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Warships Wanted, New Cholesterol Guidelines & 'One Battle' Wins Big - Monday, March 16, 2026
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Today is Monday, March 16th. What to know about the latest targets hit in the Middle east and President Trump's new messages for enemies and allies as more American troops head that way. Also, a massive storm system with widely different impacts depending on where you live will tell you which states are expected to see what today. Plus, who took top honors at last night's Academy Awards, how the White House is making billions of dollars from the TikTok deal and the brackets are set. What you need to know about this year's March Madness, those stories and more news coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the Days News in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. The war with Iran has now entered its third week and at this point, it's not clear exactly how or when it will end. Airstrikes have been hitting Iran throughout the weekend and have hit major Iranian targets like Kharg island, which was considered a big escalation. Escalation since the island is critical to the country's economy. About 90% of Iran's oil exports move through facilities there, though none of those facilities were actually hit over the weekend. President Trump says he held off on hitting oil infrastructure at Carg island for reasons of decency. But it's a decision he says he would reconsider if ships continue to be targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, which is considered the world's most important energy transfer route. President Trump is also calling on other countries to send warships to end what's essentially Iran's blockade of the strait. And he told the Financial Times if they don't agree, it will be, quote, very bad for the future of NATO. The Wall Street Journal says the Trump administration plans to announce as soon as this week that it's formed a coalition with other countries to escort ships through the strait, but it's not clear if that would begin before or after the war ends. Already, the Pentagon says the joint American Israeli strikes have hit more than 15,000 targets. And Iran and Iranian backed militias continue to retaliate with attacks across the broader region. For example, a helipad inside the US Embassy in Iraq's capital was hit by a missile. Iraq also reported a missile attack on Baghdad International Airport. Authorities in Dubai said an incident near its international airport damaged a fuel tank and caused a fire. And Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones near its capital, just to name a few of the reported attacks claimed by either Iran or Iranian backed militias. And Iran's foreign minister says his country will keep retaliating as long as it takes. President Trump still insists the war is going to be a short conflict, but he hasn't given an exact timeline. Trump dismissed reports the US Was facing a munitions shortage and the US Keeps building up its military presence in the Middle East. As CBS News and other outlets report, the Pentagon is planning to send up to 5,000 more American troops to the region, along with several more warships. They'll join more than 50,000American troops already in the region so far. At least 13American service members have been killed in this conflict. Iranian officials say more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in their country. Dozens more people have died across the Gulf and in Israel. And there's a humanitarian toll as the total number of people displaced from this conflict has reached into the millions. By the way, you can hear expert analysis on this war in our most recent Special Edition Saturday episode from over the weekend. And later in this episode, we'll be talking about the steps the White House has taken so far to try and address the rising price of oil. A massive storm system is bringing all kinds of severe weather risks to millions of Americans from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. We're talking about feet of snow and blizzard conditions for parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes. The forecast also includes strong winds capable of doing serious damage in the Plains and Rockies. And it's bringing thunderstorms that could spawn tornadoes to parts of the Deep south and Appalachians. At this point. The highest level warnings are in place from the Carolinas to the Maryland, Pennsylvania border. The largest school districts in Maryland and Virginia announced early dismissals today in hopes of keeping buses and student drivers off the roads during the most dangerous hours. School closures and delays have also been announced in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alabama and Florida. People who live on the northern side of the storm are actually already buried under big piles of snow, like in parts of Iowa, where a major interstate had to shut down in both directions over the weekend. And in Wisconsin and Michigan, where many roads were impassable yesterday. This could also end up being the most snow Rochester, Minnesota has ever seen from one storm. All while powerful winds are expected to create dangerous whiteouts and longer lasting blizzard conditions. Meanwhile, the western US Is still dealing with a heat wave. Record high temperatures are possible across Southern California, the desert Southwest and Great Basin. The heat wave is expected to continue through much of the week. By the way, much of Hawaii is also dealing with flooding and landslides and even more rain is forecast for today. The shutdown at the Homeland Security Department has now dragged on for more than a month. And on Friday, 50,000 TSA workers missed their first full paycheck. So now the top executives of major airlines like Delta, Southwest, United, American and others are demanding Congress make a deal. They warn the shutdown could disrupt air travel even more than it already has, since they're expecting a record breaking spring travel period and they're calling for long term legislation. So during future government shutdowns, all critical aviation personnel like air traffic controllers and airport security officers will still get paid for now, some airports have already closed some security checkpoints and extremely long lines and waits have been reported around the country. Other airports are working to raise money to help TSA workers buy food or other essentials as they go without pay. The last time Congress voted, Democrats once again blocked a measure to fund the Homeland Security Department and Republicans blocked a proposal to fund parts of the department like tsa, but not ice. Lawmakers say they're still negotiating. We have much more news for you still ahead, but first let's take a quick break because the newsworthy is brought to you by Blueland. 