NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-20-2026 1AM EDT

Episode Date: March 20, 2026

NPR News: 03-20-2026 1AM EDTTo manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News, I'm Gail Snyder. Israel has launched a new wave of attacks on Iran. The Israeli military says the strikes have been named at targets in the Iranian capital. And they come a day after President Trump said he told Israel not to repeat strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure. I did. I told him, don't do that. And he won't do that. We didn't discuss. You know, we do, we're independent, we get along great. It's coordinated. But on occasion, he'll do. something and if I don't like it. And so we're not doing that anymore.

Trump speaking there at the White House Thursday alongside the visiting Japanese prime minister. On social media, Trump said he was not informed in advance of Israel's attack on Iran's South Pars gas field and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel acted alone. Tip or tat strikes on energy facilities have led to sharply escalating prices.

Iran has hanged three men who took part in demonstrations against the government back in January. and Pierre's Emily Fang has more. The men hanged were Mahdi Ghasimi, Saleh Mohamedi, and Saeed Davudy. Mahabadi, 19 years old, had been a competitive wrestler representing Iran and international competitions. Iranian authorities accused men of waging war against God by participating in the protest this past winter, and they speedily convicted them and executed them in the southern Iranian city of Qom this week. A U.S.-based human rights watchdog says regime-aligned paramilitary

groups in Iran killed more than 6,000 civilians during those protests in January. A fourth man, Karush Kavani, was also hanged this week. Iran accused him of espionage last year, and they aired a confession from him this month that rights groups say was coerced from him. Emily Fang and PR News. Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen has moved a step closer to becoming President Trump's next Homeland Security Secretary following a contentious. confirmation hearing Wednesday, a Senate committee narrowly advanced his nomination Thursday on an 8 to 7 vote sending it to the full Senate. Mexican President Claudia Shanebaum has said that Mexico is trying to find ways to export fuel to Cuba again.

This comes as the country has been brought to the brink by a U.S.-led fuel blockade. Katie Silver is in Mexico City. Claudia Shanebaum says Mexico is sovereign to have a trade agreement with any country in the world and that it can provide humanitarian aid to Cubans, who are, quote, suffering so much. The longtime ally stopped selling fuel to Havana in February, amid fears it would provoke greater tariffs from Donald Trump. Earlier this week, the Caribbean Islands' electricity grid collapsed.

Shipping data suggests it has only received two small vessels of oil imports this year. Meanwhile, a fuel tanker carrying Russian gas is reportedly en route to Cuba, expected to arrive on Monday. For NPR news, I'm Katie Silver in Mexico City. This is NPR News. Sexual abuse allegations are prompting a reckoning over the legacy of Cesar Chavez. Communities are canceling Chavez Day events and reconsidering how he's remembered. The Texas newsrooms Lucio Vazquez spoke to historians who say this could be an opportunity to refocus on the broader farmworker movement.

For decades, Caesar Chavez has been revered as a central figure in the fight for farmworker rights. But new reporting that corroborates allegations, of sexual assault and child rape is reshaping how that legacy is viewed. Cynthia Orozco is a historian with the League of United Latin American Citizens. She says the moment calls for a shift in focus beyond Chavez himself. Let's celebrate the farm workers, the farm worker movement, and let's celebrate Dolores Huerta, and let's celebrate the women who are now speaking out. Orosco says movements are built by people, not just leaders, and that this is a

chance to recognize contributions that have often been overlooked. For MPR news, I'm Lucio Vasquez. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is escalating its investigation into Tesla vehicles, equipped with the automaker's self-driving feature. Nitzha said Thursday it's widening its investigation after several Tesla's crashed while using the self-driving software, saying in a memo that the vehicles failed to quickly alert drivers that they should take control. and poor conditions. It's a first to open to preliminary investigation in 2024. This latest move could lead to enforcement action in a possible recall 3.2 million Tesla vehicles. This is