U.S. seeks NATO help with Strait of Hormuz. And, SCOTUS blocks vaccine changes

## Summary
LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio YouTube Music RSS link U.S. seeks NATO help with Strait of Hormuz. And, SCOTUS blocks vaccine changes March 17, 2026 7:33 AM ET By Brittney Melton Israel's Incursion Into Lebanon, NATO and Strait Of Hormuz, Cuba's Blackout and Trump Listen · 12:35 12:35 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-114032/nx-s1-mx-5750270-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Good morning. Meanwhile, some of the U.S.' European allies have refused to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passage blocked by Iran amid the conflict. Mass evacuations are a tactic Israel has used in Gaza, where many Palestinians were barred from returning home. 🎧 President Trump has said that NATO allies should help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

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U.S. seeks NATO help with Strait of Hormuz. And, SCOTUS blocks vaccine changes
March 17, 2026
7:33 AM ET
By
Brittney Melton
Israel's Incursion Into Lebanon, NATO and Strait Of Hormuz, Cuba's Blackout and Trump
Listen
·
12:35
12:35
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A second front in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran is heating up in Lebanon
, where Israel has intensified ground attacks on the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Israel's defense minister says the military has
killed two top Iranian commanders
in a targeted strike. Iran did not immediately confirm the killings. Meanwhile, some of the U.S.' European allies have
refused to send warships
to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passage blocked by Iran amid the conflict. NATO countries are set to convene in Brussels today to discuss the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Altaf Qadri/AP
🎧
The Lebanese government reports that 1 million people have now been displaced.
Over the weekend, NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi visited a couple of Lebanese towns in Bekaa Valley, where evacuation orders have left streets empty and businesses shuttered. Al-Shalchi says many buildings, including homes and schools, lie in ruins from Israeli airstrikes. Residents who remain in the area are hesitant to leave, fearing they
may never be able to return
. Mass evacuations are a tactic Israel has used in Gaza, where many Palestinians were barred from returning home.
🎧
President Trump has said that NATO allies should help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
But European countries firmly believe this isn't their war, reporter Teri Schultz tells
Up First
. The president didn't consult them before taking action, and then demanded to use European military bases in the Middle East. European allies are currently focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who they see as their enemy, and on Ukraine as a territory to protect. Schultz says it remains to be seen if Trump will
intensify pressure to shift
European leaders' priorities.
Another catastrophic collapse of Cuba's electricity grid yesterday left nearly 11 million people without power.
This outage is not the first across the entire island, but it is the largest since the U.S. began blocking oil to Cuba in January. The interruption of service comes as Trump vowed yesterday that he would have the "honor of taking Cuba."
🎧
Cuba's power grid has been failing for decades
, and the government hasn't been able to keep up with the maintenance, NPR's Eyder Peralta says. The country relies on imported oil for its thermal power plants, and it hasn't received any for months. Small demonstrations broke out after the blackouts. The Cuban government responded by opening parts of the economy and betting on solar energy. But Peralta says it's unclear how quickly that can ease residents' pain. President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed last week that negotiations with the U.S. are underway. Over the weekend, Cuba announced it would release 51 prisoners arrested during protests in 2021 and allow Cubans living abroad to invest in and own businesses in Cuba. Peralta says it's
unclear if these concessions will satisfy
Washington.
The Supreme Court yesterday temporarily halted the Trump administration's plan to deport
some 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians who had received Temporary Protected Status from Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Trump himself in his first term. The court has also
expedited arguments for these cases
to April, with a decision likely by the end of June. Federal law allows presidents to grant TPS for people in the U.S. whose home country is experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters and other extraordinary, temporary conditions. Trump wants to end TPS for individuals from 13 countries, including Myanmar, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Venezuela.
A federal judge yesterday blocked the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul national vaccine policies
, including the controversial decision to cut the number of federally recommended vaccinations for children. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Boston ruled that
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. improperly replaced
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's entire vaccine advisory committee. Murphy said Kennedy and this committee disregarded long-used, well-regarded scientific processes for developing vaccine policy and wrote in his ruling that the government "thereby undermined the integrity of its actions." The American

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
- But Peralta says it's unclear how quickly that can ease residents' pain.
- Peralta says it's unclear if these concessions will satisfy Washington.

### Implications
- Residents who remain in the area are hesitant to leave, fearing they may never be able to return .
- Mass evacuations are a tactic Israel has used in Gaza, where many Palestinians were barred from returning home. 🎧 President Trump has said that NATO allies should help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- Schultz says it remains to be seen if Trump will intensify pressure to shift European leaders' priorities.
- Peralta says it's unclear if these concessions will satisfy Washington.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers trump, npr, tax topics. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1242.