NPR News: 03-28-2026 2PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noir Rahm.

Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen say they launched a missile toward Israel today.

The first they fired since the war began.

Israel's military says it was successfully intercepted.

The Houthi's attack opens another front in the war that has now moved into its second

month.

NPR's Kerry Khan reports.

Up until Saturday's missile launched the Iranian-backed Houthis had stayed out of this war, but

a Houthi spokesman says the tax will continue until, quote, the aggression on all resistant

front stops.

The Yemen-based rebels were active during Israel's war in Gaza, firing on cargo ships in

the Red Sea and disrupting global commercial traffic.

Iran hit multiple sites around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Saturday.

Israel's military says Iran is increasingly using cluster bombs.

Designed a detonated high altitude, the munition disperses multiple smaller bombs that are

more challenging for Israel's multi-layered air defense system to intercept and can cause

damage over a wider area.

Dozens of countries have signed on to a cluster munitions treaty ban, except Iran, Israel,

and the U.S.

Kerry Khan and PR News, Tel Aviv.

The Department of Homeland Security is on track to mark the longest partial government

shutdown in history.

NPR's Claudia Griselas reports.

The DHS budget measure stalled in the Senate for weeks as Democrats demanded immigration

enforcement reforms in exchange for their votes to approve funding.

The chamber finally broke the impasse after a Republican degree to approve funding for

most of the agency aside from some component that included ICE and Border Patrol.

House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the Senate measure as a, quote, joke.

Instead, the House passed a measure to temporarily extend funding in full for the Department of

Homeland Security through late May.

The vote effectively ensured that the ongoing shutdown at DHS continues with no clear end

in sight.

Lawmakers have already left Washington for a planned two-week recess.

Claudia Griselas and PR News.

Demonstrations are getting underway across the country today.

It's no Kings Day.

No Kings!

No Kings!

No Kings!

No Kings!

Organizer expect a large turnout at rallies in every state of the Union and in Washington.

Stephanie Stigman is attending the one in DC.

She was asked, what brought her there?

Total disgust.

I think our country is headed completely in the wrong direction.

Unfortunately, we have an administration that is taking us into needless wars, spending

money on stupid things like renovations at the White House.

She says she's attended all three, no King rallies, since President Trump returned

to the White House.

You're listening to NPR News in Washington.

Thousands of people gathered in Central London today to show opposition to far-right groups.

They come from various organizations, including Amnesty International, Faith Leaders,

Unions and Charities.

They're hoping for a record turnout.

Six months ago, anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson held a rally in the same place,

attracting more than 100,000 participants.

The University of Mississippi this week launched a first of its kind research center, focused

on the risks of sports gambling.

NPR's Windsor Johnston reports, betting has expanded nationwide since a 2018 Supreme

Court decision that struck down a federal ban.

It says sports betting has become easier than ever with mobile apps, allowing users to

place wagers anytime, anywhere.

Kate Humble with the National Council on Problem Gambling says that accessibility is changing

how younger generations interact with gambling.

The brain is still developing at that age and making sure that they are able to conceptualize

that this is real money that they're playing with, especially in a generation that has

grown up with video games and gambling elements in those video games.

Humble says schools and lawmakers are still playing catch up as many states move quickly

to legalize sports betting without building strong safeguards for prevention or treatment.

Windsor Johnston NPR News

And women's tennis defending champion Arena Sebel Lenko meets American Coco Gough for

the final Nemiami Open.

It gets underway in about an hour.

Gough had beaten Sebel Lenko at the U.S. Open in 2023 and the French Open in 2025.

I'm Nur Rahm, NPR News.

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