NPR News: 04-24-2026 5AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattinglay. President Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks. The president announced the extension after high-level delegations from both countries met yesterday at the White House. That's also where Trump told reporters he's not going to rush any potential agreement with Iran to end the war with the U.S. and Israel. I want to make the best deal. I could make a deal right now. You know that if I left right now, we had a tremendous success. It would take them 20 years to rebuild, but I don't want to do that. The U.S. Navy continues its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, amid Trump's indefinite extension of a ceasefire with Iran. U.S. Central Command says more than 30 vessels have been redirected from the narrow waterway since the blockade began. A soldier with the U.S. Army's special forces, who was involved in the January raid to capture Venezuela's president, is under arrest. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, prosecutors say the Army master sergeant profited on the

1:04prediction market from the operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Prosecutors have unsealed an indictment against Ganon-Can-Vandike, a U.S. Special Forces soldier who helped plan and carry out the arrest of Maduro. Under the username Burden-Sum-Mix, Vandike allegedly placed $32,000 in bets on Polly market that Maduro would soon be out of power. Those wagers netted him more than $400,000 in profit. Polly Market is an overseas, unregulated exchange where traders are anonymous and bet with cryptocurrency, but federal investigators worked with Polly Market to identify Vandike. He's the first person criminally charged in the U.S. over trades on prediction markets, which have seen massive growth in Trump's second term. Donald Trump Jr. is an investor and advisor to Polly Market. Bobby Allen and PR News. Damage assessments are underway in and around Inid, Oklahoma after tornadoes moved through the area last night. No deaths are reported, but at least 10 people were hurt. Logan Layden with Member Station KGOU has more.

2:07The National Weather Service as a large, violent tornado moved through Southeast Inid, Oklahoma, near Vance Air Force Base. Only minor damage was reported at the base and no injuries. But just to the east, a neighborhood suffered heavy damage, with some homes destroyed. Another large tornado touched down near Braiman, just south of the Kansas border. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stit issued a statement saying he would work with local leaders to assess damage and get resources to people in the local community. The threat of severe weather is forecast to extend through the weekend from Oklahoma to Minnesota. For NPR News, I'm Logan Layden in Oklahoma City. NPR fires continue to destroy homes in South Georgia, where officials say extreme drought is fueling the flames. More than 80 homes have been lost there thus far. This is NPR News from Washington. The parent company of Facebook says it's laying off about 8,000 employees, that's roughly 10 percent of Meta's workforce.

3:09The job cuts were announced as Meta continues to put more emphasis on artificial intelligence. The company says it also plans to leave 6,000 jobs unfilled. Meta is a financial supporter of NPR. A spokesman for Republican Congressman Tom Cain of New Jersey says a personal medical issue has prevented the lawmaker from being on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. Bruce Convisor has more. It has been seven weeks since Cain last cast a vote on the Hill. In that time, the Republican representative has missed dozens of roll call votes, including one on a bill that he sponsored. His office says he's battling an unspecified health issue. They say he'll return to work soon, but didn't offer more specifics. Cain represents New Jersey's seventh congressional district. It's one of the GOP's most vulnerable house seats. Cain is running unopposed in the June 2nd primary, but a clutch of Democrats are vying for their party's nomination and the chance to oust the two-term representative in November. The race is considered a toss-up.

4:10For NPR News, I'm Bruce Convisor in Greenbrook, New Jersey. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was the first pick in last night's NFL draft. The Las Vegas Raiders selected the quarterback out of Indiana with the league's top pick. Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a national championship in his final season of college football. Wall Street Futures are mixed this morning. Down Futures are down 166 points. I'm Dave Mattingley, NPR News in Washington. Wanna hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon Prime members can listen to NPR News now, sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get NPR Plus at plus dot NPR dot org. That's plus dot NPR dot org.