Trump is going to nominate Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullin to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome. Trump fired her yesterday. The change in leadership comes as the agency remains partially shut down.

2:04Travel industry leaders are urging Congress to end the funding stalemate. MPR's Joel Rose reports they're warning the shutdown could slow air traffic during the busy spring break season. The head of the US travel association, Jeff Freeman, says airport security workers deserve to get paid as they show up to work through the partial government shutdown. They're doing their job and they're not getting paid. It's not just unfair, it's reckless. DHS has been shut down for nearly three weeks after lawmakers failed to agree on changes to how immigration officers operate. That means about 50,000 employees at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration are working without pay. Travel and aviation industry groups worry that those officers will call out sick and start working second jobs, just as travel volume picks up in March and April. Joel Rose, MPR News, Washington. Andrew listening to MPR News from Washington. The Labor Department has released its latest report on jobs. It says the US lost 92,000 jobs

3:06last month. Economists had forecast a gain of 50,000 jobs. The unemployment rate inched up to 4.4%. The February news is a big change from January when 126,000 jobs were added to the US economy. Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez has announced he's dropping his re-election effort. He's faced growing pressure from GOP House leadership. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports Gonzalez says he won't resign. Gonzalez made the announcement on social media days after admitting he had an affair with a former staffer, which is against House rules. He also said he'd serve out the rest of his term in Congress. That former staffer, Regina Santos Aviles, took her own life in September. House Republican leaders had called on Gonzalez to end his re-election bid over the scandal and the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Gonzalez's conduct. Earlier this week, Gonzalez made it into the runoff in the Republican

4:07primary for the 23rd Congressional District in Texas, trailing Brandon Adeta a YouTube pro-gun influencer. Adeta is now the GOP nominee and will face Democrat Katie Padiest out in the November General Election. For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio. One of the last celebrations of the life of the late Reverend Jesse Jackson is set for today in Chicago, former president's Clinton Obama and Biden will attend. I'm Kurova Coleman, NPR News.