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U.S-Israeli strikes continue across Iran; Iranian drones hit Azerbaijan

Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after passing through the Razi-Kapiköy border crossing in Van, northeastern Turkey, on Tuesday, a day after Turkey and Iran mutually suspended day-trip crossings at their border as Israeli-U.S. strikes continued to pound the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. and Israel say they conducted new strikes inside Iran overnight, targeting ballistic missile launchers. Iran claims it struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf.

(Image credit: Ali Ihsan Ozturk)

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In lawsuit, Minnesota accuses Trump administration of 'weaponizing' Medicaid funding

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing about fraud on Wednesday.

The federal government said the state should do more to fight fraud and is holding back funds. Minnesota officials say the attack is unfair as the state's fraud rate is well below national averages.

(Image credit: Tom Williams)

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Wall Street is betting on tariff refunds after Supreme Court ruling

People walk by the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. Trades of tariff refunds have ballooned since the Supreme Court struck down many of President Trump

When the Supreme Court struck down many of President Trump's tariffs, it left importers wondering how long they'd have to wait to get their money back. Hedge funds are offering to help out.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt)

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March (Audio) Madness! Here are the finalists in NPR's College Podcast Challenge

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From 75 campuses across 35 states, we've listened to hundreds of student entries to select the very best for NPR's College Podcast Challenge.

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Announcing the 2025 NPR College Podcast Challenge Honorable Mentions

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Here are some of the best entries in NPR's 2025 College Podcast Challenge.

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A run for their money: Young candidates rival older incumbents in midterm fundraising

Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson takes a selfie with protesters at a "No Kings" protest on October 18, 2025 in Memphis, Tenn.  Pearson is looking to unseat his former boss, Rep. Steve Cohen.

As a growing crop of young candidates challenge longtime Democratic incumbents, some are not just breaking through in the money race, but outraising their opponents altogether.

(Image credit: Jan Sonnenmair)

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When ICE came, Minneapolis created underground health networks. Should other cities?

A couple and their 1-year-old son have been afraid to leave their apartment for fear of being targeted by immigration enforcement agents. "It feels like a psychological attack," the father says. "The possibility of being separated from your family."

The Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis forced some families into hiding and catalyzed informal medical networks to deliver critical health care services inside homes.

(Image credit: Kate Wells)

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China sets a lower economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026 as challenges loom

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left and Chinese Premier Li Qiang chat during the opening session of the National People

China has signaled continuity rather than change for its economy, setting a slightly lower target for growth this year in the midst of a property slump and other headwinds at home and growing uncertainty abroad.

(Image credit: Ng Han Guan)

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Carney says he backs strikes on Iran 'with some regret' as world order frays

Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he supports the strikes on Iran "with some regret" as they represent an extreme example of a rupturing world order.

(Image credit: Adrian Wyld/AP)

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U.S. submarine sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean as conflict widens

The U.S. and Israel's war with Iran has expanded to the Indian Ocean, as a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters.

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A split Senate votes against measure to constrain Trump's authorities in Iran

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speak at the Capitol on Tuesday on the recent U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and the upcoming war powers vote.

Democrats in the Senate were facing an uphill climb Wednesday in their push to restrain President Trump's ability to wage war against Iran.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

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WATCH: How traffic dried up in the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began

A map from tracking site MarineTraffic shows ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is "about as wrong as things could go" for global oil markets. Iran achieved it not with a naval blockade, but with cheap drones.

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Colossal Biosciences breeds controversy while trying to revive mammoths

Colossal Biosciences scientist Beth Shapiro holds a portion of a woolly mammoth tusk recovered from the Arctic.

A Texas biotech company is trying to bring mammoths and other extinct creatures back to life. The science is as intriguing as the ethical questions are thorny.

(Image credit: Rob Stein)

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GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales heads to a runoff in Texas amid a new ethics probe in the House

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) speaks during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on February 10, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales has faced increasing pressure from his party to resign or drop out of his race after allegations of an affair with a staffer.

(Image credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

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Satellite imagery shows strike that destroyed Iranian school was more extensive than first reported

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The images suggest that precision munitions struck other buildings, including a clinic that was also inside the complex.

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The 2026 Oscar-nominated documentaries are sensitive and transformative

The killing of Ajike "A.J." Owens is the subject of the <!-- raw HTML omitted -->The Perfect Neighbor<!-- raw HTML omitted -->, one of five Academy Award nominees for outstanding documentary feature this year.

