Thursday morning news: March 26, 2026

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Iran latest » The White House is pushing back on reports that ceasefire talks with Iran have hit a dead end. That, even as Tehran publicly dismisses the U.S. peace proposal.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

LEAVITT: Talks continue. They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be.

The White House hasn’t said exactly who within Iran U.S. officials are talking to. Iran's foreign minister says it’s not him and claims his government has not engaged in negotiations

But at the same time, Iran has issued its own five-point counterproposal to the U.S. peace plan. The regime demands that no more of its leaders are killed, as well as a guarantee against further strikes against Iran or its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

It also includes demands that some U.S. officials find laughable, including payment of reparations for the war, and recognition of Iran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

LEAVITT:  If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, president Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before.

The 15-point U.S. proposal reportedly calls for sanctions relief in exchange for Iran ending its nuclear weapons program, limiting its missiles, and reopening the strait.

Mediators are reportedly pushing for in-person talks, possibly as soon as tomorrow in Pakistan.

Trump China trip » Leavitt also told White House reporters that President Trump’s planned trip to Beijing has been rescheduled after a delay due to the war in Iran.

LEAVITT:  I'm pleased to announce that President Trump's meeting and a long awaited meeting with President Xi in China will now take place in Beijing on May 14th and 15th.

And she said Trump will host Xi Jinping in Washington in a reciprocal visit later this year.

The China summit is seen as a chance to build on a fragile trade truce between the two countries.

The president had first announced the visit last year following discussions about a temporary trade agreement between the U.S. and China.

Israel latest » In Israel:

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is expanding its security zone in southern Lebanon. He says the expansion is needed to remove the threat of anti-tank missiles fired by the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah.

Israel says Hezbollah has launched 120 rockets from the city of Tyre alone.

Eliyahu Katz lives in northern Israel. He told WORLD's Travis Kircher that long drives have become nerve wracking.

KATZ:. I'm driving down Route 6, the main highway in Israel...and suddenly there's a siren, and you're finding yourself lying in a ditch sitting over two kids praying to God that shrapnel doesn't hit you.

The Israeli military says it’s killed at least 700 Hezbollah militants in Lebanon since Operation Epic Fury began.

DHS funding » On Capitol Hill, officials from various agencies within the Department of Homeland Security painted a dire picture Wednesday before a House committee as the department's funding standoff entered its 40th day.

Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified:

MCNEILL: We have already lost over 480 TSOs. This shutdown and our call-out rates have accelerated as our workforce was still reeling from the last shutdown.

She warns the situation is deteriorating fast — with some officers reportedly sleeping in their cars and selling plasma to make ends meet.

MCNEILL: At this point, newly hired officers will not be able to work on the checkpoint until well after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This is a dire situation.

Airport security wait times at some locations have topped four and a half hours. McNeill said some small regional airports may soon have to close entirely.

In the Senate, a proposed compromise would fund most of DHS for now but leave future funding for immigration enforcement, ICE and CBP, unresolved.

But that potential deal has drawn fire from both sides. House Speaker Mike Johnson:

JOHNSON: We will not allow Democrats to hold our airports and our country hostage so they can re-implement their catastrophic deadly open borders policies and threaten the lives of our children.

But Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson fired back:

THOMPSON: Republicans have repeatedly blocked bills. Democrats offered to fund every agency before this committee today.

Many House Democrats are also cool to the Senate proposal — arguing it doesn't go far enough to limit immigration enforcement tactics.

Social media ruling » In a landmark ruling, a Los Angeles jury has ordered YouTube and Meta (the parent company of Instagram) to pay $6 million dollars to a young woman who says the platforms destroyed her mental health.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The first of its kind verdict holds Silicon Valley responsible for social media addiction.

Jurors found both companies negligent in designing platforms that hooked the now 20-year-old woman when she was a child.

The jury also ruled Meta and Google — YouTube's parent company — knew their apps were harmful to young users, but failed to warn them. That triggered an additional $3 million dollars in punitive damages.

The jury apportioned 70% blame to Meta and 30% to YouTube & Google.

Both companies say they plan to appeal.

The plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier told reporters:

LANIER:  We're deeply appreciative and I do think it bodes well for the other thousands of cases that are out there.

FLAVIN: This is widely seen as a bellwether case that could open the door to many similar lawsuits. It’s already tied to roughly two thousand similar suits filed by parents and school districts nationwide.

Just one day earlier a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay nearly $400 million dollars for violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Afghanistan prisoner returns » American citizen Dennis Coyle is now back home in the United States after being imprisoned in Afghanistan for more than a year.

SOUND: [Coyle return]

His family cheered as he stepped off of a plane in San Antonio, Texas.

Coyle’s sister Molly Long said Wednesday:

LONG:  There's been so many people praying and supporting our family and from the bottom of our hearts. We thank everybody for this day.

The Taliban government said his release followed an appeal from his family after the country’s Supreme Court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient.”

Authorities never specified what laws the 64 year-old academic had allegedly broken.

The Trump administration declared Afghanistan a state sponsor of wrongful detention several weeks ago.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hospice chaplains grapple with states expanding assisted suicide. Plus, the first lady pushes artificial intelligence in the classroom.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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