NPR News: 03-16-2026 1PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh, President Trump's calling on countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz where the Iran Wars blockade on oil shipments is resulting in soaring gas prices in the U.S. We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the Strait far more than ours. We get less than 1% of our oil from the Strait, and some countries get much more Japan and gets 95%, China gets 90%, many of the Europeans get quite a bit. South Korea gets 35%, so we want them to come and help us with the Strait. President Trump's convening the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees this afternoon, according to reports, this meeting involves a vote on plans to close the performing arts center for two years of renovations. Over the weekend, a federal judge ruled that Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Bady of Ohio had to be given access to details of today's meeting and allowed to participate and

1:01register her opposition. President Trump will sign an executive order this afternoon launching a whole of government approach to tackling fraud. President announced the effort in his state of the Union address last month in PRC Pashivaram reports. Trump tasked Vice President JD Vance with overseeing the task force that will look into fraud on the federal and state level. In an interview with Fox News, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt specifically mentioned tackling fraud in states like New York and California, both led by Democrats. We're going to turn every page to find and identify this fraud, to prosecute the individuals who are engaged in it. This will be again a whole of government effort. Vance has also been tasked with looking into fraud in Minnesota, another Democrat-led state. Last month, the administration suspended Medicaid payments to the state until they came up with a plan to tamp down on fraud. Deepashivaram and PR News, the White House. An Afghan man who served alongside U.S. forces has died in ice custody.

2:02NPR's Quilorance reports he was in the U.S. legally with a pending asylum claim. Muhammad Nazir Paktiwal served alongside American special forces in Afghanistan, according to documents seen by NPR. He helped U.S. troops for over a decade. In 2021, Paktiwal fled Afghanistan with his family because the Taliban were threatened to kill Afghans who had collaborated with the U.S. Since then, Paktiwal had been living in Texas with his wife and six children. A family statement says last Friday, he was taking his kids to school when federal agents in unmarked cars surrounded Paktiwal and drove him away. He complained of breathing problems and was given medical attention according to a statement from ICE, but the next morning he was pronounced dead in a Dallas hospital. ICE says the cause of death is under investigation. Quilorance and PR News. At last, check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 400 points. This is NPR News. President Trump announced today that his White House chief of staff, Susie Walsh, has

3:05been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. On truth, social Trump says while undergoing treatment, Walsh will continue to work, quote, virtually full-time at the White House. Walsh managed Trump's 2024 presidential comeback and is widely viewed as one of the president's most important political advisors. As the war with Iran goes on, prediction market bets on battle moves are also heating up. This is raising questions about insider trading in Washington. At least one senator is sounding the alarm saying Congress cannot police itself and PR's little Garrett reports. Financial disclosure rules are clear. Lawmakers and staff must report stock bond and cryptocurrency earnings. But there are no specific rules for event contracts on prediction markets. Says Oregon Senator Jeff Markley, a Democrat. Nobody has said to me we're making these bets, but I'm confident that they are. Billions are wagered each week on prediction markets, like polymarket, where bets range from sports elections to war.

4:08But the rules governing how U.S. officials can use these new markets haven't kept up. Says former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter. The problem is they may not have to disclose what they actually bet on, whether it was a football game or a war. Bets on prediction markets include U.S. troop movements and Iranian regime change. Luke Garrett and PR News, Washington. The Dow is up 356 points as some peas up 64 the Nas that has climbed 281 points. 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, listen now on the NPR app.