The Latest: 03/03/2026 12:59pm ET

All the latest national and international news. Topics also include finance, weather and entertainment.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is your twenty four to seven US update. The
latest use this hour in just four minutes.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
President Trump says he launched Operation Epic Fury because he
suspected Iran would attack US forces first. He made the
comment while welcoming Germany's leader to the White House today.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and
it was my opinion that they were going to attack first.
They were going to attack if we didn't do it,
they were going to attack first.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
I felt strongly about.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Trump added that everything has been knocked out in Iran
and said he doesn't know who the next group of
Iran leaders will be yet, because most of the leadership
apparatus is dead. Trump thanked Chancellor Friedrich Mayer for his
country support while the US carries out the operation. Trump
said some of the European nations have been helpful, some haven't,
singling out Spain saying we're going to cut off all

(00:52):
trade with Spain. Democrats have set up debate and votes
this week on the War Powers Act to halt President
Trump from using further military reaction against Iran without congressional approval.
The War Powers Act as a nineteen seventy three Vietnam
War era resolution meant to check the president's power to
enter armed conflict without consent from the legislative branch. A
vote could come by Thursday. Stocks are sharply lower on

(01:14):
Wall Street as the conflict in the Middle East rages on.
The Dow Jones has been down over twelve hundred points
at times today. Florida International University professor of Finance d
and Butschy says the market is reacting to uncertainty.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
As a result, you don't know if there's going to
be extended periods of time, more loss of life. And
what's worse is the chance that it can hit multinational companies,
you know abroad.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
So much of oil comes from the Middle East, so
this instability will also cause prices to spike. She says,
we saw a similar market reaction after nine to eleven,
and most investors who are in the market for the
long haul will choose to ride it out. Gas costs
are on the rise as well. TRIPAA reports the national
average price for a gallon of regular gas jumped eleven
cents today to three dollars and ten cents. That's also

(02:01):
a fifteen cent increase from this time a week ago.
I'm Chris Caragio. A federal appeals court is rejecting a
Trump administration request to delay issuing tariff refunds after the
Supreme Court rule last month that most of President Trump's
global tariffs are illegal. The administration had asked for ninety
days to try and find a political solution. The Supreme
Court decision ushered in numerous lawsuits seeking refunds from companies,

(02:25):
including FedEx and Costco. Monday's ruling lets the process begin now.
Severe weather is targeting millions across the South, with the
potential to bring thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes. The severe weather
season is beginning right on q as a calendar flips
to March, and NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has issued severe
weather threats beginning today. The storms will be primarily focused

(02:46):
across the Central and Southern Plains, as well as the
Arkansas Louisiana, Texas region. Conditions are expected to persist through
the weekend. The NFL franchise tag window closes today. It
opened on February seventeenth, allowing each team to pick one
play player who's set to become an unrestricted free agent
and keep them on the roster for next season. It
costs quite a bit, though, a number based on the

(03:07):
top five annual salaries at each position. Only two players
were tagged last year, Bengals Wide Receiver T Higgins and
Chiefs card Tray Smith. Paramount is set to release thirty
films a year in theaters once it merges with Warner
Brothers Discovery. Jim Roup has more when.

Speaker 4 (03:21):
Hews comes after Warner Brothers Discovery has agreed to be
acquired by Paramount Skydance for one hundred and ten billion dollars.
Paramount CEO David Ellison tells Infestos that they are committed
to delivering a broad pipeline of high quality storytelling, including
fifteen theatrical films per year per studio. Ellison's also reassuring
that the studios will honor a forty five day theatrical

(03:43):
window before their film's debut on the streaming services. There
is skepticism surrounding the development of enough films, as there
is more than seventy eight billion dollars in combined debt
between both companies. I'm Jim roop.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Ani Music History News. On this date. In nineteen seventy five,
Led Zeppelin released their album Physical Graffiti I'm Chris Kiraggio.