NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-01-2026 3AM EDT

Episode Date: April 1, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Jail Snyder. President Trump is planning to deliver an address to the nation tonight. The White House says he'll give an update on the Iran War. Trump's address comes as a straight-up or moves remains largely shut down, sending oil and gas prices sharply higher. NPR Stephen Saha reports. Nationally, a gallon of regular gas at the pump now costs, on average, more than $4. Not really all that much higher from when Americans were paying a week ago. just a few cents more. But if you compare it to a month ago, before the war with Iran began, we are paying more than a dollar per gallon extra. And this does have a huge psychological effect. I mean, think about that big sign in front of gas stations, the one that you pass every day with that big four at the front. Plus, it really has been a while since gas was north of $4 a gallon. That was more than three years ago, and it was due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude has ease but remains above. of $100 a barrel. A Russian tanker has docked in Cuba, bringing 730,000 barrels of oil. It's the first time in three months an oil tanker has reached the island. Cubans have been hit by widespread blackout since the U.S. instituted a fuel blockade in January, as Katie Silver reports. Fishermen watched under the early morning sun as the ship docked at the Matanzas port. Across the country, Cubans cheered.

It's energy minister posting on social media to thank Russia for sending a much-needed energy lifeline. It was not certain that the Trump administration would allow the tanker to proceed, given the blockade, but Trump said the delivery was, quote, no problem, and that they have to survive. Cuba has faced a series of long power blackouts and severe shortages of food and medicine. Analysts estimate the Russian shipment could make enough diesel to power the Caribbean island for nine or ten days. It's unclear what happens after that. For NPR, I'm Katie Silver in Mexico City. NASA, preparing to launch the Artemis 2 moon mission, the crew made up of four people, including the first woman and black man on a lunar mission. But NPR's Kadia Riddle reports

that NASA has not been talking much about these first lately. When the crew was first announced a few years ago, NASA officials were proud to highlight these achievements. But that was before President Trump returned to office and signed executive actions targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across federal agencies. Since then, NASA has removed language from their website celebrating the cruise diversity. AJ Link is from the group Black and Astro. I think it's really important to explicitly highlight the inclusion of not just black folks, but other marginalized folks that have been left out of the industry.

And to back away from that or to erase that, I think, is wrong. After this mission, NASA is planning for another, possibly returning to the moon surface. Katie Riddle, NPR News. This is NPR News. Officials in Iraq say an American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad. The journalist has been identified by one of the outlets she worked for as freelancer, Shelly Kittleson, a U.S. officials blaming in Iran-backed Iraqi militia. Buckingham Palace says King Charles' state visit to the U.S.

will go ahead in late April. The king will be hosted by President Trump, as in peers, Fatima al-Kasup. Kasab reports. The statement from the palace says the king's visit will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. In a post on social media, President Trump says the visit will include a beautiful banquet dinner at the White House. King Charles will also address Congress. Opposition lawmakers in the UK have called for the trip to be cancelled as Trump continues to criticize the UK over the Iran war. There's also the difficult topic of the King's disgraced brother, Andrew, who was arrested over his friendship with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019.

Democratic Congressman Roe Kana has asked King Charles to meet with Epstein survivors during his trip. Fatimral Kassab, NPR News, London. Prince Harry's Privacy Invasion Lawsuit against British tabloids is now in the hands of a high court judge. testimony in the suit brought by Harry and also music legend Elton John and five other high-profile figures against the Daily Mail's publisher ended Tuesday after more than 10 weeks. A judge in the case says he will rule later the publisher denies wrongdoing. This is NPR News.