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Heavier fighting in Iran could resume in the coming weeks as military reinforcements arrive and some U.S. personnel leave the region. This shift comes as a person briefed on the U.S. and Israel's war planning told NPR that the countries were preparing plans for a possible attack on Iran after the U.S. midterms. Iran said it is prepared .
Traffic in Tehran on Wednesday moves past an installation depicting butterflies forming the Iranian national flag. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Although Election Day is more than a week away , almost 21 million Americans have already voted, either by mail or early in-person voting, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab.
Trump must sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation case against the BBC, a federal magistrate judge ruled. Trump is required to comply with court rules or face sanctions, the judge said yesterday. The case centers on a Panorama broadcast from late October 2024, which allegedly edited the president's Jan. 6 speech to make it appear he incited a violent siege of Congress. Trump has described the broadcast as false, misleading and defamatory under Florida law.
Trump promised to lower grocery prices in his second term. While some individual items have gotten cheaper since he returned to office, overall grocery prices have risen, driven by factors such as increased labor costs, tariffs and higher energy prices due to the conflict with Iran. Specific issues facing a single crop, animal species or geographic region can cause the price of one item to rise well above inflation, while lowering the price of another. NPR analyzed five everyday food items — ground beef, eggs, coffee, butter and chocolate chip cookies — to better understand the math behind grocery store prices.
Read more about why these prices have fluctuated here .
Petter Mattei portrays stars in the Metropolitan Opera production of Lincoln in the Bardo , adapted from George Saunders' surreal novel about the president grieving the loss of his son in the midst of the Civil War. Karen Almond/Metropolitan Opera hide caption
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: A new film version of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility focuses on the Dashwood family's two oldest sisters, Elinor and Marianne, who face financial insecurity due to laws that disadvantage widows and daughters.
📺 TV: Actor Sharon Horgan stars as Alex, a 50-year-old divorcée who finds herself at multiple personal and professional crossroads in HBO's new show Youth .
📚 Books: Barbara Trapido's Brother of the More Famous Jack follows Katherine Browne, who is determined to escape her stiflingly conventional upbringing and create a life with fewer constraints.
🎵 Music: NPR's New Music Friday host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums released today, including Anderson .Paak and Cordae's Heavy Is the Crown and Fenne Lily's Win Win . Listen to a playlist of the best songs from the new albums .
🎭 Theater: Missy Mazzoli's music brings George Saunders' Booker Prize-winning novel, Lincoln in the Bardo , to life in a stage adaptation at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Mazzoli is the first woman composer to have a world premiere on the Met stage.
Karl Bushby, pictured here in Turkey in 2025, started his Goliath Expedition 28 years ago. Karl Bushby hide caption
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen .
NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR.
