82nd Airborne Deployment, Israel Threatens Lebanon Invasion, DHS Funding Negotiations
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
Lebanon expelled Iran's ambassador as Israel threatens to move the country's border northward and use the "Gaza model" in the south of Lebanon, with more than a million people already displaced.
And Congress is inching toward a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but President Trump says he's probably not going to be happy with it, leaving TSA workers still without pay.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Gerry Holmes, Andrew Sussman, Kelsey Snell, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:53) 82nd Airborne Deployment
(05:55) Israel Threatens Lebanon Invasion
(09:39) DHS Funding Negotiations
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At least 2,000 paratroopers from the 8-2nd Airborne Division are being sent to the Middle East. |
| 0:07.2 | Is this an escalation or a pressure tactic to force Iran to negotiate? |
| 0:11.7 | I'm Michelle Martin. That's A. Martinez. And this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:19.6 | Lebanon expels Iran's ambassador blaming Tehran for dragging the country into another war. |
| 0:25.1 | Israel is threatening to use what it calls the Gaza model in Lebanon South. |
| 0:28.7 | And Congress is inching toward a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, |
| 0:32.8 | but Democrats say President Trump's input is complicating negotiations. |
| 0:36.7 | I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it. |
| 0:41.3 | How much longer will TSA agents work without pay? |
| 0:44.7 | Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:52.6 | President Trump is sending thousands more American soldiers to the Middle East. |
| 0:57.1 | NPR has confirmed at least 2,000 paratroopers have gotten orders to mobilize. |
| 1:02.0 | The orders come as Trump's public comments this week have focused on diplomacy with Iran. |
| 1:06.5 | He continued to insist his administration is in talks to end the war, something Iran has denied. |
| 1:11.8 | Trump said Tuesday that whoever was representing Iran had offered some sort of prize related to the Strait of Hormuz, but he didn't say what it was or who offered it. |
| 1:20.2 | So is this deployment a way to pressure Iranian negotiators or a signal of the imminent use of American troops? |
| 1:26.3 | We have Quill Lawrence from NPR's |
| 1:27.8 | national security team to explain. Quill, what do we know about the troops? Well, this week, NPR |
| 1:32.8 | and other outlets had reported that the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and members of |
| 1:37.6 | his headquarters staff were heading to the Middle East. And that suggested what NPR has now confirmed. |
| 1:45.3 | A U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly, told our colleague Tom Bowman that two to three thousand troops from |
| 1:50.3 | the 82nd Airborne based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, have been notified that they're heading |
... |
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