NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-23-2026 3AM EDT

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Officials in New York say an Air Canada flight collided with the Port Authority vehicle late last night. The incident occurred after the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport. The plane was operated by Jazz Aviation, operating as Air Canada Express and was carrying around 70 people. So far, no other details on the crash are available. The partial government shutdown has now entered Week 6, with no end in sight. Because of the shutdown, TSA agents are not getting paid, and that's led to long-secure lines at many airports this weekend. President Trump is sending ICE agents to some airports to help.

Connecticut Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal is saying no to ICE agents at airports. Instead, he says his party wants the funding standoff to come to an end. Americans are demanding basic reforms and Republicans have denied and blocked legislation to fund TSA seven times, literally seven times over the past week or so. Israel has launched a new wave of attacks against Iran. Iran also sent more missiles at its gulfed neighbors and says it may start hitting power plants. Saturday night, Iran also launched airstrikes toward Israel with missiles striking two cities near Israel's nuclear research center. More than 100 people were wounded. M.P.R.'s Kerry Khan is in the Israeli city of Arad,

where one of the Iranian missiles hits. Here in Iraq, the missile fell between several apartment buildings in this huge apartment complex. And it didn't hit an apartment directly, but the blast of it blew out walls, windows. There isn't a window around. The cars parked all around. There's a large bus with all its windows blown out. And you can see directly into people's homes and their apartments. There are closets that were just ripped open. There isn't one glass window still intact. You see furniture strewn about, clothes everywhere. And people are just, looking around seeing if they can recognize anything of what these apartment buildings look like. That's NPR's Kerry Khan reporting from Arad Israel.

With no major economic data coming up this week, Wall Street investors will continue to closely follow the war with Iran. NPR's Rafael NAM reports. There are a few things that are more difficult to process for investors than not having any sense of what comes next. And as the war rages on, investors are starting to get alarmed about the effects on the U.S. and the global economies. One big fear is inflation. Americans are already feeling the effects of higher gasoline prices, while diesel prices are also spiking. Businesses and

households could also start reducing their spending if they grow more cautious about the economy. And a continued declining stock markets could hit retirement portfolios as well. A lot, though, depends on when the conflict ends. Rafael NAMM, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. An indigenous sovereign nation in Washington State will formally be a part of the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup from Northwest Public Broadcasting. Lauren Gallup has a report. The Puyallup Tribe of Indians in Washington State will be hosting events for fans during the games. James Rydout is a tribal council member.

The way I express this to our membership is that this is innovative. This is the first of its kind. You have an indigenous community that's supporting FIFA soccer. How incredible is that? The Puyallup Tribes Reservation is about 30 miles south of Seattle, where some of the World Cup games will be played. Along with viewing parties, there will be traditional dance, song, and drumming during a powwow, and stick games meant to showcase the heritage of the tribe. Festivities on Puyallup Land begin on June 12th with a community parade.

For NPR News, I'm Lauren Gallup in Tacoma. Project Hail Mary was a big hit at North American theaters, bringing in $80.5 million The science fiction movie stars Ryan Gosling, it offered the biggest opening weekend ever for Amazon MGM. Ready or Not, too, was the other major release this weekend, but it did not fare as well, bringing in just $9.1 million. Disney and Pixar's animated hoppers finished in second with $18 million. One week after a disappointing runner-up finish at the Sawgrass Players Championship, Matt Fitzpatrick shot a final round 68 to win the PGA championship in Palm Harbor, Florida. He made a birdie puttut from 15 feet on the five.

hole to get a one-stroke win over David Lipsky. Fitzpatrick played bogey-free for the day. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.