NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-02-2026 11AM EST

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kourva Coleman. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a press briefing this morning with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They provided more detail about ongoing military action against Iran. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports a fourth U.S. troop death has been confirmed. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegs said the American mission in attacking Iran was to prevent Iran from projecting power outside its borders. He said Iran's conventional military was protecting its nuclear program. So ultimately, those nuclear ambitions, which never ceased, are something that had to be addressed as well. So that's a discrete sense of what's being addressed to ensure that they can't use that conventional umbrella to continue a pursuit of nuclear ambitions. Hegseth repeated President Trump's remark that this is a generational opportunity for Iranians to rise up against their government, but did not suggest the U.S. would help them directly in that effort.

Quill-Lorrence NPR News. Heg Seth also said that the military action would not spiral into a long regional conflict. He insisted this is not the war in Iraq. But the Trump administration is turning to the U.S. military to achieve its goals. In just the last three months, the Trump administration has attacked Venezuela, deposed its authoritarian president. And President Trump ordered U.S. military strikes on Nigeria on Christmas Day. He claimed Christians were being attacked,

although Nigerian officials say Muslims are being attacked in that country, too. President Trump may say more about his views this morning as he presides over a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. Three U.S. Army soldiers will be recognized during the ceremony. Retired Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson is being recognized for actions during the Vietnam War. He is credited with saving the lives of 85 other service members. The late staff Sergeant Michael Alas was killed in Afghanistan in 2013. He is being honored for valor during combat, and Master Sergeant Roderick Edmonds, who died in 1985, is being recognized for his leadership during World War II. He was held by Germany as a prisoner of war during that war.

In the conflict with Iran, Iran is continuing to fire at Israel and at neighboring states in the Middle East that host U.S. military bases. NPR's Jackie Northam. Iran has responded with deadly strikes on Israel and attacking Gulf states, and last night the Iranian and back militia Hezbollah in Lebanon launched rockets into Israel, which responded with airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, widening this war even further. NPR's Jackie Northam reporting. The Pentagon says three U.S. war planes have been shot down in Kuwait in a friendly fire incident. U.S. Central Command says all six crew members aboard ejected safely. The Defense Department says the incident is being investigated. On Wall Street,

down 160 points. This is NPR. Police in Austin, Texas, have identified this weekend's shooter at a local bar. It's a 53-year-old man who killed two people early yesterday before he was shot to death by police. FBI officials say this is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism. For the first time, in at least 50 years, more people are leaving the United States than arriving. A new study shows the country recorded a net migration loss in 2025. NPR's Windsor-Johnston reports experts say the trend could have lasting consequences for the U.S. economy. The Brookings Institution estimates the U.S. was close to zero or negative net migration last year, meaning it likely lost more people to migration than it gained. Top destinations for those leaving include Portugal, Ireland, Germany, and Vietnam,

as total immigration to the U.S. fell by more than half compared to the U.S. fell by more than half compared to 2023. Julia Gillette is the Associate Director of the Migration Policy Institute. It's very unusual in our nation's history, and it's happening also at a time when our population is aging. Gillette says the bigger driver is fewer people arriving, not Americans leaving. But she warns both trends together could slow workforce growth and weigh on the broader economy. Windsor Johnston and PR News.

The body of civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson will in state today in South Carolina's capital. Jackson was born in South Carolina, although he based his civil rights group, the Rainbow Push Coalition, in Chicago. Jackson died last month at the age of 84. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.