NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-03-2026 2AM EST

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

NPR News: 03-03-2026 2AM ESTTo manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With the rise of prediction markets, you can bet on anything from whether to what President Trump will say in his next press conference. I'm not a fan of Trump, though I do spend most of my day listening to him and tracking what he's doing. On the Sunday story, who's winning big on these apps and who's losing? The Sunday story from the Up First podcast, listen now on the NPR app. Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. With a conflict in the Middle East widening, President Trump made his first public. remarks Monday about the U.S. attacks on Iran. He says the military campaign would likely take several weeks. Here's NPR's Franco-Wordogne. Historically, presidents would often, you know,

make a case to the American people. They'd explain why this needed to happen at this moment, for example. But, you know, this president didn't do that. You know, we got really more vague explanations of the dangers. You know, at the state of the union address, he kind of jumbled together some of those concerns that he has and the administration has, but no plan. The president also did not seek backing from Congress or even ask for authorization to go to war. And that's really going to be a debate this week on Capitol Hill. Democrats say Trump has not made a convincing case that the U.S. faced an immediate threat. They're pushing for a war powers vote to limit Trump's actions. U.S. Central Command has confirmed six U.S. casualties in combat with Iran. NPR's Quill Lawrence

reports that hundreds of Iranians are believed to have been killed. Sentcom posted on social media that additional U.S. service members have been killed in action and that the remains of two previously unaccounted for American troops were recovered from a facility hit during the first hours of the war. Earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegeseth had confirmed that one of those wounded in an attack on a fortified operation center on a U.S. base in Kuwait had later died from those injuries. The Pentagon does not release the names of troops killed in action until 24 hours after next of kin are notified. Both Hegsseth and President Trump have said they expect more U.S.

casualties before the operation stops. Trump has been speaking to several media outlets, but given various answers about how long combat might continue. Quill Lawrence NPR News. Americans are being warned away from the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. The embassy in Riyadh is advising Americans to stay away until further notice following an attack by Iranian drones. British Prime Minister Kirstarmer defending his decision to not join the U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran, but to instead offer limited defensive support for the operation. From London, Ilya Merritt's reports. Speaking to Parliament, Starmor said Iran's actions have put British civilians living in the Middle East at risk, as well as the lives of members of the British military. Over the weekend,

Iran struck U.K. bases in Bahrain and Cyprus. But Starmor said Britain will not join America's and Israel's war with Iran because there is no legal justification. occasion for it. And I will not countenance committing our military personnel to action which doesn't have a lawful basis. That is not a fair thing to do to our serving personnel. Stummer said Iran's future should be determined by the Iranian people and the only way forward is through a negotiated outcome. For NPR news, I'm I'm I'm Liyah Merritt's in London. This is NPR. A Minnesota prosecutor says she may pursue charge. against federal officers for alleged misconduct during the Trump administration's immigration

cracked down in the state. Head of and County attorney mary moriarty says her office is already investigating 17 incidents. She also says her office may sue the federal government for blocking requests for evidence and her investigations into the deaths of renne good and Alex prety. Moriarty's jurisdiction includes Minneapolis. President trump says he will attend the white house Correspondents Association dinner this year. It would mark the first time he's attended as president, as MPIRs Daniel Kurtzleben reports. In a social media post, Trump said he will attend in part because this year marks the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding. The dinner has long been a celebration of the First Amendment that the president attends. In his post, Trump added that, quote,

because the press was extraordinarily bad to me, fake news all, right from the beginning of my first term, I boycotted the event and never went. President Obama famously joked about Trump at the 2011 dinner. At the 2018 event, comedian Michelle Wolfe slammed the news media and the administration, including press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was in attendance. While most past dinners featured a famous comedian, the entertainment at this year's dinner will be mentalist Oz Perlman. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.

The war with Iran has sparked a surge in oil and gas prices and stocks, are down in Tuesday trading in Asia. Losses in South Korea's stock market now top 7%. I'm Jail Snyder. This is NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply.