NPR News: 03-06-2026 5PM EST

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. The U.N.'s top humanitarian official says the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran is costing about a billion dollars a day. This at a time when countries are scaling back humanitarian assistance. And he says he's worried about the fallout of this latest conflict, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. President Trump says there will be no deal with Iran, but only, in his words, unconditional surrender. And he says in the aftermath, partners and allies will bring Iran back from the brink. The UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, is calling for de-escalation now, saying he's worried about the knock-on effects. War doesn't stay neatly within borders or on desktop military plans. It tears through markets, supply chains, food prices. And he says when that happens, the world's most vulnerable people tend to suffer the consequences. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. And a new NPR PBS News Marist poll is out today, revealing a majority of Americans are against military action in Iran And Piers Domenico Montanaro has more 56 of the almost 1 people interviewed say they oppose military action in Iran And a similar number, 55%, say they believe Iran only presents a minor threat or no threat at all to the United States. President Trump only gets a 36% approval rating for his handling of the war. Democrats and independents are largely aligned in opposition to the military action, in disapproving of Trump's handling and in viewing Iran as not a major threat. But Republicans continue to heavily support the president, with 8 in 10 supporting the military action and Trump's handling of it. Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington. In Chicago. A public funeral for the Reverend Jesse Jackson is underway with three former presidents, Biden, Obama, and Clinton, Chicago's current mayor, and Illinois governor, along with thousands of others in attendance, for a mix of songs and speeches to celebrate his life. His activism and oratory arguing for racial equality and opportunity made him a powerful civil rights leader President Obama says Jackson experienced both accomplishment and hardship inspiring everyone to take a harder path Jesse didn just speak to black folks He spoke to white folks and Latinos and Asian Americans and the first Americans. He spoke to family farmers and environmentalists. He spoke to gay rights activists when nobody was talking to gay rights activists. And blue-collar workers. The homegoing service at House of Hope, an arena that seats 10,000, kept two weeks of memorials to the two-time presidential candidate who died last month at the age of 84. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A weaker-than-expected monthly government jobs report shows the U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent. The numbers are consistent, with a broader decline. The numbers for December were revised down for a loss of 17,000 jobs rather than the estimated gain of 48,000. Losses were registered in nearly all major sectors including manufacturing which lost 12 jobs The Formula One season begins this weekend and as NPR Adam Bearn reports there's a new American team joining the Global Motorsport Series. Cadillac is preparing for its first race in F1. Dan Tauris is the team's CEO. He says it's the culmination of a years-long effort. And now we have the opportunity with Cadillac, an iconic American brand, And to bring that to life on the grid in Formula One is just an incredible opportunity. As a new team, Cadillac's expected to have two of the slower cars in Sunday's race in Australia. But Taurus believes Cadillac will eventually win. We certainly hope before the end of the decade. You know, we're not here to call our shot. I think we're just here to put our heads down, do our work, and we're going to improve as quickly as we can. With experienced drivers in Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac is hoping not to finish last in Melbourne. That honour might go to Aston Martin, which looks miles off the pace in practice. Adam Bearn, NPR News. Wall Street lower by the closing bell. The Dow down 453 points. The Nasdaq down 361. S&P 500 down 90. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.