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More Troops to MidEast, Meta Found Liable & MLB Season Begins - Wednesday, March 25, 2026
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Today is Wednesday, March 25th. What to know about President Trump's peace plan offered to Iran just as America sends more troops to the Middle East. Also, a possible breakthrough to end the partial government shutdown affecting TSA and NASA's updated plans to expand humanity's footprint in space. Plus, we'll tell you about the landmark verdict that puts Meta on the hook for child exploitation, where seasonal allergies are the worst this spring. And how to watch the unusual first game of the Major League Baseball season tonight. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. The Pentagon has ordered about 2,000 more soldiers to deploy to the Middle east within striking distance of Iran. That's according to multiple news outlets who cite sources saying President Trump is just wanting to keep his options open. Thousands of Marines are also expected to arrive in the Middle east later this week. They'll join about 50,000 troops already assigned to the overall operation the Pentagon calls epic fury. But at the same time, the US Is pushing for peace. Yesterday, the Trump administration sent Iran a 15 point plan to end the war. The full proposal has not been released, but it's said to include nuclear restrictions, security arrangements, economic relief, and so on. Pakistan offered to host talks, but President Trump says negotiations are actually already underway and that the Iranians would like to make a deal. He even said Iran gave the US A gift worth a lot of money without saying exactly what it was. On the other side, Iran still insists no negotiations are happening. So at this point, it's not clear if Iran will accept the plan or whether Israel is on board. But both the US And Israel have kept up their attacks against Iran this week. Iran has also sent more missiles across the Middle east that caused damage in Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain and beyond. An American researcher has been freed from Afghanistan. Dennis Walter Coyle had worked in the country for more than 20 years researching languages, but he was detained in January of last year and had been held there ever since. Coyle's family says he was never charged with a crime but was being held in near solitary conditions. Then yesterday he left Afghanistan on a jet bound for the United Arab Emirates. The Trump administration has reportedly been pressuring the Taliban led government to release Americans like Coyle who are being held without justification. And earlier this month, the US Designated Afghanistan a state sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the Taliban of kidnapping people for ransom or to sway certain policies. Afghan authorities have denied detaining foreigners for political ends. Either way, the US Is now asking for the Taliban to release even more Americans, since there could be up to three still wrongfully in custody. It's likely there was more than one problem that played into the deadly plane crash at LaGuardia Airport Sunday night. That's according to investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB says the fire truck that collided with an Air Canada jet did not have a transponder, unlike similar trucks at airports around the US that made it tough for the airport's early warning systems to track its position, and investigators don't know if the truck drivers heard air traffic controllers telling them to stop their vehicle. Also, the two controllers on duty Sunday night were doing duties that during busier hours would most likely have been distributed among more controllers. Keep in mind these are all just preliminary findings at this point. Investigators have a lot more work to do. In fact, they still haven't spoken with the controllers who were in the tower at the time or the officers in the fire truck. Remember, the two Air Canada pilots were killed and dozens of other people were hurt. The crash also disrupted one of the busiest domestic hubs in the Northeast, and investigators say LaGuardia will still not be running at full capacity for several more days. The US Senate could be closer to a deal to reopen the Homeland Security Department. The latest offer comes from the gop, and it looks similar to an idea Democrats have floated before. It would fund all of DHS's functions except immigration enforcement and removal. Then here's the different part. Republicans would plan to pay for ICE through another maneuver that would not need Democratic votes. The White House has called the deal acceptable, but Democratic leaders say they still want to see reforms for ICE that aren't in this latest proposal. So they're sending back another counteroffer. Of course, any breakthrough could end weeks of chaos at some of America's airports caused by TSA employees missing paychecks and shifts. At this point, more than 3,200 TSA agents have missed work and nearly 500 have quit altogether since the shutdown began. Meanwhile, President Trump is still focused on the Save America Act. That includes new voting rules. He says it's all part of Homeland Security, so lawmakers should vote on both issues at once. Congress was scheduled to take a two week Easter recess starting on Friday, but President Trump says if there's no deal by then, the lawmakers should stay and, in his words, take the vote for Jesus. NASA has laid out an ambitious blueprint for the next decade, and it includes one big change. The Space agency canceled plans to deploy a space station in the moon's orbit, and it says instead it will use parts of the project to build a $20 billion base on the actual surface of the moon, where humans can set up shop. The road to that milestone starts next week, when NASA plans to launch astronauts around the moon and back for the first time in a half century. Then next year, astronauts are expected to practice in Earth's orbit for two moon landing attempts in 2028. After that, the agency is looking to start building that base through dozens of missions. All the while, NASA says it's still planning to send a nuclear powered spacecraft to Mars. More news is still coming up, but first, this episode is brought to you by Gainbridge. If you're someone who doesn't want to constantly track the market or overthink every financial move, you're not alone. A lot of people are just looking for a simple, reliable way to grow their savings without turning it into a second job. That's exactly what Gainbridge is designed for. Gainbridge is an online platform offering financial products with a guaranteed rate over a set term that you choose. That means you decide how long your money is invested and how much you want to put in. And from there it grows at a fixed rate. There are no hidden fees or commissions, which makes it easier to understand exactly what you're getting. And the setup is straightforward. Open an account, fund it, and let it do its thing. They offer two main products, one for shorter term goals like saving for a major purchase or milestone, and and another designed for longer term planning and retirement. If that kind of approach resonates with you, you can check it out@gainbridge.com Gainbridge Let yout Money Work for You now back to the news. Across the country, spring allergy seasons are starting earlier and becoming more severe. They've begun in the Southeast and the Southwest