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By
Brittney Melton
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Israel launched attacks on central Beirut last night, intensifying its offensive in Lebanon after the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. The exchange marks some of the fiercest fighting between the two sides since the beginning of the war in Iran. Today, U.S. Central Command confirmed that at least four crew members were killed when a refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. Yesterday, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first message, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.
People inspect the site of a destroyed branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a non-bank financial institution run by Hezbollah, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Thursday, March 12, 2026. Hussein Malla/AP hide caption
The FBI is investigating two separate attacks that happened yesterday. In Michigan, an armed man rammed a car into Temple Israel synagogue. In Virginia, another man opened fire in a Reserve Officers' Training Corps classroom at Old Dominion University, killing one and wounding two others.
The Senate yesterday passed the largest housing bill in decades with an 89 to 10 vote. The bipartisan legislation aims to improve housing affordability and availability by deregulating, expanding existing programs and banning large corporations from buying single-family homes, with few exceptions.
Digital generated image of african american ethnicity young man wearing suit standing on purple ramp and looking to multiple message chat icons. Artificial intelligence chatbot communication concept. Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment RF/Getty Images hide caption
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
Tech companies are rolling out platforms specifically tailored for health care consultation, and AI is quickly becoming a key player in shaping people's medical decisions. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, reports that more than 40 million people consult the platform daily for health information. But new research shows that AI can mislead users in certain medical scenarios. And the quality of the health information it imparts depends on how effectively a person prompts the tools.
Abi Inman/NPR Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: In Hoppers, a young woman uses mind-hopping technology to inhabit an animatronic beaver with the hope of saving a beloved glade from serious risk of destruction by way of the town's slimy mayor.
📺 TV: MGM+'s American Classic is a hidden gem, says NPR TV critic David Bianculli. In the series, a Shakespearean actor returns to his small hometown after a crisis and works to save the local theater.
📚 Books: In her new book Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment, Rhae Lynn Barnes traces the origin of minstrel shows, which are performances where an actor portrays a racist depiction of a Black, often formerly enslaved, person.
🎵 Music: Kacey Musgraves' new song "Dry Spell" discusses the longest period she spent on her own as an adult. The song appears on her sixth album, Middle of Nowhere, releasing May 1. She sat down with NPR Music for an exclusive first interview about her new music.
🌮 Food: The Oscars are this weekend. If you invite people over to watch, NPR has some punny menu ideas to reflect this year's idiosyncratic slate of best picture nominees.
❓ Quiz: I have scored a nine out of 10 for two weeks in a row. I will reach that perfect score soon. In the meantime, it is your turn to aim for a flawless result.
NASA employees brief the media on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. about the delayed Artemis II mission. The news conference focused on revisions and fixes being done to the rocket components. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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