NPR News: 03-29-2026 10PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expanding the ground invasion in southern

Lebanon.

Ampere's Daniel Estran has more from Tel Aviv.

The killed soldier was from New Haven, Connecticut.

He moved to Israel to serve in the military.

Israel has been expanding its ground invasion into neighboring Lebanon, creating what Israel

calls a new buffer zone.

Netanyahu is now ordering it to be expanded.

He says to thwart the threat of Hezbollah invading northern Israel and to push anti-tank

missile fire farther away from the Israeli border.

Netanyahu is facing pressure to protect residents of northern Israel who have not been

evacuated from their homes and who face daily Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks.

In southern Israel, an Iranian missile attack hit a chemical plant sparking a massive fire.

Authorities ruled out a leak of hazardous substances.

Daniel Estran, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Ukraine's president Zelensky says he will provide air defense technologies to three Gulf

nations that have been targeted by Iran in retaliatory strikes for the U.S.-Israeli

war.

Ampere's Joanica kisses Hezbollah.

Iran has been hitting Gulf nations with attack drones similar to the ones Russia has used

on Ukraine for nearly four years.

Ukraine has come up with cheap, innovative ways to shoot them down.

Zelensky said Ukraine wants to share its anti-drone technology with allies.

The Russians are sharing information with the Iranians, he said, and we do not know how

many weapons the Russians are transferring to them.

Zelensky was speaking to reporters on Zoom from Qatar, where he signed one of the deals.

On Friday, he made a deal with Saudi Arabia and said he was finalizing another with the

United Arab Emirates.

Joanica kisses NPR News, Tel Aviv.

ICE officers could remain at airports even after TSA workers start getting paid again,

according to White House boarder Zartam Holman.

Ampere's Jeff Brady reports TSA paychecks could resume as early as tomorrow, even though

Congress has an allocated money for that.

After lawmakers failed to pass a Department of Homeland Security budget last Friday, President

Trump directed the Transportation Security Administration to pay workers from existing

funds.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers have been helping the TSA with checking identification

and other tasks.

On CNN's State of the Union, Tom Holman said ICE officers might remain at airports.

Depends on how many TSA agents come back to work, how many TSA agents have actually quit

and have no plan coming back to work.

The TSA says hundreds of workers quit after going weeks without pay, that's increased security

wait times by hours at airports around the country.

This vowed to block DHS funding without reforms after officers killed two U.S. citizens

in Minneapolis, Jeff Brady and P.R. News.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

NASA is preparing to send four astronauts on a mission that could take them around the

moon.

Ampere's Nell Greenfield voice reports, officials say, everything's on track for a launch

attempt on Wednesday.

The Artemis II astronauts are in pre-flight quarantine at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mission commander Reid Weisman told reporters that it's surreal to see the massive 322-foot-tall

rocket standing on the launch pad.

You look at the size of this vehicle and you know it's going one place.

It is going to space and it is going to go there in a hurry when those dimensions light

this thing is moving out.

Their test flight is expected to last 10 days.

First, while their Orion capsule is in orbit around Earth, they'll check out its communications,

life support, navigation and propulsion.

If their spacecraft all looks good, they'll go on a looping trip around the moon before

coming back to splash down in the Pacific.

Nell Greenfield voice NPR News.

At the Wigand Box office, Amazon MGM's Project Hail Mary took the top spot again with

an estimated $54 million in ticket sales.

The Phil Lord and Chris Miller sci-fi adventure dipped only 32 percent after notching the

best non-franchised opening weekend since 2023's Oppenheimer.

The film which costs $200 million to produce says already grossed $300 million worldwide

in just two weeks.

In second place Disney picks our original hoppers with $12 million in its fourth weekend.

U.S. features contracts are trading lower at this hour.

I'm Janine Herfst, NPR News in Washington.