NPR News: 03-18-2026 4PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Nearly three weeks into the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, Israel has assassinated another member of Iran's leadership, its intelligence minister. Meanwhile, Iran's threatened retaliatory strikes on oil and gas facilities in the region. Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency is condemning an attack that appears to have struck near an Iranian nuclear power plant. NPR's Jeff Bromfield has more on that. The attack took place on Tuesday evening. IAEA Chief Rafael Mariano Grossi says a building on the side of Iran's Bouchir nuclear power plant was struck by what was likely a drone. The power plant's operating reactor was not damaged and there were no casualties. But nevertheless, he said an attack on an operating power plant was unacceptable. This is the reddest line of all that you have in nuclear safety. If the reactor were to be struck, he warned it could spark a major nuclear incident in the

1:00region. Jeff Bromfield, NPR News. Labor leaders are expressing shock over allegations published by the New York Times against one of their own civil rights and labor icon, Cesar Chavez. An investigation by the Times turned out multiple allegations that Chavez sexually assaulted, molested, and raped women and girls over many years. Here's NPR's Andrew Issue. In a statement, AFL-CIO President Liz Schuller and Secretary Treasurer Fred Redman called the allegations of abuse, horrific, and disturbing, something that no legacy can excuse. They say the AFL-CIO will always stand in solidarity with farm workers who have fought for and won critical rights, and that history, quote, cannot be erased by the horrific actions of one person. The AFL-CIO was among many labor groups that have long pushed to make a national day of recognition in his honor, a federal holiday. Now the organization says it will not participate in any activities related to Cesar Chavez Day, March 31, and many have already been canceled, Andrew Issue and P.R. News.

2:05One of the accusers is 96-year-old Dolores Huerta, the iconic labor leader who coined the Chancy Sip Weve, she revealed for the first time that she was sexually assaulted by Chavez. On Capitol Hill, President Trump's nominee for Homeland Security Secretary Senator Mark Wayne Mullin talked about the nation's disaster response, his NPR's Michael Copley. Mullin says FEMA wasn't designed to be a first responder after floods, tornadoes, and other disasters. Instead, he says the agency needs to focus on supporting state officials who are on the front lines. Allowing the state to have their emergency response, FEMA is simply helping write checks and ensuring that they have the capability and the manpower if need be. Mullin also said FEMA needs to move faster, reimbursing communities after disasters. He's seeking confirmation at the same time a presidential review council is writing a proposal to overhaul FEMA. That's NPR's Michael Copley reporting. At last, check on Wall Street, the Dow is down more than 600 points. It's NPR. Brent Crude, global benchmark for oil prices is now up to $109 a barrel in the US average

3:07gas prices rose again today. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in the near term, higher energy prices will push up overall inflation with the overall impact of the wars too soon to say. As for what the Fed decided on interest rates today, Powell says no change. The US economy has been expanding at a solid pace. While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months, and inflation remains somewhat elevated. And we now see that the Dow has fallen 768 points or more than 1.5%. The Federal Aviation Administration is tightening safety rules and congested airspace around major airports, NPR's Joel Rose reports the FAA announced today. It's suspending the use of visual separation between helicopters and planes. The FAA says air traffic controllers will now use radar to make sure that helicopters maintain a safe distance from arriving and departing planes in congested airspace. The announcement comes in the wake of last year's fatal mid-air collision near Washington, DC, between a U.S. Army helicopter and a regional jet that killed 67 people.

4:11The FAA also identified two recent close calls between helicopters and planes at airports in San Antonio and Burbank, California, that contributed to the change. After a year-long review, the agency concluded that visual separation, where pilots are instructed to see and avoid other aircraft, is, quote, not enough of a safety mitigation tool, unquote, in high traffic areas. Joel Rose and PR News, Washington. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.