Thursday morning news: March 19, 2026

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Israel latest » In Israel…

SOUND: [Picking through rubble]

...crews picked through the rubble after two elderly Israelis were killed when an Iranian missile hit an apartment in the city of Ramat Gan. 

And in central Israel…

SOUND: [Paramedics]

...paramedics responded to another scene, where officials say a man died after another Iranian missile hit a building.

Iran has increasingly turned to firing cluster bomb warheads at Israel, which are designed to indiscriminately kill and injure civilians.

Israel, meanwhile, continues to target Iran’s leadership.

KATZ: [Speaking Hebrew]

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that an Israeli airstrike had killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib. 

Israel also attacked an Iranian offshore natural gas field. And Iran escalated its strikes on its Persian Gulf neighbors energy facilities, hitting gas facilities in Qatar. 

Iran latest » Meantime, the White House says the U.S. onslaught against Iran’s military continues. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

LEAVITT:  We've now actually struck more than 7,800 targets. More than 120 Iranian naval ships are at the bottom of the ocean, have been sunk...

She also echoed President Trump’s remarks in saying that the entire world benefits from the elimination of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear threat, and therefore, other countries should step up to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz.

LEAVITT:  He continues to speak with our allies in Europe, and, and is calling on them to do more … just as he did when he called on them to step up with respect to their defense spending in NATO, he's calling them to do more here, and I think you'll see that come to fruition.

The president has called out NATO allies in particular for refusing to help guard oil tankers against Iranian attacks.

Top intel officials testify » Intelligence community officials in the Trump administration answered pointed questions about threats to the U.S. on Wednesday. 

WORLD’s Harrison Watters reports from Washington. 

HARRISON WATTERS: America is safer thanks to strict border control and cracking down on drug trafficking, according to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. 

But she told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that threats from Islamist groups and nuclear powers like Russia and China are on the rise:

GABBARD: The IC assesses that threats to the homeland will expand collectively to more than 16,000 missiles by 2035.

WATTERS: Other threats include drug cartels and cyber attacks.

Lawmakers also probed Gabbard on her assessment of the imminent risk posed by Iran after the intelligence community last year said Iran’s nuclear program was obliterated.

GABBARD: It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and what is not an imminent threat. That is up to the president—

JOHN OSSOFF: It is precisely your responsibility.

WATTERS: President Trump has said Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States. Gabbard avoided specifics on what the CIA and other intelligence agencies told the President before he authorized airstrikes on Iran.

Gabbard and the heads of the CIA and FBI will report to members of the House Intelligence Committee later this morning.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters in Washington.

Fed holds interest rates steady » The Federal Reserve is once again holding interest rates steady. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced that on Wednesday.

He said the central bank is in no hurry to cut rates, with inflation still hovering above the Fed's 2% target.

The Fed reduced its short-term rate three times last year to around 3.6%, before pausing in January and again on Wednesday.

Powell said a major factor in this week's decision is the war in Iran. The chairman said its impacts on the U.S. economy are uncertain.

POWELL: The U.S. economy is, is doing, you know, pretty well. It's just we don't know what the effects of this will be and really no one does.

Powell also said that he has no intention of leaving the Federal Reserve before a Justice Department investigation into his congressional testimony is resolved.

Trump eases Venezuela oil sanctions » Washington is taking steps to boost global oil supplies during the war with Iran. The Treasury Department says it is easing sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company, letting U.S. buyers purchase Venezuelan oil on world markets.

Separately, President Trump is waiving for 60 days, rules that require goods moving between U.S. ports to be carried on American-flagged vessels. Both aim to ease pressure on oil prices.

The president said he’s confident that elevated gas prices will come down quickly once the war in Iran ends.

U.S.-Indonesia trade deal » And Washington is moving to loosen China's grip on a key ally's vast mineral resources, striking a new trade deal with Indonesia. 

WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher reports.

BENJAMIN EICHER: The United States and Indonesia have sealed a new agreement, giving American investors access to Indonesia's critical mineral sector. That includes nickel deposits that power electric vehicle batteries.

Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer, and its mining sector is currently dominated by Chinese companies. Under the deal, Indonesia has also agreed to purchase 15-billion dollars in American energy over time, mainly oil, natural gas, and coal.

In turn, the U.S. trimmed a threatened 32% tariff to 19%, and granted broader access to the American market.

Indonesia's parliament still needs to ratify the agreement before it can take effect.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

And I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Senator Markwayne Mullin lays out his plans for the Department of Homeland Security. Plus, the environmental problems left behind by chemical abortion pills.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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