NPR News: 03-16-2026 4PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, Amlaakshmi, saying, Iran is threatening more strikes in the coming hours on U.S. affiliated targets in the Middle East, and P.R.'s arzu-Rzvani has the latest. Iran's revolutionary guard corps says that in the coming hours, it will strike industries across the region that are associated with the U.S. The group is urging workers to evacuate and civilians to avoid areas near production facilities. The message was first reported by Iran's task-name news agency, which is associated with the revolutionary guard corps. Last week, the news agency published a list of major U.S. companies in a social media post that included Amazon, Microsoft, and Palantir. The revolutionary guard's threat came soon after Iran's foreign minister Abbas Erarchi called on neighboring countries that host U.S. forces to clarify their positions on the war, adding that certain countries are, quote, encouraging this slaughter. Arzu-Rzvani, NPR News, Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

1:01Brent crude oil is hovering around $100 a barrel as President Trump urges U.S. allies to help keep oil shipments moving through the strait of hormones. We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the strait far more than ours. However, European allies are reluctant to send warships without an idea of how long the conflict might last. Extreme weather alerts span the United States from near-record heat in the southwest to twisters in the east and mid-Atlantic to blizzards in the Midwest. Rig Brewer of memorization WCMU is in Michigan where heavy ice and heavy snow have forced snow plows off some roads. Areas of the Upper Peninsula have gotten up to three feet of snow, and snowfall records may be broken. Some parts of the region remain under a blizzard warning through Tuesday morning. 60 mile per hour winds along the Lake Superior shoreline closed a state highway. Dan Weingarten is with the Michigan Department of Transportation. So if the plows aren't out and about, it's a good sign that the rest of us should stay home if we possibly can.

2:02Around 100,000 people in the northern lower peninsula are without power after heavy ice consumed the area. Northern Michigan is still recovering from a devastating ice storm that hit nearly a year ago. For MPR News, I'm Rick Brewer. Well, record-setting heat was projected for portions of the western U.S. and for one Claremont, California resident, Andrew Kapoor, the heat might have contributed to a very odd encounter in her kitchen with a bear. It's very interesting that it wasn't in my kitchen. It was just more interesting than scary. Kapoor talking about the encounter recently. Now, wise as happening, authorities in bear countries say the animals are waking up from hibernation and searching for food. President Trump's issuing an executive order formally launching a task force on fraud. It'll be led by Vice President JD Vance. U.S. stocks have ended the day higher with the Dow closing up more than 400 points. You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration is lashing out at major news outlets over their coverage of the U.S.

3:06and Israel war against Iran. Nation's chief federal broadcast regulator is even threatening to take away TV licenses over it. NPR's David Folkumflick reports it's something of an empty threat, but there is a bigger matter of foot. President Trump expressed anger over coverage of the war from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Pentagon Secretary Pete Hankseth announced CNN. None of those outlets have TV licenses, not the newspapers, and not CNN, which is on cable, not broadcast. For that matter, the Federal Communications Commission and its chair, Brendan Carr, only licensed local TV stations. So on paper, that's a whole lot of posturing. But the journal's owners, the Murdoch's own local Fox stations and the Ellison's the likely future owners of CNN, possess local CBS stations. On Sunday night, Trump egged on Carr, calling much of the media treasonous, all part of an effort to quell unwelcome questions about the war from journalists and from their corporate owners. David Folkumflick and PR News. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear consolidated, expedited arguments in two separate

4:09cases involving the administration's decision to end a temporary protected status for citizens of Syria and Haiti. The court said it would hear arguments in the case during the second week of the April 2026 oral argument calendar. Syrians have qualified for TPS since 2012 due to the brutal crackdown by former President Bashar al-Assad. However, in September, the Insecretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Nome announced she would revoke Syrians TPS status. This is NPR News. At this year's Oscars, one battle after another took home the award for best picture. Michael B. Jordan won for lead actor, and the telecast had plenty of jokes at Timothy Shalamay's expense. Listen to a recap on pop culture happy hour via the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.