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Today’s best stories
Iran sent more than 300 drones and ballistic missiles to Israel on Saturday. Almost all were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Iran says the strikes were in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike that killed senior Iranian officers at an Iranian consulate in Syria. No deaths have been reported. Here’s what you need to know about Iran’s unprecedented attack.
Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems were launched on Sunday to intercept missiles fired from Iran into central Israel.
Tomer Neuberg/AP
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Tomer Neuberg/AP
Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems were launched on Sunday to intercept missiles fired from Iran into central Israel.
Tomer Neuberg/AP
- “It’s no longer a shadow war” NPR’s Daniel Estrin, who is in Tel Aviv, reports First. “This is not about Iran hiding behind proxy groups in Yemen or Lebanon.” He adds that Israel considers this first ever declared attack by Iran to be an escalation. Estrin reports that the question now is how Israel will respond. Some officials he spoke with said they wanted a strong military response. Others see a diplomatic opportunity to build a strategic alliance in the region and even end the war in Gaza.
- US officials say President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would provide ‘ironclad’ support to help Israel defend itself but will not participate in offensive operations against Iran, NPR’s Greg Myre reports from Washington. Myre says the United States would prefer Israel view this as a “very successful operation” that proves Israel can defend itself with the help of its allies, and that it should consider de-escalation.
- The House of Representatives changes its calendar this week to consider legislation supporting Israel in light of the Iranian attack.
For the first time in American history, a former president is on trial as a criminal defendant.Jury selection begins today in New York for the secret trial of Donald Trump. At the center of the lawsuit are payments that Michael Cohen, then Trump’s lawyer, made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from speaking about an alleged affair with Trump. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 out of his own pocket. The criminal charges against the former president stem from how he repaid Cohen. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges and said he would testify.
From our hosts
NPR’s Michel Martin interviewing filmmaker Kyra Knox about gun violence in Philadelphia on March 26.
HJ May/NPR
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HJ May/NPR
NPR’s Michel Martin interviewing filmmaker Kyra Knox about gun violence in Philadelphia on March 26.
HJ May/NPR
This essay was written by Michael MartinMorning Edition and Up First host.
As a member of We, the voters series, NPR brings you stories all week about gun violence and its impact on communities.
What does it mean to live in a place ravaged by gun violence?
Lots of tears.
This may seem obvious… but I’ve been doing this work for a long time and it’s rare to go in to tell a story and see almost everyone you interview – men and women – cry at some point or have to pull themselves together. This happened in 2018, when we took a team to Puerto Rico a year after that devastating hurricane to report on how the territory was recovering – or not.
You would continue by asking people how they were doing and what they were doing, when at some point, their eyes welled up and they looked away. Everytime.
It happened again a few weeks ago as we traveled across Pennsylvania to report on how gun violence is affecting people’s lives as well as our political conversations in this election year.
We went to several places: Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg. We talked to all kinds of people. Once again, you would talk to someone – a political leader, a teacher, a filmmaker, a mom, a dad, a coach – and they would say, oh, yeah, my oldest daughter, my best friend, my son , my nephew, my neighbor, my cousin – was shot, murdered, hit while driving, committed suicide – with a gun.
Guns are an integral part of American life. And they are woven into the fabric of American death. We get a glimpse of how people think about this in a large and consequential state that has played an outsized role in our country’s politics and could do so again. Through tears.
Image exhibition
Scientists Carly Biedul, Bonnie Baxter and Heidi Hoven search for migratory birds on the strangely dry southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Lindsay D’Addato/for NPR
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Lindsay D’Addato/for NPR
Scientists Carly Biedul, Bonnie Baxter and Heidi Hoven search for migratory birds on the strangely dry southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Lindsay D’Addato/for NPR
Utah’s Great Salt Lake, the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere, reached its maximum water level in the 1980s. Since then, it has gradually dried up to an alarming level – a process accelerated by megadrought and climate change. The lake is also home to a vibrant ecosystem for migratory birds. A team of biologists has been tracking these contradictions as state leaders begin to pay attention and act.
See photos of the lake and biologists at work.
3 things to know before you leave
Conan O’Brien eats a chicken wing during his Hot Ones interview.
Hot Ones/Screenshot by NPR
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Hot Ones/Screenshot by NPR
Conan O’Brien eats a chicken wing during his Hot Ones interview.
Hot Ones/Screenshot by NPR
- Is Conan O’Brien the best The hot ones a guest already? NPR’s Glen Weldon describes O’Brien’s viral appearance on the popular YouTube series, which features celebrities being interviewed as they consume increasingly spicy chicken wings.
- After Twitch streamer Kitboga realized people were taking advantage of his grandmotherhe decided to retaliate by scamming the scammers.
- Kirsty Paterson’s portrait of a sad-looking Oompa Loompa during the disastrous Willy Wonka Experience in Scotland, she took the internet by storm. Now she’s in Los Angeles using her viral moment to raise money for a mental health charity.
This newsletter was published by Majd Al-Waheidi. Anandita Bhalerao contributed.
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