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Today’s top news
Israel launched an attack on central Beirut last nightIran-backed militant group Hezbollah intensified its offensive in Lebanon after firing rockets into Israel. The exchange marks some of the fiercest fighting between the two sides since the start of the war in Iran. Today, US Central Command confirmed that at least four crew members were killed when a refueling plane crashed in western Iraq. Yesterday, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei released his first message, vowing to close the Strait of Hormuz.
People inspect the site of a destroyed branch of the Hezbollah-run non-bank financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hasan, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike, in central Beirut, Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Hussain Malla/AP
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Hussain Malla/AP
- 🎧 Israel issues its first evacuation order since war broke out in Iran For a 300-yard radius of the building in Beirut’s Bachura neighborhood, NPR’s Hadeel al-Shalchi says First up. The Israeli military said it was killing and targeting Hezbollah operatives, but the specifics of what was targeted at the building last night were unclear. An official who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that the strike was symbolic and intended to send a message that Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah fire much longer. The Lebanese president has recently called for direct talks with Israel to end the war and asked the international community to help bolster its army to try to disarm Hezbollah. Israel has not commented publicly, but an official told NPR that Israel sees positive signs to push Hezbollah out of Lebanon. Al-Shalchi says he wouldn’t be surprised if talks took place soon.
The FBI is investigating two separate attacks yesterday. In Michigan, a gunman drove a car into a Temple Israel synagogue. In Virginia, another man opened fire at a Reserve Officers Training Corps class at Old Dominion University, killing one and wounding two.
- 🎧 Security officers engaged in a shootout with the suspect in Michigan, who died. Authorities identified him as 41-year-old Ayman Mohammad Ghazali. He was a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon. NPR has confirmed that an Israeli strike in Lebanon earlier this month killed two of Ghazli’s brothers and two of his brother’s children. His parents were injured and are undergoing treatment at the hospital. According to Alex McLennan of NPR Network station WDET, authorities have not yet shared a motive for the attack and say their investigation will take time.
- 🎧 Officials identified the Old Dominion University shooter as 36-year-old Mohammed Baylor Jalloh, of Sterling, Va. Members of the ROTC class wrestled him to the ground, and he was eventually killed. Jalloh was honorably discharged from the Virginia Army National Guard in 2015. Steve Walsh of NPR network station WHRO says they’ll be radicalized in the coming years. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release in 2017 after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq. He was released in 2024. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism, citing his previous arrest and witness reports, referring to the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar,” meaning “God is great.”
The Senate yesterday passed the largest housing bill in decades with 89 to 10 votes. The bipartisan legislation aims to improve housing affordability and availability by expanding unregulated, existing programs and prohibiting the purchase of single-family homes with certain exceptions.
- 🎧 The bill, which has more than 40 provisions, aims to reduce housing costs by encouraging more home construction.NPR’s Stephen Bisaha says. The country lacks millions of houses to meet demand, but Bisaha explains that the federal government does not have a “big lever” it can pull to mandate more construction. So the legislation is a mix of different programs and incentives, co-sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren describes it as a “giant meatball.” It includes a popular provision that prohibits institutional investors from buying single-family homes. While people blame these investors for driving up prices by crowding out households, the research on this is mixed. Bisaha says that big investors own some houses across the US and in some cases, they help with lower costs.
Living well
Digitally generated image of young man of African American ethnicity wearing suit standing on purple ramp looking at multiple message chat icons. Artificial intelligence chatbot communication concept.
Andriy Onufrienko/Moment RF/Getty Images
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Andriy Onufrienko/Moment RF/Getty Images
Living Better a Special series About what it takes to be healthy in America.
Tech companies are rolling out platforms specifically for health counseling, and AI is quickly becoming a major player in shaping people’s medical decisions. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, reports that more than 40 million people access the platform daily for health information. But new research shows that AI can mislead users in some medical situations. And the quality of health information it delivers depends on how effectively a person motivates the equipment.
- 🗨️ The study found that even when AI correctly identifies a condition, it doesn’t present next steps with enough urgency. Researchers found bots “under-triaged” in 52% of emergency cases, treating the illness as less serious.
- 🗨️ Health care can be hard to afford and access, which is why consulting AI is better than the alternatives, says Robert Wachter, a physician at UC San Francisco.
- 🗨️ Hospitalist Adam Rodman, who researches AI programs, says the best time to use AI is before or after seeing a doctor to get more information about your condition. This will help you make the most of your time with your medical provider.
Weekend options
Check that NPR Watching, reading and listening this weekend:
🍿 Movies: in HoppersA young woman uses mind-bending technology to inhabit an animatronic beaver, hoping to save a glade of love from grave danger of destruction by the town’s slimy mayor.
📺 TV: MGM+s An American classic A hidden gem, says NPR TV critic David Bianculli. In the series, a Shakespearean actor returns to his small town after a crisis and works to save the local theater.
📚 Books: In her new book Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of EntertainmentRee Lynn Barnes traces the origins of minstrel shows, performances in which an actor portrays a black, usually formerly enslaved, person.
🎵 Music: Kacey Musgraves’ new song “Dry Spell” discusses the long periods she spent alone as an adult. The song appears on her sixth album, middle of nowhere, Releasing on May 1st. He sat down with NPR Music for an exclusive first interview about his new music.
🌮 Food: The Oscars are this weekend. If you invite people to watch, NPR has some small menu ideas to reflect this year’s unique slate of Best Picture nominees.
❓ Quiz: I scored nine out of 10 two weeks in a row. I will reach that perfect score soon. Meanwhile, it’s your turn to aim for a flawless result.
3 things to know before you go
NASA employees briefed the media about the Artemis II mission late Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The press conference focused on the revisions and fixes being made to the rocket components.
Greg Newton/AFP via Getty Images
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- NASA announced yesterday that the launch date for Artemis II has been set as early as April 1, a 10-day mission that will send four astronauts around the moon and back.
- Smiljan Rodik Clark won the Pritzker Prize, which is known as the Nobel of architecture.
- Fischer F003, a large weasel outfitted with a GPS collar by the researchers, traveled approximately 80 miles, the longest recorded dispersal journey for the species. (via NHPR)
Edited this newsletter Suzanne Nguyen.
