NPR News: 04-06-2026 11PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News on Giles Snyder. President Trump says a reopening the straight-up for moves will have to be part of any deal with Iran to end the war. This comes after Trump said he wanted U.S. allies to reopen the straight and pierce deep a shiver on reports. Trump has set different goals for reopening the straight-up for moves in the last week. The route is critical for the global transport of oil and its closure has led to a spike in gas prices globally. Most recently speaking from the White House, Trump said a successful deal with Iran would have to include free flow of oil through the straight. We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything. Trump also repeated his threat against Iran's civilian infrastructure. If a deal is not reached by Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern, he says every bridge and power plan would be decimated. Deepa Shiverham and PR News, Washington. During Monday's White House press conference,

1:00Trump dismissed concerns that strikes on civilian infrastructure could amount to war crimes, saying he's not at all concerned about the possibility. National average for a gallon of gasoline is now about $4.12, that's according to AAA. The sharply increasing cost of gasoline has driven search, interest, and electric vehicles, but what about alternatives to driving? Here's Impierce Camila Dominozki. As the cost of driving goes up, so do the potential savings from things like walking, biking, and taking public transit. The data don't necessarily suggest any widespread shifts in behavior. Public transit ridership went down slightly in March, although ridership continues to rise year over year. But the Scooter and Bike app, Veo, says that two-thirds of its users reported replacing a car trip with a shared two-wheeler last month because of higher gas prices. And the Weward Pedometer app says 44% of its users say they're walking more because of fuel costs. Camila Dominozki, NPR News.

2:01The U.S. Department of Education is rescinding a handful of agreements at previous administrations entered into with schools that were subject of civil rights cases in PRS Query Turner reports. Both the Obama and Biden administrations try to expand civil rights protections in schools to include students' gender identity, and using that expansion. They went after school districts. They believe we're discriminating against transgender students, reaching agreements, committing the districts to change. And it's these agreements with a handful of school districts in one college that the Trump administration is now rescinding, arguing the previous expansion of rights under Title IX was itself illegal. The Education Department under President Trump has also been threatening to cut federal funding to school districts and even entire states that continue to carve out protections for transgender students. Query Turner, NPR News. And this is NPR News. The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission

3:04are now on a path back toward Earth after having completed their trip around the moon and breaking the distance record set by Apollo 13 and 1970. Splashdown is set for Friday in the Pacific Ocean of San Diego. The Artemis II mission sets the stage for next year's mission and a potential moon landing in 2028. President Trump is endorsing former British government aide Steve Hilton for California governor. Trump made the endorsement on social media Monday. Hilton has dual nationality. He served as former British Prime Minister David Cameron's director of strategy and was one of Cameron's closest advisors before leaving Downing Street in 2012 and moving to California. New research adds to the evidence that the psychedelic substance in magic mushrooms can help treat depression. NPR John Hamilton is more on the study in Nature Mental Health. A team led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed results from 12 studies of psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

4:06The studies included nearly 600 participants with depression. Overall, those who got psilocybin as part of their treatment improved more than those who received talk therapy alone. The analysis also found that people who got psilocybin were more likely to see a dramatic reduction in symptoms. The improvement occurred rapidly and lasted for weeks or longer. As part of the study, the researchers created a publicly accessible database of psilocybin research. They plan to update it as new studies are published. John Hamilton NPR News. This is NPR News. Do you ever wish you could predict the future? Well, some scientists try to do that every year forecasting when cherry blossom trees will bloom each spring. It's a wild guess, but there is some science involved. And there is a lot riding on the peak bloom forecast. Tourism, climate change models, and more. Listen to Shore Wave on the NPR app, or wherever you get your podcast to hear how scientists are predicting the future.