NPR News: 03-26-2026 4AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Much of the focus on the Iran War has been on conflicting messages about negotiations to bring an end to the fighting. The White House says Iran is looking for an exit ramp, but Iran's foreign minister told state television that Iran has no intention of holding talks for now. In Piers Gregg, Myri reports the Gulf Arab countries worry that the war could end with the region less secure than when it started. 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 of Donald Trump could say, you know what, it's over. That's it. We want declared victory and walk away. Iran would end up weakened, but radicalized.

1:00So the Gulf countries want to come out of this war with guarantees that Iran can't threaten them. The White House is disputing reports at the U.S. put forward a 15-point plan to end the war with Iran, and that Iran rejected it. However, press secretary Caroline Levitt said Wednesday, there are elements of truth to them. In Piers Emily Fang reports that Iran says it will end the war and strikes on its neighbors only if the U.S. among other things pays Iran more damages and repressions. The U.S. has been pushing Iran to reopen the straighter foremose and let energy exports flow to the rest of the world again. Iran has refused, and Iran's state broadcaster reports a senior political security official has rejected a U.S. proposal, setting up five conditions. These include ending the war only if the U.S. stopped assassinating Iranian leaders and setting up mechanisms to ensure the U.S. could not wage war on Iran again. The official also asked for the U.S. to pay for war damages.

2:02To California now where a jury in Los Angeles has found that meta and Google were to blame for the depression and anxiety of a woman who compulsively used social media as a small child. In Piers Bobby Allen reports on the second major verdict this week in landmark social media trials. A jury has awarded a woman $3 million for mental health struggles that developed after a compulsive use of YouTube and Instagram. After a month-long trial, a jury found that meta and Google deliberately designed social media platforms to addict young people. The verdict comes a day after a separate jury in New Mexico ordered meta to pay $375 million for failing to protect kids and teens from child predators on its platforms. The Los Angeles jury found that meta and Google acted with malice, which means the case now moves to the punitive stage, where the amount of damages could be far more. Google and meta are vowing to fight the verdicts, which are the first-ever judgments against the social media industry over the harms of its platforms. Bobby Allen in Piers News, Los Angeles. This is MPR. Capital Hill, the Senate, is expected to vote today on a Republican proposal that would

3:06fund the Transportation Security Administration in much of the Homeland Security Department, leaving out immigration and enforcement and removal operations. The measure is expected to fail, as lawmakers come under pressure to end the Homeland Security shutdown ahead of Congress's spring break, which begins this weekend. Democrats say the GOP plan falls short of putting up guardrails on federal officers the shutdown has led to missed paychecks and travel disruptions. Justice Department has reached a financial agreement to settle lawsuit filed by former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador in 2016, but was later pardoned by President Trump. Here's an imprier as Ryan Lucas reporting. Michael Flynn briefly served as National Security Advisor in Trump's first term. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to lie into the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador and cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian

4:07election interference. Flynn later changed his tune and claimed he was innocent and tried to withdraw his guilty plea. Ultimately, President Trump pardoned him in late 2020. Three years later, Flynn sued the government, alleging the criminal case against him was wrongful and malicious. Flynn was seeking $50 million. During the Biden administration, the Justice Department had sought to dismiss the case. Now court papers say the Trump DOJ has reached a financial settlement, but does not specify the amount. Ryan Lucas and PR News and I'm Jail Snyder. 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.