Fed Holds Rates, Trump Officials Grilled, Missing College Student and more

0:00From CNN, I'm a FOMA DK, with the five things you need to know for Wednesday, March 18th. The Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rate steady between 3.5 to 3.75 for the second time this year. That's as investors and policymakers braced for the economic fallout of America's war with Iran. All three major U.S. stocks indices closed in the red, but the Dow tumbling more than 750 points sits slow as level this year. Markets overwhelmingly expected the central bank to announce an interest rate pause. The implications of events in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain. In the near term, higher energy prices will push up overall inflation, but it is too soon to know the scope and duration of the potential effects on the economy. That's Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. He also weighed in on the Justice Department's criminal probe of him, about whether he misled Congress about the central bank's headquarters $2.5 billion renovation. I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over

1:02with transparency and finality. More news coming up, including the Trump administration's latest effort to counter rising energy prices. A U.S. official denied the country attacked gas fields in Iran, instead saying Israel carried out the attack. Earlier today, Iranian state media said the U.S. and Israel attacked parts of its oil and natural gas production facilities, including the South Park's natural gas field, the world's largest. One Israeli official says the strike was carried out in coordination with the U.S. Meantime energy infrastructure came under attack in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. After a warning from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, oil and natural gas prices jumped as a result. That's also as Iran has effectively closed the strait of Hormuz, sealing off a critical waterway that handles roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply. But the White House says it's temporarily waiving the Jones Act to try and countervising energy prices, allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport oil, gas, and other commodities

2:04between U.S. ports for the next 60 days. Top Trump administration officials testified publicly today for the first time since the war with Iran started. The Senate Intelligence Committee questioned officials, including intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard about the administration's decision to strike Iran. Is it the intelligence community's assessment that nevertheless, despite this obliteration, there was a, quote, imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime? Yes or no? It is not the intelligence community's responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat. Okay. Here's the problem. No, it is precisely your responsibility to determine what constitutes a threat to the United States. This is the worldwide threats hearing, where, as you noted in your opening testimony, quote, you represent the I.C.'s assessment of threats. In her opening statement, Gabbard said Iran's nuclear enrichment capability was, quote,

3:04obliterated during U.S. strikes on the region last year, for much more on this story, head to CNN.com. Also in the hot seat on Capitol Hill today, Senator Mark Wayne Mullin, the Oklahoma Republican is President Trump's pick to replace Christy Nolman's Homeland Security Secretary, after she was ousted earlier this month. During his Senate confirmation hearing today, Mullin was confronted about comments he made about Alex Prattie, an I.C. nurse who was shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota. Mullin had previously called him, quote, deranged individual. Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that, and Secretary, I wouldn't. The investigation is ongoing, and there is, like I said, there are sometimes going to make mistake and I own it. Mullin spent much of the hearing trying to demonstrate how he'd do things differently from his predecessor. Still, the chairman of the Committee Senator Rand Paul says he'll oppose Mullin's nomination, but their differences go back. Paul calls Mullin a liar with anger management problems. Mullin once caught Paul a snake. When we come back, the search for a missing college student on spring break.

4:09This week on the assignment, with me, Adi Cornish. George Severus, the host of the podcast United States of Kennedy, which digs into America's enduring fascination with this mid-century camelot. You know, I don't want to be too controversial about the Kennedy family overall, and part of it is the hunger for power and influence, of course, but the other part is he understood early on the intersection between entertainment and politics. Listen to the assignment with me, Adi Cornish, streaming now on your favorite podcast app. The family of a missing American college student in Spain is pleading for help. James Gracie's relatives say the 20-year-old was visiting friends for spring break. They say a friend last saw him at around 3 a.m. local time Tuesday outside a nightclub on a popular beach. In a Facebook post, Gracie's mom says her son was reported missing when he didn't come back to his short-term rental, and that police have his phone saying it was recovered

5:10after being stolen. Police say they're investigating but didn't provide more information. The U.S. State Department declined to provide details, citing privacy concerns, and other considerations. That's all for now. Our next episode drops at 7 a.m. Eastern.