NPR News: 03-17-2026 4AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump continues to press allies to join efforts to secure the strategic state of Hormuz. But as appears deep as Shiverham reports, so far no other countries have publicly committed to helping. Trump says, quote, numerous countries have told him they're on the way to help the US police the state of Hormuz. But he didn't specify which countries, despite the president insisting that US attacks on Iran have been successful so far, the streets still poses a concern. Literally, a single terrorist can put something in the water or shoot something or shoot a missile, a small missile. And it's fairly close range because it is a tight area, which is one of the reasons that they've always used that as a weapon. Iran's ability to threaten slow moving oil tankers in the street has become a headache for the Trump administration. Twenty percent of the world's oil supply relies on the passage and prices have increased since the war began.

1:01Deepa Shiverham and NPR News, the White House. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says President Trump is looking forward to visiting China, but she says the trip may be delayed because of the Iran War. I don't think the meeting is in jeopardy, but it's quite possible the meeting could be delayed. These are leader to leader conversations that are currently taking place. If the trip is delayed, then of course we will provide those dates very soon. Levitt speaking to Fox News, Trump has scheduled to leave for China at the end of the month. But at the White House on Monday, Trump told reporters that the administration has requested a delay. China has among the nations that Trump has called on to help ship safely transit the straight-of-port moves. China has not directly responded to the request. US Embassy in Baghdad has come under attack again, video taken by witnesses appears to show a projectile being intercepted over the embassy early today. The Iraqi governments is the iconic Rashid Hotel and an oil field were attacked by suspected Iran back to Iraqi militants.

2:01airline 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 with al-Pay during the partial government shutdown from member station WABE, Marlon Hyde reports. American 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 have now missed their second paycheck. There has been an uptick in officers trying to find the way 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. This is NPR.

3:01Cuba has hit by an earthquake overnight, the US Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 5.8. The quake struck as millions of Cubans are without power, the third major blackout over the past few months. Cuban officials blamed the country's struggles on the Trump administration's energy blockade. Kenya says Russia has agreed to stop recruiting Kenya nationals to fight in the war with Ukraine. This comes after talks in Moscow between Kenya's foreign minister and his Russian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov, from Nairobi, Emmanuel Agunso reports. Kenya's foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, said the two counties had agreed that Kenyans would no longer be enlisted through Russia's Ministry of Defense. The move follows public protests by families who say many recruits were liod with promises of civilian jobs before being pushed into military service. Kenyans intelligence agencies told Parliament last month that more than 1,000 Kenyans had either voluntarily joined or were deceived into joining the Russian army and are believed

4:02to have been deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine. Russia maintains the enlistment to a voluntary and legal. Kenyans officials say consular assistance will be provided to citizens in Russia who need help. For MP and news, I'm Emmanuel Igunza in Nairobi, Kenya. Talks in New York City was doing the WNBA and its players union are ongoing. They entered a 7th consecutive day Monday afternoon, both sides reporting progress, but say there is still more work to be done to get a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement. The key sticking points are player housing and revenue sharing. I'm Giles Snyder, it'd be our news.