NPR News: 03-18-2026 3PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The nation's top intelligence official, Tulsi Gabbard, says Iran's government still appears to be functioning, though it's been greatly weakened by the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign. On Capitol Hill today, Senate Democrats press Gabbard and other top national security officials on the state of the war. Here's NPR's Greg Meiery. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, described Iran's government this way, after nearly three weeks of airstrikes. The regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities. The testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee came a day after the head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned to protest the Iran War. Joe Kent said he quit because Iran didn't pose an imminent threat to the U.S. At the Senate hearing, CIA director John Ratcliffe said he disagreed. He said, quote, I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended

1:02period of time. Greg Meiery, NPR News, Washington. Iranians have been fleeing the conflict crossing into the Kurdistan region of Iraq and P.R.'s Arzu Rizwan has been speaking to people crossing into Iraq. I spoke with one woman in her 60s coming from a border city in Iran. She asked not to be named for fear of government reprisal, even though she was no longer in Iran. And when I asked her about the war, she was really, really vague. She spoke only about the core economy. And then she asked me to turn off my mic. She burst into tears and told me that she wished the airstripes on her city had killed her. NPR's Arzu Rizwan reporting, Iran launched missiles at Israel overnight. A local medical official says two people near Tel Aviv died from shrapnel injuries, a police sustained from a missile that was intercepted before it landed, at least 14 people have died in Israel since the start of the war. A divided Federal Reserve voted today to keep interest rates steady.

2:05NPR Scott Horsley reports the central bank is trying to keep a lid on both inflation and unemployment. Fed policy makers voted 11 to 1 to leave their benchmark interest rate unchanged. On average, members of the Fed's rates heading committee expect to cut rates just once this year. The labor market has shown signs of weakness in recent months, employers cut 92,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate inched up to 4.4%. At the same time, inflation has remained sticky, and the U.S. war with Iran could make that worse, triggering a sharp jump in prices for both gasoline and diesel fuel. A new report from the labor department shows even before the war began, wholesale prices were rising at the fastest pace in a year. Fed policy makers are now projecting somewhat higher inflation than they were three months ago. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. At last, check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 651 points or 1.3%, its NPR. The Trump administration has issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act in an attempt to lower

3:06gasoline prices that have surged since the U.S. Israel war against Iran began. The Jones Act is a century-old maritime law requiring the good's ship between U.S. ports be transported on U.S. built-and-flagged vessels. Temporarily waving this act opens up domestic shipping routes to foreign-flagged vessels, possibly reducing shipping costs and speeding up deliveries. Meanwhile, taking another look at Brent Crude prices, we see its up to $107 a barrel. The WNBA and the players' union have reached a collective bargaining agreement. Bruce Convyes reports the deal comes as the league's popularity is growing. The WNBA union leadership calls the deal transformational. Salaries will increase exponentially with the league's stars expected to pull in more than a million dollars, while the average looks set to exceed 500,000. The agreement includes revenue sharing which Commissioner Kathy Engelberg called a win-win. The league has seen an explosion in popularity in recent years as attendance and viewership

4:10has soared. New expansion teams are expected to join the league before it kicks off its 30th season in early May. The collective bargaining agreement still needs to be ratified by the union and the league. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Convyes here. Outside the International Space Station today, NASA astronauts conducted their space walk. The event was previously scheduled in early January, but those plans had to be canceled when a member of SpaceX crew 11 mission experienced a medical issue. It's NPR. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.