NPR News: 04-08-2026 4PM EDT
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What recent events have escalated tensions in the Middle East?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. The Pakistani Prime Minister is urging all parties to exercise restraint amid reports of violations of the ceasefire that the U.S., Israel and Iran agreed to last night. As NPR's Diya Hadid reports from Mumbai, that deal didn't stop Israel from carrying out some of its heaviest bombings on Lebanon since the conflict began.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif did not detail a specific ceasefire violation in his post on X. but there were reports of strikes in Iran and Gulf countries. And in Lebanon, the Associated Press reported that Israeli forces struck over 100 targets in 10 minutes, killing dozens of people, including in downtown Beirut, with residents filming buildings exploding on a clear blue sky day. Israel and President Trump say the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire, but the country was included in the Pakistani Prime Minister's ceasefire announcement on Tuesday. Talks are expected to be held in Islamabad on Friday. Dee Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai.
Iranian state media says Tehran's closed the Strait of Hormuz again because of Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon. Israel says Lebanon was never part of the two-week ceasefire President Trump agreed to. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will once again force a vote on war powers in order to put Republicans on the record in the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Schumer says despite a fragile ceasefire, the war was a failure and that it's made geopolitical conditions worse for the U.S. and its allies. and he says the costs of the war too high.
How is the ceasefire being perceived by global leaders?
Gas prices have skyrocketed in just a matter of days. They're not going to change until August. And in general, the world oil markets will be unsettled for years, years from now.
Schumer says they'll try for a vote when Congress returns. The White House says the U.S. has, quote, exceeded its goals in the war. Stocks have surged, oil prices dropped on word of the temporary ceasefire. NPR's Raphael Nam has more.
Both U.S. crude futures and Brent, the global benchmark for oil, fell sharply while all three major stock indexes rallied. But this has been an unpredictable conflict. For investors, the critical aspect will be whether ships finally start sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. But even if the strait is reopened and a long-term ceasefire is achieved, investors are mindful that it will take some time for the global energy market to recover. And the effects on the global economy will likely linger. Gas prices in the U.S., for example, are already pushing up inflation.
What impact does the conflict have on oil prices and the global economy?
And they may not come down significantly anytime soon. Not until there's more certainty. Rafael Nam, NPR News.
Just ahead of the close, the Dow was up 1,325, the Nasdaq up 617. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A new report finds artificial intelligence is reshaping the workplace, but not evenly. And Piers Windsor-Johnston reports a gender gap is emerging in how AI is used and how it's judged.
New data from Lean In, a nonprofit focused on women in the workplace, show men are slightly more likely to use AI at work. About 78 to 73 percent of women... Sorel Friedler, a computer science professor at Haverford College, says how AI is used and judged can vary.
Different types of work are going to be more or less appropriate to use AI to support or supplement parts of your job.
With respect to gender, the gap goes beyond usage. Women report less encouragement from managers, less recognition for using AI, and greater concern they'll be judged negatively or seen as cutting corners. Researchers warn those patterns could widen as AI becomes more embedded in the workplace. Windsor Johnston, NPR News.
Federal weather data shows March was the hottest month on record in 132 years for the continental U.S. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the average temperature last month was 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 9.35 degrees above the 20th century norm. and it beats the previous record set in March of 2012.
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