NPR News: 02-28-2026 7PM EST

Hey, it's Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. Don't miss my interview with actor Kate Hudson. We talk about her music career, motherhood, and of course, her breakout role. Penny Lane, man, show some respect. You can find my interview on the Fresh Air podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. President Trump says Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, though Iran hasn't confirmed this. NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reports Trump also announced that the U.S. will be bombing Iran indefinitely in a Saturday afternoon social media post. In his post, Trump called Khamenei, quote, one of the most evil people in history and touted the U.S. intelligence and technology that had led to Khamenei's death. Earlier today, Trump had urged Iranians to, quote, take over your government. Trump in his post said he hopes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian police will join the people in that. He added that the U.S. bombing campaign, quote, will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world. In an interview with Iran state news agency today Red Crescent has said that more than 200 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded thus far in the strikes Danielle Kurtzleben NPR News Iran's been striking Gulf-Arab bases, hosting U.S. troops in response to deadly Israeli and U.S. attacks on the country. Hever Zaire Batraoui reports civilian areas in the Gulf have also been targeted, including Dubai Airport, the world's busiest for transit. Dubai is billed as a safe haven, a playground for the rich. It has no bomb shelters or bunkers. But on Saturday, people's phones here beeped with the sound of national emergency alerts telling them to seek shelter in, quote, secure buildings due to missile threats. In a first for this emirate, fighter jets flew overhead. An interceptor shot down Iranian missiles targeting Dubai throughout the day and past midnight. Debris fell near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. The Fairmont Hotel on Dubai's iconic Palm Island was also hit, possibly by a drone or debris catching fire and wounding people. Nearby Abu Dhabi says a person there was killed by fallen debris as upscale parts of that emirate also saw fiery debris falling. Meanwhile, Kuwait's airport was hit and a residential tower in Bahrain was struck by an exploding Iranian drone. Ayy Abotrawi, NPR News, Dubai. Russia's condemning the strikes, warning they risk destabilizing the wider Middle East. NPR's Charles Maines reports. The foreign ministry statement called the U strikes on Iran a pre and unprovoked act of aggression and demanded an immediate return to diplomatic talks The ministry also accused Washington and Tel Aviv of falsely hyping threats surrounding Iran nuclear program to pursue regime change and warned the Middle East was in danger of plunging into a cycle of uncontrolled escalation. The Russian response was in line with its objections to recent U.S. military pressure against Kremlin allies in Venezuela, Cuba, and elsewhere in the Middle East. Yet Moscow has thus far stepped back from taking more forceful actions, with the vast majority of its military resources devoted to the war in Ukraine. Charles Maines, NPR News, Moscow. Russia has been a key trade partner for Iran. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Library of Congress has found and restored a long-lost film by the pioneering 19th-century French filmmaker Georges Malia. And Piers-Cloy Veldman reports experts are saying this is likely the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image. The 45-second-long silent film Gougous et l'Automate, or Gougous and the Automaton, is nearly 130 years old. But the subject matter feels very timely. A child robot clown grows to the size of an adult and then attacks a human clown with a stick The human then destroys the machine with a hammer In an Instagram post Library of Congress moving image curator Jason Evans says the film arrived in a box from a donor in Michigan, Bill McFarland. McFarland's great-grandfather, William Delisle Frisbee, a Pennsylvania potato farmer and schoolteacher, was fascinated by new technologies. Must have bought a projector and a bunch of films and decided to drive them around in his buggy to share them with folks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York. The film is available on the Library of Congress's website. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Michelangelo's The Last Judgment is getting spruced up. Restorers at the Vatican Museums are removing the chalky white film of salt that's accumulated over the fresco since the last major renovation three decades ago. And they're using a simple technique, Japanese rice paper that's been dipped in distilled water and then applied to the fresco to remove the film. That film comes from the many visitors to the Vatican Museums. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington. 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 taps. Be smart. Get WISE. Download the WISE app today or visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply.