NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-09-2026 3AM EDT

Episode Date: April 9, 2026

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Live from NPR news, I'm Jail Snyder. The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is under strain following Wednesday's Israeli attacks in Lebanon said to be the deadliest day of the war. Lebanon says more than 250 people were killed. In response, Iran says it has closed the strait of Hormuz again. And the Iran-back group Hasbalah says it will continue firing rockets until the attack stop. Here's NPR's Lauren Friar in Beirut. Iran's foreign minister just posted on social media about what he called massacres in Lebanon. He pointed to the Pakistani prime minister's initial description of the ceasefire, including Lebanon, and said the ball is in the U.S.'s court that the world is watching. The White House has said it does not consider Lebanon to be part of the ceasefire. President

Trump told PBS he considers it, quote, a separate skirmish. The White House says Vice President Vance is heading to Pakistan for talks Friday about this ceasefire. But Iran has suggested those talks might be canceled because of today's violence. UN Secretary General Antonio Katerish is condemning the Israeli strikes in Lebanon, and in a statement called on all parties to cease hostilities, Australia's prime minister says Lebanon must be included in the ceasefire. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will force a war powers vote to put Republicans on the record with the U.S. Iran conflict. And Pierre-Claudey Grislaus reports. Democrats started forcing the Senate votes to limit President Trump's war powers before they left for a two-week recess.

Now, Democratic leader Schumer says they'll try again. when Congress returns next week. Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment. No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone. Schumer argued the conflict was a, quote, colossal failure that has made global conditions worse for the U.S. and its allies. Democrats need two built support on the GOP side. Only one Senate Republican. Kentucky's Rand Paul has supported past attempts to live. limit Trump's military actions in Iran.

Claudia Rizales and BRR News. The four astronauts aboard Artemis II are on their way home after looping around the moon. They're scheduled to splash down to Earth on Friday. Meantime, they're staying fit with a special machine called the flywheel. And Pierce, Kadya Riddell reports. Exercise is essential in space. That's because without the usual gravity from Earth, the human body can quickly atrophy. That's why engineers designed the flywheel.

It's a small piece of equipment that astronauts can strap their feet into and then use much like a rowing machine. Astronaut Reed Weissman had this recent report from space after using the flywheel. It is a really good piece of gear, and we can actually get a nice workout. I look forward to the next time I get to try a resistance workout. The flywheel allows for both cardio and resistance workouts. Some of the scientists who designed it say it could set a precedent for exercise of equipment, even back on Earth. Katie O'RR News. And this is NPR News.

California Supreme Court is ordering the Riverside County Sheriff, who is also a Republican candidate for governor, to halt a controversial investigation into the 2025 election. From member station KQED, Guy Marzarotti reports that the sheriff seized hundreds of thousands of ballots last month. Sheriff Chad Bianco says he's investigating voter fraud, but he hasn't publicly detailed any crime. And Riverside County election officials say no fraud has occurred. In their order, the state Supreme Court's six justices ordered Bianco to, quote, pause the investigation, which Bianco says he's done voluntarily. The court agreed to hear a challenge from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who argues Bianco is overstepping his authority as sheriff. Bianco is a leading Republican candidate in polling ahead of California's June 2nd primary.

For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzarotti in San Jose. A jury in Hawaii has returned a guilty verdict in the case. of Dr. Gerhard Koenig. The jury convicted Koenig Thursday of trying to kill his wife during a hike last year. He was accused of trying to push her off a cliff, beating her with a rock, and then trying to inject her with a syringe. The jury deliberated for about a day before convicting Konig of attempted manslaughter. The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran triggered a rally on global markets. All three U.S. indexes advanced more than 2% Wednesday in what's being called a relief rally. However, cracks appearing in the truce stocks in Asia are trading lower and oil prices have risen to

around $97 a barrel. This is NPR News.