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Trump Pressures Cuba, Vaccine Policies Blocked & St. Patrick's Day - Tuesday, March 17, 2026
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Today is Tuesday, March 17th. We'll tell you about a potential rift between the US and many American allies as the war in the Middle east continues to widen. Also, President Trump's latest threats against Cuba and the biggest races to watch in today's primaries. Plus, a federal court weighed in on RFK Jr. S vaccine policies. This week's weather has broken records in multiple parts of the US And a reminder that you might want to wear green today. Those stories and more news to know coming up. Welcome to the newsworthy news. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. The war in the Middle east is now causing a divide between the US and many American allies. President Trump has been asking other countries for help, and so far, they're mostly resisting. Specifically, Trump wants them to send warships to help escort merchant ships and oil tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Some countries have already said no, like Germany, Japan, Italy, and Australia. Some are pushing for diplomacy instead of combat. Others say their laws don't allow for involvement without their lawmakers approving it. And then there are those who won't get involved in a conflict that doesn't have a clear international backing. There are also certain countries who have so far been non committal, like France, South Korea, and Britain. Well, now President Trump says the US doesn't need anybody anyway and that he only asked for help to prove that American allies were never going to support the US the way the US has supported them. In the meantime, the strait is effectively closed. At least 17 vessels have been attacked in the Persian Gulf since the war started three weeks ago as part of Iran's retaliation campaign. The Iranian government keeps launching attacks at neighboring countries as well. At the same time, Iran is still contending with intense Israeli and American airstrikes, including some that have targeted an electricity distribution center. The war has so far killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. Speaking of which, Israel has launched a wider ground operation in Lebanon meant to target the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group. And there are fears an even broader invasion might be coming. More than a million people in Lebanon have now fled their homes since the fighting began. It's not clear how long the fighting will continue or how it will end, but the White House still says it's likely this war will wrap up in a matter of weeks. To be continued. President Trump is stepping up his threats toward Cuba, saying he's expecting to have the honor of taking the country in some form, it comes as Cuba is being crippled by the oil blockade the US Imposed earlier this year. Remember, President Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and promised to impose tariffs on any country that sold their oil to Cuba. So no oil has been delivered in months, putting a lot of pressure on the Caribbean island. Its national electric grid collapsed again yesterday, leaving the entire country of 10 million people without power. It's not clear if it was for sure tied to the oil supply shortfall or systemic failures in the grid. But Cuba heavily relies on oil for electricity. Cuban schools have had to reduce hours, airlines have canceled flights, many government run hospitals have cut services, and the lack of fuel and working dump trucks have has caused trash to pile up across entire neighborhoods over the weekend. The energy crisis even sparked a rare violent protest in the communist run country. Last week, Cuba said it entered into talks with the US in hopes of defusing the crisis. And the New York Times reports the US Is demanding Cuba's president be removed. More than a dozen US Presidents dating back decades have opposed Cuba's communist government and have criticized its human rights record. But the US has honored its pledge not to invade Cuba or support an invasion as as part of an agreement with the Soviet Union that resolved the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. When Trump was asked what a hypothetical military operation against Cuba might look like, he didn't get into specifics, but said, quote, I can do anything I want with it. Stay tuned. The midterm election cycle continues today with primaries in Illinois. Illinois actually has the most congressional vacancies for a general election in nearly 80 years, since several politicians have decided not to seek reelection. And since Illinois is a solid blue state, many of the winners today will be overwhelming favorites to win in November. The biggest contest to watch is the Democratic primary for U.S. senate. There are three candidates vying for the chance to take the seat that's been held by Senator Dick Durbin for the past 30 years now that he's decided to retire. Other contests are focused on the idea of whether the Democratic Party needs to be more moderate to appeal to a broader swath of voters, or if it will start moving further left, the way New York City did when it elected Mayor Zoran Mamdani. After today, there will be a little break in the election schedule. Up next comes Indiana on May 5th. The White House chief of staff is now working while also fighting breast cancer. President Trump announced Susie Wiles diagnosis yesterday. He says her cancer is in the early stages and that she will begin treatment immediately, but she will continue working virtually full time in the White House, and that's seen as essential. Wiles, who is the first woman to serve in this role, is helping shape the Trump administration's political strategy ahead of this year's midterms. She also put out her own statement, saying she's thankful for the support and encouragement from President Trump and says she's encouraged by a strong prognosis. As expected, wild spring weather is breaking records around the country. For starters, there's the snowstorm in the upper Midwest. Several daily snowfall records fell across Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota this week. More than 20 inches were measured and that snow is not expected to go anywhere anytime soon since more frigid temperatures are in the forecast slightly south in the areas just above freezing. Daily rainfall records were broken in places like Chicago, but temps are dropping there today and now it is below freezing for millions of Americans from Montana to Florida. On the other side of the country, parts of California and Arizona are getting record breaking heat and daily heat records could keep falling all week long. On the east coast yesterday, the severe weather threat did not end up becoming a major outbreak as once feared, but there were still several reports of wind damage. Fierce winds elsewhere have also increased the fire threat, like in Nebraska now dealing with the largest wildfire that state has ever recorded. Many of these weather concerns have caused trouble for travelers, especially for those trying to get on flights. Nearly 6,000 flights were canceled yesterday, including at some of the nation's largest airports in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Of course, this comes as a partial government shutdown is impacting airport security screeners and as airports are especially busy with people traveling for spring break or March