Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
The Pentagon says the U.S. has trippily, carrying the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from
“Ogunawa, Japan, has arrived in the Middle East.”
The ship is carrying around 3,500 sailors and marines, in addition to transport and strike fighter aircraft, along with amphibious assault and tactical assets. It's not clear what their mission will be yet. This is the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have now entered the widening Middle East war, launching a missile toward Israel today.
It's the first time the rebel group has fired since the war started.
Israel's military says it was successfully intercepted. The Houthi's attack opens another front in the war that's now moved into its second month. And Pierskary Khan has more. Up until Saturday's missile launch, the Iranian-backed Houthi's had stayed out
of this war, but Houthi spokesman says attacks will continue until, quote, "the aggression on all resistant front stops."
“The Yemen-based rebels were active during Israel's war and Gaza firing on cargo ships”
in the Red Sea and disrupting global commercial traffic. Iran hit multiple sites around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Saturday. Israel's military says Iran is increasingly using cluster bombs. Designed to detonate at high altitude, the munition disperses multiple smaller bombs that are more challenging for Israel's multi-layered air defense system to intercept and can
cause damage over a wider area, dozens of countries have signed on to a cluster munitions treaty ban, except Iran, Israel, and the US. Kary Khan and Pierskary news Tel Aviv. Organizers say more than 3,000 no-kings rallies are taking place around the country this weekend, as demonstrators protest President Trump and his policies, including the war on Iran,
immigration tactics, and the rising cost of living.
It's the third no-kings protest since Trump took office again, and millions of people
are expected to attend.
“Demonstrations kicked off in Minnesota were two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by”
ICE agents as they protested. Dormaya Vance from Member Station WABE in Atlanta has more from one of the protests in Georgia. Crowds gathered near the Georgia State Capitol with several decorative protests, signs, and flags. College student Aden Gray says he wanted to be a part of this weekend's protest because
it's a way for his voice and others to have the sense of power. Our voice is whole power, and to stand up against her and stand up against a government that is actively oppressing immigrants, a government that is violating the rule of law, using our voices one of the biggest things that we need to do right now. Demonstrators voiced their stances on issues like women's health and immigration with
the chance in music while marching along at Lynn is downtown streets. We're in PR news under my events in Atlanta. And the no kings protest also took place across the sea in London, Paris, and Rome. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. It was an extremely warm winter in the Western United States, and Piers Rebecca Hershire
reports, many states, set new records. The contiguous U.S. was nearly five degrees Fahrenheit hotter this winter compared to the country's average winter during the 20th century. That's according to the latest climate information released by the National Oceanic and atmosphere administration.
Nine states had their warmest winters ever recorded, going back to 1895, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma. Three of those states smashed their previous record by more than two degrees. Workers say 2026 is very likely to clock in as one of the seven warmest years for the planet as a whole.
The Earth is rapidly warming up, because humans are burning fossil fuels, which release pollution that traps extra heat in the Earth's atmosphere, Rebecca Hershire and Piers News. The Department of Veterans Affairs is using a new electronic health record system that will roll out to states over the next several months, with Michigan the first to switch. Officials say physical records can make it tough to utilize new coverage to prove exposure
to chemicals from burn pits and agent orange. This new record system will keep them all in one accessible place, but officials do say the initial transition could cause some delays. I'm Jeanine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington Newsmakers is NPR's newest podcast where you can find NPR's biggest interviews.
We begin with Westmore, a rising star in the Democratic Party, you know, you're never going
to win long-term on anger. Westmore, Maryland, on the midterms and beyond, you gotta be able to show what an alternative looks like. This week on NPR's Newsmakers, listen or watch the program on NPR's YouTube channel.
