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Hi, from London, I'm Ethan Plotkin. It's Monday, March 23rd. Today, Trump postpones military
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strikes on Iranian power plants, saying the US and Iran have held good and productive
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conversations. LaGuardia is closed after a pilot and co-pilot were killed in a collision
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on the runway. And France's far-right misses key cities in local elections, reshaping
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the 2027 presidential race. This is Reuters World News bringing you everything you need
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to know from the frontlines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.
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First to some breaking news. US President Donald Trump says he will hold off on strikes
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against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. In a post on Truth
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Social, he says Washington and Tecron have held productive talks over the weekend. Trump
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says those talks could result in a, quote, complete and total resolution of our hostilities
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in the Middle East. World markets have rallied on the announcement with oil falling and
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stocks surging at the time of recording. Iran's far-res news agency, though citing a source,
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has said there are no direct or indirect communications with the United States, disputing
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Trump's statement. Far-res says Trump backed down on targeting Iranian power plants after
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Iran made its reciprocal threats. Iran's Tasnim news agency says that the straight-of-hormues
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will not return to pre-war conditions and energy markets will remain unsettled. This
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is a developing story, though, so please head to rotors.com and the rotors app for the
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Two people have died at New York's LaGuardia airport after an air-canada plane collided
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with a ground vehicle on landing, that's according to authorities and US media. The pilot
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and co-pilot were killed when the regional jet coming from Montreal hit a fire truck
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at about 24 miles per hour. Footage from the scene shows heavy damage to the nose of the
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plane. All planes at the airport are grounded and LaGuardia is closed. The FAA says it could
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remain shut until early afternoon. You can follow any updates on this story at rotors.com
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At airports around the country, TSA agents are missing work in record numbers. The partial
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government shutdown that began more than a month ago has left them working without pay,
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and in major hubs like Atlanta, Houston, and New York, more than a third of security
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staff called off work this weekend. Starting today, hundreds of immigration and customs
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enforcement agents are being sent to airports to fill in for them and support airport security
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operations according to government officials. ICE agents will help the TSA with crowd control
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in domestic terminals, according to airport officials who say the officers will not be
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conducting immigration enforcement. But in a social media post, President Donald Trump
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said ICE would also, quote, arrest all illegal immigrants who have come into our country.
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Another step forward for US President Donald Trump's Homeland Security nominee, Oklahoma
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Senator Mark Wayne Mullin, he'll head towards final confirmation after the Senate voted
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to limit debate on his appointment. That vote could happen as soon as today.
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A new arrival at the White House, a statue of Christopher Columbus, which has been installed
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on the grounds. It's the Trump administration's latest effort to reshape how US history is told.
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The president is taking aim at what he calls anti-American ideas. That's led some exhibitions
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on slavery to be taken down and statues honoring Confederate leaders to go back up. Civil
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rights advocates say those moves could undo decades of social progress. As for Columbus,
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critics say he was responsible for enslaving and harming indigenous people in the Americas.
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Several cities have removed depictions of Columbus in recent years.
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America leads the world in medicine development. It matters. We get new medicines first,
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nearly three years faster. Five million Americans go to work because we make medicines
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here at home. And not relying on other countries keeps us safe. But China is racing to overtake
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us. Will we let them? Or will we choose to stay ahead? When America leads, America cures.
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Let's tell Washington to keep us in the lead. Learn how at AmericaCures.com.
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Fire crews arrive at a taped-off street in North London where four ambulances were set on fire
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overnight. Police are treating the arson attack as an anti-Semitic hate crime. The ambulances
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belong to a Jewish community organization that responds to medical emergencies. Attacks against
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Jews and Jewish targets have risen since the October 2023 Hamas attacks that triggered the war in Gaza.
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In France, the far-right national rally or RN has failed to win key cities in local elections
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over the weekend, while mainstream parties on the left and center hold on to major cities
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like Paris and Marseille, stalling the momentum of the far-right. The municipal elections are
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seen as a bell-weather ahead of next year's presidential election. When President Emmanuel Macron
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will leave office, Michelle Rose is in Paris for us. This is a disappointing night for the national rally.
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They wanted to win big cities like Marseille, Toulon, and in the end, although they made gains
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in some very small towns, they seem to have hit a glass ceiling in major urban centers,
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and this is something that is going to be a worry for their quest to power. It doesn't mean that
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they are no longer the frontrunner, but it means that their march to power is not unstoppable.
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And Michelle says that the results give hope to unbattled mainstream parties who had been
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struggling in the polls. Clear that mainstream parties have showed that they can still win
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if they're organized and they've got the best candidates. Edward Philippe, who's the main
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centrist candidate and the one that could best take on the RN according to opinion polls,
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had a very good night. He was reelected in Loirev, and that means he may be able to unite other
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centrist candidates behind him that gives him momentum going into 2027.
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To Cuba now where power has been restored to nearly half of Havana,
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less than 24 hours after the national grid collapsed. It was the second collapse in a week amid
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a punishing US oil blockade. Power had been knocked out to the countries approximately 10 million
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people. The years between 2015 and 2025 have been the hottest since records began. That's according
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to the latest data from the UN's weather agency. The world meteorological organization report says
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it was the hottest 11 years since records began in 1850. The organization says the planet is gaining
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much more heat energy than it can release driven by emissions of warming gases, such as carbon
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dioxide. For more on the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget
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to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for
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the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.
