Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, Israeli officials say Isr...
a "brod-scale wave of strikes against Iran's military infrastructure, multiple
“air strikes rocked the capital to Iran today.”
Israel claims it has done major damage to Iran's air defense systems. As NPR's Kary Khan reports, Israel has lifted some restrictions on public gatherings inside Israel as the number of incoming missiles and drones fired from Iran decrease. Israel's Army Chief of Staff says 80% of Iran's air defenses have been destroyed and at least 60% of its ability to launch missiles have also been crippled.
But while the number of incoming missiles and drones from Iran have decreased, military officials say the threat remains.
“It has suggested more large targets in Iran will be hit without providing details.”
With the decrease in incoming projectiles from Iran, Israel has begun easing public gathering restrictions, schools and many businesses, however remain closed, as well as major religious sites in Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa mosque, where normally tens of thousands
of worshippers would attend prayers on this third Friday of Ramadan.
Kary Khan and P.R. News White House officials will meet with some of the biggest U.S. defense contractors today. Kary Khan and P.R.S. Freckle Ordonia's reports, this meeting comes in mid-concerns about the stock of weapons available to the U.S. military.
“White House officials are expected to press its contractors to accelerate weapons production as the U.S. expands its war in Iran.”
The White House and Pentagon say the U.S. military has already hit more than 2,000 targets. President Trump says the war may last four to five weeks. The Defense Secretary Pete Heggsett says strikes will accelerate in the coming days. U.S. officials who were not authorized to speak publicly told N.P.R. that they are concerned about a lack of missile interceptors and may have to draw from other stockpiles. The Pentagon, though, has pushed back saying they have sufficient precision munitions, and that once they gain more control of Iranian airspace, they'll be able to rely on less sophisticated weapons.
President Trump has fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome, he's nominating her replacement, Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullin. The change in DHS leadership comes as the agency remains shut down. And B.R. Sam Gringlass says that Democratic lawmakers want changes in how immigration agents operate before they vote for a funding measure. Mullin would be taking over a department that could still be shut down, so it is hard to imagine that he won't play a role in publicly pushing for Democrats to fund it.
Mullin is respected for having the ear of the president and also his old colleagues in the House. And that's one reason why he was one of the senators involved in talks to end the record long shutdown last fall. You're listening to N.P.R. The government releases its monthly jobs reports later this hour. Some economists predict these will show modest hiring in February with about 50,000 jobs created. The Pentagon says it's labeling the AI company Anthropic, a supply chain risk to national security.
The Defense Department is banning any entity related to the Pentagon from doing business with Anthropic, which makes the chatbot clawed. Anthropic has been arguing with the Pentagon over how its chatbot can be used. The company doesn't want its chatbot to be used to surveil Americans and it doesn't want the US military to use it for deadly autonomous weapons. Anthropic says it will sue the Pentagon. One of the last fair wells will be held today in Chicago for the late civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson.
As Empire Cheryl Corley reports, three former presidents will attend the service. Dignitaries, entertainers and family will offer a mix of praise and song for the civil rights leader who died last month from a rare brain disease. There's been several days of events celebrating Jackson's life and legacy in Chicago and in his home state of South Carolina. Jackson became a national force during his two runs for the White House in the 1980s.
Today, former presidents, Biden and Clinton will pay tribute to the man who's often credited with laying the groundwork for the country's first black president Barack Obama, who will also be present.
On Saturday, a musical tribute featuring Stevie Wonder and other artists will be held during the last of the Jackson celebrations at his rainbow push coalition. Cheryl Corley and PR News, Chicago. You're listening to NPR News.
