NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-24-2026 4AM EDT

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump and Iran are sending conflicting signals. Iran denies that talks are being held. But President Trump claims Iran is eager for a deal to end the war and that the U.S. is talking with an Iranian leader he did not identify. We've wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader. Over the weekend, President Trump gave Iran 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz,

where the U.S. would strike Iranian power plants. On Monday, he postponed that deadline for five days, saying the U.S. and Iran have held talks. Oil prices retreated following Trump's remarks, but Brent Crude started rising again in Asia. Sunday night's fatal crash at New York's LaGuardia Airport, his renewing focus on staffing shortages, fatigue, and other factors that experts say has long strain the air traffic control workforce. LaGuardia reopened Monday afternoon as Steve Kestenbaum reports. Video from a closed circuit TV showed the moment an airport fire truck moved into the path of the plane and the violent impact seconds later. An audio recording revealed that an air traffic controller gave

permission for the truck to cross the runway before immediately telling the driver to stop. Catherine Garcia is executive director of the Port Authority. The procedure always is in deference to the control tower, anytime anyone is moving on any of our runways or taxiways. Inside the terminal, passengers heading to flights that weren't canceled were greeted by ice agents at the TSA security screening. For NPR News, I'm Steve Kastenbaum at LaGuardia Airport. Jury deliberation set to resume today in two separate trials focusing on social media. In New Mexico, prosecutors accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of misleading people about the safety of its platform.

for children, but is also a defendant alongside Google in a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. Defense Department revising its controversial media policy after a judge cited with the New York Times and a lawsuit over the limits of Pentagon imposed on reporting. And Beers Ayanna Archie reports a Pentagon spokesperson says the agency plans to appeal that decision. The New York Times sued the Pentagon last year for its media policy, claiming it was unconstitutional. A judge has agreed and ordered the Pentagon to give the New York Times its credit. back. Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, says the correspondence corridor will remain closed while the agency waits for a decision on an appeal. Reporters will instead work from an annex facility that is

outside of the Pentagon, but still on the grounds. Reporters will need an authorized escort to enter the Pentagon for press conferences and interviews that have been arranged through the Pentagon's Public Affairs Office. Parnell says this is a way for the Pentagon to balance transparency with security. Iyana Archie, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR. News. Senate negotiators are reported to be working through the night on a potential deal on funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Details are expected to be presented later today on a potential breakthrough following a meeting late Monday with President Trump. The DHS shutdown has led to long lines at U.S. Airports. Democrats have been refusing to fund Homeland Security without restraints on immigration enforcement and mass deportation. The deal is taking shape after the Senate late Monday confirmed Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen to be President Trump's next Homeland Security Secretary. The Education Department has opened two new investigations into Harvard University. The Imperialist and Edwardi reports that one is about admissions and the second is about anti-Semitism complaints on campus.

The latest investigations by the Trump administration against Harvard come just days after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Ivy League school. alleging that the university failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students. The administration also sued the school over admissions records in a separate case. In a statement, the university says that Harvard complies with the law in its admission practices and is reviewing the two new investigations, which it says target Harvard for, quote, refusal to surrender our independence and constitutional rights. Alasana, NPR News. Frank crude oil has dropped back below $100 a barrel, but still up $1.2.

6% after conflicting messages about talks on ending the war in the Middle East. Iran has denied talks with the U.S., contradicting President Trump, who said Monday a deal could be reached soon. This is NPR.