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NPR News Now

NPR News: 04-04-2026 6PM EDT

04 Apr 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What recent events have occurred at Iran's nuclear power plant?

1.482 - 24.108 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Midoa Halisa-Kautel. For the fourth time since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, a nuclear power plant on the southwestern coast of the country has been struck, according to Iranian media. NPR's Deep Harvaz reports the plant remains functioning and a possible radiation leak would not be limited to Iran.

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24.409 - 41.102 Deep Harvaz

The nuclear power plant in Bushehr, which is on the country's coastline on the Persian Gulf, was struck by a projectile from a strike to its perimeter on Saturday, killing one of the plant's security personnel. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that no increase in radiation levels have been detected in the area.

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41.583 - 58.83 Deep Harvaz

But in a statement posted on X, the agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, said that the nuclear power plants and surrounding areas must never be attacked. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Arochi noted on X that any radioactive fallout from the plant will, quote, end life in neighboring Gulf Arab countries.

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Chapter 2: How are airport staffing issues affecting travel in the U.S.?

59.471 - 71.331 Deep Harvaz

Radioactive material from the damaged plant could leak into the Gulf, contaminating waters vital to states like Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Deep Harvaz, NPR News, Van, Turkey.

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71.497 - 78.786 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

Staffing at airports across the country are beginning to improve, but NPR's Windsor Johnson reports wait times remain uncertain.

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79.187 - 96.289 Windsor Johnson

Hundreds of TSA workers resigned during the recent pay disruption, and experts say it can take months to hire and train replacements. That means staffing levels can vary by airport and even by the time of day, creating unpredictable wait times for travelers.

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Chapter 3: What does the latest job report indicate about the U.S. economy?

96.269 - 101.479 Windsor Johnson

Aviation analyst Henry Hardvelt says the progress so far is uneven.

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101.719 - 113.502 Henry Hardvelt

Some of the airports where we saw the worst lines, such as at Houston Bush Intercontinental, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International, are performing much better. But this is a day-to-day situation.

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113.482 - 124.46 Windsor Johnson

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to pay all DHS workers, as Congress remains deadlocked over how to fund the agency. Windsor Johnston, NPR News, Washington.

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124.5 - 132.773 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

The unemployment rate is down a tenth of a percent in March, and the Labor Department says about 178,000 jobs were added.

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Chapter 4: How is AI investment impacting job availability?

133.158 - 143.857 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

However, revisions from February show a loss of more than 100,000 jobs. Heather Long is author of the Everyday Economics newsletter and chief economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union.

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144.158 - 171.674 Heather Long

Companies are spending so much money investing in AI and the latest technology that there simply isn't a lot of money left to hire. are to give big pay raises anymore. And so it's almost like the AI investment is eating the jobs. And now there's concern with the war in Iran that as these gas and diesel prices rise, if they stay high and stay elevated, that's also eating into company budgets.

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172.154 - 176.999 Heather Long

And does that force even less hiring or potentially layoffs later this year?

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177.039 - 195.062 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

This is NPR. US museum attendance in 2025 was impeded by natural disasters and political instability. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports the art newspaper's annual survey also reveals signs of modest growth.

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195.743 - 203.916 Chloe Veltman

Attendance at American museums was heavily impacted by two external factors. One, the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles.

Chapter 5: What factors influenced museum attendance in 2025?

204.337 - 226.007 Chloe Veltman

The Getty Villa was hit particularly hard. Attendance dropped nearly 60% due to it being closed for almost half the year. And two, last fall's federal government shutdown. It crippled DC museums like the National Gallery of Art, which lost more than a quarter of its audience compared with 2024. Despite the volatility, the country's most visited museums remained relatively stable.

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226.468 - 239.203 Chloe Veltman

Visitorship at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was up slightly, and some regional museums also saw big gains. The San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art nearly doubled its attendance. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.

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239.183 - 264.159 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

A niece and grandniece with ties to Iran or its Islamic Revolutionary Guard are now in federal custody. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they, along with two other Iranian nationals, are no longer eligible for re-entry into the U.S. or lawful permanent resident status. In a statement, the State Department said Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are in the custody of U.S.

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264.179 - 276.856 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The two, along with Soleimani's husband, are related to a former Iranian military chief, Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2020 in Iraq.

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Chapter 6: Who are the individuals in federal custody related to Iran?

277.438 - 279.163 Midoa Halisa-Kautel

This is NPR News.

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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.

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289.332 - 292.877 Heather Long

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

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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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