NPR News: 03-05-2026 6PM EST

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the war against Iran is intensifying. Speaking from the Pentagon tonight, Hegseth said the United States and Israel still have significant military force ready to deploy in the conflict. If you think you've seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power that's still flowing, that's still coming, that we'll be able to project over Iran is a multiples of what it currently is right now, when you add up our capabilities and those of the Israeli defense forces. President Trump once again called on Iranian regime members to lay down their arms in exchange for immunity, saying the U.S. is successfully destroying the country's military capabilities. Trump also told several news outlets that he should play a direct role in choosing the next leader of Iran. The State Department is suspending operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait as Iran continues firing missiles and drones in response to U and Israeli airstrikes NPR Michelle Kellerman reports many other embassies in the region have canceled public appointments The State Department says while there have been no reported injuries to U personnel at the embassy in Kuwait City it is suspending operations and encouraging U.S. citizens to depart if they can. The U.S. has also suspended operations at a consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, and they're warning Americans there about possible protests on Friday against the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. All across the Middle East, the U.S. has drawn down U.S. personnel and many embassies are closed to the public, though they're offering emergency services for Americans. And the department has posted an online form for Americans seeking help to leave. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that 53 medical schools in the U.S. have agreed to expand their nutrition curriculum. NPR's Maria Godoy reports it's a move that many experts say is long overdue. Studies show most med schools fall short of the 25 hours of training on nutrition recommended by the National Academies of Sciences Under the new initiative participating schools will add 40 hours of instruction Kennedy says this will bolster doctors ability to prevent and treat diet chronic disease This is how we implement the Maha agenda. This is how we make America healthy again. The move is widely welcome, and it's backed by the American Medical Association, among others. But as nutrition policy expert Marion Nessel says, The devil is in the details. Schools will choose from 71 suggested topics. While some are mainstream, she says others, like the use of supplements in healthy people, don't have much science to back them up. Maria Godoy, NPR News. At the close on Wall Street, the Dow was down 784 points. This is NPR. About two dozen states are challenging new global tariffs imposed by President Trump. The states filed a lawsuit today over import taxes announced after the administration suffered a setback at the Supreme Court. Democratic attorneys general leading the case argued the president is exceeding his authority with planned 15 percent tariffs on goods from much of the world. Trump says the tariffs are necessary to reduce trade deficits The president White House ballroom project is receiving an overwhelming amount of negative feedback from the public NPR Tamara Keith reports the National Capital Planning Commission held a hearing today in Washington that included extensive public comment. The written comments received by the commission fill more than 10,000 pages. They include lines like this one, quote, the size and design of the proposed White House ballroom are hideous. White House staff secretary and commission chairman Will Scharf said at the top of the hearing that more than 100 people signed up to speak. I think it's important that each of these people are heard. Because of all this, Scharf said a vote on the project won't happen until the commission's next meeting in April. Tamara Keith, NPR News. The price of gasoline jumped another five cents overnight, pushing the national average to $3.25 a gallon. AAA says prices have climbed about 25 cents since the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran six days ago. That's roughly 15 cents higher than this time last year. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.