NPR News: 03-26-2026 4PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump's pressing Iran to make a deal. He convened a cabinet meeting today, his first since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran nearly four weeks ago. Special envoy Steve Whitkoff was at the table. He confirmed what he described as the foundation of a framework for a peace deal. He called it a 15-point action list. Trump addressed concerns about the rising energy prices stemming from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey are playing a role in efforts to end the U.S. Israeli war on Iran and P.R.'s Abu Trawi has the latest. Iran says there are no negotiations with the U.S., and its list of conditions for halting the war include payments for damages and an end to attacks on Iranian-backed militias in the region. Trump, meanwhile, says he wants Iran to halt all nuclear enrichment and curb its missile and drone production.

1:00Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelayati says Cairo is working to bridge existing gaps between the U.S. and Iran's positions. We are supporting the peace initiative by President Trump to open the door for negotiations with Iranian side. He says Egypt is communicating directly with Iran's foreign ministry, A. Abu Trawi and P.R. News Dubai, with reporting by Ahmed Abu Hamda in Cairo. Meanwhile, thousands more U.S. troops are being deployed to the Middle East, Trump's facing a new low in approval ratings, 36 percent, according to a Reuters-Ipsis poll. The latest AP North Pole indicates a majority of Republicans still support Trump's actions in the Middle East, as well as far less support for sending in ground troops. As war in the Middle East nears four weeks, the war between Russia and Ukraine has raged for more than four years. G-7 for ministers are meeting in France to assess the impacts of the conflicts so far. And P.R. Zelenor Beardsley has a latest from Paris.

2:03The two-day gathering will take place at a restored 12th-century Abbey, La Bay de Vodesserne, about 25 miles southwest of Paris. But the mood of the meeting may not match its gorgeous setting. There's mounting uncertainty and unease of an increasingly unpredictable U.S. foreign policy. Russia continues its onslaught on Ukraine, unabated, and a new U.S.-Israel-led war with Iran is causing a surge in energy prices around the world. The organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, predicts that global energy disruption will lead to lower economic growth and mounting inflation worldwide. G-7 for the end of this year. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 470 points, or more than 1%. The SMP and NASAC were also down more than 1.5%. This is NPR News. California is a step closer to dropping Cessar Chavez day and adopting Farm Workers Day.

3:08The State Senate voted to rename a state holiday on Chavis's birthday after revelations of alleged sex abuse and rape of young girls and women emerge against the civil rights and labor rights icon who died in the early 1990s. Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the bill. Congressional Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio has asked a federal court in Washington DC to force President Trump and the board and staff of the Kennedy Center to revert to calling the Arts Complex, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And Pierre Zanastasius Yulkes reports. Beatty filed a motion asking a federal circuit court judge to demand Trump and the rest of the Arts Complex's current board and staff stop calling it the Trump Kennedy Center. In the filing, Beatty's attorneys argue the new name directly contradicts congressional legislation which designated the Arts Center as a living memorial to late President John F. Kennedy. It's part of a larger suit, Beatty filed in December against Trump and many members of the Center's board.

4:10In a statement NPR, a press representative for the Center wrote, quote, were confident the court will uphold the board's decision on the name change and the desperately needed renovations which will continue as scheduled. The Center has planned to be closed in July for renovations that are expected to last two years. Anastasius Yulkes and Pierre News, New York. And today the Kennedy Center confirmed that Bill Maher would receive the Mark Twain prize for American humor this year. It's NPR News.