NPR News: 06-15-2026 3PM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
What agreement have the U.S. and Iran reached regarding their conflict?
The United States and Iran are confirming they have a preliminary agreement to end their war. The Memorandum of Understanding, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar and due to be signed this week in Europe, includes a 60-day ceasefire extension, ends at least a U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and halts fighting in Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah had been fighting Israeli forces. Expressing cautious optimism, European leaders say they welcome the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran. Terry Schultz has more.
EU leaders are calling the U.S.-Iran deal a potential breakthrough that they hope can lead to the end of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke ahead of the G7 meeting in France, calling in addition for Israel to end its attacks on Lebanon.
There can be no lasting peace while Lebanon remains in flames.
We call for a genuine ceasefire and the full respect for Lebanon's sovereignty. Von der Leyen says Europe is ready to play its part in helping to end the crisis. She added that it's reinforced concerns about what she called the weaponization of energy dependence, urging leaders to quickly find alternatives to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels.
U.S. stocks opened sharply higher this morning on hopes that the deal between the U.S. and Iran will soon allow oil to flow through the Strait of Hormuz. NPR's Scott Horsley has more on that.
Stocks are up and crude oil prices are down on news of the diplomatic deal to reopen the strait, which is expected to be finalized later this week. AAA says retail gasoline prices dipped to an average of $4.06 a gallon overnight. That's down about a dime from a week ago, but still about $1.08 more than before the war began.
That's NPR's Scott Horsley reporting. Much of the Pacific Northwest is under heat advisory today. Christian Foden-Ventzel of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports Portland is under an extreme heat warning.
Temperatures around 95 degrees are expected today, a level the National Weather Service says affects anyone who doesn't take action to avoid it. Mike Horner was filling the back of his truck with bottled water to hand out to homeless people during the heat. He says there are places around town to cool down, but going there means leaving things behind that often get stolen.
Sleeping bags, personal documents... Now all of a sudden you've got a person who doesn't have a house, doesn't have any ID, things that you need to get services, you know.
I mean, it's really a cruel system. Portland's local transit service, TriMet, says it won't turn anyone away who's travelling to or from a cooling centre. The intense heat is expected to end Tuesday. For NPR News, I'm Christian Fodenwenzel in Portland.
U.S. stocks are sharply higher this hour. The Nasdaq is up now roughly 3% or 772 points. The Dow is up 580 points. The S&P has risen 128. It's NPR. African countries are repatriating some nationals from South Africa amid a renewed wave of xenophobic attacks.
How are European leaders responding to the U.S.-Iran deal?
NPR's Kate Bartlett reports hundreds of Malawians are currently in a makeshift camp in Durban waiting to be repatriated.
Nigeria, Mozambique and Ghana are some of the other countries that have already helped repatriate their citizens from South Africa in the past month as foreigners flee a rising tide of xenophobia. Several Mozambicans have been killed, foreign-owned businesses have been looted, and vigilante gangs roam the streets asking people for their identity cards. One of the groups leading the charge is called March on March. It has given non-South Africans a June 30th ultimatum to leave the country or else. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the violence while also vowing to crack down on illegal immigration. But the country is suffering from huge levels of unemployment and crime, and migrants have become an easy scapegoat.
Kate Bartlett, NPR News, Johannesburg.
A Florida rescue group says the Wisconsin Beagle Breeding Farm at the center of high-profile animal welfare protests has agreed to shut down for good.
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