NPR News: 03-21-2026 10PM EDT

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.

The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran now entering its fourth week shows no signs of ending anytime

soon.

President Trump today threatened Iran on social media saying if it doesn't reopen the

state of Hormuz in 48 hours, the U.S. will quote, obliterate its power plants.

This as the U.S. and Israel continue to struggle with gaining safe passage for ships in the

strait.

NPR's Greg Mayr has more on where things stand.

Iran has lost most of its conventional military power, but it's still very well positioned

to carry out attacks from the rugged coastline with drones or with these fast boats in the

Gulf.

And particularly around the strait of Hormuz, which is just 21 miles wide.

The Gulf has really become a giant parking lot for ships.

There's some 3,000 oil tankers, gas tankers, cargo ships.

And the U.S. Navy only has around 20 ships in the region.

NPR's Greg Mayr, meanwhile Iran launched an unsuccessful missile attack on a joint

U.S.-U.K. base in the Indian Ocean today, some 2,500 miles away from Iran, though it's

not clear how close the missiles got to the base.

A powerful storm continues to move across Hawaii as the entire state remains under a flood

watch.

Hawaii Public Radio's Bill Dorman has more.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green calls it the worst flooding in 20 years to hit the state.

And estimates damage is already around a billion dollars and counting.

The storm system slammed Oahu Friday night and Saturday, swapping houses, cars, and power

lines and forcing the evacuation of more than 5,000 people.

Now the flash flooding and the evacuations are moving east across the island chain to

Maui.

The storm is out to more than 8,000 customers across the islands.

The vast majority of them on the most popular island of Oahu.

For NPR News, I'm Bill Dorman in Honolulu.

Stocks fell for the fourth straight week on Wall Street as the war in Iran pushed oil

prices higher and the Federal Reserve braced for more economic uncertainty.

NPR's Maria Aspen reports.

The surge in oil prices is hitting consumers at the gas pump, but that's just the first

wave of pain.

The energy crisis means companies will have to pay more for shipping and trucking, likely

driving up all kinds of prices.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said this week that the war is making the country's economic outlook

cloudier.

The Fed held interest rates steady as it tries to keep inflation under control.

But now some investors are starting to worry that the Fed might actually have to raise

the cost of borrowing later this year.

U.S. government bonds also sold off, and the price of gold plunged.

Gold is usually seen as a safe haven investment, but it just had its worst week in 15 years.

Maria Aspen and P.R. News, you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

There's a new research on a type of cockroach capable of what scientists call pair bonding.

As our Daniel reports, that's when a male and a female team up to defend their nest

and offspring.

The study was done on the wood feeding cockroach from the forests of Japan.

After a male and female burrow into rotting wood, they chew off each other's wings and

eat them.

And when it finished, it means they formed a pair.

Haruka Osaki is a behaviorally collegeist at the Museum of Nature and Human Activities

in Yogo.

Many and her colleagues wanted to know how exclusive these insects are.

In the lab, they found that two roaches that have eaten each other's wings tolerate only

one another, becoming highly aggressive towards any other outsider, suggesting they form

pair bonds and are capable of recognizing and remembering each other.

For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel.

The NCAA is suing draft kings for trademark infringement.

Seeking an emergency restraining order against the sport vetting company, to stop the use

of registered trademarks that are associated with its basketball tournaments, including

March Madness, Final Four, and Sweet Sixteen.

It wants to avoid any appearance of being part of gambling.

Draft King says its use is not a trademark violation but protected under the First Amendment.

The NCAA says it avoids any appearance of affiliation with gambling companies and has

declined sports book sponsorships banned any sports betting by athletes and staff.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

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