NPR News: 03-20-2026 4PM EDT

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright.

Three weeks into the U.S. Israeli War with Iran,

more American Marines are on their way to the Middle East.

NPR's Quill Lawrence reports more than 2,000 Marines are being deployed now.

The USS Boxer Group of three ships carrying thousands of Marines

from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit has left California

and will take about three weeks to reach the Gulf,

according to two U.S. officials who are not authorized to speak publicly.

That's, in addition to the USS Tripoli Group,

with more than 2,000 Marines, expected to arrive soon from Japan.

Centcom would not comment on the deployment or its mission,

but Marines are traditionally ground troops.

Quill Lawrence and P.R. News.

Speaking to reporters outside of the White House a little while ago,

President Trump once again called on allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The average price of regular gas is 391 now.

NPR's Camilla Domenoski reports Internet search data show

more people are considering electric vehicles.

Since the start of this month, the war in Iran has pushed gasoline prices up sharply.

And on the AutoSight Edmonds, the share of shoppers considering electric vehicles

grew about 15% to its highest level all year.

Now, searching for a vehicle is not the same as buying one.

There are lots of factors in a purchase.

I've enjoyed the Director of Insights at Edmonds.

The answer to $5 gallon gas is not buying a $50,000 car,

but it's definitely something that you should put in your consideration set.

But analysts say if prices remain high,

it can push shoppers to put a higher value on fuel savings as they choose vehicles.

Camilla Domenoski and P.R. News.

The Trump administration says it's moving significant management

of the nation's federal student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department.

NPR Sequoia Carillo reports President Trump is continuing his effort

to eventually close the education department.

In the administration's latest move to shift responsibilities

away from the Department of Education,

management of much of the country's student loan portfolio

worth nearly $1.7 trillion will be phased over to the Treasury Department.

The administration says Treasury is better equipped to manage the program.

Loans in default will move over first, followed by loans that are in good standing.

And in the final phase, Treasury will take over the free application

for federal student aid or FAFSA.

More than 40 million borrowers hold federal student loans

while about 12 million of them are either in default or on their way there.

Sequoia Carillo and P.R. News.

NPR has learned CBS News is laying off 6 percent of its workforce.

Network officials say the cuts were painful but necessary.

The cuts include the end of CBS News Radio in May,

according to an internal CBS memo obtained by NPR.

CBS News Radio was heard on about 700 affiliate stations.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

A new study finds that humans and animals have shared acoustic taste.

NPR's Nate Roth has more.

Animals make a lot of sounds to attract mates

and scientists know that some are more effective than others.

Take the Pacific Field Cricket.

That call is less appealing to other crickets than this one.

And it turns out, according to the new study published in the journal Science,

it's more appealing to people too.

Scientists had more than 4,000 volunteers listen to pairs of calls from 16 different species

and pick which ones they preferred.

Like, do you prefer this song, Sparrow?

Or this one?

And they found that overall, humans agreed with the animal's preferences.

Suggesting, we share a sense of beauty with the natural world.

Nate Roth and NPR News.

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid Al-Fitr today,

marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

It's a time of prayer, celebration, and family to break the fast of Ramadan.

The holiday comes as the Middle East is embroiled

in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.

It is the first day of spring.

Southwest isn't a heat wave that's supposed to last for a while.

It'll get over 100 degrees in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Vegas today.

It's early in the year for weather that hot even out west.

The spring equinox also falls the same week,

parts of the upper Midwest got pummeled with snow.

The snowfall broke records in Michigan's upper peninsula

where Marquette got over three feet and they're still cleaning up.

This is NPR News from Washington.

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