by Brittney Melton

March 5, 2026

Good morning. With fewer than 100 days until the FIFA World Cup, the U.S.' war with Iran has raised questions over whether American host cities will receive financial backing. Here’s the news we’re following today:

Today, the House is expected to vote on a measure to constrain President Trump’s authority to wage war in Iran, one day after a similar resolution failed to advance in the Senate. Senators voted 47-53, largely along party lines. The U.S. and Israel are continuing to attack Iran as the conflict heads into its sixth day. Iran says the U.S. will “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship yesterday off the coast of Sri Lanka. The attack killed at least 87 people.

People wave flags in mourning of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. Vehicles drive by behind the people.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

🎧 NPR’s Ruth Sherlock, who is in Turkey, tells Up First that she has spoken to traumatized Iranians crossing the border. She says everyone was too scared to provide their names because speaking to Western media has gotten people arrested in Iran. A doctor described to Sherlock the terror of being engulfed in smoke and witnessing many civilian casualties. Sherlock adds that Iran's retaliatory strikes aimed at U.S. military bases and assets in the Gulf region have crippled those countries’ economies. Qatar’s prime minister said yesterday that they prefer diplomacy, but the aggression “cannot go unanswered.”
🎧 A panel of clerics in Iran is deciding who will replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an airstrike at the start of the war. There are four frontrunners under consideration. The leading contender is Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah. According to NPR's Jackie Northam, Mojtaba would be seen as a status quo option, but analysts tell her Iran’s current system cannot sustain itself. They say that Iran, which has been weakened by war, protests and a battered economy, needs to transform to have legitimacy.
🎧 China is sending envoy Zhai Jun to the Middle East to help mediate in the conflict, NPR’s Jennifer Pak says. The foreign ministry didn’t say specifically where he would visit. Pak says there are two reasons China is stepping in: economic interests in the region and a diplomatic opportunity to act as a peace seeker. China has not extended any military assistance to Iran so far. Pak says other countries may question whether it is strategically worthwhile to partner with China if it isn’t providing security protection in the war.
➡️ Since the war began, traffic has slowed down in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil and natural gas passes. Check out this animation to see the difference between Feb. 28 and March 3.
➡️ A precision airstrike on an Iranian military complex on Saturday hit a neighboring elementary school on Saturday, killing some 165 people, many of them schoolgirls. An NPR review of satellite imagery suggests the school may have been struck due to outdated targeting information.

This year, more than 80 Gen Z and millennial candidates are challenging or running to succeed House Democrats 65 and older, according to a report by Democratic fundraising platform Oath, first obtained by NPR. This marks a massive spike from the previous cycle, which saw 24 Democratic candidates under 50 challenging older incumbents. While veteran politicians typically coast to reelection, this year’s midterms show cracks in the longtime dynamics. Incumbent challengers have traditionally struggled to raise money. But this year, some young challengers are also breaking through on that front, according to an NPR analysis of campaign finance data.

Minnesota sued the Trump administration this week, accusing the federal government of weaponizing Medicaid against the state as "political punishment." The dispute centers around approximately $250 million that the state spent on Medicaid last summer. The administration is withholding matching funds, citing allegations of fraud. Medicaid is the public health insurance program for low-income people. It's a state and federal partnership — for every dollar a state spends on Medicaid, the federal government matches it. For months, right-wing media and politicians have hammered Minnesota with claims it has fraud-ridden social services, leading the state to post its own fraud fact-check page. Health policy experts say the federal government's actions to withhold and defer funding break with normal fraud-handling precedent.

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he logos of NPR's 2026 College Podcast Challenge finalists' colleges and universities. Included logos come from Highline College, Sarah Lawrence College, Fordham University, University of Vermont, Belmont University, Boston University, Barnard College, Southern Illinois University, Oberlin College and Dalton State.

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The NPR education team listened to hundreds of compelling student stories from 75 campuses across 35 states to select the finalists in their fifth annual NPR College Podcast Challenge. A student’s personal narrative about earning a college degree while raising a child and a look back at the rich sounds of a New York City neighborhood through the memories of a recording artist are two of the compelling stories they selected. In the coming days, the judges will select the Grand Prize winner from the top 10 podcasts. In the meantime, you can listen to the finalists.

If you can’t get enough of these student podcasts, the team has also selected several honorable mentions.

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The federal antitrust trial against Live Nation, one of the world’s largest entertainment companies, began earlier this week. Prosecutors argue that Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster use anticompetitive practices that deeply harm musicians, venues and ticket buyers. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in 2024, but calls for ticketing reform have been growing for years. This trial is the biggest legal action against the company yet, with the most potential to change the live entertainment industry’s status quo. Here’s what you need to know:

🎫 Live Nation manages more than 400 artists and owns or controls more than 265 North American venues. Ticketmaster controls about 80% of primary ticketing. The government alleges that artists are pressured to use Live Nation and Ticketmaster's promotional services to perform at its venues.
🎫 If found guilty of violating antitrust laws, the DOJ could break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The DOJ approved the merger of the two companies in 2010.
🎫 If Live Nation and Ticketmaster separate, fans will likely feel the difference because a marketplace with more competition will exist. A wider array of options could lower prices and fees, according to Brian Berry, executive director of the Ticket Policy Forum.

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An aerial view of homes under construction at a housing development. Several cars are parked in front of completed homes.

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About 7% of new single-family houses are now available for rent rather than sale, which can lower prices for renters and buyers. Builders completed more than 10 times as many "build-to-rent" homes in the U.S. in 2024 as a decade earlier.

Mifepristone, a medication used for first-trimester abortion and miscarriage management, faces a major legal challenge. The suit challenges the FDA's 2023 rule allowing it to be prescribed by telemedicine and mail delivery. NPR wants to hear about your experience with the medicine.

In this week’s Far-Flung Postcard, NPR's Claire Harbage plunged underwater for an adventure in Indonesia's Raja Ampat islands, a vibrant marine biodiversity hotspot.

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This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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