NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-24-2026 7PM EDT

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Top Senate Republicans say they're circulating a deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security and end the more than month-long shutdown. But President Trump and Senate Democrats are indicating they do not support the offer. NPR's Sam Greenglass reports. The negotiations have felt like whiplash. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said his colleagues had sold President Trump on a plan to fund DHS, except for the ICE unit responsible for removal operations.

That could be done later in a party-line reconciliation bill, along with parts of the voting law overhaul Trump wants. Maybe you can just say that my colleagues were more persuasive than I was. A few minutes later, Trump threw cold water on that. I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it. And minority leader Chuck Schumer declined to say his caucus would back the deal as is. As I said, we need reforms. Senate Democrats in the White House are continuing to exchange offers.

Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington. The National Transportation Safety Board says the vehicle involved in a collision with a plane landing at LaGuardia Airport did not have equipment to show its location. Two pilots were killed in the crash and dozens injured. NPR's Stephen Kastenbaum reports. Investigators zeroed in on what the people in LaGuardia's control tower could see on their screens before the crash. ASDX is a runway safety system which allows air traffic controllers to track surface movement of aircraft and vehicles. But NTSB chair Jennifer Homandy said the controllers couldn't see information about the fire truck's exact location. So in this case, that vehicle did not have a transponder. It's not clear whether different controllers were talking to the pilot and the driver of the fire truck Sunday night.

There were two people in the cab. Two people in the tower cab. Investigators are set to interview the controllers soon. For NPR news, I'm Steve Kastenbaum in New York. American drivers are spending 15% more on gas than a year ago, according to the Bank of America Institute. But so far, consumers do not appear to be pulling back on other spending. NPR's Stephen Besaha reports. Gen Z and millennials are especially vulnerable to high gas prices. That's according to credit and debit card data from the Bank of America Institute, which shows young adults spend a higher amount on gas compared with their discretionary spending.

David Hensley is the Institute's chief economist, and he says gas prices have not not cause Americans to pull back on overall spending yet. Right now, you know, the consumers sort of holding up. And it lists it all, you know, come down to how long this oil price, gasoline price, shock lasts, of course. Tinsley says the high gas prices could also cut into the benefits Americans get from higher tax refunds this year. Stephen Besaha, NPR News. A huge heat dome is spreading across the U.S. Shattering March temperature records.

Parts of the planes will reach the 90s tomorrow. tomorrow. Forecasters say the pattern will last into next week. This is NPR news. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to France to try to sell skeptical allies on the Iran war that has sent global fuel prices soaring. Rubio will attend a G7 foreign ministers meeting to discuss what the State Department says is shared security concerns and opportunities for cooperation. It says the talks will focus on the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other threats to peace and stability. A network of families that has helped scientists understand Alzheimer's disease is facing an uncertain future. NPR's John Hamilton reports. The families carry very rare gene mutations that cause Alzheimer's to appear in middle age.

For nearly two decades, the National Institutes of Health has funded research on these families through a group called the dominantly inherited Alzheimer's Network. Dr. Tammy Benzinger of Washu Medicine says it's unclear whether that will continue amid cuts in research by the Trump administration. The network that's been built up without funding, all of that would fall apart. In 2025, the NIH rejected a grant application that would have brought about $13 million in the first year. Instead, the network got about $8 million and no money for international sites, which account for about half of its families. The current funding is scheduled to run out on June 30th. John Hamilton and PR News. U.S. workers' outlook on the job market is increasingly pessimistic, according to a new

Gallup survey. Just 28% of workers in the survey conducted at the end of 2025 called it a good time to find a job. In mid-2020, 70% said it was a good time. Pessimism is especially pronounced among young people and college graduates in general. This is NPR.