NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-04-2026 4AM EST

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

NPR News: 03-04-2026 4AM 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

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Democratic voters in Texas of handed state representative James Tala Rico of victory, according to an Associated Press race call. Talariko won Tuesday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Here he is speaking to supporters last night before he was declared the winner over Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. We launched this underdog campaign six months ago in my hometown of Round Rock, Texas. And since then, and since then, tens of thousands of Texans have shown up to rally with us in every corner of the state, from Beaumont to El Paso, from Amarillo to Brownsville, and everywhere in between.

Tala Rico was declared the winner after confusion in Dallas and Williamson counties over new precinct rules. Tala Rico's Republican opponent this November has yet to be decided incumbent Senator John Corny. is heading to a runoff this May against State Attorney General Ken Paxton. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says U.S. embassies are under attack after an Iranian drone struck near the U.S. consulate in Dubai, and two Iranian drones caused a fire and damage at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. And here's Michelle Kellerman reports. In between meetings on Capitol Hill, Secretary Rubio offered a brief update about the incident in Dubai. The drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancellary building,

and then set off a fire in that place. All personnel are accounted for, as you're aware, we began drawing down personnel from our diplomatic facilities in advance of this. At least in a few embassies. Since the Trump administration launched the war against Iran, the State Department has evacuated non-essential personnel from many more embassies and consulates and is now organizing evacuation flights for private Americans.

Rubio is urging Americans to call a hotline if they need help. Michelle Kellerman and PR News. the State Department. Senate Committee today will vote on whether to advance President Trump's controversial nominee to be the nation's next public lands chief. MPR's Kirk Sigler reports a former New Mexico congressman, Steve Pierce, once called for selling the public lands he'd potentially be managing. The former owner of an oil field services company, 78-year-old Steve Pierce, is a Trump loyalist who pushed conspiracy theories that there was widespread fraud in New Mexico in the 2020 election. The main flashpoint over today's committee vote to lead the Bureau of Land Management rests on calls he once made as a congressman to sell off federal public lands to raise revenue.

That's widely unpopular in the West, including in his home state, where Becky Corrin is a city councilor in Los Cruces. He really looks at public lands in particular as places that should be bringing in more profit for corporations. In a hearing last week, Pierce told senators he had no plans to push for selling public lands. that's the purview of Congress. You're listening to NPR News. At the hampered nuclear cleanup site in southeast Washington State, a federal contractor has agreed to pay more than $3 million to settle fraud allegations. Northwest Public Broadcasting Zana King has more.

The U.S. Department of Justice says that a federal contractor charged for time that workers were idle. They accused Hanford Mission Integration Solutions of knowing that those charges were wrong. It all came out from a whistleblower. He claimed that Hanford's fire control systems were not being maintained by his employer. Richard Condit is with the whistleblower's law firm. He says the company's plans for workers were mismanaged. They did not want to sit around, and so it was very frustrating to them not to be out in the field doing what they needed to do. According to the Justice Department, the falsified recordkeeping happened for several years. For NPR News, I'm Anna King.

With the war in the Middle East now in its fifth day, the U.S. Senate is headed toward a vote on President Trump's decision to attack Iran alongside Israel. The Senate is to vote Wednesday on a war powers resolution, which would demand that Congress give its approval before any further attacks are carried out. The House is to vote on Thursday. European shares ticked up at the open after declines in Asia amid a global stock sell-off sparked by concern about the conflict in Iran. South Korea's benchmark plunge more than 12 percent. Japan's N.K. closed down more than 3 percent as oil prices climb higher. I'm Gail Snyder, the 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, apps. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com. T's and C's apply.