NPR News: 03-15-2026 3PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. Gulf states are reporting new missile-endrone attacks today as Iran widens its campaign, and says people should evacuate from three major ports in the United Arab Emirates. Israel has announced new missile strikes on Iran today as Tehran targets the world's oil supply. President Trump is calling on other nations to help protect a vinyl waterway for oil passage, but as NPR's Aresu Resvani reports, the response so far has been fairly muted. Since the start of the war, Iran has blocked some oil tankers and attacked cargo vessels trying to pass through the strait, which has led to a huge spike in global oil prices, nearly a fifth of the world's oil supply typically passes through this vital oil export route. The waters off Iran's coast have become a strategic battleground in the war, the U.S. bombed military targets on Iran's Hark Island Saturday. Trump said the U.S. might hit the island again, quote, just for fun, if Iran continues

1:00interfering with ships passing through the strait of Hormuz. Aresu Resvani, NPR News, Erbil, and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Israeli forces have killed the Palestinian couple and their two young children in the occupied West Bank. NPR's Daniel Estran reports from Tel Aviv. Palestinian health officials report the couple in their mid-30s and their five-and-seven-year-old sons were all shot in the face and head. The Palestinian Authority official news agency said the family's car came under fire as they were driving home from shopping for new clothes for an upcoming Muslim holiday. In a statement, the Israeli military says troops were in the West Bank to arrest militant suspects when a car accelerated toward forces who opened fire, killing the four Palestinians and at the circumstances were under investigation. And health officials say Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 13 Palestinians in the West Bank since the U.S. Israeli war in Iran began. Daniel Estran, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

2:01The Treasury is set to receive a $10 billion fee charged by the Trump administration for brokering a deal to sell TikTok's U.S. business. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, the payment is drawing more attention into how Trump is using the presidency for deal-making. The $10 billion represents about 70% of TikTok's U.S. valuation, typically bankers who complete large deals receive more like 1%. And the deal to sell off most of TikTok's Chinese investment only occurred to comply with a law Congress passed, so in some sense it's a fee for brokering a deal to comply with the law. Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the TikTok deal are longtime Trump allies, like Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, which is a lead investor in the new TikTok entity. The fee, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is being defended by the White House as a fair payment for saving TikTok. In September, Trump said the public would soon learn about, quote, a tremendous fee. Bobby Allen and P.R. News. This is NPR News.

3:02Airlines CEOs are saying enough. One month into the partial U.S. government shutdown that's seen some 50,000 airport security officers work without pay, lines lengthening, and some checkpoints closing. The heads of American, United Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and Alaska Air have sent an open letter to Congress, calling on lawmakers to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, and to prevent such a stalemate from happening again. Without a deal, disruptions are expected to get worse, as the spring travel season gets underway. The 46th annual Golden Raspberry's or Razzy Awards have announced their choice for worst film of the year. NPR's Bob Mandelo has details on this Oscar-weekend tradition. With tongue-planted firmly in cheek, the Golden Raspberry's announced something of a sweep, awarding five razzies to a social media-slash surveillance camera version of the invaders for Mars story, War of the World. And you tell yet what they're comprised of. No, sir. I've never seen anything like this.

4:03This War of the Worlds, which earned a four out of a hundred on Rotten Tomatoes, took the worst picture, worst remake rip-off, worst screenplay, worst director, and worst actor for its rapper star Ice Cube. In years past, the razzies have mocked prestige films and blockbusters from Mommy Dearest to the final Twilight movie, but this year, they're punching down. In July, Amazon released War of the Worlds direct to video. Bob Mandelo NPR News Tonight, the Oscars get underway in LA. It's the 98th annual Academy Awards. This is NPR News. 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 Up First Podcast, listed now on the NPR app.