NPR News: 04-24-2026 8AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. President Trump says he's not in any hurry when it comes to making a deal with Iran. His comments come after he ordered the Navy to quote, shoot and kill any boat trying to lay minds in the Strait of Hormuz, NPR's Jackie Dortham reports. President Trump says he has ordered U.S. mind-sweepers to begin clearing minds from the Strait of Hormuz, a slow and dangerous process that could take months to complete. The threat of minds in the Strait and attacks and ship seizures by Iran is forcing many vessels to stay put. That's preventing oil and commodity such as helium, fertilizer and aluminum, all critical elements for industry farming and the like from moving through the Gulf. That's causing shortages and driving up prices. President Trump has extended an indefinite ceasefire with Iran, but that hasn't stopped the bellicose statements from both sides in the conflict. Jackie Dortham in P.R. News. President Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire for three

1:03weeks. The two sides met at the White House yesterday. Israel and Hezbollah militants have been training attacks. Wildfires are burning in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Many people have lost their homes at this point, and mandatory evacuations are underway in areas most under threat. Emily Jones with Member Station W-A-B-E has been covering one fire that's destroyed about 90 homes. People are pretty shaken. They're not used to dealing with wildfires here. They've seen hurricanes, but not fires like the ones we see now. So this is a community near Brunswick. It's a pretty rural area, though. There's lots of forest land, and the evacuation orders are popping up really suddenly because the fire is changing direction suddenly with the wind. Rainfall in Georgia is at a record low. The National Weather Service says it'll stay dry and windy. Under Brian Kemp will tour the damage and meet with first responders today in Florida more than 130 wildfires are burning. Damage assessments are underway in and around Init, Oklahoma after tornadoes moved through

2:08the area last night. Init is about 100 miles north of Oklahoma City. No deaths are reported, but at least 10 people were hurt. Logan Layden with Member Station KGOU reports. The National Weather Service says a large, violent tornado moved through Southeast Init, 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. Logan Layden reporting its NPR. A soldier with the U.S. Army Special Forces, who was involved in the January raid to capture Venezuela's president, has been charged by the Justice Department.

3:09As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, prosecutors say the Army Master Sergeant profited on the prediction market from the operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Prosecutors have unsealed an indictment against Ganon-Can Van Dyke, a U.S. Special Forces soldier who helped plan and carry out the arrest of Maduro. Under the username Burden-Sum-Mix, Van Dyke allegedly placed $32,000 in bets on Polymarket that Maduro would soon be out of power. Those wagers netted him more than $400,000 in profit. Polymarket is an overseas, unregulated exchange where traders are anonymous and bet with cryptocurrency. That federal investigators worked with Polymarket to identify Van Dyke. 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 Polymarket. Bobby Allen and PR News. Atlanta will soon welcome two new giant pandas from China. Zoo Atlanta officials say they can't wait to meet male ping-ping and female fushuang.

4:12In a move of panda diplomacy, the Zoo and China's Wildlife Conservation Association recently signed a new conservation agreement to bring pandas back to Atlanta. The zoo had to return its panda family in 2024 when their previous pact with China expired. In pre-market trading on Wall Street, Dow futures are down about 28 points. I'm Kristen Wright, NPR News from Washington. Want to 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.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.