NPR News: 03-09-2026 6PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. President Trump told Republican lawmakers a short time ago that the war in the Middle East won't last long. We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion. His comments come after oil and gas prices fluctuated wildly in recent days, sending financial markets reeling because of the conflict. Today, the price of oil whipped from nearly $120 a barrel, the highest since 2022, to back down below $90. Meanwhile, Iran is signaling that it's prepared for a long war with the U.S. and its allies as the conflict stretches into a tenth day. Kamal Karazi, a foreign policy advisor to the Office of Iran's Supreme Leader, told CNN the country is ruling out diplomacy for now. I don't see any room for diplomacy anymore because Donald Trump has been deceiving others. and not keeping with his promises. And we experienced this in two times of negotiations that while we were engaged in negotiation, they struck us. Karazi says Gulf Arab countries and other U allies need to pressure the U into ending the war Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says he sent drone teams to the Middle East to help the U and its allies combat the drone weapons being fired by Iran As NPR Greg Meirey reports Ukraine has become a world leader in this type of warfare after being invaded by Russia. President Zelensky said he dispatched the drone team shortly after receiving the request from the U.S. last week. Zelensky also said he's spoken with several Arab leaders, including those in the Gulf who are close to Iran and are being hit by drones in hard-to-defend civilian sites. Russia received drones and drone technology from Iran and can now fire hundreds of the weapons at Ukraine in a single night. In turn, Ukraine has rapidly developed several types of small, effective drone interceptors that can cost as little as $1,000. Ukraine says that on many nights, it shoots down 90% or more of the drones that Russia fires. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Washington. Anthropic is suing the Trump administration. The AI company wants the Pentagon to reverse its decision designating it as a supply chain risk over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology The Pentagon made the formal designation last week after an unusually public dispute over how Anthropik AI chatbot Claude could be used in warfare The Trump administration is criticizing lower courts that slowed its efforts to strip legal protections from many foreign nationals. It's asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for moves that could expose thousands more people to deportation. In a letter to the court, The Justice Department says it wants a broad ruling that would let it move more quickly to end protections for people from multiple countries, including Haiti and Syria. This is NPR News from Washington. A Texas judge has ordered Camp Mystic to preserve facilities damaged by last year's flood that killed 25 girls and two counselors. The order followed a lawsuit by the family of an eight-year-old who was swept away in the flood last 4th of July and whose body still hasn't been recovered. The family argues that any changes at the camp could destroy evidence needed in their lawsuit. The camp says there was little they could have done during the catastrophic flooding. People who take hormone therapy to treat symptoms of menopause are experiencing delays when they go to pick up their prescriptions. NPR's Alison Aubrey reports. After the FDA removed warning labels from estrogen more women are asking about hormone therapy Dr Nora Lanson the chief medical officer of ElectraHealth says menopause hormone therapy has grown steadily over the last several years and many women now use estrogen patches which deliver the hormone through the skin instead of taking oral estrogen pills. This transdermal version of estradiol is really a much safer option, and that's why there's been such demand. CVS says manufacturers have been unable to provide sufficient supplies of estrogen patches, and some manufacturers acknowledge shortages but do not provide a reason. Alison Aubrey, NPR News. Bo the Bloodhound has joined the North Dakota Highway Patrol. The pup joins a band of dogs that's in demand for difficult cases around the Midwest and have now become something of a social media sensation. The patrol now has four bloodhounds, and they've been called to Montana, South Dakota, and Utah to help in searches. The S&P 500 gained more than three quarters of a percent today. This is NPR News from Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.