U.S. strikes Iran again. And, DOJ charges Google staffer over Polymarket trades

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Today's top stories

U.S. forces shot down Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz and struck an area along Iran's coast overnight, according to a U.S. official who spoke to NPR. In retaliation for the attack on Bandar Abbas, Iran's Revolutionary Guard says this morning it targeted the American base that launched the attack. U.S. and Iran peace talks continue.

The director-general of the World Health Organization is expected to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo today, as the country struggles to contain an Ebola outbreak. Officials say there are more than 1,000 suspected cases and over 200 suspected deaths in the country. Congo's neighboring countries, Rwanda and Uganda, have closed their borders.

More people in the United States are experiencing hunger now than during the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, according to a survey released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed periodically surveys Americans about their food security, inquiring about whether they skip meals, depend on food donations or receive federal assistance for groceries. Replies from the most recent survey, conducted in February, show 10% of families nationwide reported missing meals due to a lack of food, and nearly 16% relied on food donations. For families earning less than $50,000 a year, food insecurity rates were nearly double, with almost 20% having to skip meals or go without food.

A Google software engineer has been charged with leveraging confidential company information to make $1.2 million on the prediction market site Polymarket. This marks the second known case of the federal government filing criminal charges against someone for allegedly using insider information on a prediction market site. Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, was arrested yesterday and is facing charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other counts for allegedly placing bets on search trends based on internal Google data that tracked user searches. Operating under the username AlphaRaccoon, the 36-year-old allegedly placed a number of bets on Google's most-searched person for 2025 and knew the outcomes of these wagers before the trading public did, according to prosecutors.

Church and State

This week at NPR, we're going to explore the increased intermixing of God and government in a new series we're calling Church and State. It's an idea that has been gaining momentum through the first and second Trump administrations, not only within U.S. politics but also throughout American culture, in songs and paintings, schoolbooks and worship events infused with faith and politics.

The Trump administration is using a painting that depicts George Washington praying to argue that the Founding Fathers were devout Christians. Historians question whether the moment in the painting actually occurred. The image has appeared in social media posts for the Defense Department, the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security and more. It is even for sale on a federal government website that celebrates America's 250th anniversary. Many conservative evangelicals have adopted the 1975 Arnold Friberg painting, "The Prayer at Valley Forge," as a rebuke to mainstream historians. Nicholas Shrum, a doctoral student researching Latter-day Saint identity in America, says that some historians point out that Washington was an Anglican and not a weekly churchgoer. The former president was also vague about his faith, never explicitly naming Jesus Christ, according to some historians. Members of the administration have framed such viewpoints as secular attacks on the Christian beliefs of the Founding Fathers. Read more about Christians' and historians' perspectives on this painting.

Picture show

Martial arts coach Mirella Atallah is using combat sports to empower women in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. The training held in the makeshift gym at the camp helps redefine the norms for how girls and women should behave. As participants complete a two-month course in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, they confront and overcome adversity. Atallah considers the sport more than just self-defense. She says it helps the women and girls use their voices, which can be a challenge for those who were raised to be quiet, among other things. Atallah estimates that she has taught about 1,500 pupils worldwide this year. Take a look at photos of the community and read about how they're learning more than just self-defense.

3 things to know before you go

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.