NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-02-2026 3AM EDT

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

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Live from NPR news, I'm Giles Snyder. During a primetime speech from the White House, President Trump said countries that receive oil through the state of Hormuz should take action to secure the passage. I have a suggestion, number one, buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before. Should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the straight and just take it, protect it. Use it for yourselves. Trump also blamed Iran's virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz for the

prices Americans are paying at the pump and said the waterway will reopen naturally when the conflict ends because of the oil trade. Oil prices rose above $105 a barrel following Trump's speech and the financial markets in Asia losing ground following Wednesday's gains on Wall Street. In his own address to the nation Wednesday, British Prime Minister Kirstarmer said that the UK will host a meeting with other nations to discuss the straight-of-form moves. A meeting among 35 countries is to be held virtually later today. The skyrocketing cost of fuel starting to hurt New England fishermen from Ocean State Media. David Wright reports. At the fishing ports of Rhode Island, the price of dockside diesel fuel jumped nearly 50% last month. It's now 575 a gallon. If it climbs much higher,

sea captains like Patrick Duckworth say it may soon become too expensive to fish. Price of fish doesn't come up, price of the fuel don't go down, you're going to see if this harbor full all summer long. Meaning they won't be going out on the water. Yep, won't be going on in the water and less money. Probably a lot of people that won't have jobs. Seafood processors say it's a double whammy. Not only to hire fuel prices cut into the fishermen's pockets,

they also hit harder for truckers who transport the fish where it needs to go. For NPR news, I'm David Wright in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Now to Capitol Hill, where Republican leaders in Congress say they have a plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a month-long funding lapse. It's not immediately clear, though, what comes next? Impires Eric McDaniel has more. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune jointly announced their funding plan. They say it includes customs and border protection and immigration and customs enforcement, also known as CBP and ICE. Democrats have been blocking funding for immigration enforcement

in a push for reform, such as body-worn cameras and a ban on masks, after federal officers killed two American citizens in Minnesota. The GOP leaders say they'll use a budget process known as reconciliation to avoid the need for Democratic support in the Senate, which typically has a 60-vote threshold to pass this kind of legislation. If successful, their plan would fund DHS for three years past the end of Trump's time in the White House. Eric McDaniel and Pierre News, Washington. The U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to reject the limits President Trump is trying to this is NPR News. The U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to reject the limits President Trump is trying to impose on birthright citizenship. The justices on Wednesday heard his administration's appeal

of a lower court ruling that struck down Trump's executive order that would end citizenship for babies born to people who are in the country illegally or here to work or visit on a temporary basis. Trump himself was in the courtroom, spending just over an hour staying only for arguments by the government's lawyer. The FDA approved another obesity pill Wednesday, this one from drug maker Eli Lilly, MPR. Sidney Lubkin reports. Eli Lilly's new pill is called Fendeo. Although this is the same company behind Zepbound, the blockbuster injectable obesity medicine, Eli Lilly decided not to take Zepbound's main ingredient and make it in pill form. Instead, the company developed a new ingredient, or for Glypron. Daniel Skavronsky, the company's chief scientific and medical

officer, says until now, all of these GLP1 drugs have been peptides, meaning they need to be taken as injections or as a pill with restrictions. Our goal here was to make something as simple as possible. That means we had to rely on more complicated science. Lily hasn't announced a list price yet, but it says people with commercial insurance could pay as little as $25 a month. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. Following President Trump's first address to the nation since the start of the Iran War, oil prices are climbing. Brent crude, the international standard, has added more than 6%. Asian stocks are lower following Wednesday's gains on Wall Street. I'm Jail Snyder. This is NPR News.