NPR News: 04-04-2026 2PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Search crews continue to look for the missing U.S. airmen after his plane, one of two shot down over Iran yesterday when missing. Two other service members were rescued. This is the conflict in the Middle East intensifies. Iran targeted the Oracle Office Building in Dubai overnight after threatening to strike data centers and U.S. defense and tech companies in the Gulf. Authorities in Dubai say debris fell in the facade of Oracle's office building. The apparent overnight drone attack occurred when offices would normally be empty of personnel and no injuries were reported. Iran says the attack is in response to the attempted assassination this week, a former foreign minister Kamal Harazi. Iran says he was severely wounded and his wife killed. Iranian media reported he'd been talking with Pakistani mediators on possible U.S. Iran talks to end the war. The U.S. and Israel have been coordinating most attacks on Iran, and it's unknown which carried out the attack on Harazi. Iran's revolutionary guard named 18 U.S. tech and defense companies as targets to further

1:03assassination attempts. The list includes Palantir, Mehta, Google, Microsoft, and others. A. Abu Trabi, NPR News, Dubai. Hi, housing costs are pricing people out of not only buying, but also renting alone. NPR's Jennifer Lutton reports that's led to an uptick in seniors seeking roommates. And a share of people's 65-older looking for a roommate has tripled in the past decade says Matt Hutchinson with the listing site Spare Room. They're not the biggest group of roommates, but they're by far the fastest growing. David West is one of them. He never imagined living with a stranger at age 72, but divorce and job loss burned through his savings. His roommate in Fresno covers utilities and West shares his Costco membership. And it's that give and take thing. It's trying to help each other out as much as possible. Jarla Desatel is 74, and enjoys the shared company when she gets along well with a roommate. And that's pretty special when that works out. She's also proud she's learned to live with less. Jennifer Lutton in NPR News.

2:05The government's monthly jobs report shows 178,000 jobs are added last month, higher than economists were expecting. But revisions to February show a bigger loss than first reported of 132,000 jobs. By the long as Chief Economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, she says it's called the K-shaped economy, where people in the top 20% are okay. People earning $170,000 are more. They're doing really well. Generally speaking, they are benefiting from the AI investments, which have really driven big stock market gains. I know the stock market had a little bit of a correction in the last few weeks, but by and large, it's been a great couple of years for investors. And those folks, they don't worry that much. Speaking there on NPR's weekend edition, you're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration is suing three states, Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, arguing

3:06the prediction market industry should be federally regulated and not subject to the rules of state gambling commissions. Some states have sued individual companies claiming they offer unregulated sports gambling. Todd Bookman with the New Hampshire Public Radio has more. March Madness is one of the most widely bet on events of the year, and for states, regulated sports gambling has become a key source of revenue. But prediction market companies have come seemingly out of nowhere, offering people the chance to win money on the outcome of games, but state governments don't get a cut. State Senator Tim Lang, a Republican, says New Hampshire could soon join other states that have filed lawsuits. They're welcome to apply for a license, right, and welcome to the state and work within our state regulations to make this happen. They should not be able to skirt our state laws. The prediction markets and the Trump administration say the federal government, not the states, should have oversight. For NPR News, I'm Todd Bookman. As oil prices surge, raising inflation fears, European Union finance ministers from five

4:08countries are urging the block to implement a windfall tax on energy companies. Spain, Germany, Portugal, and Austria are warning of market distortions linked to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran as costs for businesses and households are rising. The proposal would tax excess energy company profits using a formula similar to the one used during the 2022 energy crisis after Russia invaded Ukraine, inflation in the Eurozone rose to 1.5 percent this month. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News.