NPR News: 03-31-2026 6PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump has signed an order that seeks to create a list of confirmed U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state and use the U.S. Postal Service to verify mail-in ballots. Trump says the order is foolproof. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the maneuver will make elections more reliable. What the president is doing today is he's going to make sure that mail-in ballots are safe, secure, and accurate, and will have a clear distinction. If you voted by mail, you will have it on the envelope. Obviously not on the ballot, but on the envelope. So we will know a million mail-in ballots. There'll be a million envelopes, and you'll be able to know exactly, correctly, that citizens voted. But election experts say the order will face legal challenges. The Justice Department is seeking sensitive voter data from states and is engaged in more than two dozen lawsuits for that information. The administration claims it needs the data to enforce states' voter list maintenance. President Trump is expressing frustration with allies who have been unwilling to join the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Today he told them to go get your own oil as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent average U.S. gas prices past $4 a gallon for regular gas. As NPR's Tom Bowman explains, top U.S. military officials and allies have expressed concerns over the war. Military officials were telling both the White House and Capitol Hill they were concerned that the allies were not part of this war, number one, number two. They were worried about U.S. casualties. And also they were concerned about the U.S. missile inventory getting critically low. But it is amazing, though, I think, that people talk about how easy it would be. I just think they completely mischaracterized what would happen once they started down the road to war. NPR's Tom Bowman reporting. The State Department says it's tracking threats against U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia and it's urging them to stay indoors and away from windows, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. In its latest security alert, the embassy in Riyadh tells Americans that hotels, businesses, and educational institutions could be targeted as Iran responds to ongoing U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. The embassy is advising Americans to shelter in place until further notice. The advisory says if Americans want to leave, Saudi airspace is open, though there are frequent air traffic restrictions because of Iranian missiles and drone threats. The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia has suspended most routine services and has drawn down personnel. Michelle Kellerman and PR News, the State Department. The U.S. stock surged to their best day since last spring as hope spread on Wall Street about a possible end to the war with Iran. The S&P 500 left nearly 3 percent its largest gain since May. The Dow jumped nearly 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq rallied more than 3.75 percent. This is NPR News from Washington. Brazil is weathering surging oil prices because of its expanded biofuel program. Tens of millions of Brazilian drivers have a choice at the pump fill up with 100 percent sugarcane-based ethanol, or gasoline blend that contains 30 percent of biofuel. The massive flex fuel fleet makes vehicles capable of running on any mix of ethanol and gasoline. It's a result of a program launched during a military dictatorship in the 1970s and expanded during Democratic times to reduce foreign oil dependency. Final ticket sales for the men's soccer World Cup kickoff tomorrow. NPR's Rafael Nam has the details. The sales window for the tournament opens on Wednesday on FIFA's website. And like previous sales, this one is first come, first serve, and tickets will continue to be sold through the tournament. Realistically though, popular games such as the Final will sell quickly. FIFA continues to face criticism about its high ticket prices and the adoption of a dynamic pricing. FIFA has not disclosed what prices it will be charging this time around, or how many tickets it will be selling. FIFA has defended its sales, saying it's adapting its pricing to the North American market, and that its goal is to ensure fair access to tickets. Rafael Nam, NPR News. A Brazilian rainbow boa snake at England's City of Portsmouth College gave birth to 12 babies without a mate, and it isn't the first time Ronaldo the snake unexpectedly gave birth to 14 snakes in 2024 without mating, and she now has birthed 12 more. Reproducing without a mate, Parthenogenesis has only been documented in a Brazilian rainbow boa three times. Ronaldo is the first to do it twice. This is NPR News.