NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-26-2026 2AM EDT

Episode Date: March 26, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump repeated Wednesday night that the U.S. and Iran are in ceasefire negotiations. And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us. It has never been ahead of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran. I'm speaking at a Republican fundraising dinner. at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station amid conflicting messages about talks with Iran.

Trump has not identified who the U.S. is negotiating with. Many top Iranian officials among thousands who've been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of last month. Iran's foreign minister says messages have been exchanged through intermediaries, but that does not mean negotiations are being held. A rare rocket attack on Iraqi Kurdish forces have killed at least six government fighters. NPR's Janeira Raff reports that Kurdish leaders say Iran told them the attack was a mistake. The Kurdistan region's Peshmerga military forces said six Iranian ballistic missiles struck one of their headquarters near Airbeil Tuesday, killing six fighters. The Iraqi government says it summoned the Iranian ambassador to complain about the attack on the

Peshmerga base, the first known by Iran on Kurdistan region forces in this war. Iran since Tuesday has intensified attacks in the region. including in the Kurdish capital, Erbil, where the provincial governor said U.S. fighter jets were patrolling. Regional President Neshavon Barzani says Iran acknowledged that the attack was a mistake and said it was investigating. Jane Arraf and PR News, Amman. Trump administration expanding sales of higher ethanol gasoline. NPR's Julius Simon reports a move comes as prices continue to rise with the ongoing war in Iran. Gas with a higher ethanol content, also called E15, is typically restricted in summer because it causes more air pollution.

But EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has announced the administration is allowing refiners and retailers to sell it on a temporary basis starting in May. Zeldon told reporters at SMP Global Sarah Week conference that the decision is, quote, giving Americans more fuel options. It's unclear how much this move will affect high prices at the pump. E15 isn't available in all. states, E-15 sales were also allowed last year and in 2022 by the Biden administration. The ethanol industry welcomed the decision. Julia Simon, NPR News, Houston. Cruise in Hawaii, a valley waiting the damage in a neighborhood near downtown Honolulu,

residents air cleaning up after what's being called the worst flooding to hit Hawaii in 20 years. A storm dumped several inches of rain late Monday. One National Weather Service forecaster says the ferocity of the downbore even took meteorologists by surprise. This is NPR. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is laying off around 700 people. That's less than 1% of the company's workforce. Meta has denied reports that it's preparing to slash 20%. And as MPR John Ruich reports, it cuts come at a time when the firm is trying to center its focus on artificial intelligence. The job cuts span several teams, including reality labs, which works on augmented virtual reality,

recruiting, sales, global operations, and social media products. This, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity so they could candidly share information about the layoffs. The person says some affected employees will be offered new roles or relocation to other offices, but the job cuts come at an interesting time for META. This week, the company lined up potentially huge pay boosts through stock options for a handful of top executives if they can drive up the share price. Meadow was also hit with a $375 million jury verdict.

after being found liable for failing to protect kids from online predators. John Rewitch, NPR News. Meta was hit by that jury verdict in a case out of New Mexico, a separate jury. This one in Los Angeles found meta and YouTube, liable on Wednesday in a social media addiction trial and awarded a 20-year-old woman $6 million. President Trump now scheduled to travel to China in May. He had been scheduled to make the trip this month, but rescheduled with Trump saying he needed to be in Washington, and because of the Iran War, the White House says Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a White House visit later this year.

I'm Jail Snyder. This is NPR News.