NPR News: 03-26-2026 5PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton, President Trump says he is extending his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to April 6th, where face the destruction of its energy plants. Iran and the U.S. appear to be at an impasse, with each side hardening their positions and setting the stage for another potential escalation in the Middle East War. Still, President Trump says 26 days into the conflict the U.S. is meeting its objectives and ahead of schedule. They would have used a nuclear weapon on Israel, they would have used it on the other neighbors, and then they would have come after us. And if we had a weak president, they would have done great damage. But fortunately, you don't have a weak president, I know what was happening. And I think we've been proven right. Thousands more U.S. troops are nearing the region, heavy strikes are reported in Iran's capital and other cities. The war in Iran continues to send oil prices higher, and it's starting to ripple through the airline industry and PR's Windsor-Johnston reports. Airlines typically raise fares when fuel costs rise, but are slower to lower prices

1:03when those costs fall. Bill McGee is a senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project. He says that's likely to show up in ticket prices over the next several months. If you're going to be traveling and you're thinking of holding off to see a better fare, it makes sense not to do that right now, to book early. We're going to have to keep a very close eye on this and keep trying to keep the airlines honest, but there's no doubt that fares are going to increase. McGee says demand is also getting a boost from travelers rushing to lock in fares before prices climb higher. A trend that could add more pressure heading into summer. Windsor-Johnston and PR News. There's still no sign of a breakthrough in Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security as the TSA says it may have to shut down operations at some airports. Wait times have exceeded four hours and employees at those airports are calling out, calling out of work at rates of 40% to 50%, more than 480 TSA agents have quit altogether. Venezuela's ousted president Nicolas Maduro and his wife were back in federal court today.

2:06It was their second court appearance since they were captured in January. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores have pleaded not guilty to the charges. At the hearing in federal court in Lower Manhattan, both Maduro and his wife were dressed in beige jumpsuits and headphones through which they listened to the proceedings via an interpreter. The hearing focused on a dispute over allowing the Venezuelan government to pay for the Maduro's legal defense. Maduro's attorney says the U.S. isn't allowing Venezuela to pick up the tab. He says that interferes with Maduro's constitutional right to counsel and the case should be dismissed. Prosecutors say the Venezuelan government can't pay because it is under American sanctions. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein did not rule from the bench on the matter and noted that this case is unique. Ryan Lucas and PR News. U.S. Stocks have their worst day since the war with Iran started. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. New population estimates show that U.S. growth in metro areas slowed sharply last year. As immigration dropped in hurricanes, pushed people out of some Gulf Coast counties.

3:11U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average metro growth rate fell from 1.1% in 2024 to 0.6% in 2025. Metro areas along the U.S. Mexico border saw the steepest declines as the number of immigrants fell. Miami-Dade County, Harris County, Texas, and LA County all took in far fewer immigrants last year. Religious radio stations make up about one quarter of all stations in the U.S. a new study from Pew Research finds that an even larger portion of Americans listen to faith-based radio as NPR's Jason DeRose reports. The study found that 45% of Americans listen to religious radio stations, and they do so for a variety of reasons. For spiritual uplift, to relax, for advice, or guidance, and because programming is what they consider family-friendly. The kinds of programs listeners tune into vary. Nearly four in ten say they listen to religious music, three in ten listen to sermons, or religious services. While the analysis found that political commentary makes up a relatively small part of programming

4:13on these stations, 40% of those surveys said keeping up with news and politics was a reason for listening. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Cherry blossoms have reached peak bloom here in Washington, D.C., the National Park Service says, 70% of the Yoshino cherry blossoms are open, but it only lasts a few days. The title basin is where most of the trees are located, but parts of it are fenced off for seawall repairs. This is NPR. According 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.