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Why some companies are paying more than $1 million to get through the Panama Canal

NPR | By Rob Schmitz,

Henry Larson, Mallory Yu

Published August 14, 2026 at 4:22 PM CDT

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, pressure on the Panama Canal has increased. And combined with lower water levels, transit prices through the canal are soaring.

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All Things Considered

Rob Schmitz

Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin.

See stories by Rob Schmitz

Henry Larson

Mallory Yu

Mallory Yu is an associate producer for All Things Considered.

See stories by Mallory Yu

Democrats grapple with Trump's push to limit transparency within the executive branch

Eric McDaniel, Carrie Johnson

President Trump is pushing the boundaries of executive power to limit transparency within the executive branch. Congressional Democrats are grappling with how to respond.
Judge knocks down a National Firearms Act provision, handing win to gun rights groups

Jaclyn Diaz

A federal judge's decision out of Texas has major implications for the National Firearms Act, lifting regulations on certain guns and suppressors in more than a dozen states.
In 'The Wrong Girls,' Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat play messy stoner BFFs

Sarah Handel, Ailsa Chang, Kathryn Fink

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Dylan Meyer about her directorial debut, The Wrong Girls and the value of seeing women being silly and making dubious decisions onscreen.
Should the U.S. have a mandatory retirement age?

Sarah Gonzalez

Older workers are delaying retirement more and more. But it's causing younger workers to wonder if they're missing out on job advancement because senior roles aren't opening up. Is this true?
Remembering Zhu Rongji, the architect of China's modern economy

Fio Geiran, Rob Schmitz, Justine Kenin

The staggering pace of China's economic growth these past four decades has been historic. The chief architect of the financial reforms that made way for that growth died on Wednesday at age 97.