NPR News: 03-29-2026 7PM EDT

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel's military to expand its ground

invasion of southern Lebanon.

Imperial's Danielestron reports, it comes as Israeli soldier with U.S. citizenship was

killed by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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.

Danielestron, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Federal courts and parts of the country are straining under an unprecedented flood of

habeas corpus petitions from people trying to get released from immigration detention.

Imperial's Martin Kosti reports in some courts, the immigration petitions are delaying

other court business.

Last year, the Trump administration restricted detainees right to post bonds to get out while

their cases were pending.

Many are now turning to federal courts.

In California's eastern district, home to three ice detention centers, Judge Troy L.

Nunley says he and his colleagues are getting hundreds of habeas corpus requests a month.

That's a liberty interest.

A liberty interest is very, very important.

And if someone is unlawfully detained and they make their case to the court, we would

be remiss if we waited to get their motor custody.

He says most petitioners win their release, but the time to process them is interfering

with the federal court's other cases.

Martin Kosti, NPR News.

It'll be a short week ahead on Wall Street, and his NPR's Got Horsley Reports, traders may

welcome the break after a big sell-off last week.

All the major stock indexes fell last week as the U.S. War with Iran continued to scramble

energy markets, crude oil prices topped $100 a barrel, and gasoline prices climbed to

about $1 a gallon higher than they had been before the war.

This coming week brings a fresh look at the U.S. job market.

We'll find out on Friday how many jobs employers added or subtracted in the month of March.

The job market has shown little movement for the last six months, but at 4.4% the unemployment

rate remains relatively low.

Traders will not get an immediate opportunity to react to the jobs report.

The stock market will be closed that day for the good Friday holiday.

It's Got Horsley and P.R. News, Washington.

And U.S. futures contracts are trading lower at this hour, all three major indices down

are about a half percent.

You're listening to NPR News.

The paintings of one of the great masters of the high renaissance, Rafael, will be on display

in the U.S. starting today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

All the prints of painters, his portraits are known for their balance and harmony.

The exhibit includes more than 170 paintings drawings and tapestries from museums and

private collections around the world, and many are being displayed in the U.S. for the

first time.

Project Hail Mary of Feel Good Movie about space voyage is still soaring at theaters.

Ryan Gosling's film about an alien encounter during a long shot effort to save Earth,

no one's ever done this before, took off like a rocket last weekend.

It is time to go and apparently the 85% of its audience that said in exit polls that

they'd recommend Project Hail Mary to a friend actually recommended it to a friend.

Where most blockbusters drop drastically after a big U.S. opening, Project Hail Mary will

finish this second weekend with another $54 million in the till, and it's holding even

better overseas, so the worldwide 10-day total will top $300 million all before the start of

next weekend's lucrative Easter holidays. Bob Mandello, NPR News.

And in second place Disney picks our original hoppers with $12 million.

In third place Warner Brothers, they will kill you, debuted with a disappointing $5 million.

The Gory R-rated horror film is about a woman who applies to be a maid at an apartment complex,

where she's to become a sacrificial offering. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.