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Today’s top news
Today, the House is expected to vote on measures to limit President Trump’s powers A day later a similar resolution, to go to war on Iran, failed to advance in the Senate. Senators voted 47-53, mostly along party lines. The US and Israel continue to attack Iran as the conflict enters its sixth day. Iran said the US “deeply regrets” the torpedoing of an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka yesterday. At least 87 people were killed in the attack.
People wave flags in mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during a US-Israeli military operation in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. Iranian authorities eventually postponed public mourning ceremonies for the supreme leader.
Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
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Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
- 🎧 NPR’s Ruth Sherlock in Turkey says First up She spoke to shocked Iranians Crossing the border. He says everyone who spoke to Western media was too afraid to give their names because they were detained in Iran. A doctor explains to Sherlock the horror of being engulfed in smoke and witnessing many civilian casualties. Sherlock adds that Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US military bases and assets in the Gulf region have crippled those countries’ economies. Qatar’s prime minister said yesterday that he prefers diplomacy, but aggression “will not be answered.”
- 🎧 Iran’s clerical committee is deciding who will replace Ayatollah Ali KhameneiHe was killed in an airstrike at the start of the war. Four frontrunners are under consideration. The main contender is Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah. According to NPR’s Jackie Northam, Mojtaba is seen as a status quo option, but analysts say Iran’s current system cannot sustain itself. He says Iran, crippled by war, protests and a battered economy, needs to transform to regain legitimacy.
- 🎧 China is sending Ambassador Zhai Jun to the Middle East to mediate the conflictNPR’s Jennifer Pak says. The Ministry of External Affairs did not specify where he would visit. Pakistan says there are two reasons for China to step in: economic interest in the region and a diplomatic opportunity to act as a peacemaker. China has never provided any military aid to Iran. Pakistan has said that other countries may question whether partnering with China is strategically worthwhile if it does not provide security cover in war.
- ➡️ Since the start of the war, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has slowedThe waterway carries about 20% of the world’s crude oil and natural gas. Check out this animation to see the difference between February 28 and March 3.
- ➡️ A precision airstrike on an Iranian military complex on Saturday hit a neighboring elementary school On Saturday, around 165 people were killed, most of them schoolgirls. An NPR review of satellite imagery suggests the school may have been hit due to outdated targeting information.
This year, more than 80 Gen Z and Millennial candidates A challenge or race to succeed House Democrats 65 and older, according to a report by Democratic fundraising platform Oath, first obtained by NPR. That marks a huge uptick from the previous cycle, which featured 24 Democratic candidates under the age of 50 challenging older incumbents. While seasoned politicians are often on the brink of re-election, this year’s midterms show cracks in long-term dynamics. Challengers have traditionally struggled to raise funds. But this year, some young challengers are breaking through on that front, according to an NPR analysis of campaign finance data.
Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration this week accusing the federal government of Weaponizing Medicaid as “political punishment” against the state. At the center of the controversy is about $250 million the state spent on Medicaid last summer. The administration is withholding matching funds citing allegations of fraud. Medicaid is a public health insurance program for low-income people. It’s a state-federal partnership — every dollar a state spends on Medicaid is matched by the federal government. For months, right-wing media and politicians have claimed Minnesota has fraudulent social services, leading the state to post its own fraud fact-checking page. Health policy experts say the federal government’s actions to withhold and defer funding set a common fraud-management precedent.
Ask today
NPR’s 2026 College Podcast Challenge Finalists Colleges and Universities.
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LA Johnson/NPR
The NPR Education team listened to hundreds of compelling student stories from 75 campuses across 35 states to select the finalists in their fifth annual NPR College Podcast Challenge. Two compelling stories she chose are a student’s personal narrative about earning a college degree while raising a child, and a recording artist’s reminiscences about the rich sounds of a New York City neighborhood. In the following days, judges will select a grand prize winner from the top 10 podcasts. In the meantime, you can listen to the finalists.
If you can’t get enough of these student podcasts, the team has also selected several honorable mentions.
Deep dive
Prosecutors are expected to argue that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, engaged in anti-competitive practices that severely harmed musicians, venues and ticket buyers.
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NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images/NurPhoto
A federal antitrust trial against Live Nation, one of the world’s largest entertainment companies, began earlier this week. Prosecutors argue that Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster engage in anti-competitive practices that deeply harm musicians, venues and ticket buyers. The Justice Department filed suit in 2024, but calls for ticketing reform have grown over the years. The trial is the largest legal action yet against the company, which has great potential to change the status quo of the live entertainment industry. Here’s what you need to know:
- 🎫 Live Nation performs over 400 artists and owns or controls over 265 North American venues. Ticketmaster controls about 80% of primary ticketing. The government has accused Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s promotion services of pressuring artists to perform at its venues.
- 🎫 If found guilty of violating antitrust laws, the DOJ could break up Ticketmaster and LiveNation. The DOJ approved the merger of the two companies in 2010.
- 🎫 If Live Nation and Ticketmaster separate, fans will feel the difference because a market with more competition will exist. According to Brian Berry, executive director of the Ticket Policy Forum, a wider range of options can lower prices and fees.
3 things to know before you go
RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JULY 01: Aerial view, houses under construction in a new housing development on July 01, 2025 in Richmond, California. US construction spending fell 0.3% in May as higher mortgage rates and rising inventory affected single-family housing projects, according to a report from the US Commerce Department’s Census Bureau. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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- About 7% of new single-family homes are now available for rent rather than for sale, lowering prices for both renters and buyers. Builders will have completed 10 times as many “build-to-rent” homes in the US in 2024 as a decade ago.
- Mifepristone, a drug used for the management of first-trimester abortions and miscarriages, is facing a major legal challenge. The lawsuit calls for the FDA’s 2023 rule to allow telemedicine and prescriptions delivered by mail. NPR wants to hear about your experience with the drug.
- In this week’s Far-Flung Postcard, NPR’s Claire Herbage goes underwater for an adventure in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat Islands, an adventurous marine biodiversity hotspot.
Edited this newsletter Suzanne Nguyen.
