NPR News: 03-31-2026 8PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump says the U.S. will be done attacking Iran in two to three weeks. As for the critical Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that conveys one-fifth of the world's oil, Trump says it'll be up to other countries to secure it. That's not for us. That'll be for France. That'll be for whoever's using the Strait. But I think when we leave, probably that's all cleared up. Today, I heard tremendous numbers of ships were sailing through. Trump says the U.S. has obliterated Iran's military capabilities, but Iranian forces are still launching a steady stream of strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors. Trump says he's negotiating with Iranian leaders, but Tehran has dismissed his claims of diplomatic progress. The Iran War is causing more upheaval for U.S. farmers, who were already dealing with high fertilizer and fuel prices before the Strait of Hormuz was cut off. NPR's Kirk Sigler reports on new government data out today showing how farmers are trying to adapt. Spring planting season is always a gamble for farmers, but in the last year it's been even higher stakes with continued high fuel and equipment prices and Trump's tariffs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual spring planting report based on surveys with farmers reveals what many had expected. More farmers are switching to soybeans over corn and wheat, which require more fertilizer. These are still estimates, but the USDA predicts this could be the smallest American spring wheat crop since 1919. The soybean crop is up by 4% over last year, but that comes with its own risk. China did resume buying soybeans from the Midwest late last year, but it amounts much smaller than before Trump's latest trade war. Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Boise. President Trump is signed in order that calls for restricting voting by mail. Oregon and Arizona are already pledging to challenge it. NPR's Hansi LeWang reports. According to the Constitution, rules for voting by mail are set by state lawmakers and Congress. But President Trump's new executive order is testing the limits of his power, and it's signing Trump and his aide said it calls for his administration to create a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, and for states to send and the U.S. Postal Service to deliver, mail and balance only to the people on that list. It's not clear whether and how Trump's order would be carried out. Voting rights groups have been preparing to file lawsuits to challenge this order. Article 1 of the Constitution gives state legislatures, not the president, the power to regulate the times, places and manner of holding federal elections. And Congress can alter those election rules. A Trump-backed bill that would overhaul voting is currently stuck in the Senate. Hansi LeWang, NPR News, Washington. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to suspend its construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the east wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group's request to temporarily halt President Trump's White House ballroom project. Leon wrote that the president is a steward of the White House, not its owner. U.S. stock surge today, the S&P 500, leapt nearly 3 percent, its largest gain since May. This is NPR News. One of the first three women to officiate an NFL game is suing the league, describing the NFL as a sexist institution unable to treat a woman as an equal. Robin DeLorenzo says she suffered gender-based scrutiny, humiliation and was wrongly fired. The lawsuit filed in federal court seeks reinstatement, along with unspecified damages. President Trump is attending the premiere of the musical Chicago at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. tonight. As NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports, the performers are not members of the Actors' Union, a break with the center's tradition. Before President Trump took over the Kennedy Center, most, if not all, performers in Broadway touring shows that stopped there were members of Actors' Equity. Others who are union members are typically paid more and receive health and other benefits, which can mean higher quality productions. Mallory Miller was recently fired from her job in the Kennedy Center's dance department. It's just an overall downgrade of what bringing a Broadway tour to the Kennedy Center would have meant in the past. Miller co-founded Hands Off the Arts, a group of former Kennedy Center employees, artists and patrons who've been protesting Trump's takeover. The center has said it's trying to keep costs down, and non-union shows are cheaper to produce. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington. A Cornell University instructor is requiring students to complete some assignments using typewriters to help them understand what writing was like before everything turned digital. Grit Metias Phelps says she grew frustrated that her German-language students were using AI to churn out grammatically perfect assignments. I'm Ryland Barton, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.