NPR News: 03-11-2026 8PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton, Lebanon's death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to more than 600. The UN says the war has displaced more than 800,000 people in Lebanon. 200,000 of them are children. The Israeli Army is hitting southern Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut as it targets Hezbollah's strongholds and Pierce Hadeel Al-Shawchi reports. At the Sports City football stadium on the outskirts of Beirut, nearly 800 people are now crammed into white tents pitched by volunteers. People haven't had access to clean bathrooms and say they haven't showered for days. Samar Safa is the general manager of Mechizumi Foundation, a nonprofit trying to help equip this stadium to make it more livable. He says resources are very limited. But we have budgeted for it within this year. We cannot cater for half a million displaced. Safa says organizations like Hezbollah are feeling the impact of President Trump's cuts to international humanitarian aid, making it difficult to provide essential services to

1:01those in need in Lebanon. Hadeel Al-Shawchi, NPR News, Beirut. Gas prices are rising again across the US and tensions in the Middle East are part of the reason after US and Israeli attacks on Iran, oil markets have been on edge. The Texas Newsroom's Luciom Vasquez reports. Gas prices are climbing as crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, becomes more expensive. AAA says the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was just under $3 a month ago. Now it's up by nearly 60 cents. When you look at the bigger picture over the last week or two, you see an increase in crude oil prices. That's after the US intervention in Iran. Daniel Armbruster with AAA says the big concern now is whether the conflict disrupts global oil shipments, which could push prices even higher. How that plays out in the coming weeks is going to be really important as to how long we see elevated gas prices. For now analysts say it's still difficult to predict how much higher prices could climb

2:03in the weeks ahead. For NPR News, I'm Lucio Vasquez and Houston. President Trump used a swing through Ohio and Kentucky to push an economic message and attack Republican Congressman Thomas Massey, even as the conflict in Iran threatens to overshadow his agenda. He's disloyal to the Republican Party. He's disloyal to the people of Kentucky. And most importantly, he is disloyal to the United States of America. And he's got to be voted out of office as soon as possible. Massey is one of the few remaining congressional Republicans who has dared to defy Trump. He's opposed Trump's military campaigns in Iran and Venezuela and was one of the primary sponsors of the bill to release files related to sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is supporting Massey's primary election opponent, Ed Galerine. U.S. stocks remained relatively calm today, the S&P 500 dropped a fraction. This is NPR News. Some Democratic-led states alarmed by the possibility of federal immigration officers

3:05patrolling the polls during this year's midterm elections or taking steps to prevent that from happening. New Mexico has barred armed agents from polling locations, and at least six other Democratic-led states are considering similar steps. Blue states have been overwhelmingly targeted by President Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. U.S. home insurance costs have gone up in part because climate change is fueling more extreme weather that damages property. NPR's Michael Coffley reports costs are expected to keep rising. Industry forecash owe home insurance premiums rising nationwide this year by up to 8%. While disaster costs fell in 2025, Rob Hoyt notes it marked another year in which the U.S. suffered more than $100 billion in losses from extreme weather. Hoyt's an insurance expert at the University of Georgia. We're talking about, quote, better than typical year in recent times, but that should be interpreted as amongst a very troubling set of years from a catastrophic loss perspective.

4:08Insurance costs have also been rising because people keep moving to risky areas, like regions prone to wildfires and hurricanes, and when disasters hit, inflation is made rebuilding more expensive. The company responsible for selling lost luggage in the U.S. released a list of the oddest things left behind at airports last year. Unclaimed baggage says it's most unusual fines included a powered prosthetic knee joint, a set of 10-carat diamond grills, and a fragment of a meteorite that fell to Earth in 1576. This is NPR.