NPR News: 03-25-2026 9PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. Gulf Arab countries did not want the U.S. to launch a war in Iran, and they're facing some of Iran's heaviest missile and drone attacks. Now they're worried that the war could end with the entire region less secure than when fighting began, as NPR's Greg Meiery explains. We are talking about a half dozen countries, and they all have their own perspectives, of course, but broadly speaking, they're very nervous about how this war might end. I spoke with Hussein Ibbish at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have developed real concerns about the prospect that Donald Trump could say, you know what, it's over, that's it, we want declare victory and walk away. Iran would end up weakened, but radicalized. So the Gulf countries want to come out of this war with guarantees that Iran can't threaten them. Iran's refusal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is intensifying concerns about global energy

1:02supplies and what that could mean for food prices in the U.S., NPR's Windsor-Johnston reports outside of higher fuel costs, economists say consumers may soon see higher prices on certain grocery items. Higher fuel and fertilizer costs are expected to ripple through the food supply chain, but not all at once. David Ortega is an economist at Michigan State University. He says energy prices are one of the biggest drivers, especially when it comes to transportation. So what we're going to first start to see this show up are on the perishable food items. So think specialty produce, dairy products, meat products that have to be refrigerated, so refrigerated trucking, uses up a lot more energy. Ortega says there's often a lag of several months between rising input costs and higher prices at the grocery store, meaning shoppers may not feel the full impact until later this year. Windsor-Johnston and PR News. In Los Angeles, a jury has found Meta and Google liable in a case that brought by 20-year-old

2:02woman. She accused the companies of contributing to addiction to the social media sites, Steve Futterman reports. On the ninth day of deliberations, the jury found that Meta and Google were both negligent, that both knew of the potential dangers of their apps, especially when it came to young people and failed to take sufficient action or warn users. The jurors awarded the 20-year-old woman a total of $6 million. Her attorney Mark Leneer admitted that he thought the damages would be higher, but still called it a significant ruling. This is a landmark moment. It will reverberate. I'll tell you this. If the jury had returned to know, the champagne corks would be popping in the boardrooms of Google and Meta. Many similar lawsuits have already been filed against social media companies and legal experts predict the verdict is likely to trigger many more. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. This is NPR News from Washington. The Supreme Court has sided with internet provider Cox Communications in its copyright

3:05fight with record labels over illegal music downloads that justices ruled unanimously that Cox bears no liability for copyright violations of its customers. The music companies say they are disappointed by the ruling and that there was overwhelming evidence that Cox knowingly facilitated theft. Baseball season begins today with an opening night game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. Most teams have their opening days later this week, and PR's Becky Sullivan has this preview. The Los Angeles Dodgers have already won the last two World Series running. Then, in the off season, they added the best outfielder and the best closing pitcher on the free agent market. Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz, who joined a roster packed with all stars, including the two way superstar, Shohei Ohtani, all of which could help the Dodgers become the first team to win three straight World Series since the Yankees in the year 2000. It also fans the flames of debate over whether Baseball should adopt a salary cap. The players union contract is up at the end of this season that's expected to be the biggest issue. New this year is the Automated Ball Strike System, which will allow players to challenge an umpire's call of baller strike, Becky Sullivan and PR News.

4:08Travelers passing through Philadelphia International Airport may have expected long security lines, but the longest line was made of cheese stakes. The airport set a Guinness World Record with nearly 1,300 sand, which is lined up in the walkway between Terminals B and C to mark National Cheese Stake Day. The record far surpasses the previous benchmark of 500. The sandwiches were pieced together assembly line style before they were distributed to travelers and airport workers. I'm Ryland Barton, you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.