NPR News: 03-26-2026 5AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran is now in its fourth week, but it's still not clear what's going on with negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end it. And here's Mara Laisen has more. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said talks continue and that they are, quote, productive. But according to Iranian state media, Tehran has rejected a U.S. proposal, quoting a senior Iranian security official who says Iran will end the war when its conditions are met. Those conditions include the right of Iran to control the straight-of-form moves. Iran has refused President Trump's demands to reopen the strait to oil and gas shipments. Trump has made a series of other demands, sometimes contradictory. They include unconditional surrender, regime change, a hand in picking Iran's next leader, and an end to Iran's nuclear weapons program. When asked about the possibility of more talks this weekend, Levitt said nothing has been officially announced. Mara Laisen, NPR News, The White House.

1:00As the partial government shutdown continues, Senate Democrats yesterday blocked a Republican led effort to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, but not one main part of immigration enforcement. Democrats want reforms to ICE tactics before funding DHS. Senator Dick Durbin says he hopes they reach a deal to pay TSA workers before senators leave this week for recess. We have differences of opinion when it comes to ICE standards that they'll live by, but we ought to separate out all the others and fully fund them. We've tried to do that ten times on the floor of the Senate Republicans have resisted us. It's time to get done. We shouldn't leave here without it. Republican Senator Kevin Kramer says there's frustration rather than the GOP over the Democrats' response. It's like you can't help somebody that doesn't want to be helped. You can't lead a Democrat to common sense if they're committed to crazy. The Trump administration sent ICE agents to some airports to help with long lines.

2:01Today's the first of nine equal pay days throughout the year, marking how far into the new year women have to work in order to make what men earned the previous year. In Paris, Andrea Schu reports. For the second year in a row, women have lost ground. Women working full-time year round earn 81 cents for every dollar men earn. That's down three cents over the past couple years. Now the latest data, compiled by the Census Bureau, is actually from 2024. So the widening of the gender wage gap can't be explained by anything that's happened since President Trump returned to office. And in fact, former President Biden was supportive of pay equity efforts. What the Census Bureau did find was that the median wage for men increased by just over three and a half percent, while women's wages remained stagnant. The gender pay gap is even wider for women of color. Black women's equal pay day will be marked in July. Latina equal pay day in October. And Rishu and PR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. U.S. Southern Command says it carried out a strike yesterday on an alleged drug boat in

3:06the Caribbean, killing four people. U.S. military says intelligence confirmed that the boat was smuggling drugs without providing evidence. That brings the number of people killed in strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats to at least 163 since the Trump administration began targeting them last fall. A pivotal U.S. Senate race in Maine is intensifying as the two leading Democrats vying to topple Republican Senator Susan Collins try to get the upper hand in the June primary election. As Steve Missler from Maine Public Reports, Democratic Governor Janet Mills and combat veteran turned oyster farmer Graham Platner are going toe-to-toe on the airwaves. Both Democrats are dipping into their campaign coffers while Collins spends very little as she eyes a sixth term. Last week, Governor Mills released an ad featuring several supporters reacting to a voice and personating Platner, reading excerpts from his 2013 Reddit post about women worried about

4:06sexual assault. He responded with an ad buy that's nearly four times as large as Mills' spot. These are words and statements I abhor from a time in my life when I was struggling deeply after returning from war. These words are not who I am. Collins meanwhile has spent very little on advertising, but outside groups supporting her have spent big. One group has spent more than Mills and Platner combined. For NPR News, I'm Steve Missler in Augusta Maine. And I'm Janine Herfst and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Come 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.