NPR News: 03-13-2026 2AM EDT

0:00Live from MPR News, I'm Trial Snyder. The FBI says it's investigating a Thursday's attack on a synagogue outside Detroit as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. Alex McClendon is with member station WDET in Detroit. He's been covering the attack on Temple, Israel and West Bloomfield. Southeast Michigan is a very diverse area and local law enforcement say when tension is high globally. For instance, like right now in the Middle East, law enforcement here are also on alert. It should be noted that the FBI's Detroit office says they carried out an active shooter drill at the Temple, Israel, about six weeks ago. The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack in which a suspect crashed his truck into the synagogue. The truck burst into flames after security guards fired on it. The suspect was killed, no one else died, but a guard was injured. One victim is dead, two people are wounded after a gunmen burst into an ROTC classroom at Virginia's Old Dominion University.

1:00Steve Walsh with member station WHRO and Norfolk reports that ROTC students put a stop to the attack. He was wrestled to the ground by a student says FBI agent in charge of the Norfolk field office, Dominique Evans. There were students that were in that room that subdued him and rendered him no longer alive. Police identified the gunmen as Muhammad Jalal, a former Virginia National Guard specialist. Jalal was convicted in 2017 of attempting to plot an Islamic state-inspired terrorist attack inside the U.S. He was sentenced to 10 years but was released in 2024. It's not clear what prompted this latest attack. The university has canceled classes through Friday. Brem PR News. I'm Steve Walsh. A rescue operation ongoing in Western Iraq. The U.S. military says a refueling aircraft went down Thursday, saying in a statement that a second aircraft that was involved was able to land safely.

2:01U.S. Central Command says the incident was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. Iran's new Supreme Leader has issued his first public statement since succeeding his father. He was killed in an air strike at the start of the war and pierced Akhid Northam reports. The statement attributed to Supreme Leader Mojda Bahamini says Iran will continue to block the street of Hormuz, calling it a successful strategy that gives Iran leverage in the war. Hundreds of tankers are idled in the strategic waterway causing oil prices to skyrocket. It says Iran will carry on fighting and urges the Gulf states to close their U.S. military bases. Otherwise, Iran will continue to attack those countries. Hormonee's written statement was read with an English voiceover in a photo of the Supreme Leader on the TV screen. Hormonee has not made a public appearance since he was named Supreme Leader, leading to speculation that he's wounded, dead or in hiding. Jackie Northam in PR News. This is NPR. Researchers in California say a outbreak of the bird flu that's affecting the state's

3:06elephant seals has now spread to other marine mammals. NPR's Nate Rodd reports include a sea otter and a sea lion. The bird flu was first detected in elephant seals on California's coast in late February. The flu, known as H5N1, has decimated some elephant seal populations in the southern hemisphere. But so far, wildlife officials say the new outbreak in California seems limited in scale, with all of the known infections occurring at or near a state park north of Santa Cruz. To be safe, though, they're conducting tests along other parts of the coast and are urging people and pets to stay away from any wildlife carcasses they might find on the state's beaches. Nate Rodd and PR News. Senate Republicans are planning to launch a full debate next week on voting legislation pushed by President Trump. The House pass bill would impose strict new proof of citizenship requirements, said if a majority leader John Thune is planning a talkathon on the Senate floor, Republicans plan to hold the floor for an indefinite period of time.

4:06Democrats are opposed to the legislation President Trump has said that he will not sign any other legislation until the bill is passed. He says Republicans need the bill to win this year's midterm elections. NASA has cleared its Artemis Moon rocket for a launch early next month. Mission managers made the call Thursday at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, saying NASA is aiming for a launch attempt as early as April 1st, with four astronauts. The Artemis crew should have blasted off earlier this year, but fuel leaks and other problems got in the way. I'm Trial Snyder, this is MPR News. This week on the MPR Politics Podcast, the war on Iran is rippling through the global economy, and we're unpacking what that could mean for this November's midterms. Plus, detailed reporting on the tactics ICE is using to surveil American citizens. Listen this week on the MPR Politics Podcast. On the MPR app, or wherever you get your podcasts.