NPR News: 03-26-2026 2AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm child Snyder. President Trump repeated Wednesday night that the U.S. and Iran are in ceasefire negotiations. And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it. Because they figure they'll be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us. There's never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran. Trump, speaking at a Republican fund raising dinner at Washington DC's Union Station amid conflicting messages about talks with Iran. Trump has not identified who the U.S. is negotiating with, many top-riding officials among thousands who've been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of last month. Iran's foreign ministers as messages have been exchanged through intermediaries, but that does not mean negotiations are being held. A rare rocket attack on Iraqi Kurdish forces have killed at least six government fighters in Paris-Jane Arab reports at Kurdish leaders.

1:03Say Iran told them the attack was a mistake. The Kurdistan region's Peshmerga military forces said six Iranian ballistic missiles struck one of their headquarters near Air Bill Tuesday killing six fighters. The Iraqi government says it summoned the Iranian ambassador to complain about the attack on the Peshmerga base. The first known by Iran on Kurdistan region forces in this war. Iran since Tuesday has intensified attacks in the region, including in the Kurdish capital Air Bill, where the provincial governor said U.S. fighter jets were patrolling. The regional president, Neshirvan Burzani, says Iran acknowledged that the attack was a mistake and said it was investigating. Jaina Raf and Pyrenees, Aman. Trump administration expanding sales of higher ethanol gas, a lean in Pyar's Julius Simon reports a move comes as prices continue to rise with the ongoing more in Iran. Gas with a higher ethanol content, also called E-15, is typically restricted in summer because it causes more air pollution.

2:06But EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has announced the administration is allowing refiners and retailers to sell it on a temporary basis starting in May. Zeldin told reporters at S&P Global Sarah Week Conference that the decision is, quote, giving Americans more fuel options. It's unclear how much this move will affect high prices at the pump. E-15 isn't available in all states. E-15 sales were also allowed last year and in 2022 by the Biden administration. The ethanol industry welcomed the decision. Julius Simon and Pyrenees Houston. Cruz and Hawaii evaluating the damage in a neighborhood near downtown Honolulu residents air cleaning up after what's being called the worst flooding to hit Hawaii in 20 years. A storm dump several inches of rain late Monday, one national weather service forecaster says the ferocity of the down bore even took meteorologists by surprise. This is NPR. Metta, the parent company of Facebook is laying off around 700 people that's less than 1% of the company's workforce.

3:09Metta has denied reports that it's preparing to slash 20%. And as NPR John Ruich reports, it cuts comment a time when the firm is trying to center its focus on artificial intelligence. The job could span several teams, including reality labs, which works on augmented virtual reality, recruiting sales, global operations and social media products. This according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity so they could candidly share information about the layoffs. The person says some affected employees will be offered new roles or relocation to other offices. But the job cuts come at an interesting time for Metta. This week the company lined up potentially huge pay boosts through stock options for a handful of top executives, if they can drive up the share price. Metta was also hit with a $375 million jury verdict after being found liable for failing to protect kids from online predators. John Ruich and PR News. Metta was hit by that jury verdict in a case out of New Mexico, a separate jury. This one in Los Angeles found Metta and YouTube liable on Wednesday in a social media addiction trial and awarded a 20 year old woman $6 million.

4:18President Trump now scheduled to travel to China in May. He had been scheduled to make the trip this month, but rescheduled with Trump saying he needed to be in Washington because of the Iran War. The White House says Trump is planning to host Chinese president Xi Jinping for a White House visit later this year. I'm Jial Snyder. This is NPR News. 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.