NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-02-2026 10PM EDT

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

NPR News: 04-02-2026 10PM EDTTo manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Attorney General Pam Bondi is out at the Justice Department after just 14 months on the job. President Trump announced the shakeup in a post on social media. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. In a post online, Trump called Bondi a great American patriot and loyal friend who oversaw what he called a massive crackdown on crime. But Bondi had come under bipartisan criticism for a handling of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She's also been pressed by Trump to aggressively go after the president's perceived political enemies. And under Bondi's leadership, the Justice Department has investigated and even prosecuted some of Trump's critics.

But those cases have foundered in court or before grand juries. Now Bondi is out. And Trump says Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump, will take over leading the department for now on an acting basis. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Iran fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states today. That comes even as President Trump claims the threat from the country has been nearly eliminated. Iran's strikes and control of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies. Britain held a call today with nearly three dozen countries, but not the U.S., about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over. A drone maker backed by President Trump's two oldest sons is trying to win contracts with U.S. allies under threat by Iran. The company, power. Poweris is holding demonstrations in several Gulf countries of how its drone interceptors could help them ward off the attacks. Poweris recently struck a deal that will bring on the Trump brothers, Eric and Donald Jr. as stakeholders. The Trumps have expanded their business interests rapidly beyond hotels and golf courses in a little over a year since their father took office again.

The Teamsters Union is celebrating a win against Amazon. The National Labor Relations Board has ordered the e-commerce giant to recognize its union. Union at a Staten Island warehouse and begin contract negotiations. NPR's Andrea Shoe has more. This order comes four years after workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island ran a grassroots campaign to unionize and shocked corporate America when they won. But Amazon fought back by challenging the results of the union election and refusing to sit down for contract negotiations.

In 2024, the Amazon Labor Union joined forces with the Teamsters and continued to press the case. Now, the National Labor Relations Board, with its two new Trump appointees, has found that Amazon violated federal law by refusing to recognize and bargain with the union. Still, the board has no power to force Amazon to start bargaining. If Amazon does not comply with the order, the board's general counsel must ask a federal court to intervene. Andrew Hsu and PR News. Stocks overcame early losses to close mixed today. The SMP 500 rose a fraction. The Dow dropped a tenth of a percent. The stock.

market will be closed tomorrow for Good Friday. It's NPR. Brazilian banks are now required to check if a property is listed in government satellite data for potential illegal deforestation when applying for credit. Farmers can challenge flagged properties by providing legal documents or restoration plans. The finance ministry says the new rule aligns rural credit with conservation policies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of an illicit drug that's increasingly found along the financials. Long-sign fentanyl in some parts of the country. As NPR's Ping Huang reports, it's causing dangerous withdrawal symptoms. Dr. Michael Lynch is an ER physician based in Pittsburgh. He started seeing overdoses involving metatomodine some two years ago.

The powerful sedative is often mixed with fentanyl, but fentanyl overdose drugs don't work on it. So people would start breathing again, but they wouldn't wake up even after people got naloxone or narkan. Patients also came in delirious, agitated, with very high heart rates and not responding to typical medications. So what we're seeing is 10-fold increases in people needing ICU care for withdrawal. According to the CDC, the drug is most prevalent in the Northeast U.S., though it's also showing up more in the Midwest and the South. Ping Huang and PR News. U.S. egg prices have fallen 60% from last year's record highs, making it easier for consumers to fill their Easter baskets and Passover sater plates. Retail prices average $2.50 per dozen in February. compared to $6.23 per dozen in March of 2025, bird flu was to blame for last year's

spike, farmers have replenished poultry flocks they lost. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.