already, and early starts are expected in the northern parts of the country next. The Asthma and Allergy foundation of America put out a new report this month that says at least 106 million people in the US experience allerg allergies, including a lot of pollen allergies that are especially bad this year. It says tree pollen has also peaked earlier than usual. And this could be a problem since allergies don't just cause sneezing but also itching, sore throat, headache, cough, fatigue and in some cases, allergic asthma. So the foundation keeps track of things like pollen counts and publishes them. That way, if you're sensitive to allergens, you know when to avoid the outdoors. It also puts together a ranking of the top 20 allergy capitals in the U.S. it listed Boise, Idaho as number one. That's followed by San Diego, California, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Provo, Utah and Rochester, New York. Democrats pulled off a big upset in Florida on President Trump's home turf. First time Democratic candidate Emily Gregory won a special election for a state House seat against a Trump backed Republican candidate. It's a district that includes Trump's Mar a Lago resort and it's been held by Republicans for the last four years. This is just the latest example of Democrats performing well in recent special elections. And now national political analysts have taken notice saying there could be momentum heading into this year's midterms. By the way, President Trump did cast a ballot in this election by mail, even though he's been pushing Congress to sharply limit that option for other voters. But the White House explained by saying when Trump says mail in voting is cheating or corruption, that he's really talking about universal mail in voting, not individual instances of voters needing accommodations to vote by mail. Reports have found cases of mail voting fraud have occurred in about four out of every 10 million mail in votes. A New Mexico jury handed down a landmark verdict that found Meta liable for harming children. Of course, Meta runs Facebook and Instagram, and the jury found it failed to protect kids from sexual predators on those platforms. With that, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in civil penalties. The verdict came after six weeks of testimony from witnesses, for example, current and former Meta executives, including some who say Meta's algorithm has helped predators find potential victims more easily, as well as teachers, parents and online safety experts. Meta says it disagrees with the verdict and that it has taken many steps and made heavy investments to improve safety. The company says it's still tough to find and remove all harmful people and content, but that it's upfront about that and keeps striving to be better. Now it's planning an appeal. Meanwhile, Meta still faces hundreds of other similar cases across the country from states, school districts and individuals, including a young woman in California who accuses Meta of creating addictive features that hurt her mental health. A verdict in that case is expected soon. OpenAI has decided to shut down Sora. That's that controversial app that let people create realistic AI generated videos in seconds. And this is an abrupt change since it was just three months ago that OpenAI and Disney signed a three year licensing deal letting Sora users generate videos with Disney characters. The agreement was considered a watershed for the tech industry in Hollywood, and some worried it was the first big step toward replacing actors and creators with AI. Well, now that agreement is dissolving and OpenAI is discontinuing both the Sora app and the Internet service that movie makers and other professionals use. OpenAI did not say why, but reports say it's likely part of the company's efforts to focus and streamline its operations. As for Disney, the entertainment giant says it will keep looking for partnerships with AI companies willing to license its intellectual property. Move over Amazon FedEx is now launching a same day delivery service to let shoppers choose two hour or end of day delivery directly at checkout. For now, the program is limited to several large retailers that the company has not named yet, though FedEx plans to expand it to more shippers soon. The shipping giant is partnering with delivery provider One Rail to make it happen. Stores of all sizes have been looking to offer customers this option so they can go head to head with the biggest retail giants. Remember, just last week Amazon announced it was rolling out delivery windows of just one to three hours. Walmart and Target have started offering express delivery options as well Baseball season is off to an early start. Tonight is the first game of the regular MLB season. It's the San Francisco Giants vs. The New York Yankees. Their rivalry dates back more than a century, including seven meetings at the World Series. And this is the first MLB game that will ever air on Netflix. Making it even more unique, the ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Thing from the TV series Wednesday. It's not clear if that means the actor who plays Thing will actually be the one throwing or if it will really look like just a hand, but either way, it's one way to draw in a new audience. Then tomorrow is the more traditional opening day. Though it's the earliest opening day ever, it will be complete with all the festivities for 26 of the league's 30 teams. At this point, the Los Angeles Dodgers are favored to win this year's World Series for a historic third year in a row. But of course, anything can happen. The regular season runs through the end of September, and that's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Work Wednesday when we break down one interesting career or work related news story every Wednesday. But first, a quick break for our sponsor. One thing I've learned about traveling for special events, whether it's a wedding, a celebration, or even just a big dinner, is that packing the right pieces makes everything easier. Not just the outfits themselves, but what really helps is how you feel your best in them. That's why I'VE started packing Honey Love Whenever I travel for an event, their shapewear has become one of those go to items I know I can rely on to help me feel polished yet still comfortable. It smooths everything out in a really natural way, but it doesn't feel restrictive or stiff. It's designed with targeted compression so it works with your body and it actually stays in place so no constant adjusting. And when you're traveling, that matters. 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It's a turnaround since traditionally those with more advanced degrees were more optimistic. At this point, the unemployment rate is still relatively low, sitting at 4.4%. But economists say the labor market has entered a period of low hire, low fire, where if you already have a job, you're likely doing okay. Job seekers are really struggling. Add in fears about layoffs in the professional sector and of course, AI you get the kind of pessimism shown in the Gallup poll. But some experts say the trend reflects what's known as a vibe session, meaning people feel bad about the economy while the overall economy actually is holding up fine. That said, they say it's possible the overall anxiety actually translates into reality. It's just that so far, it remains to be seen. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.