U.S. evacuates diplomats from Middle East. And, what to expect from N.C., Texas primaries

Special Series Up First Newsletter All Up First Stories Up First Podcast Morning Edition LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio YouTube Music RSS link Sign up for the [TITLE] Newsletter Get perks with [Podcast Title]+ Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed. By Brittney Melton Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. The U.S. has evacuated diplomats across the Middle East and shut down some embassies today as the war with Iran enters its fourth day. The U.S. is telling citizens to evacuate more than a dozen countries. Limited flights out of the Middle East resumed yesterday, but hundreds of thousands of travelers remain stranded at aviation hubs in the region. Israeli warplanes are striking Tehran in Iran and Beirut in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Iranian drones hit the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. At least six U.S. service members have died in action. Trump said his administration expects the conflict to go on for "four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that." The Iranian Red Crescent Society reports at least 555 Iranians have been killed since the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign began on Saturday. People sift through debris of shops and residences destroyed by an airstrike on March 2 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption Today is the last day for voters to cast their ballots in North Carolina and Texas' primaries. The outcomes will help determine control of Congress in the fall and reveal what voters want for the latter half of Trump's second term. Both states have expensive Senate primaries that offer a preview of each party's direction. This is what you need to know. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to testify before the Senate today. The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for nearly a month after lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal and agree on changes to how immigration officers operate. Noem is expected to tell Senate Judiciary Committee members about the toll the funding pause has had on Americans, including making air travel more challenging as Transportation Security Administration employees work without pay. House Republicans have released video of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's depositions regarding the Epstein files. They had both asked for public hearings. During the interrogation, both Clintons denied any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes prior to his pleading guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. A sign offers parking and charging facilities for electric cars at a retail park in Berlin in 2023. Evidence from the oldest generation of electric vehicles suggests their batteries are lasting longer than was expected in the early days of the EV industry. Odd Andersen/AFP hide caption In the early days of modern electric vehicles, drivers worried that EVs would require expensive battery replacements within a few years. Everyone knows the painful reality of a dying smartphone battery. EV batteries were designed to last longer than smaller, cheaper batteries. Even though batteries come with warranties, the warranties often expire before the car does. If a high-voltage battery fails halfway through a car's life, drivers must replace it, facing a price tag of $5,000 to $20,000. But there's good news. As the EV fleet ages on the road, new data gathered from tens of thousands of vehicles clearly shows that these batteries are lasting longer than anyone expected. People gather on Lake Mendota near an inflatable Statue of Liberty crown and torch at the Winter Carnival at UW-Madison on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Madison, Wisconsin. Kayla Wolf for NPR hide caption Last month, Madison, Wis., hosted its 14th annual Frozen Assets Festival. During the winter months, the city, which was built on a thin strip of land between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, embraces its frozen lakes. People commonly engage in ice fishing, skating, ice sailing and snowshoeing. Historically, people in the area valued ice for other purposes, like ice harvesting. Frozen lakes mattered so much to the city that records of when the ice froze each year go back more than 100 years. Today, people take part in a contest to guess the day Lake Mendota will freeze. Take a look at this year's festival, which features kite flyers, skydivers, ice hockey and the only 5K that takes place solely on ice. Tomato clownfish, like the one seen here nestled in a sea anemone, lose all but one of their white stripes (the head bar) as they grow up. Camille A. Sautereau hide caption This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor