NPR News: 03-29-2026 8AM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.

U.S. military forces are building up in the Middle East with thousands of Marines and

sailors arriving in the region.

The deployment comes as Pakistan hosts talks today with regional powers, including Turkey

and Egypt in a push to broker a ceasefire with Iran.

But diplomacy faces major hurdles with Tehran reporting fresh air strikes hitting multiple

areas overnight.

Iran is also warning it could target U.S. universities in the Middle East following reports

of strikes on academic sites in Tehran.

In a separate development, Iran says it will allow 20 Pakistani flag ships to pass through

the Strait of Hormuz. Betsy Joel's reports Pakistan says two ships will pass through the

waterway daily under this agreement.

This announcement by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishak Dar comes days after he confirmed

that Pakistan was relaying messages between Iran and the United States in an attempt

to de-escalate the war between them.

Iran started restricting access to the Strait of Hormuz shortly after U.S.-Israeli

attacks began late last month.

In addition to Pakistan, some ships from countries including China, Malaysia, Turkey, and India

have passed or gotten permission to pass so far.

Iran has explicitly banned ships linked to the U.S.-Israel and their allies.

The disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has had a major impact on crude

oil prices, which rose to $110 per barrel this past week.

For NPR News, I'm Betsy Joel's in Islamabad.

At the Vatican, thousands filled St. Peter's Square this morning for Palm Sunday celebrations,

marking the start of Holy Week, worshipers waived palm branches as clergy led a procession

through the square.

In his homily, Pope Leo urged the faithful to reject a vision and embrace compassion.

The Pope also condemned leaders who wage war, calling the violence atrocious and mourning

that faith cannot be used to justify it.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order banning state officials

from betting on prediction markets with insider information, NPR's Bavialin reports.

Services like Kalshi and Polymarket allow bets on future policies, military strikes,

and election outcomes.

And some lawmakers are growing increasingly worried that the betting apps can be exploited

by people who have access to government and military secrets.

Newsom's order prevents appointees of the governor from using non-public information

to personally profit on prediction markets.

In recent months, well-timed bets on things like the ouster of Iran's Supreme Leader

and the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro led to hundreds of thousands of dollars

in profits.

Kalshi and Polymarket say they already ban insider trading, relying on their own surveillance

tools to catch suspicious bettors, Bavialin and PR news.

This is NPR.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is rolling out a new electronic health record system

nationwide starting with Michigan.

Officials say the system will make it easier for veterans to document exposure to hazards

like burn pits and agent orange by keeping records in one place.

But they warned the transition could cause delays as order records were often handled

by mail and processed manually.

The No Kings rallies drew large crowds of protesters in cities and towns across the

nation on Saturday and some unexpected participants in Walla Walla Washington, a goat named Mr. Wiggles

joined the demonstrations and a king with Northwest news broadcasting reports.

Joan and Pierre Louise Montier drove Mr. Wiggles to the protest in the back of their Burgundy

Honda van.

They laid plastic and straw in the back and fed him carrots and apples to keep him compliant.

At the event, they tied a tiara crown between his horns and put a banner on him that said

the buck stops here.

Pierre Louise Montier says.

People don't realize that when you lose something, it's hard to get it back and it's been

happening so fast, the ticking over of the democracy really.

The Montiers are farmers from near here.

They say farmers are having a hard time with short labor, high fertilizer and fuel costs.

For NPR News, I'm Anna King in Walla Walla.

This is NPR.

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