NPR News: 03-29-2026 12PM EDT

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

An Iranian official today accused the U.S. of planning a ground invasion.

And Iran's military says any possible U.S. ground invasion of Iran will be met with force.

NPR's Emily Fang reports.

Writing in telegram Iran's parliament speakers struck an aggressive stance.

Writing quote, the enemy publicly signals negotiations while secretly planning a ground

invasion.

He's referring to news that the U.S. is triply, carrying 3,500 U.S. Marines and sailors

has arrived in the Middle East, though the U.S. military has not said where the Marines

will be deployed and how.

Earlier Iran rejected a 15-point plan the U.S. had proposed to end the war.

And put forth its own proposal that would give Iran official control over the straight

of hormones and have the U.S. pay for war damages.

Israel said it had started a new wave of strikes on Iran over the weekend as well, targeting

weapon sites.

Iranian officials said they hate universities in Tehran and Isfahan.

Emily Fang in Pyrrnews, Van Turkey.

Pakistan is hosting a meeting of diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt to urgent

end to the war.

The U.S. and Israel are not taking part by continuing to launch strikes against Iran.

TSA agents at the nation's airports have been working without pay for weeks because

of the partial government shutdown.

And Trump signed an executive order last week that they be paid from other funds.

Borders are, Tom Homan says that should happen soon.

So, as Congress opens up the government and funds to the Department of Homeland Security,

that's what has happened.

But, yeah, I talked to Secretary Mark Wainman and Yester.

There is a plan to get these TSA agents pay, hopefully by tomorrow or Tuesday.

So yeah, it's good news because these TSA officers are struggling.

They can't know if either families would pay the rent.

He was interviewed on CNN.

A federal judge in Sacramento has paused a merger of local television giants that was

championed by President Trump.

Direct TV had sued, arguing the merger concentrates market power and will result in higher

prices for consumers.

NPR's Amy Held reports.

U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley ordered NextR to temporarily keep Tegnas assets separate

pending a review of antitrust laws.

If the merger goes through, NextR will operate hundreds of stations reaching 80% of U.S. households.

Congress had passed the law limiting owners to less than half of that, but the FCC granted

a waiver.

And last week, approved the merger.

Earlier, President Trump had endorsed it, posting on social media the deal would quote

help knock out the fake news.

In a move critics called censorship, NextR ordered its ABC stations in September to suspend

late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

Nunley has ordered NextR and Tegnas to appear at an April 7 hearing to determine next

steps.

A group of eight Democratic-led states are also suing Amy Held and PR News.

This is NPR News.

Defense officials in Finland say several drones crashed in its territory today.

It's not clear where they came from.

In recent days, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania reported that Ukrainian drones had crashed

there after going astray during intensified attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities.

Indonesia is banning people younger than 16 years old from digital platforms that could

expose them to harm.

Michael Sullivan reports.

The new government regulation bans under 16s from access to digital platforms that could

expose them to cyberbullying, pornography, online scams, and addiction.

One will be banned from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X and

Roblox.

After Australia last year became the first country in the world to enact a similar social

media ban as government's attempt to give parents not tech giants the power to protect

their children.

Neighboring Malaysia has already announced that will implement similar restrictions and

several European countries are also considering such bans.

Indonesia's ban will roll out gradually until all the platforms named conform.

Frampiar News, I'm Michael Sullivan, in Chiang Rai.

A humpback whale is still stranded in Germany's Baltic Sea.

It was first spotted in shallow water almost a week ago.

Rescuers eventually used an excavator to dig a trench in front of it and that seemed

to work.

The whale swam free but is still a shallow water and appears to be weak.

Members are hoping you will manage to make its way back to deeper Atlantic waters.

I'm Nora Ram, NPR News in Washington.

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