NPR News: 04-12-2026 1PM EDT
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What recent events have escalated tensions between the U.S. and Iran?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. Just hours after no agreement was reached at peace talks in Pakistan between the United States and Iran to end the war, President Trump today said the U.S. military would begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also warned Iran that any country, should it attack the U.S. or friendly vessels, they would, quote, be blown to hell. Shortly after that social media post, the president was on Fox News discussing the status of the war.
The military is gone. Everything's gone. Their missiles are down to a trickle by comparison. You know, we knocked out thousands of missiles.
What actions is the U.S. military taking in response to the conflict?
We knocked out hundreds of places where the missiles are built, different parts. They're pretty much gone. Probably we they say 85, 82 percent, 85 percent. Who knows what it is? But we we knocked them out. We knocked out where they make the drones and the drones are less effective now. And also we have new machinery to kill the drones. You saw that.
Trump also said the U.S. military will conduct operations in the Strait to remove mines that he says Iran placed there to impede shipping. Negotiations at the ambassador level are scheduled to begin Tuesday in Washington between Israel and Lebanon. Officials from those nations say they will discuss ways to end the fighting that has extended as Israel seeks to remove Hezbollah forces from Lebanon. Lawmakers are back in Washington this week after a two-week break. Top of the agenda, the war in Iran. NPR's Eric McDaniel has more.
Democrats are incensed over President Trump's threat to end Iranian civilization ahead of last week's ceasefire announcement. More than three dozen called for him to be removed from office. After this weekend's talks led by Vice President Vance failed, Democrats will force votes on the war in an attempt to curb the president's powers. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, though it's been some time since they asserted it. The show votes are expected to fail, but ahead of the eventual consideration of the president's $1.5 trillion Pentagon funding request, they'll put Republicans on the record about a military campaign that remains extremely unpopular among the American public.
Eric McDaniel, NPR News, Washington.
Hungarians are going to the polls today in a closely watched election. Terry Schultz reports.
Viktor Orban is a prominent leader in far-right politics worldwide. He's repeatedly vetoed the European Union's efforts to provide support for Ukraine, and he's blocked sanctions on Moscow for its full-scale invasion. Last week, Vice President J.D. Vance flew to Hungary to show White House support for Orban. For the first time, a challenger is ahead in the polls. Peter Magyar used to be a member of Orban's Fidesz party and now leads his own. Magyar says he'll work to improve relations with the EU and cut off close ties with the Kremlin. Magyar urges voters to give him a commanding win, saying his party, TISA, will need at least two-thirds of the 199-seat parliament to be able to carry out decisive changes.
For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels.
And from Washington, you're listening to NPR News. In Miami, the former Mandarin Oriental Hotel, once one of South Florida's most exclusive locations, was demolished today. It is the largest implosion in Miami in more than a decade. The 23-story building came down in less than 20 seconds. Dust filled the air after the explosion moments after the dynamite brought the building down. The demolition clears the way for a new two-story luxury hotel and a residential development scheduled to open in 2030. Singer Asha Bowley, one of the giants of the Indian movie and music industries, has died. NPR's Anastasia Siokis reports that she gave voice to hundreds of movie characters in Bollywood.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Asha Bowley was the most recorded singer of all time.
Cheetah!
Over a career that lasted nearly eight decades, she recorded more than 12,000 songs, mostly for movie actresses to lip-sync on screen.
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