"Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
President Trump says he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce his
country's attacks on Lebanon. Trump said in an interview with NBC News that he made the request in a call yesterday and PR's Danielle Kurtzleben has more."
“President Trump told NBC that, quote, "I spoke with BB and he's going to low-key it.”
I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key," unquote. A ceasefire was announced on Tuesday between the U.S. and Iran, Israel continued attacking Lebanon where the Iran-backed group Hezbollah is based. There has been disagreement among the countries involved in the ceasefire as to whether attacks on Lebanon are a part of that agreement.
Trump posted on social media late Wednesday night that U.S. military personnel will remain in and around Iran until there's a "real agreement." Vice President JD Vance will lead a delegation to Pakistan for Saturday peace talks. Danielle Kurtzleben and PR News the White House. Energy traffic in the Middle East remains snarled, despite a ceasefire between the U.S.
and Iran, and PR's Scott Horsley has more on the ripple effects here at home. "Crued oil prices rose as a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran failed to provide much relief for bottleneck tanker traffic in the straight-of-war moves. Triple A says retail gasoline prices showed little change overnight, hovering around $4.16 since the gallon.
“Diesel prices rose, about two cents a gallon.”
High gasoline prices are expected to push the government's cost-deliving measure up when March inflation numbers are released tomorrow, even before the war prices were climbing faster than the Federal Reserve would like. The Commerce Department says the U.S. economy grew more slowly than the final months of 2025 than earlier reports had indicated.
A final telly says GDP grew at an annual rate of just half a percent in October, November, and December. Scott Horsley and PR News Washington. The number of babies born in the U.S. dropped again last year, according to preliminary data from the CDC and as NPR's Brian Man reports immigration into the U.S. is also
plunging. This latest drop means roughly 710,000 fewer babies were born in the U.S. in 2025 compared with the peak in 2007. Lead CDC researcher Brady Hamilton says the steady drop in U.S. fertility is sizable and is persisted for almost 20 years.
“Since 2007, there's been a decline in the general fertility rate of 23%.”
That's partly driven by a big decline in teen pregnancies. At the same time, immigration into the U.S. has plunged under the Trump administration a report earlier this year by the Congressional Budget Office found that these combined demographic trends mean the U.S. population will age faster and grow much more slowly than once predicted.
Brian Man and PR News.
First Lady Melania Trump says she did not know Jeffrey Epstein and a rare public statement
she addressed an email. She sent to his accomplice galene Maxwell and specifically denied that Epstein introduced her to Trump. She called it casual correspondence. The first lady also called on Congress to act and hold public hearings allowing Epstein
victims to testify. This is NPR News from Washington. Russia's president Vladimir Putin has declared a ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Easter this weekend. It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a pause and attacks on energy
infrastructure over the holiday. Putin unilaterally declared a ceasefire last Easter but each side accused the other of breaking it, U.S. led peace talks have stalled as President Trump has focused on the Middle East. There will be a new host for the Tony Awards, Broadway's highest honors on June 7th,
Grammy Award winning singer songwriter Pink Jeff London has more. Every year, the Tony's select hosts with Broadway credentials, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick
Harris, Cynthia Arrivo, but while Pink is never performed on Broadway, a couple of her
songs are currently being sung in Ann Juliette and the Tony Award winning musical Mulal Rouge. The recording artist whose had 15 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 is known for her theatrical concerts and videos as well as her love for Broadway. Producer's hope shall bring new viewers to the Tony telecast, which will be broadcast live from radio city musical on CBS and Paramount Plus.
For NPR News, I'm Jeff London, in New York. A minor league baseball team in New Hampshire scored eight runs in the second inning before getting its first hit of the game. The Fisher Cats benefited from eight walks, four wild pitches, two hit batters and a sacrifice fly before finally getting a base hit.
Their opponent was the Portland Sea Dogs, you're listening to NPR News from Washington. On Consider This NPR's afternoon news podcast, we cover everything from politics to the economy to the world, but every story starts with a question, and NPR, we stand for your right to be curious to make sense of the biggest story of the day and what it means for you. Follow Consider This, wherever you get your podcasts.