This year's Oscar-nominated documentaries include a tale of terminal cancer, dispatches from behind bars in Alabama, and stories from Iran and Russia.

(Image credit: Netflix)

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A Biden-era rule sought to stabilize child care. Why Trump wants it gone

The Trump administration has proposed rolling back a Biden-era rule that sought to stabilize child care providers.

The Trump administration has proposed repealing a Biden-era rule that required states to change how they pay out child care subsidies, citing the potential for fraud.

(Image credit: Nadezhda1906)

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Greetings from Southwest Papua, which has some of the world's richest marine biodiversity

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The Raja Ampat islands in Indonesia's Southwest Papua province are a marine biodiversity hotspot and a divers' paradise.

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Families remember U.S. reservists killed in Kuwait, members of an Iowa logistics unit

Keira Coady holds a photo of her brother, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, outside her home Tuesday in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Four U.S. soldiers were killed in the Iran war on Sunday and IDed Tuesday by the Pentagon; two soldiers haven't yet been publicly identified. Their unit kept troops supplied with food and equipment.

(Image credit: Charlie Neibergall)

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Why supporting a shelter for women is now 'kind of radioactive'

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That's how researcher Beatriz Garcia Nice describes the new U.S. stance under the Trump administration to programs addressing gender-based violence.

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Trump's new reasoning for Iran strikes. And, takeaways from the first 2026 primaries

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut

President Trump offers new reasoning for the U.S. attack on Iran. And, results from the first midterm primary of 2026 are in, providing an outlook for the matchups for key Senate seats.

(Image credit: -/AFP via Getty Images)

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Telehealth abortion is in the courts. Share your experience.

Mifepristone is one of two drugs used in most medication abortions. A court case in Louisiana could lead to it no longer being available through telehealth and the mail.

Mifepristone is facing another major legal challenge.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

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Strikes resume on Iran, U.S. military says Tehran's defenses 'severely degraded'

A person stands on the roof of a building looking at a plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 3, 2026.

Israel's military said it had begun a "broad wave of strikes" in Tehran Wednesday morning. U.S. officials touted early gains, while Democrats warned the war could widen.

(Image credit: Atta Kenare)

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On the brink of death, a woman is saved by a stranger and his family

In 1982, Jean Muenchrath was injured in a mountaineering accident and on the brink of death when a stranger and his family went out of their way to save her life.

In 1982, Jean Muenchrath and her boyfriend went mountaineering in California's Sierra Nevada. Then, an unexpected storm veered them dangerously off course. Luckily, their unsung hero found them.

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ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it

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The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and Border Patrol, is using a broad web of surveillance tools — purchased as its budget has ballooned under this administration — to monitor, apprehend and intimidate the people it seeks to deport and the U.S. citizens critical of its policies.

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As Paralympics approach, U.S. skier Sydney Peterson balances training and research

Inside a lab at the University of Utah, Sydney Peterson inspects containers of fruit flies. As part of her doctoral research, the Paralympian is using fruit flies to test the effectiveness of different drugs on certain genetic movement disorders.

Sydney Peterson is among the U.S. athletes heading to the 2026 Winter Paralympics. A neuroscientist in training, Peterson is studying movement disorders, similar to her own condition.

(Image credit: Emily Chen-Newton)

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America has a housing affordability crisis. Building houses for rent can help

Homes are under construction at a new housing development in Richmond, Calif., on July 1, 2025.

Developers are building more single-family houses for renting. That can lower prices for both renters and buyers.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan)

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5 takeaways from the first primaries of the 2026 midterms

A "VOTE" sign is posted near a polling center on Tuesday in Austin, Texas. Texas held their primary elections including two hotly contested races for Democratic and Republican Senate nominations.

Voters headed to the polls Tuesday in the first primaries of the midterm election season. The latest results from Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas.

(Image credit: Brandon Bell)

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North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee holds narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam

Nida Allam in 2022; Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in 2025.

The race is too close to call between Democratic Rep. Valerie Foushee and her anti-establishment challenger Nida Allam in North Carolina's 4th congressional district and is likely headed to a recount.

(Image credit: Jonathan Drake/Reuters; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Roy Cooper, Michael Whatley set to compete for a high-stakes North Carolina U.S. Senate seat

President Trump listens as Michael Whatley, former Republican National Committee chairman, speaks during a visit to the Fort Bragg U.S. Army base on Feb. 13 in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will face former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in the state's toss-up U.S. Senate race.

(Image credit: Nathan Howard)

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