NPR News: 03-28-2026 5PM EDT

The NPR News Now episode covers a range of developments, with the heaviest focus on escalating tensions in the Middle East amid an ongoing regional war, alongside widespread domestic protests, a record-hot U.S. winter, and a Veterans Affairs system upgrade.

Middle East Deployments and Houthi Attack

The Pentagon announced that the USS Triple E, carrying the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Okinawa, Japan, has arrived in the Middle East. The ship transports about 3,500 sailors and Marines, plus transport and strike fighter aircraft, amphibious assault vehicles, and tactical assets. Its mission remains unspecified. This deployment coincides with the war entering its second month, now widened by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen launching their first missile toward Israel. A Houthi spokesman stated attacks will persist until "the aggression on all resistant fronts stops." The Houthis previously targeted cargo ships in the Red Sea during Israel's Gaza operations, disrupting global commerce. Separately, Iran struck multiple sites near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday using cluster bombs, which detonate at high altitude to scatter smaller submunitions. Israel's military noted these are harder for its multilayered defenses to intercept and cause broader damage. Iran, Israel, and the U.S. have not signed the international treaty banning cluster munitions, unlike dozens of o