NPR News: 03-21-2026 9AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skivone. Iran's media is reporting that the U.S. and Israel have begun striking its Natanz nuclear enrichment facility in the central part of that country, at the same time thousands of U.S. Marines are being deployed to the region. The U.K. has accused Iran of recklessly lashing out after to emerge that two ballistic missiles were fired at an important base used by British and American forces in the Indian Ocean. The missiles failed to reach Diego Garcia. The island is nearly 4,000 kilometers from Iran. John McDonald is a member of Parliament for the British Labour Party he spoke to the BBC. The problem with these wars is that it is those small steps that eventually get you on to an escalator into a serious conflict and that's what I'm worried about. For me, what's happening is that decisions are being taken by Trump and Netanyahu, which we're not part of and as a result of that, they then expect us almost automatically to

1:05back them up. Meanwhile, the spring equinox, the first day of spring, has arrived in Iraq, Iran and other countries. This is an important cultural celebration. NPR's Jaina Raff was in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in the ancient town of Akre, where the annual fireworks dancing and fire marked Kurdish resilience and renewal. It's pouring rain here, but there are hundreds and hundreds of people carrying lit torches and making their way up the mountain. This celebration marks the first day of spring, but it also references mythology in which China tyrant was defeated and the flames are a symbol of victory of light over darkness. It's a tradition that's much, much older than the countries in which it's celebrated. And more than anything, as war rages around the region, it's a symbol of the endurance here of Kurdish identity. Jaina Raff and NPR News, Akre, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

2:09The Republican elections bill now being considered by Congress doesn't appear likely to pass, but as NPR's Miles Park reports, Republican controlled states are passing their own bills. Republican lawmakers have worried about non-citizen voting for years, but the issue is taken on new urgency with President Trump's claims ahead of the 2024 election that non-citizens would vote in mass to influence that race. There's no evidence that happened or has ever happened in American elections for that matter, but states are still passing new restrictions to protect against the possibility. Models with new voting requirements have now passed or are about to pass in Florida, South Dakota, and Utah. And similar laws passed in recent years in Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks election policy. Miles Parks, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR News. A federal judge in Oregon ruled against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week in a case about gender-affirming care for youth.

3:11As NPR Selina Simmons-Duffin reports at issue, is a declaration that Kennedy signed in December. The declaration stated that treatments for transgender youth, like hormones, puberty blockers, and rarely surgery, are unsafe and ineffective and fail to meet, quote, standards of healthcare. That contradicts the position of major medical groups. A group of Democratic state attorneys general sued, arguing that Kennedy can't unilaterally change medical standards. On Thursday, a federal judge in Oregon ruled against Kennedy. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to NPR's query. Kennedy also proposed that all Medicare and Medicaid funding could be withheld from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to youth. Many hospitals have already shuttered their programs. Selina Simmons-Duffin and P.R. News. Vacuation warnings are up across the Hawaiian Islands as a second powerful storm dumps heavy rain, north of Honolulu rising waters behind the 120-year-old Wahiwa Dam are raising

4:11alarms that the dam might fail Hawaii's governor or just residents to seek safety. After nearly a century of operations, CBS News is shutting down its radio division. Dozens of people will be part of the company's overall layoffs decision starting in May. In 1927, CBS Radio News was the precursor of the entire CBS News operation as it currently exists. I'm Louise Skivone and P.R. News, Washington.