NPR News: 04-24-2026 6PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Arounds Foreign Minister is in Pakistan's capital again after he took part in peace talks there earlier this month. Psejoel's reports from Islamabad, the city's been locked down for days in anticipation of another round of talks. In addition to Islamabad, Aragchi said in a post on X that he'll also visit Muskat and Moscow for discussions, unquote, bilateral matters. Aragchi's foreign ministry said in a statement that Aragchi would hold meetings with its senior leadership. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told Fox News that Jared Kushner and Steve Whitcoff would travel to Pakistan on Saturday for talks. Aragchi did not say if he would participate in talks with the U.S. in Pakistan. For NPR News, I'm Betsy Joel's in Islamabad. The Trump administration has extended a waiver of the Jones Act through the end of August in an attempt to help with domestic supplies of gas and other refined oil products.

1:01NPR's Camila Domenoski reports, waiving the Jones Act makes it easier to move fuel around, but it doesn't significantly affect prices. The Jones Act requires goods shipped from one U.S. port to another to be sent on a U.S. built ship with a U.S. crew. The requirement boosts the domestic shipbuilding industry, but creates a headache for other industries. There just aren't very many ships that qualify. The initial 60-day waiver of the Act was meant to help companies adapt to the global disruption and oil supplies caused by the Iran War. Experts say it does make it easier to ship fuels from U.S. refineries to U.S. customers, but the effect on gasoline prices for consumers is minimal by some estimates as little as a fraction of a penny. Camila Domenoski and NPR News. The Fort Bragg's soldier accused of using insider information on the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife to win more than $400,000 in the online prediction site, Polymarket, was in court in North Carolina today.

2:03Ganon-Can-Ven-Dijk is charged with unlawful use of confidential government information. Polymarket is banned in the U.S., but it can be accessed with a private network. NPR's Bobby Allen has more. The Trump administration has dropped investigations into Polymarket that were started under President Biden. And while Polymarket's main competitor, Kalshi, is subject to more rules by being regulated by the federal government, Trump officials don't seem too bothered by Polymarket operating overseas. In fact, Donald Trump, Jr., the president's son, is an advisor and investor in Polymarket. He's a Kalshi advisor as well. NPR's Bobby Allen reporting, Vendike was released on a $250,000 bond today and ordered to appear next Tuesday in a Manhattan courtroom. Wall Street mixed by the closing bell, the Dow down 79 points, NASDAQ, up 398, S&P 556, for listening to NPR News. An appeals court today blocked President Trump's executive order, suspending asylum access

3:06at the southern border. The court says federal laws allow people to apply for asylum at the border and that Trump can't bypass that. On a inauguration day, 2025, Trump declared the border situation an invasion and suspended asylum. The court found that the Immigration and Nationality Act doesn't give the president authority to override asylum procedures. The White House says the asylum ban was within his powers, the Department of Justice plans to seek further review. While many had turned, Skyward, for the historic moon mission, researchers discovered a new species of moon jellyfish deep in the Gulf. Houston Public Media's Juliana Washburn has more. It was a happy coincidence that researchers at Texas A&M at Galveston found a new species of moon jellyfish while astronauts were preparing for a trip to the moon. Moon jellyfish are one of the most well-studied jellyfish in the world, named for their translucent moon-like bell. The associate professor, Maria Pia Maglietta, helped identify the new species.

4:08We're still discovering new species in this very well-studied group, and so this indicator little we know about the biodiversity in general of these animals and probably a lot of animals. It indicates that we still need to explore the ocean. With this discovery, there are now four known moon jellyfish species in the Gulf. For NPR News, I'm Juliana Washburn in Galveston. One known Wall Street that I was down 79 points both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed at records. This is NPR News. 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.