NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-30-2026 12AM EDT

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump said once again Sunday that he thinks a diplomatic end of the war with Iran could happen soon. But speaking with reporters on board Air Force One, he also said it's possible those discussions will fail. Trump also said the U.S. is allowing a Russian oil tanker to enter Cuban waters. Cuba's president says his country hasn't received any imports for three months and the power sector is suffering. But Trump said Cuba needs much more than oil. Cuba's a mess. It's a failing country, and they're going to be next. Within a short period of time, it's going to fail. And we will be there to help it out. The Russian tanker is expected to arrive on Tuesday. A funeral was held Sunday in Beirut for three journalists killed while covering Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon. One of them worked for a Hezbollah-affiliated TV channel and was accused by Israel of producing propaganda. The killings have drawn criticism from Lebanese officials and press freedom groups. MPR's Lauren Freyer reports from Beiruts. Colleagues and relatives carried the coffins of TV correspondent Fatma Fetuni, her cameraman brother Mohamed Fatuni, and another veteran TV journalist Ali Shaib, a household name in Lebanon.

He's the one Israel says it targeted, claiming without providing evidence that he was a militant operating under the guise of a journalist. Lebanon's president called the killings a blatant crime. The Washington-based watchdog, Committee to protect journalists, says it's investigating what it calls a disturbing pattern of Israel accusing journalists of being terrorists. A CPJ spokesperson said journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for. Lauren Freyer and PR News, Beirut.

The fighting between Iran and Israel is occurring during an important time for both Christians and Jews. The next week we'll see both Passover and Easter taking place, but many of Jerusalem's holiest places are sitting empty. The western wall is closed to worshippers. Israeli officials say gatherings are capped at no more than 50 people, and stores in the old city remain closed as the fighting continues. It will be a short week ahead on Wall Street. NPR's Scott Horsley reports that traders may welcome the break after a big sell-off last week. All the major stock indexes fell last week as the U.S. war with Iran continued to scramble energy markets.

Crude oil prices top $100 a barrel and gasoline prices climbed to about a dollar a gallon higher than they had been before the war. This coming week brings a fresh look at the U.S. job market. We'll find out on Friday how many jobs employers added or subtracted in the month of March. The job market has shown little movement for the last six months, but at 4.4 percent, the unemployment rate remains relatively low. Traders will not get an immediate opportunity to react to the jobs report. The stock market will be closed that day for the Good Friday holiday. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. And you're listening to NPR News.

At least 14 people were killed this weekend by paramilitary forces in the Sudanese city of Dilling. The Sudan Doctors Network says at least 23 other people were injured in the fighting and some of those killed were children. Sudan's military says it was able to stop the attack. The paramilitary forces and the army have been fighting for almost three years. The area around Dilling has until recently faced a two-year siege with most supplies cut off. Project Hail Mary, a feel-good movie about a space voyage is still soaring at cinemas, NPR's Bob Mandello, as our details. Ryan Gosling's film about an alien encounter during a long-shot effort to save Earth.

No one's ever done this before. Took off like a rocket last weekend. It is Time Go. I think you're in Go, pal. And apparently, the 85% of its audience that said in exit polls that they'd recommend Project Hail Mary to a friend actually recommended it to a friend. Why were so messy questions? Well, I wasn't expecting company.

Where most blockbusters drop drastically after a big U.S. opening, Project Hail Mary will finish this second weekend with another $54 million in the till. And it's holding even better overseas, so the worldwide 10-day total will top $300 million all before the start of next weekend's lucrative Easter holidays. Bob Mandello, NPR News. Gary Woodland won the PGA's Houston Open Sunday. He finished five strokes ahead of Nikolai Higgaard. Woodland finished the day with a 367 and a tournament total of 21 under 259.

The win comes less than three years after Woodland had brain surgery to remove a lesion. The win also made him eligible for the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, which tees off in two weeks. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.