NPR News: 03-25-2026 1AM EDT

0:00Live from MPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Iran is dismissing reports of negotiations with the U.S. as fake news. But President Trump is claiming progress, and there are reports at the Administration of Center on a 15-point ceasefire plan amid ongoing military strikes. Israel struck the Iranian Capitol Wednesday and strikes Tuesday. Had two Iranian energy facilities, after the U.S. said it would postpone strikes on Iranian power plants until Friday evening, to give Iran more time to open up the critical straight of her moves. MPR Zamboli Fang has more. City authorities say a strike had a natural gas pipeline in southwestern Iran. Iranian state media say another strike overnight also hit natural gas facilities in the central city of Isfahan, and that there were no casualties. Iran is warned it will mount reciprocal attacks on water, energy, and technology infrastructure in the Middle East, as long as joint U.S. and Israeli strikes continue. President Trump has said the U.S. and Iran have had talks.

1:01Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said that it received and responded to messages from the U.S. passed on through intermediary countries. But Iran's powerful multi-branch security forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denies being in talks with the U.S. MPR Zamboli Fang and MPR News, Van Turkey. TSA agents have been working more than a month without pay due to an ongoing congressional standoff over Homeland Security funding. The shutdown has led to long security lines at the nation's airports. Keith Jeffries is the former Federal Security Director for TSA at Los Angeles International Airport. The biggest challenge is the security risk that brings to the aviation sector. The crowds, the angst, the stress, and the shortage of personnel to get them through from point A to point B safely. Senate negotiators working to salvage a proposal to end the Homeland Security shutdown. Republicans and Democrats traded off for Tuesday with little progress. President Trump has said that he won't be happy with any deal and Democrats have refused

2:03to fund DHS, demanding changes to immigration operations. Valero has shut down a refinery and poured Arthur, Texas following Monday night's explosion and fire. MPR's Julius Simon is in Houston. The Valero refinery handles more than 350,000 barrels a day. He supplies diesel locally to the Gulf Coast, as well as to the Northeast and Midwest via Pipeline. The refineries diesel and gasoline sometimes gets shipped to Europe and Latin America. It is an important asset when it comes to balancing the market at a time where supply is being impacted by the straight-of-formers shut down. That's Debno Schaudery, head of fuels and refining for S&P Global for North America, Latin America, and Europe. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. It's unclear how long the refinery will be offline. Julius Simon and Pierre News Houston. And you're listening to NPR News. A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has decided that former President Jair Bolsonaro will continue

3:06serving prison time under House arrest, saying he will review the case within 90 days to determine if House arrest should be extended. Bolsonaro was currently being treated for pneumonia at a hospital he received a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election. European soccer fans have lodged a formal complaint over World Cup ticket prices, a group called Football Supporters Europe, as well as a European Consumer Rights Group, a file to complaint with the European Commission in Brussels a alleged FIFA has used its monopoly in the power to charge excessive prices. World Cup matches begin in June in the US, Canada and Mexico. The network of families that has helped scientists understand Alzheimer's disease is facing an uncertain future in Pierre-John Hamilton reports. The families carry very rare gene mutations that cause Alzheimer's to appear in middle age. For nearly two decades, the National Institutes of Health has funded research on these families through a group called the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network. Dr. Tammy Benzinger of Wash U Medicine says it's unclear whether that will continue amid cuts

4:10in research by the Trump administration. The network that's been built up without funding all of that would fall apart. In 2025, the NIH rejected a grant application that would have brought about $13 million in the first year. Instead, the network got about 8 million and no money for international sites, which account for about half of its families. The current funding is scheduled to run out on June 30th. John Hamilton and Pierre News, this is MPR News. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from $15 a month. Shop plans today at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month five gigabyte plan required. New customer offer for first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra see Mint Mobile for details.