NPR News: 03-16-2026 8PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Several U.S. allies have declined President Trump's continued demands to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, which is largely closed off. Twenty percent of the world's oil and liquefied gas flows through that strait. Iran says it's open to all ships except those from the U.S. and Israel. Ampere's Franco-Ordonia says Trump launched the war in Iran without building a coalition with U.S. allies. It clearly the U.S. made a choice to go at this alone with Israel, and with, as with so many other global issues, Trump moved forward with little to no consultation with European allies. And those allies were very surprised and have since kind of taken this defensive posture, both tactically and politically. So I think you do have to wonder if the U.S. had consulted with these allies before would such an ask that he's making now be different. You know, maybe he never would have gotten the buy-in, but if he did, you know, I think you can say it could be different. Ampere's Franco-Ordonia is reporting.

1:03President Trump signed an executive order asking the federal government with rooting out fraud on the state and national level. Ampere's Deep Ashivaram reports, Trump says it's not an issue, specific to blue states, but so far. The administration has focused fraud allegations on states by Democrats. The White House has cited Minnesota, New York, and California as examples of places with fraud, though the president says this isn't an effort that's divided by party. This is not a Republican Democrat thing. This is wherever it's taking place. It seems that it's usually in blue states. If it's in a red state, we're going there too. Trump claims that cutting down on fraud will help balance the federal budget. He's tasked vice president JD Vance with leading the effort. Deep Ashivaram and PR News, the White House. America's democracy rating plunged by nearly 25% since President Trump's return to office, according to a leading report on global democracy that's out today. Ampere's Frank Lankfit has more.

2:05The report by the V-Dem Institute, which is based in Sweden, so the US fell in its annual democracy ranking from 20th to 51st out of 179 countries. V-Dem scholars downgraded America based on everything from Trump's concentration of presidential power to his attacks on the media. Staffan Lindbergh is the institute's founding director. Under the Trump administration, democracy has been rolled back as much during just one year as it took Modi in India and Erdogan in Turkey 10 years to accomplish. Lindbergh is referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who have undermined democracy in their countries over time. NPR reached out to the White House for comment, but is yet to hear back. Frank Lankfit and PR News. US futures contracts are trading lower at this hour. Dow futures are down about 22 points, Nasdaq futures are down about 26 points. This is NPR. The Supreme Court will hear consolidated, expedited arguments in two separate cases involving

3:06the Trump administration's decision to end temporary protected status for citizens of Syria and Haiti. Syrians have called for TPS since 2012 due to the brutal crackdown by former President Bashar al-Assad. Haitians have qualified since the 2010 earthquake in that country. The Trump administration ended both programs. TPS holders went to court and now the Supreme Court will decide this summer. Airline passengers across the country continue to experience longer wait times as TSA staffing challenges worsen. Some have had to miss their flights as agents continue to work without pay during a partial government shutdown. From member station WABE Marlon Hyde has more. Exhausted faces and tired legs wait for hours with hopes of making their flights. Staff shortages mixed with the storm have created a recipe for disaster at the world's busiest airport, Hartfield Jackson, Atlanta International Airport. Aaron Barker, president of AFGE Local 554, representing Georgia TSA workers says officers

4:10have now missed their second paycheck. There has been an uptick in officers trying to find the ways to make their ants meet. Whether it's Uber, Instacard, Lyft or whatever that may be. Barker says workers are struggling to afford necessities like groceries and medical bills. The White House said on Friday that 300 TSA workers have recently resigned. Friend PR news on Marlon Hyde in Atlanta. And I'm Janine Herbst and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. 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.