NPR News: 03-27-2026 2PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A US official not authorized to speak publicly has confirmed with NPR that the US has determined with certainty that about one-third of Iran's missile arsenal has been destroyed. The story was first reported by Reuters. Since the start of the US Israel-led war against Iran, US forces have struck more than 10,000 targets. Targeting Iranian missile capabilities has been described as one of the main priorities by the Pentagon. Yesterday, President Trump publicly stated that Iran had, quote, very few, rockets left after nearly a month at war with the US and Israel. The US Senate has agreed to fund nearly all of the Department of Homeland Security through September, the exception's immigration customs enforcement, which already got 75 billion last year. NPR Sam Greenglass reports on where this leaves Democrats, who've been holding out on reopening DHS until they secured specific changes in ICE tactics. An order leader Chuck Schumer said this morning that Democrats will keep pushing for reforms.

1:01The White House has previously expressed a willingness to adopt some of Democrats' demands, but not others, including non-negotiables for Democrats, like banning officers from wearing masks. And some Republicans are now indicating the window to negotiate is over. Well, TSA agents have been working weeks without pay in Atlanta, W-A-B-E, Sly Oppenheimer, as an update. Atlanta Airport General Manager Ricky Smith says the lines have calmed down compared to what they were last weekend, but TSA workers are still calling out of work at high rates. You have an experience like over the weekend where you cannot find floor space, because there's so many people just in the terminal. I mean, everywhere, the baggage claim area, taking a lobby area, and even the curb size, it was astounding. And Smith says Saturday and Sunday lines are unpredictable, as Moore's spring break travel kicks in. He also predicts more kids and more families in line. Since all the callouts, TSA union leaders have also expressed airport safety and national security concerns.

2:02The Atlanta Airport website still recommends travelers arrive a minimum of four hours early. For NPR News, I'm Lily Oppenheimer in Atlanta. NPR has confirmed that Secretary of Defense Pete Hague Seth intervened to stop the promotions of four army officers, all black or female soldiers, on track to become one-star generals. According to a U.S. official, not authorized to speak publicly on the story that was first reported by the New York Times. A second U.S. official also not authorized to speak publicly confirmed that Hague Seth has been weeding out senior officers who are deemed ideologically incompatible. In a statement to NPR, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the reporting, quote, fake news from anonymous sources. U.S. stocks trading lower with a down now down 670 points are nearly one and a half percent. This is NPR News. Two Chinese containerships attempted to cross the strait of our moves today and then turn

3:06back. Here's NPR Center for Park. The two ships, CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean, tried to exit the Persian Gulf, but then made an abrupt U-turn near Iran. Unusual given that the two ships had Hong Kong flags and signaled they were Chinese owned. China is a strategic ally of Iran and has condemned the U.S. and Israel for starting the war against Iran. Iran has retaliated by effectively closing the strait of our moves a crucial waterway. But it says passage is allowed for friendly nations. While some Chinese ships have reportedly been able to pass through the strait, China's government has not confirmed this. Jennifer Pak, NPR News, Shanghai. A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by billionaire Elon Musk. He had claimed that advertisers on his social media platform X had organized an illegal boycott. Here's NPR's Bobby Allen. Back in 2023, Musk, except from the stage of a public event, if someone is going to blacklist me with advertising, then well, they can hit the road, except he used more graphic language.

4:07It was a reference to advertisers like Apple, Disney, IBM, and Comcast that had halted spending on X after concerns that anti-Semitism was spreading on the site unchecked. Musk sued over it, alleging a brand-organized conspiracy against him. Now a federal judge in Texas has thrown the lawsuit out for a lack of merit. The legal defeat comes days after a jury in San Francisco found Musk defrauded investors in his purchase of the site once known as Twitter. Musk's lawyer has said the trial was corrupted by the judge's bias against Musk, Bobby Allen and P.R. News. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. 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.