NPR News: 03-30-2026 10AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman, President Trump says Iran must soon reach a deal with the U.S. and immediately reopen the state of Hormuz to oil tankers. He wrote online this morning, if Iran fails, the U.S. will blow up all of Iran's electricity plants and oil wells. He also threatened desalination plants. Tens of millions of Iranian civilians need these plants, or they cannot get water. Trump also says his administration is talking to new Iranian regime. He described as reasonable. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there's been a change. There are clearly people they are talking to us in ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past. Some of the things they're willing to do, some of the things they're saying they're willing to do. Obviously, they have to go do it. We're going to test that proposition very strongly, because we always prefer to settle things through negotiation and diplomacy. However, the Trump administration continues to send more U.S. troops to the Middle East to join others who are already there. About 50,000 U.S. troops are now in the region.

1:03Iran's capital experienced mass power outages over the weekend after air strikes damaged power facilities. Now Russia's state nuclear energy corporation warned ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes are endangering a nuclear power plant in southern Iran, and fears Emily Fang reports. Iranian state media says shrapnel from weakened strikes damaged power equipment in Tehran and nearby Kharalaj city, leading to hours long blackouts in both places. Israel said over the weekend it had hit some 140 targets in Iran. Iran said several of those strikes hit universities and is now threatening to hit U.S. campuses in the Middle East in retaliation. Meanwhile, Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom is warning that strikes are deteriorating the condition of Iran's Bashshahar nuclear plant. Rosatom helped build the Bashshahar plant, which has been hit multiple times during the war. Damage has been reported from those strikes, but more than 160 Rosatom staff members have returned to Russia, according to the company, with more evacuations planned from the plant

2:05in the coming days. Emily Fang and Pyrenees van Turkey. Stocks open mixed this morning as crude oil prices continue to climb. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow's up about 200 points. Crude oil prices in the U.S. jump back above $100 a barrel, retail gasoline prices are hovering just below $4 a gallon. Traders are trying to sort through mixed signals about the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. That country has retaliated with attacks on energy infrastructure in both Israel and Kuwait. Yemen's Houthi rebels also fired missiles at Israel, raising concern the Iranian back group might resume its attacks on commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea. That would add another complication for global commerce, already squeezed by Iran's chokehold on the straight of Hormuz. Asian stocks were mixed overnight down in Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong, but slightly higher in Shanghai. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR news. The Bank of America has agreed to pay more than $72 million to survivors of Jeffrey

3:06Epstein's sex trafficking ring. The civil lawsuit alleged the bank enabled and profited from his crimes. The Bank of America does not admit wrongdoing in the case and it insists it did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, but bank officials say the settlement provides closure for victims. People in two states in the Midwest have only days left to register to vote in upcoming primary elections. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang has more to vote in Indiana and Ohio's primaries in May. Eligible voters have to be registered by April 6th. There are still a few weeks left to register in time for the primaries in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and West Virginia. If you've already registered to vote, you may want to check your status before your state's deadline. Eligible voters can sometimes be removed from lists, especially if they move, change their name or haven't voted in a while. And if you're planning to register to vote by mail, you may want to avoid waiting until the last minute to send in your application by a postmark deadline. Changes at the US Postal Service mean that your mail may not get a postmark on the same

4:07day you drop it off. USPS says if you want to make sure it gets a postmark, stop by a post office and ask for one. Hansi Lo Wang and NPR news. A teenager in Vermont is running for governor and will appear on the general election ballot this fall, 14 year old Dean Roy created his own third party. The Freedom and Unity party to secure his place on the Vermont ballot. Roy says he does not identify with either major party. He also does not expect to win. Roy says he is seeking to create change. This is NPR. 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 dot NPR dot org. That's plus dot NPR dot org.