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National parks fee-free calendar drops MLK Day, Juneteenth and adds Trump’s birthday
Grand Canyon Park Services Ranger Jill Staurowsky looks out from the South Rim while giving a tour to visitors on February 22, 2025 in Grand Canyon, Ariz.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year’s calendar of entrance fee-free days for national parks and added President Trump’s birthday to the list, according to the National Park Service, as the administration continues to push back against a reckoning of the country’s racist history on federal lands.
In addition to Trump’s birthday — which coincides with Flag Day (June 14) — the updated calendar of fee-free dates includes the 110th anniversary of the NPS (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17) and President Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect starting January 1.
Non-U.S. residents will still be required to pay entrance fees on those dates under the new “America-first pricing” policy. At 11 of some of the country’s most popular national parks, international visitors will be charged an extra $100, on top of the standard entrance fee, and the annual pass for non-residents will go up to $250. The annual pass for residents will be $80.
The move follows a July executive order from the White House that called to increase fees applied to non-American visitors to national parks and grant citizens and residents “preferential treatment with respect to any remaining recreational access rules, including permitting or lottery rules.”
The Department of the Interior, which oversees NPS, called the new fee-exempted dates “patriotic fee-free days,” in an announcement that lauded the changes as “Trump’s commitment to making national parks more accessible, more affordable and more efficient for the American people.”
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement: “These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations.”
The new calendar follows the Trump administration’s previous moves to reshape U.S. history by asking patrons of national parks to flag any signs at sites deemed to cast a negative light on past or living Americans.
Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.
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Planet Labs PBC
Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.
The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.
An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.
Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026
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Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026
Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.
U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.
An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.
Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.
Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.
Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”
A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”
A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms
By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski
March 1, 2026
Gunfire rang out at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday and at least three people were killed, the city’s police chief said.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters the shooter was killed by officers at the scene.
Fourteen others were hospitalized and three were in critical condition, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.
“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz said.
There was no initial word on the shooter’s identity or motive.
Davis noted how fortunate it was that there was a heavy police presence in Austin’s entertainment district at the time, enabling officers to respond quickly as bars were closing.
“Officers immediately transitioned … and were faced with the individual with a gun,” Davis said. “Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”
She called the shooting a “tragic, tragic” incident.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said his heart goes out to the victims, and he praised the swift response of first responders.
“They definitely saved lives,” he said.
Davis said federal law enforcement is aiding the investigation.
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