NPR News: 03-06-2026 7PM EST

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. As Israel and the U.S. continue their war in Iran, the World Health Organization says an estimated 100,000 people have fled Iran's capital, Tehran. Some have made their way overland to Turkey. NPR's Ruth Sherlock is at the border crossing. The people coming out of Iran look gray-faced and pallid from the terror they've experienced this past week. They bring with them stories of airstrikes hitting close to their cars as they journeyed out of the country, of intense bombardments in the cities that they've come from, many with stories of civilian casualties, saying these airstrikes are landing in dense residential neighbourhoods. There are also many people going back into Iran, scared, of course, they say, to go back into a country at war, But with communications largely down, they need to know if their loved ones are safe. And going back is the only way to reach them Ruth Sherlock NPR News on the Turkish border The State Department says it been in touch with more than 13 Americans in the Middle East to provide help or advice on getting home. U.S.-funded evacuation flights have begun, but most Americans are leaving on commercial flights, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. The Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, Dylan Johnson, says several flights have safely returned hundreds of Americans to the United States. He says there will be additional flights in the coming days as security conditions allow. Johnson posted one picture on social media of Americans boarding a Patriots plane, but a State Department official noted that the U.S. government, not the football team, covered the cost of that flight. Another official says that about 30 to 40 percent of the Americans who are offered seats on chartered flights have declined, taking their own commercial options or changing their plans. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. Hungary's authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is blocking a more than $100 billion EU aid package seen as vital to meeting a funding shortfall in April And here Rob Schmitz has more Orban an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly opposed EU funding for Ukraine arguing that it prolongs the war The Hungarian prime minister, who is trailing the opposition in the polls leading up to a national election on April 12th, has focused much of his re-election campaign on his anti-Ukraine message. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Orban for blocking aid, threatening to not restore a Russian oil pipeline that runs through Ukraine, supplies energy to Hungary, and which has been damaged in the war. Orban has accused Ukraine of deliberately halting oil through this pipeline. Rob Schwitz, NPR News, Berlin. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The National Symphony Orchestra has lost its executive director. The Washington, D.C. Orchestra is the last classical musical organization remaining at the Kennedy Center, as NPR's Anastasia Sioulkas has more. Jean Davidson had planned to stay as the lead administrator of the National Symphony Orchestra until the group's 100th anniversary in 2031. But in a surprise announcement she says she leaving to head the Wallace Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills California She says it a great personal opportunity but also quote it no secret that the last year has been really hard at the Kennedy Center President Trump announced last month he's closing the arts complex for two years for renovations. Several prominent artists have recently dropped out of collaborations with the NSO, including composer Philip Glass, soprano Renee Fleming, and banjo maestro Bella Fleck. Anastasia Zylkes, NPR News, New York. Now that the Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs two weeks ago, businesses that already paid that tax want their money back. Customs officials say they're aiming to have a system to deliver those refunds up and running within 45 days. Customs estimates that it's collected some $166 billion from the now outlawed tariffs. But refunding that money to more than 300,000 businesses will be cumbersome. The government, though, says it's working on a streamlined process that won't require every importer to file individual lawsuits. Wall Street lower by the bell. The Dow down 453 points. NASDAQ down 361. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.