Madness. As of early this morning, 1,200 more flights have already been canceled for today. More news ahead in just a moment, but first, thanks to our sponsor, Home Chef. It's been so great getting Home Chef because I don't have to think about what's for dinner and scramble at the last minute to figure it out. And at the same time, we're getting some great unique meals that I otherwise would never be able to make. Yet with Home Chef, I feel confident in the kitchen. Home Chef makes cooking simple, fresh food delivered, easy recipes to follow and meals that actually taste great on the menu. Lately have been meals like easy chicken gyros with tzatziki and lemon garlic naan and pecan crusted salmon with bacon mashed potatoes. I love knowing I'm feeding my family with exciting, delicious and nutritious meals and yet it's still still convenient and fun for me and people really love it Home Chef is rated number one by users of other meal kits for quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe ease. And for a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off and free shipping for your first box, plus free dessert for life. So go to homechef.com newsworthy that's homechef.com newsworthy for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life. Homechef.com newsworthy must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Now back to the news. The Kennedy center is moving ahead with President Trump's plan to shut down for a two year renovation project. So the institution that's been presenting music, theater and dance for more than five decades will soon effectively become a construction site. President Trump assembled his handpicked board members at the White House, where he urged them to approve his plan. And then, after yesterday's meeting, the vote was unanimous. Now President Trump says the center will install new theater seating and new marble. Plus there will be work done on its plumbing, electrical and technical stage systems, among other things. Congress already allocated $257 million for the center, which will now go toward renovations. The center will close after a July 4th celebration, and in roughly two years when renovations are complete, there will be a grand reopening. Federal health officials faced a big legal setback this week when a judge blocked them from overhauling America's vaccine policies. Specifically, a federal judge said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Violated procedures when he revamped a key vaccine advisory committee. And with that, the ruling blocked the committee's decisions, at least for now. Remember, Kennedy wanted to end broad recommendations for all kids to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and rsv. But the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups sued, saying the change left many Americans confused, especially since doctors, groups, public health organizations and more than half of all states said the updates were not based on good evidence and kept supporting the previous guidance. Now, the judge has sided with the medical organizations that sued, but his order is not the final word. Meanwhile, the vaccine committee was supposed to meet this week to talk about COVID 19 vaccine safety and more, but now that gathering has been postponed. Bank of America has agreed to settle a lawsuit over its ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some of Epstein's survivors had accused the bank of facilitating his sex trafficking operation, saying it knowingly gave Epstein financial support while ignoring suspicious transactions. The exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but this is the third one like it. JPMorgan Chase already agreed to pay out $290 million, and Deutsche bank paid $75 million. Bank of America has not commented on the latest deal, but in earlier statements it denied any wrongdoing, saying it only provided ordinary banking services and cannot be held liable. A judge is set to decide next month whether to approve the settlement. 11 major technology and retail companies are joining forces to fight fraud. Companies like Google, Amazon, OpenAI, Target and Tinder signed a new pledge promising to share intelligence about how scammers are abusing their services and and work together to stop them. It comes as AI and online forums have been helping scammers inflict more damage. They've been able to create more believable online Personas and messages to entice victims, and unfortunately, losses to scams have skyrocketed. The new agreement is voluntary and there's no punishment if the companies don't follow through. But companies have already been announcing some new safety features and they're lobbying for stronger regulations and law enforcement crackdowns. Today's the day to Wear green and celebrate all things Irish St Patrick's Day is here again. From today's parade in New York City to the Chicago river turning green to festivals, parties and marches, there's no shortage of celebrations. Many restaurants have discounts, freebies or special menu items like green beer and shamrock shakes. St. Patrick's Day started off as a Christian holiday in Ireland celebrating the life of St. Patrick who helped spread the religion. And it still is a national holiday in Ireland with plenty of cultural festivities. But these days it's even bigger and more festive here in the us. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Trivia Tuesday when we ask a different trivia question every week. But first, this episode is brought to you by blueland. I've tried to be mindful of my plastic use for a while, but now I'm thinking more about how it's not just the stuff we throw away, but also those tiny particles we don't even see and how they're even in our clean cleaning products. 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Okay, now back to Trivia Tuesday and today's trivia question is which parts of the body feel the most pain? Listen again next Tuesday for the answer and explanation. As for last week's trivia question, who was the only US President born on the West Coast? The answer is Richard Nixon. Many people guess Ronald Reagan since he served as governor of California before being elected president, but he was actually born in Illinois, whereas Nixon was born in California. The vast majority of presidents are from the east coast, though, including current President Trump, who was born in New York. Virginia has produced the most presidents with eight, including four of the first five. But Ohio is close and can claim seven presidents so far. Barack Obama is the only president who's been born outside the continental U.S. since he was born in Hawaii, 29 other states have not been the birthplace of any U.S. president. Thank you so much for joining us to get caught up on the news today and every day, even when technology doesn't always make it easy. Many of you have reached out to us in the last week or so telling us you were not receiving new episodes on the Apple Podcasts app, so I want to let you know that it was unfortunately out of our control, but thankfully Apple says they have now fixed the issue, so you should now be able to listen on your preferred podcast app, whatever that might be. Thank you so much for sticking with us through this, and keep in mind you can always find our episodes on our website thenewsworthy.com no matter how you listen, we are so grateful that we are part of your daily routine. And of course we'll be back tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.