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Blueland has a special offer for listeners as well as right now. Get 15% off your first order by going to blueland.comnewsworthy. you won't want to miss this blueland.comnewsworthy for 15% off. That's blueland.comnewsworthy to get 15% off. Now back to the news. Well that's a wrap on Hollywood's biggest night AKA the Oscars. This year, one battle after another won Best Picture and Best Director along with four other Academy Awards. Sinners was also one of the night's big winners it took away the best original screenplay prize, while the movie's star, Michael B. Jordan, won best Actor and Jessie Buckley completed her awards season sweep by winning best actress for her role in Hamnet. Besides the actual awards, the ceremony included plenty of memorable moments, like moving tributes paid to Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Rob Reiner and other entertainers who died over the last year. There were also quite a few moments that got political if you missed the ceremony last night, you can stream the replay on Hulu or Disney. The Trump administration is upset by the way the news media are covering the war in Iran, so much so that the FCC is threatening to revoke licenses from local broadcasters. Chairman Brendan Carr warned them to correct course and to remedy what he called fake news. President Trump backed him up, calling news organizations, quote, corrupt and highly unpatriotic. But there was also backlash from press freedom advocates who say the administration only characterizes news as fake news, fake if it's unflattering, and that the press operating in a free democracy should never become a state mouthpiece. Either way, the president says he's already having an impact on the media that he sees as positive. He shared an infographic on Truth Social that lists prominent journalists and TV anchors who have lost or left their jobs since he came back into office, and he says that list will only get longer. The White House is about to get $10 billion from TikTok investors. That's according to the Wall Street Journal. As it reports, the Trump administration is collecting the fee for helping broker the deal that created a mostly American owned joint venture to avoid a U.S. ban. The investors already paid the Treasury Department $2.5 billion when the deal closed earlier this year, and they're reportedly planning to make several more payments until hitting the 10 billion mark. Vice President J.D. vance has said the new US company will be valued at around 14 billion, so the $10 billion fee dramatically undervalues the company, and historians say the size of the fee would be nearly unprecedented for a government helping arrange a transaction. But Trump administration officials say it's justified, given the president's role in saving TikTok in the US navigating negotiations with China to get the deal done, and addressing American lawmakers security concerns. The White House has also taken large fees from intel, has agreed to take a chunk of Nvidia's chip sales to China, and so on. People at risk of heart disease should aim to make their cholesterol even lower than they've been told and should start younger. That's the new recommendation from 11 different medical organizations including the American Heart Association. The goal is to prevent heart disease, which is now responsible for about one in three deaths in the U.S. and doctors behind the new guidelines say at least 80% of cases are preventable. Specifically, the group recommends testing for levels of bad cholesterol around age 10, then starting to test regularly around ages 18 to 20 and every five years after that for healthy people without risk factors. Once high levels of bad cholesterol are actually found, even more testing is recommended. That bad cholesterol we're talking about is officially called LDL cholesterol. The guideline says everyone should strive for an LDL level below 100. Those who are higher risk should get their LDL below 70 and those who've already had a heart attack or stroke should get their LDL below 55. That's a big change considering the average LDL level in the US is 110 and 25% of the population has a level above 130. So how can you lower those levels? Well, the first approach is typically diet and exercise, but there are also medications like statins the guidelines recommend before the damage from heart disease is already done it's officially March Madness season. It was selection Sunday yesterday when we found out Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida will be going into the NCAA Men's basketball tournament as number one seeds. At this point, there isn't one clear cut team that everyone agrees is the runaway favorite. Duke is the overall number one seed, but many sportsbooks show Michigan as having the best title odds and Florida has some momentum after winning last year's tournament. Of course, it's March Madness, which is known for its upsets, so anything could happen. The first games in the round of 64 begin Thursday, so make sure to get your brackets filled out before then. On the women's side, the top seeds are UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas. And for the women, the odds are much clearer. UConn is widely regarded as the heavy favorite and the Huskies are entering the tournament undefeated. The women's tournament starts on Wednesday. ESPN is the exclusive broadcaster, while the men's tournament, as always, will be on CBS and its partner stations like TBS, TNT and TruTV. That's it for the Maine News. So now it's time for Money Monday when we talk about one interesting money related news story. But first, a message from 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 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 home chef.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. OK, now back to Money Monday US oil prices have again topped $100 a barrel, but the Trump administration has taken several steps to address the price hike stemming from the Middle east conflict. As I told you last week, the US will be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And then on Friday, the president invoked his emergency powers to restart oil production off the coast of Southern California. Specifically, Trump signed an executive order to preempt local laws and force an oil company to restart offshore operations that were damaged by a 2015 oil spill. The goal is to replace nearly one and a half million barrels of foreign crude each month. And Energy Secretary Chris Wright says that's especially important so west coast military installations have the reliable energy they need. Granted, it's still a tiny fraction of the estimated 20 million barrels a day now impacted by the Strait of Hormuz closure. And California Governor Gavin Newsom says it will do nothing to lower oil prices. Newsom condemned the move, calling it a political stunt that risked the state's coastal communities, environment and economy. So now California's state government plans to take the federal government back to court. Thank you so much for joining us today and for supporting our show. We'll be back with even more news tomorrow. For now, have a great day.