NPR News: 03-15-2026 12AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dua Halisa Kautel.
What is the current status of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran?
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is now entering its third week, with the U.S. threatening more possible attacks on a Persian Gulf island, a place where 90 percent of Iran's crude exports are handled. NPR's Carrie Conn has the latest.
An official in the region who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Israel is estimating one more week of fighting in Iran. The official said Israel is working on preparing the public here to accept the government's new line that this will not be a war leading to Iranian leadership change, but a war that puts Israel in a much better security situation.
NPR's Kerry Khan in Tel Aviv said,
What legal challenges did the Al-Quds Day rally face in Toronto?
U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces successfully struck 90 Iranian military targets on Harg Island. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hexa says the U.S. obliterated Iran's navy and is near total control of Iranian airspace.
How is North Korea reopening its borders after COVID-19?
A controversial article. Al-Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians went ahead in Toronto on Saturday. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, that was after a judge threw out an injunction request from the Ontario government to prevent the rally from taking place.
The judge's decision came Saturday afternoon, less than an hour before the Al-Quds rally was set to begin. Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government filed an application seeking to block the rally. Ford said he was extremely disappointed with the ruling.
What is the purpose of the SPARKS spacecraft in the search for extraterrestrial life?
On Friday, Ford had said the Al-Quds Day has long been a venue for anti-Semitism, hatred, intimidation, and the glorification of terrorism. There were some tense moments, especially during a counter-demonstration, but a heavy police presence appeared to prevent any major confrontations. At least two people were arrested. A lawyer for the rally organizers said the injunction application was an absurd attempt to abrogate the rights of freedom of speech in assembly. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.
What new editorial guidance has the Pentagon issued for Stars and Stripes?
The first train in six years that departed Beijing to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang started running again this week. NPR's Emily Fang reports China State Airline will also begin flights again to North Korea.
In 2020, North Korea closed its borders to fend off the then-necent COVID-19 pandemic. That shot of access to the hermit kingdom, even to neighboring China, which is a close economic and political partner of North Korea's. But this week, trains will run between Beijing and Pyongyang again four times a week, and Air China will resume flights to North Korea at the end of March. Both countries are run by autocratic communist rulers, and North Korea and China have had a close economic, though sometimes politically strained, relationship for decades.
How is the military addressing the issue of transgender service members?
The two countries still do about $2 billion worth of trade each year, much of it passing through the northern Chinese border town of Dandong, separated only by the Yalu River from North Korea. Emily Fang, NPR News.
This is NPR. A spacecraft the size of a large box of cereal should soon start helping to answer a big question, whether there is life on planets outside our solar system. Joe Palka reports.
The spacecraft is called SPARKS, an acronym for Star Planet Activity Research CubeSat. CubeSats are a class of tiny, inexpensive probes that can still do significant scientific research— SPARKS has an ultraviolet telescope that will be used to study solar flares coming from stars that might have planetary systems. Understanding those flares is key to understanding whether an orbiting planet might have an atmosphere that could sustain life. SPARKS was built and is operated at the Arizona State University. It launched in January. Ground controllers have now checked out its instruments and say it's ready to start making scientific measurements. For NPR News, I'm Joe Palka.
The Pentagon has outlined new editorial guidance for Stars and Stripes, the independent military newspaper for U.S. service members stationed overseas. But the eight-page memo, which now bars some syndicated features, bars comics, and limits the use of wire services, is being criticized as a threat to the First Amendment.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:07
2
What is the current status of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran?
0:07–0:48
3
What legal challenges did the Al-Quds Day rally face in Toronto?
0:48–1:05
4
How is North Korea reopening its borders after COVID-19?
1:05–1:34
5
What is the purpose of the SPARKS spacecraft in the search for extraterrestrial life?
1:34–2:01
6
What new editorial guidance has the Pentagon issued for Stars and Stripes?
2:01–2:45
7
How is the military addressing the issue of transgender service members?
2:45–5:04