Iran attacks energy targets; Cesar Chavez; FAA : NPR
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Today’s best stories
A wave of Iranian attacks hit the world’s largest liquefied natural gas complex in Qatar today. Iran also targeted a gas field and facility in the United Arab Emirates and fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia. The attacks come after Israel bombed Iran’s South Pars gas field yesterday. Energy prices immediately jumped, sending oil up to around $110 a barrel, about $40 higher than before the conflict began. President Trump said yesterday on social media that Israel acted independently when it struck Iran’s gas field.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, as he returns from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after attending a ceremonial handover event on March 18, 2026.
Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images
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Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim new stage in war is underway following the Israeli attack. Gulf Arab states warn that Israel’s actions are jeopardizing global energy security and escalating tensions. The Guard said if an attack like this happened again, it would hit regional energy infrastructure until it was “completely destroyed.” The Iranian attack on Qatar hampered the country’s ability to resume gas production after the end of the war. Countries like China and India rely on the gas, which is already disrupting fertilizer and plastic production, says NPR’s Aya Batrawy. First. The pain that Iranian counterattacks inflict on countries around the world could increase pressure to end the conflict, Batrawy says.
- ➡️ Cheap drones are revolutionizing modern warfare. This shift has been happening for several years, but it is now taking center stage in the skies of the Middle East as Trump’s war against Iran enters its third week. The rapid increase in drone use is catching the United States off guard. Eliminating these threats can be financially costly, allowing Iran to increase the costs of conflict for the United States.
Cesar Chavez, a famous union leader and agricultural workers’ rights advocate, has been accused of sexual abuse. two girls in the 1970s and attacked Dolores Huerta, his co-founder of United Farm Workers, in the 1960s. These revelations come from an investigation published by the New York Times. In the report, two women alleged that Chavez began manipulating and abusing them while he was president of the UFW. One woman said he raped her in a motel room when she was 15 and Chavez was 47. Another woman shared with the Times that she was only 13 when Chávez began groping her in his office at the union headquarters. Huerta accused Chávez of forcing her to have sex and then raping her. Both encounters led to pregnancies that she hid. After the children were born, she arranged for other families to raise them.
- 🎧 Progressive Democrats face challenge as they try to counterbalance Chavez’s legacy for Latinos and workers while acknowledging the allegations against him, says Michael Adkison of Houston Public Media. California Governor Gavin Newsom says the movement Chavez built is bigger than one man. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has banned state agencies from observing Cesar Chavez Day, which the state has observed since 1999. Several Texas cities have canceled events planned for the holiday. Some cities, like Tucson, Arizona, are moving forward with their planned events, but under a different name. Cities across the country are now weighing the fate of streets and buildings bearing Chavez’s name.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced yesterday that it is tightening safety rules in the busy airspace. around major airports. The agency will suspend the use of visual separation between helicopters and planes. Visual separation is a procedure by which air traffic controllers warn pilots of the presence of nearby aircraft and instruct them to avoid other aircraft by visual observation. The agency’s decision comes more than a year after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people. The FAA also identified two recent incidents that led to this policy change.
Deep dive
A Honda dealership seen on March 12, 2026 in San Marcos, Texas. According to Honda, about 60% of Honda vehicles sold in the United States last year were assembled in the United States, meaning they could qualify for a new tax provision allowing buyers to deduct interest paid on their auto loans.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Taxpayers who purchased a new vehicle in 2025 may be eligible for a new deduction this filing season. This comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which also eliminates taxes on tips and overtime for eligible workers, but eliminates the tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles. Here’s what you need to know:
- 🚘 The deduction only works on new vehicles purchased after December 31, 2024. If you bought a used car, you’re out of luck.
- 🚘To qualify, the final assembly process of the vehicle must have taken place in the United States. You can determine this using your vehicle identification number.
- 🚘 The vehicle must be intended for personal use and not for professional use.
- 🚘 Unlike most tax deductions, this one is available to taxpayers who take the standard deduction instead of itemizing. This benefit increases the number of people who can benefit, according to Mark Gallegos, tax associate at Porte Brown Wealth Management.
Listening of the day
Adam Gopnik, author and editor for The New Yorkerjoins pianist Lara Downes to explore the history of American music and its immigrant roots.
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This year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States. Pianist Lara Downes travels across the country capturing conversations about our history through music. Her final stop was New York, where she met Adam Gopnik, editor for The New Yorker who is passionate about American history and music. The two discuss and explore how immigrants shaped patriotic music. American music has presented “new perspectives and new sounds for everyone who comes here,” Downes says. Gopnik emphasizes that as long as the United States remains open to new voices, American music will continue to evolve. Hear how immigrants shaped American music or read more about their conversation.
3 things to know before you leave
2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion Jessie Holmes arrives at the finish line of the 1,000-mile race in Nome on the evening of Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
Gabby Hiest and Selgado/KYUK
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Gabby Hiest and Selgado/KYUK
- Jessie Holmes and her sled dog team successfully defended their Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race title this week, becoming the first musher to accomplish the feat in a decade. (via Alaska Public Media)
- A new study reveals that Salganea taiwanensisa cockroach that feeds on wood can associate, which is rarely observed in invertebrates. Bonding means that two organisms will spend a lot of time together, while excluding others.
- This week, NPR’s Far-Flung Postcard series takes readers to central Kenya, where a group of grandmothers formed a soccer team to stay active and inspire a generation of teenagers.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.
