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NPR News: 03-02-2026 8PM EST

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Live from MPR News and Washington, I'm Louise Kiewone. As the latest Middle East conflict continues

into a third-day President Trump today, paid tribute to service persons who have died in attacks

by Iran. President Trump has projected that combat operations there could continue for four or five weeks and that the most intense part of the operation or the big way this he put it is still ahead. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsev today told reporters, quote, "This is not Iraq, this is not endless and PR's Tom Bowman has more." Defense Secretary Pete Hegsev then joined Chief Chairman General Dan Cain, briefed the press talking about taking out Iranian missiles. It's nuclear

program and Navy. Now there already have been six American soldiers killed and collated by an Iranian missile and as many as 18 wounded. And General Cain said, "This is just the beginning of

this operation and also to expect more casualties." And PR's Tom Bowman, the Iranian red

crescent reports that more than 500 people in the region have died there so far in the conflict.

The State Department is urging Americans to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East as the U.S. and Israel continues strikes on Iran. And PR's Michelle Kellerman reports that Iran has been firing drones and missiles at Gulf countries with U.S. bases. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. has determined to wipe out Iran's ballistic missile capabilities and its Navy to prevent it from threatening countries in the region. The hardest hits are yet to

come from the U.S. military. The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now. Iran is responding with drone and missile strikes across the region and the State Department

has been pulling some staff out of embassies in Gulf countries. The Department is also urging

Americans in the region to sign up for emergency alerts and leave when possible. The U.S. embassy in

Lebanon announced that it will be closed on Tuesday. Michelle Kellerman and PR news the State Department. In Texas voting in the State's primary election ends tomorrow and one of the big questions is whether gains Republicans made with Latino voters in 2024 are sticking and PR's Ashley Lopez reports. Issues like the economy and immigration played a big role in the shift among some Latino voters in 2024. But now those issues are a liability for the party.

Brandon Roddinghaus at the University of Houston says polling shows Latinos are becoming increasingly unhappy with President Trump's handling of the economy as well as aggressive immigration enforcement operations. There's a sense that the Republicans have squandered a situation where they were likely to get the Latino vote on their side for several election cycles. Roddinghaus says significant participation among these voters in the State's democratic

primary could be one sign these voters could be shifting away from the GOP. Ashley Lopez and PR news. After somewhat volatile day markets closed the day relatively unchanged this is NPR. Several international airlines are resuming a small number of domestic flights from the United Arab Emirates to get tens of thousands of travelers on their way home. Do buy officials are telling passengers to go to the airport only if contacted for flights, foreign governments urging

citizens to shelter in place as evacuation plans are sorted. The origins of human's affinity for alcohol may be visible in our primate relatives. Here's science reporter Ari Daniel. When fruits ripen they ferment and produce alcohol. For some primates that smell may be a shortcut to finding sugar and calories. But there wasn't much evidence the chimps were actually consuming the alcohol. So a team of researchers including UC Berkeley PhD student Alexei

Maro sampled urine from wild Uganda and chimps. At least 10 of the animals urine contained a concentration equivalent in humans to having had one or two drinks. It's plausible that our ancestral diet may have had similar alcohol just baked into our everyday existence. Perhaps leading to our modern attraction to the stuff except that today we can produce and consume it at much higher concentrations. For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel. He marched for civil rights alongside Barton Luther King

Jr. ran for president and continued on as leader of his self-styled rainbow coalition. Now the Reverend Jesse Jackson returns to his once segregated home state of South Carolina for a final public farewell lying in state at the capital in Columbia. I'm Louise Kivoney and PR News. This message comes from wise the app for international people using money around

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