WORLD Radio News - WORLD Radio News: 3-20-26 (1/3)

Episode Date: March 20, 2026

The latest headlines in three minutes from WORLD updated three times throughout the day.Sign-up for the daily Sift email at thesift.org.Support sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth at wng.org/donate.Additional support comes from WatersEdge. Competitive rates and supporting churches. 4.55% APY on a 13-month term investment. WatersEdge.com/invest

With World Radio News, I'm Kent Covington. President Trump on Thursday hosted a special guest at the White House, Japanese Prime Minister Snaé Takaiichi. One major topic of discussion was the war in Iran, and speaking through an interpreter, the Japanese Prime Minister agreed that Iran has been a serious threat. Japan condemns Iran's actions such as attacking the neighboring region and also the de facto or effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump pressed the prime. Minister to get Japan to commit to assist the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz, the president pointing out that 90% of Japan's oil flows through the strait. Look, I expect Japan to step up because, you know, we have that kind of relationship. And we step up with Japan. We have 45,000 soldiers in Japan. We have, we spend a lot of money on Japan. She told Trump that Japan has some constitutional limitations, but we'll do what it can to help. GOP Senator Mark Wayne Mullen is a step closer to becoming the next Homeland Security Secretary. The Senate Homeland Security Committee advanced his nomination on Thursday on an 8-7 vote.

The nomination will now go to a full vote on the Senate floor, possibly next week. Democratic Senator Gary Peters voted no, he argued. The Department and the American people deserve a leader who is steady and proven under pressure, not just someone better than the very low bar set by his predecessor. But GOP Senator James Langford says Mullen is exactly the kind of leader the department needs. If you want to sit down and talk about an issue, he's glad to be able to talk about it and to be able to work it out and has very good relationships in the House and in the Senate. And he is not afraid to ask questions when he doesn't know the answer. President Trump removed Christine Nome as DHS chief roughly two weeks ago.

The nomination vote comes as DHS is still operating under a funding lapse now more than a month old. The Office for Civil Rights at the Health and Human Services Department is opening investigations into 13 states for allegedly coercing health care entities to pay for abortions. World's Kristen Flavin has more. Federal investigators say laws that require insurance plans to cover abortion may violate the Weldon Amendment. That provision bars states from discriminating against health care providers that decline to cover, pay for, or refer for abortions. Investigators say the states have effectively coerced health care entities. into funding abortion coverage against their beliefs.

The Biden administration had asserted that the Weldon Amendment did not apply to employers or insurance sponsors, but the Trump administration reversed that. Each of those 13 states has 20 days to respond. For World, I'm Kristen Flavin. And I'm Kent Cuffington. For more sound journalism grounded in facts and biblical truth, visit worldradio. News. Additional support comes from Waters Edge, competitive rules.

rates and supporting churches. 4.55% APY on a 13-month-term investment. Watersedge.com slash invest.