NPR News: 03-08-2026 7PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Iran has chosen a new supreme leader, Mushtaha Khamenei, son of the late slain supreme leader. The hardliner is a cleric and politician, and he's closely allied with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard, which the U.S. designated a terrorist group in 2019. His selection signals his father's hardline stance will continue. As Supreme Leader, the 56-year-old is commander-in-chief of the military, the head of state, and the country's politics and religious affairs. He's only the third Ayatollah the country has had. That job was created after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Ayatollah Khamenehi ruled for more than 36 years and was killed by Israel at the start of the war in Iran. Meanwhile, that war is widening. Thick black plumes of smoke continue to cover skies over Tehran after Israel struck oil storage facilities there, setting them ablaze. Israel has primarily focused on what it says have been military targets. NPR's Carrie Khan has more. A senior Israeli defense official tells NPR that three more weeks are needed to accomplish its goal of decimating Iran military forces The official spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose sensitive issues The strikes on Tehran oil depots are some of the first infrastructure targets in the war The thick smoke mixed with rain to coat parts of the capital in muddy black water. Iran's military warned in a post on social media, critical infrastructure strikes would be met with equal measures, and that, quote, if you can tolerate oil at more than $200 a barrel, continue this game. Iran hit back striking a desalination plant in Bahrain and a residential site in Saudi Arabia, reporting its first death since the start of the war. Gary Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv. President Trump says he won't sign any bills until Congress passes the Save America Act, which requires proof of citizenship for voter registration. NPR's Luke Garrett has more. In a social media post Sunday, Trump pushed the GOP-controlled Senate to skirt its 60-vote threshold to move most legislation. It's a requirement that necessitates some Democratic buy He wants Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota to sidestep Democratic opposition to pass the Save America Act by simple majority The bill would require voter identification and proof of citizenship for voting Most states already require some form of ID But Thune has said setting aside this 60-vote threshold doesn't have support in the GOP conference. Trump has long railed baselessly against corrupt U.S. elections. Voter fraud in the U.S. is extremely rare, and states run elections. In 2020, Trump attempted to overturn his election loss. Courts rejected every effort to challenge the results. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. U.S. futures contracts sharply lower. Dow futures down 1.8 percent. Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures both down 1.5 percent. Crude oil futures are over $107 a barrel. You're listening to NPR News. The federal government released new dietary guidelines in January, turning the food pyramid on its head. As NPR's Caden Mills reports, those guidelines are also used to set school nutrition standards, which means those standards may be changing soon. The new guidelines encourage Americans to consume more animal products like red meat and full-fat dairy They also push for fewer processed foods But many school cafeterias around the country rely on heavily processed heat meals Moving away from those foods would likely require schools do more scratch cooking Diane Pratt-Hevner is a spokesperson for the School Nutrition Association. They simply do not have the money, the staff, the equipment to be able to prepare all of their meals from scratch. She said schools would, quote, absolutely need more funding should the federal government propose stricter school nutrition standards. Caden Mills, NPR News. A prehistoric human skeleton has been found deep inside a flooded cave system on Mexico's Caribbean coast. Cave diving archaeologist Octavio Del Rio tells the AP the team recovered it late last year and experts are studying it now. He says the body is far from the entrance and about 26 feet down, suggesting the cave was dry when someone placed it there, possibly as part of a burial ritual at least 8,000 years ago. Officials say the find could add clues about early migration routes. Mexico is working to protect the threatened caves. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.