NPR News: 05-29-2026 1AM EDT
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What recent events have occurred in the Persian Gulf?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roland. There were more attacks around the Persian Gulf Thursday. It comes as President Trump says any deal with Iran will include reopening the Strait of Hormuz. NPR's Ava Batrani reports.
U.S. forces shot down Iranian drones around the Strait of Hormuz and struck a launch site for those drones along Iran's coast overnight. That's according to a U.S. official who spoke to NPR. This is the second incidence of violence in the Persian Gulf this week. Both times, the U.S. military called these defensive acts intended to maintain the current ceasefire. Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it responded to the overnight U.S. attack on Bandar Abbas by targeting, quote, the American base from which that attack originated. It didn't say what its target was, but Kuwait says it intercepted drones Thursday morning. The Revolutionary Guard also says it fired at an American vessel trying to transit the strait undetected with its radar turned off Wednesday, forcing it to turn around.
Aya Batrawi, NPR News, Dubai.
A federal judge in Washington is rejecting an attempt to stop an executive order from President Trump calling for restrictions on voting by mail. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports that another judge in Massachusetts is preparing to rule on that same order in the coming weeks.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found it's too early for an emergency ruling that would buy key parts of an order that the Trump administration has not carried out yet. Rob Weiner of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is representing some of the challengers.
was predominantly an issue of timing. And we'll have to continue fighting through the coming days.
Trump's order calls for the federal government to create lists of adult U.S. citizens in each state. It also calls for banning the U.S. Postal Service from delivering mail-in ballots to anyone not on those lists. USPS is a financial supporter of NPR. Separately, a federal judge in Boston is preparing to rule on claims that the president's directives violate the Constitution, which gives power to state legislatures and Congress, not the president, to set federal election rules.
A 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Shrey Parikh, is the winner of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee. In the final round, the two finalists went head-to-head in a spell-off, the Spelling Bee version of overtime. This is how the announcement was made.
Shrey, during the spell-off, you correctly spelled a total of 32 words.
Isak, you correctly spelled a total of 25 words, and that means that Shrey, you are the true champion.
The three-day competition in Washington, D.C. began with nearly 250 students, nine advanced to the finals. Winning the championship includes a $50,000 prize, a commemorative medal, a reference library, and a trip to Universal Orlando Resort. All three stock market indexes finished in positive territory. The Dow added 24 points. And you're listening to NPR News. A Blue Origin Glenn rocket exploded during the test launch Thursday night on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket was undergoing an engine hot fire test in preparation for an upcoming satellite launch. The blast sent a huge fireball into the sky. Advisors to the Food and Drug Administration Thursday recommended the next COVID-19 vaccines that they target the latest variant to become dominant in the United States.
NPR's Rob Stein reports.
The FDA advisors are recommending that the new COVID boosters for this fall and winter target a variant known as XFG, which is now causing more than half of all new COVID cases in the U.S. The recommendation came despite concerns that the government is gathering less data about which new variants are emerging. The World Health Organization recently recommended the next vaccines target a different variant, known as LP.8.1, but said shots targeting XFG could also be used. The FDA will now make a final decision about the next COVID booster formulation. Rob Stein, NPR News.
There's no word yet from the White House if President Trump will approve a tentative agreement with Iran to extend the current ceasefire for another 60 days while negotiators start a new round of talks.
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