NPR News: 04-21-2026 9AM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman.
What is the current status of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran?
The status of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran remains unclear. The ceasefire in Iran is due to expire tomorrow. President Trump has said he is ready to send a negotiating team to peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, led by Vice President Vance. Trump told CNBC this morning Iran will have to attend.
As I said two days ago when they said they won't send them, I said they'll be sending them. They have no choice but to send them. What I think is that we're going to end up with a great deal I think they have no choice.
But Iran has not indicated it will send a team to the talks. This comes as the U.S. military says it has stopped another vessel that has been sanctioned in international waters. Earlier this week, the Pentagon also stopped another Iranian container ship near the Strait of Hormuz. A U.N. study estimates Gaza needs $71 billion for reconstruction and recovery. NPR's Aya Batraoui reports a third of that total is needed immediately for critical infrastructure repair.
A new assessment by the UN, World Bank and European Union notes that more than 370,000 homes in Gaza were destroyed or damaged in Israeli attacks, leaving more than a million people without homes. Most people in Gaza now live in makeshift tents made out of sticks and plastic tarps. Israeli troops, meanwhile, occupy around half of Gaza and have leveled thousands more homes there, they say, to dismantle Hamas tunnels. The study also says around 75 percent of all people in Gaza who were employed before the war are now without jobs, relying on aid to survive. It notes Gaza has the lowest levels ever recorded globally on the Human Development Index, which measures life expectancy, standards of living and access to education.
Aya Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai.
President Trump's nominee to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve is scheduled to testify today to the Senate Banking Committee. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
Kevin Warsh previously served on the Fed's governing board during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. Back then, he was considered an inflation hawk, wary that cutting interest rates might lead to runaway price hikes. But these days, Warsh argues for cutting interest rates. That puts him in line with the president's demands. but also draws opposition from Senate Democrats, who see Warsh as an opportunist and a flip-flopper. One Republican senator, Tom Tillis, is also threatening to hold up Warsh's nomination, but not because of anything the nominee has said. Tillis wants the Justice Department to drop what he considers a bogus investigation of the current Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, and is using the Warsh nomination as leverage to get his way.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
The White House says that Labor Secretary Laurie Chavez de Riemer has now resigned. She is to take a job in the private sector. DeRemer had been investigated on allegations of misconduct in office. NPR has not independently verified these allegations. On Wall Street and pre-market trading, Dow futures are higher. You're listening to NPR. FBI Director Kash Patel is suing news outlet The Atlantic and one of its reporters. He alleges they published false claims about him in a recent story. It alleges that he engaged in heavy bouts of excessive drinking. The Atlantic says it will defend itself. Pope Leo has arrived in Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa, the final stop on his visit to the continent where the Catholic Church is rapidly growing.
Equatorial Guinea has been criticized by human rights groups for leading one of the most repressive governments in the region. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu has more.
Pope Leo was greeted by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang. He's been in power for decades, even during the country's only other papal visit by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Critics have warned Pope Leo's visit could be seen as an endorsement of Obiang, who along with his son leads a government accused of widespread repression and corruption.
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