NPR News: 04-04-2026 2AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. Israel's Defense Minister says the approximately 600,000 residents who have been forced out of Southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return until security is guaranteed for Israel's northern residents. It's not clear how Israel will determine that. Israel continues to advance ground troops into Lebanon and says it will occupy wide areas of the country. NPR's Kerry Khan reports. The Defense Minister Israel cats again Friday reiterated threats against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants fighting Israel in Lebanon. We will act forcefully against rocket fire and Hezbollah will, quote, pay a heavy price he says. Throughout Lebanon, more than 1 million people have been displaced from Israel's invasion. A week cats and other Israeli officials have outlined plans to occupy a large swath of Southern Lebanon as a so-called security zone. An area of nearly 10 percent of the country.

1:02Israeli ground troops have raised residential buildings while airstrikes have hit multiple bridges, severing vital routes between Southern Lebanon and the North. Kerry Khan and P.R. News Tel Aviv. The four Artemis-2 astronauts are now the first astronauts in 53 years to travel as far in space. NASA says they're now more than halfway to the moon. Monday is a key day when the crew will fly around the far side of the moon, possibly taking them further in space than any other astronauts have been, even beyond the Apollo 13 crew mission back in 1970. Astronaut Christina Koch described the scene a short time ago. We can see the moon out of the docking hatch right now. It is a beautiful sight. We're seeing more and more of the far side and it's just a thrill to be here. During the 10-day mission, the crew will test the capsule and other equipment with the goal of landing and putting astronauts on the surface of the moon in 2028. A shift seems to be underway how the federal government does its immigration enforcement. As NPR's Meg Anderson reports the Homeland Security Department say they want ice to work

2:07closely with police. Mullins comments point to a federal program that deputizes local police to act as ice officers. It has exploded in growth during President Trump's second term. In Florida and Texas in particular, more than 40 million people live in places where local police have signed on. Immigrant rights groups say the program creates situations where minor traffic stops quickly turn into immigration arrests. And when local police do the work, they say it makes immigration enforcement more hidden. Kristen Eder is with the Texas Immigration Law Council. Detention, mass deportation, but do it in a way so that the public doesn't think it's happening anymore. In a statement to NPR, a DHS spokesperson says the department has, quote, supercharged its efforts to work with local police. Meg Anderson and P.R. News. You're listening to NPR. The Supreme Court on Friday said that associate justice Samuel Olyto became ill last month at an event in Philadelphia and was treated for dehydration before returning to Washington.

3:12The court said Olyto did not require an overnight hospital stay and was back at the court the following Monday. Having just turned 76 this week, Olyto is the second oldest justice on the court, 14 months younger than associate justice clearance Thomas, who is 77. The Swedish Coast Guard has detained a ship. It says was sailing under a false flag and has leaked oil in the Nordic country's economic zone. Terry Schultz reports the government believes the ship is part of a fleet Russia uses to circumvent sanctions on oil exports. Swedish authorities say the flora won, sailing under the flag of Cameroon, is suspected of committing an environmental crime by spilling oil off the coast of the island of Gotland. Civil defense minister Carl Oscar Bolin says this oil spill is not significant, but a more extensive one could have had devastating consequences for marine ecosystems and Swedish coasts. He says the incident is still being viewed with grave concern because the ship is believed to be part of Moscow's shadow fleet, made up of often unseeworthy older vessels that

4:16have questionable insurance and registration. These ships he adds pose a significant security and environmental threat. The flora won is the third suspicious vessel Sweden has detained in the past month. For MPR News, I'm Terry Schultz. The NCAA women's final is all set, UCA and South Carolina play Sunday in the championship game. I'm Dan Ronan, NPR News.