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NPR News Now

NPR News: 04-03-2026 3AM EDT

03 Apr 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.841 - 3.646 Giles Snyder

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder.

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Chapter 2: What recent changes occurred in the Justice Department?

4.247 - 11.419 Giles Snyder

Attorney General Pam Bondi is out at the Justice Department. President Trump made the announcement Thursday. NPR's Ryan Lucas.

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11.439 - 28.323 Ryan Lucas

In his social media post announcing this, Trump offered a couple of kind words for Bondi. He said she had done a tremendous job overseeing what he called a massive crackdown on crime. He said, quote, we love Pam. And he said she'll be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector. Those are his exact words.

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28.744 - 35.852 Ryan Lucas

He didn't say what that would be, only that it would be announced later. And he also said that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch is going to step in as acting attorney general.

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35.892 - 53.691 Giles Snyder

Bondi Zalster follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files. and Bondi's handling of cases against President Trump's perceived political enemies. Iran's state media have confirmed that an Iranian desalination plant hit earlier in the war is still fully out of service.

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54.332 - 61.059 Giles Snyder

Experts say that attacks on plants that create fresh water are becoming a weapon of war, as NPR's Julia Simon reports.

61.219 - 86.258 Julia Simon

Desalination is the process of using electricity to separate seawater into a salty solution on one side and fresh water on the other across the Middle East. Countries rely heavily on the process. Qatar and Bahrain get more than 90 percent of their drinking water from it. As climate change increases the severity of droughts, experts see desalination plants as a key adaptation tool.

86.698 - 106.819 Julia Simon

Since the recent war began, strikes have hit plants in Iran as well as Kuwait and Bahrain. Earlier this week, President Trump wrote on social media that the U.S. may strike more Iranian desalination plants. Civilian infrastructure sites like water plants are banned as targets by international law. Julia Simon, NPR News.

106.799 - 129.027 Giles Snyder

The four-astronaut Artemis II crew on track for their lunar flyby by early next week. Their spacecraft left orbit Thursday after getting the OK to fire their capsule's engine. Astronauts on a 10-day mission, and from macaroni and cheese to butternut squash, they have 189 menu items to choose from. Central Florida Public Media's Marianne Summerall reports.

129.007 - 152.695 Unknown

After a successful launch from the Kennedy Space Center, the crew of four and their space cuisine will fly around the moon. The menu includes a wide variety of foods with things like spicy green beans, tropical fruit salad, and maple cream cookies. In a NASA video about eating in space, astronaut Christina Cook says foods you wouldn't even imagine being rehydrated are actually good.

Chapter 3: How are desalination plants becoming a target in modern warfare?

230.827 - 237.516 Gabriela Emanuel

He says in the U.S., the vast majority of children with cancer survive, but not in parts of Africa and Asia.

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237.496 - 243.726 Nikhil Bhakta

Less than 20% of children will survive. That disparity, that gap, is one of the largest in all of global health.

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243.74 - 256.015 Gabriela Emanuel

That's because treating childhood cancer requires a well-functioning medical system. He says this research demonstrates where health systems need bolstering. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News.

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256.155 - 270.253 Giles Snyder

The Trump administration is designating microplastics and pharmaceuticals as contaminants in the nation's drinking water. The move was announced Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Director Lee Zeldin says it's a landmark move.

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270.233 - 279.619 Giles Snyder

However, the action does not require regulation, and environmental groups say it comes even as the administration works to ease regulations on chemicals in the environment.

280.358 - 289.052 Unknown

Do you ever wish you could predict the future? Well, some scientists try to do that every year, forecasting when cherry blossom trees will bloom each spring.

289.332 - 292.877 Marianne Summerall

It's a wild guess, but there is some science involved in it.

292.898 - 304.155 Unknown

And there is a lot riding on the peak bloom forecast. Tourism, climate change models, and more. Listen to ShoreWave on the NPR app, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear how scientists are predicting the future.

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