NPR News: 03-14-2026 5AM EDT

0:00Live from the NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump says the U.S. has bombed military targets in an island off the coast of Iran. NPR's Arzu Resvani reports Trump is also warning that oil facilities there could be next. Hark Island sits 15 miles off Iran's coast and is critical to Iran's oil infrastructure and the country's economy. Roughly 90 percent of Iran's export crude oil passes through the island. In a truth social post on Friday, President Trump said that while the U.S. had hit military targets, he had, quote, chosen not to wipe out the oil infrastructure. Trump added that he'd reconsider that decision if Iran continues interfering with ships passing through the street of Hormuz. In response, Iran's military has threatened to turn oil and energy firms in the region that work with the U.S. into, quote, a pile of ashes. Oil prices have jumped more than 40 percent since the start of the war. Arzu Resvani NPR News or Beal in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

1:02The investigation continues into an attack on a synagogue in Michigan this week. Federal authorities say the suspect died by suicide after ramming a truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Thursday. Jennifer Runyon is special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. She says the suspect has been identified as a U.S. citizen from Lebanon. The FBI has forensically confirmed that the assailant responsible for carrying out this attack was Aiman Muhammad Ghazali, age 41, from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. He has no previous criminal history and no registered weapons. Officials say the suspect had recently lost family members in Lebanon. They were killed after Israel carried out a drone strike on a Hezbollah rocket unit. The FBI says the attack on the synagogue was a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. An emergency declaration has been issued for the entire state of Hawaii. Forecasters say a powerful storm is moving across the islands, bringing high winds and

2:03torrential rain. Bill Dorman from Hawaii Public Radio reports more than 100,000 people are without power this morning. Electricity has been knocked out to customers across Hawaii, mainly on the state's most populous island of Oahu. Parts of the island's north shore were evacuated due to flash flooding. Hawaii's Governor Josh Drain says parts of the state could get as much as a foot and a half of rain before the storms end. His main concern, the Wahewa Dam in central Oahu and its neighboring communities. The Honolulu Department of Emergency Management says a failure of the dam could cause what it calls catastrophic flooding. The National Weather Service says the storm system could also lead to 12 to 18 inches of snow on the Hawaii Island summits of Monicaia and Manoloa. For NPR News, I'm Bill Dorman in Honolulu. This is NPR News in Washington. Stocks on Wall Street fell this week as the war in Iran continues to rattle energy markets

3:06across the globe. NPR Scott Horsley reports investors also received new readings on inflation. Crude oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains at a near-stand still two weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched their war in Iran. That's pushed oil prices to around $100 a barrel. Retail gasoline prices have also jumped sharply. If pumped prices remain high, shoppers may have to cut back elsewhere. The wartime spike in energy prices was not reflected in February's cost of living index, which came out on Wednesday. It showed prices up by a relatively modest 2.4 percent over the last year. When the jump in gas prices, however, the March inflation rate is likely to look worse. For the week the NASDAQ lost 1.25 percent, the S&P 500 index fell 1.6 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2 percent. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. The head of the Kennedy Center has announced his resignation, Richard Grinnell, stepped down from his leadership role on Friday. In a post on social media, Trump said his departure comes and will be replaced by

4:09Matt Flokka as the center's vice president of facility's operations. His departure comes as President Trump moves ahead with plans to reshape the institution, including installing a new board and naming himself Chairman. The changes have prompted criticism from some artists and led several performers to cancel appearances at the venue. The building is set to close for two years, beginning in July to undergo renovations ordered by the Trump administration. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This is our glass of this American life. Do you know our show? Okay, we'll be the way I'm going to tell you about it. We make stories that hopefully pull you into the beginning with funny moments and feelings and people in surprising situations, and then you just want to find out what is going to happen and cannot stop listening. That's right, I'm talking about stories that make you miss appointments. This American life, wherever you get your podcasts.