NPR News: 03-14-2026 8PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Iran's Foreign Minister says it's getting military cooperation from Russia and China, and he accuses the United Arab Emirates of allowing the U.S. to launch attacks on Iran from its territory. President Trump is calling on neighboring countries to help patrol the straight of her moves to keep it open, but Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Arachee says it's not fully clothed. There are many tankers and ships who are passing through the state of almost, and I can say that the straight is not clothed, but it is only clothed to American Israeli, you know, ships and tankers. Speaking there in an exclusive interview on MSNOW, Arachee also downplayed the effects of the U.S. attack on Harg Island last night, an oil export terminal for 90 percent of the country's oil. Trump says the U.S. did not target the oil infrastructure on the island, and Arachee says, if it is attacked, Iran will retaliate.

1:03The Palestinian militant group Hamas is urging Iran to stop attacking its Gulf neighbors. It's a rare plea made by Iran's key ally, as NPR's Kerry Khan reports. Hamas, which is backed by Iran, said it affirms Tehran's right to defend itself against the U.S. and Israeli attacks. But in a statement the group called on its Iranian brothers to quote, avoid targeting neighboring countries and urged all regional nations to cooperate in order to quote, preserve the bonds of brotherhood. Iran has fired missiles and drones into multiple Gulf countries. Iran says it is targeting U.S. installations there, but many attacks have hit civilian infrastructure. In the UAE, Iran hit the Dubai airport and near iconic tourist landmarks. Saudi Arabia said Friday it intercepted nearly a dozen drones from Iran. Hamas is strongly condemned, Israel's killing of Iran's supreme leader, calling it a, quote, heinous crime. Kerry Khan and PR News, Tel Aviv. The Justice Department has quietly restarted a program that allows some people with felony

2:07records or accused of certain felonies to regain their federal gun rights, and Pierce Jacqueline Diaz has more. The 22 people, the Justice Department, approved to get their guns back, lost their second amendment rights because of felony convictions decades ago. The DOJ maintains that the people on this list pose no public safety risk and had committed their felony crimes many years ago. That is, except for one, Arizona State Senator Jay Kaufman. He was indicted in an Arizona fake electric scheme from 2020. He received a pardon from Trump last year, but still faces those charges in Arizona. The DOJ official said Hoffman poses no risk to public safety. Hoffman didn't respond to NPR's request for comment. Jacqueline Diaz and PR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Immigration and customs enforcement continues buying warehouses across the country for new detention centers.

3:08Macy Lipkin from Member Station KUER reports on a new ICE facility coming to Salt Lake City. ICE paid $145 million this week for a warehouse near Salt Lake City International Airport. The agency confirmed that this is part of its detention expansion. Local Democratic leaders oppose the center. And some communities around the country have successfully blocked the projects. But in 2024, Republican governor Spencer Cox said he would like the state to have one. ICE says their sites undergo community impact studies to make sure there's no hardship on local infrastructure. But Salt Lake City Mayor Aaron Mendenhall says a detention center would be, quote, wholly outside the scope of our available resources and zoning allowances. For NPR News, I'm Macy Lipkin in Ogden, Utah. France has returned a sacred drum to Ivory Coast, stolen during the West African nation's colonial era in 1916.

4:08The wooden drum is among several stolen artifacts that Ivory Coast has asked France to return. The drum, which weighs around 950 pounds and is just under 12 feet long, is referred to as a talking drum and was once used by the Ashken community to communicate between villages. It's part of a broader effort by French President Emmanuel Macron eight years ago to return artifacts taken from African countries during the colonial era. It's expected to go on display in Abijon. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington. With March Madness getting underway, coaches are pushing their players to the limits. But an investigation finds that in some instances, tough coaching can go too far. She would call us idiots, stupid, worthless, low off the low. On the Sunday story, coaches accused of emotional abuse and the players who pushed back. The Sunday story from the first podcast listed now on the NPR app.