NPR News: 03-26-2026 1AM EDT

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Much of the focus on the Iran War has been on conflicting messages about negotiations to bring an end to the fighting.

The White House says Iran is looking for an exit ramp, but Iran's for a minister told State TV that Iran has no intention of holding talks for now.

MPR's Greg Maire reports that Gulf Arab countries worry that the war could end with the region less secure than when it started.

We are talking about a half dozen countries, and they all have their own perspectives, of course, but broadly speaking, they're very nervous about how this war might end.

I spoke with Hussein Ibbish at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have developed real concerns about the prospect of Donald Trump could say, you know what, it's over.

That's it. We want declared victory and walk away. Iran would end up weakened, but radicalized.

So the Gulf countries want to come out of this war with guarantees that Iran can't threaten them.

In a separate conflict, there are renewed calls for a prolonged ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following the expiration of a five-day agreement to pause fighting during the Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Betsy Jules reports from Islamabad.

A group of 22 Afghan and Pakistani clerics has signed a joint statement calling for peace until the next major Islamic holiday, Idhul Azah, which is expected in late May.

Experts appointed by the UN's Human Rights Council also called for a permanent ceasefire to end this latest conflict, which has been ongoing between Pakistan and Afghanistan since late February.

The fighting saw its deadliest attack so far on March 16th when the UN's mission in Afghanistan says at least 143 people were killed by a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul.

For NPR News, I'm Betsy Jules in Islamabad.

Now to California where a jury has ordered meta and YouTube to pay $6 million for designing addictive social media platforms.

Wednesday's verdict came the same week as a New Mexico jury ordered meta to pay $375 million for failing to protect children on its apps.

NPR's Bobby Allen reports.

After eight days of deliberations, the jury found that Instagram and YouTube were designed to hook kids and teens.

The verdict confirms the lawyer's novel legal strategy to treat social media apps as defective products no different than cigarettes or digital casinos.

This could influence the outcome of thousands of other lawsuits over social media addiction that have been consolidated.

Child safety advocate Julianne Arnold had this message after the verdict.

For the biggest tech executives, I want to say something. Stop blaming the parents. It's on you.

Meta and Google have vowed to appeal. They say mental health issues are complex and can't be blamed on one single app.

Bobby Allen and PR News Los Angeles.

This is NPR News.

The Justice Department has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Michael Flynn, who briefly served as president Trump's national security adviser in his first term.

The settlement was revealed Wednesday in a court filing in Tampa, Florida.

It would resolve a lawsuit in which Flynn sought at least $50 million.

Flynn claimed he was maliciously prosecuted as part of the investigation into Russian election interference.

A settlement amount was not revealed, but the AP is reporting a $1.2 million figure.

U.S. Postal Service proposing a temporary increase to some of its postage rates to help cover rising transportation costs.

But appears Hansi Lomong reports the proposal would not affect the price of first-class stamps.

Mailing a letter in the U.S. with a first-class forever stamp would still cost 78 cents.

But the U.S. Postal Service is proposing an 8% price increase for its priority mail deliveries and for shipping packages.

If the Postal Regulatory Commission approves, the temporary price hike would start April 26 and last until mid-January.

This proposal comes a week after Postmaster General David Steinert told Congress U.S. PS is months away from running out of money.

The self-funded mailing agency relies on stamps and service fees, not tax dollars to deliver a mail six days a week to almost every address in the country.

With fewer people sending mail these days, the Postal Service is trying to address its financial shortfalls in part by increasing stamp prices and asking Congress to let a borrow more money.

Hansi Lomong and PR News.

Las Vegas in Seattle is step closer to getting an NBA team to league's owners voted Wednesday to explore the possibility with an eye toward adding expansion clubs for the season beginning in 2028.

This is NPR News.

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