NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-31-2026 3AM EDT

Episode Date: March 31, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Jail Snyder. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says talks with Iran are progressing, saying Monday that what Tehran says publicly differs from what it tells of U.S. officials in private. Despite all of the public posturing you hear from the regime and false reporting, talks are continuing and going well. What is said publicly is, of course, much different than what's being communicated to us privately. As a result, President Trump issued a 10-day pause to postpone plan strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. Levitt says President Trump wants to reach a deal with Iran before the April 6th deadline he said last week after extending an earlier deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. On social media Monday, Trump again threatened Iranian power plants, oil wells, and the oil-rich-Hark Island if the strait is not opened immediately. With President Trump repeating his threats against Iranian power plants and oil facilities, authorities in Dubai say a fully loaded oil tanker was hit by an apparent Iranian drone strike Monday, sparking a fire.

Authorities say the fire is under control and no injuries have been reported. The U.S. war with Iran continues to rattle global energy markets. NPR Scott Horsley reports that crude oil prices have resumed their upward climb. Crude oil prices in the U.S. jump back above $100 a barrel. Retail gasoline prices are hovering just below $4 a gallon. Traders are trying to sort through mixed signals about the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. That country has retaliated with attacks on energy infrastructure in both Israel and Kuwait. Yemen's Houthi rebels also fired missiles at Israel, raising concern the Iranian-back group might resume its attacks on commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea. That would add another complication for global commerce, already squeezed by Iran's chokehold.

on the Strait of Hormuz. Scott Horsley, I'm here, News, Washington. The countdown clock at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is taking down towards a potential launch of the Artemis II mission tomorrow evening, sending a crew of four on a mission around the moon and back. Central Florida public media's Brendan Byrne reports. For the first time in more than 50 years, the clock at Kennedy Space Center has been turned on for a crude lunar mission.

Mission managers say that all the issues with the rocket, like its leaking hydrogen and faulty helium system, are fixed. Launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson says they'll keep a close eye on the rocket and only launch when ready. But certainly all indications are right now, we are in excellent, excellent shape as we get into count. Once that count hit zero, NASA's massive SLS rocket will launch the Orion Space capsule and its crew of four, three U.S. astronauts and one from Canada. The 10-day mission will test out key systems of the Orion vehicle as it travels around the moon and back, taking the crew farther into deep space than any other mission.

NPR News. I'm Brendan Byrne in Orlando. And you're listening to NPR News. Authorities in Texas say they're working to understand what led a 15-year-old student to shoot a teacher and then fatally shoot himself. The shooting happened Monday morning at a high school near San Antonio. No other injuries were reported that teacher was taken to a nearby hospital. The FBI says a man with an assault rifle who crashed his pickup truck into a synagogue near Detroit earlier this month was carrying out an attack inspired by the militant group Hezbollah. The head of the FBI in Detroit said Monday that the man made video recordings minutes before driving his truck loaded with fireworks and gasoline into the building. The truck caught fire,

but did not explode. None of the 150 children and staff members were injured. As more coffee and food chains provide protein in their offerings, there are conflicting interpretations of just how much protein we need. And P.R. Allison Aubrey reports. Health Secretary Kennedy tout steak over cake, and the new dietary guidelines recommend a higher level of protein intake. But protein needs vary from person to person. Since the human body is continuously breaking down old proteins and making new ones,

it relies on the amino acids from the food we eat. And the amount we need depends on body weight, age, since protein needs increase with age and activity level. Exercise creates a stress on the body. explained Stuart Phillips, a researcher at McMaster University. When you eat more protein, you can take more up. You make more new muscle proteins. That's why if you exercise regularly, you may need to eat more protein. Alison Aubrey, NPR News.

And you're listening to NPR News.