5 Big News Stories Overnight - Monday, March 16, 2026

Israel: Iran Missiles Wound Many

Times of Israel reports:

Iran fired seven missile salvos at Israel overnight Saturday and into Sunday wounding at least eight people and kept up its attacks on countries across the Gulf as the Israel Defense Forces launched a new wave of “extensive” strikes targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in the country’s west.

An Iranian missile rained cluster bomb munitions across a swath of central Israel, wounding four people.

In Bnei Brak, a man in his 60s was moderately hurt after a suspected cluster bomb munition struck an apartment building. In Ramat Gan, a man in his 70s was lightly hurt by a blast following another impact, and two women, aged 46 and 18, were lightly hurt in Petah Tikvah, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.

U.S.: Markey Calls for FCC Chairman Carr to Resign Following Threats to Revoke Broadcast Licenses over Iran War Coverage

As GoLocal reported Sunday, the FCC Chair threatened licensed media outlets that do not "correct course" in their coverage could lose their licenses to broadcast.

Letter Text (PDF)

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, urging him to resign over his latest social media post threatening to revoke broadcasters’ licenses if they do not cover the illegal war with Iran with Donald Trump’s preferred narrative. Senator Markey highlights this post as an extraordinary abuse of FCC authority and a clear violation of the First Amendment, as well as the Trump administration’s latest authoritarian attempt to weaponize the FCC’s statutory authority to censor the media.

In the letter, Senator Markey wrote, “Your post on Saturday demonstrated your continued effort to turn the FCC into Trump’s personal speech police. … Your Saturday post is not an aberration. It is the latest and most dangerous step in a sustained campaign to use the FCC’s licensing authority as a weapon against broadcasters and journalists whose coverage displeases the Trump administration. … The FCC’s credibility depends on its willingness to exercise its authority on the merits, not at the direction of the President, and not as an instrument of retribution against journalism. You have once again shown that you are unwilling to maintain that independence and uphold your sworn oath to defend the U.S. Constitution, and I once again call on you to resign.”

 Senator Markey has aggressively pushed back on the Trump administration’s efforts to attack news organizations and intimidate the media. In November 2025, Senator Markey asked unanimous consent to pass a resolution condemning President Trump’s suggestion that criticism of him is “illegal” and recognizing Americans’ constitutional right to criticize the president. Republicans blocked it. In September 2025, Senator Markey, Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) led seven of their colleagues in writing to Chairman Carr urging the FCC to cease its censorship of media organizations. Senator Markey then went to the Senate floor to ask unanimous consent to pass a resolution condemning Chairman Carr for his censorship of Jimmy Kimmel. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) objected without any explanation. In March 2025, Senators Markey and Luján, along with Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced the Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act, legislation that would prohibit the FCC from revoking broadcast licenses or taking action against broadcasters based on the viewpoints they broadcast.

Iran: UK and France Warned

The Telegraph reports:

Iran has threatened Britain with military action if the Royal Navy sends warships to the Strait of Hormuz.

On Saturday, Donald Trump urged allies to join a “team effort” maritime mission to force open the crucial energy chokepoint.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said that any help provided to the US would be seen as “complicity in the crime of aggression”.

“We are not at war with the UK ... but any participation in this war would be regarded as participating in the US-Israel war of aggression against Iran,” Esmail Baghaei told Times Radio.

Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, also cautioned his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot on Sunday morning against “any action that could lead to escalation and expansion of this conflict”.

PHOTO: Moslem Daneshzadeh, Unsplash

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U.S.: Trump Attacks the Media on War Reporting

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

Iran has long been known as a Master of Media Manipulation and Public Relations. They are Militarily ineffective and weak, but are really good at “feeding” the very appreciative Fake News Media false information. Now, A.I. has become another Disinformation weapon that Iran uses, quite well, considering they are being annihilated by the day. They showed phony “Kamikaze Boats,” shooting at various Ships at Sea, which looks wonderful, powerful, and vicious, but these Boats don’t exist — It’s all false information to show how “tough” their already defeated Military is! The five U.S. Refueling Planes that were supposedly struck down and badly damaged, according to The Wall Street Journal’s false reporting, and others, are all in service, with the exception of one, which will soon be flying the skies. Buildings and Ships that are shown to be on fire are not — It’s FAKE NEWS, generated by A.I. For instance, Iran, working in close coordination with the Fake News Media, shows our great USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean. Not only was it not burning, it was not even shot at — Iran knows better than to do that! The story was knowingly FAKE and, in a certain way, you can say that those Media Outlets that generated it should be brought up on Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information! The fact is, Iran is being decimated, and the only battles they “win” are those that they create through AI, and are distributed by Corrupt Media Outlets. The Radical Leftwing Press knows this full well, but continues to go forward with false stories and LIES. That’s why their Approval Rating is so low, and I can win a Presidential Election, IN A LANDSLIDE, getting only 5% positive Press — They have no credibility! I am so thrilled to see Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), looking at the licenses of some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic “News” Organizations. They get Billions of Dollars of FREE American Airwaves, and use it to perpetuate LIES, both in News and almost all of their Shows, including the Late Night Morons, who get gigantic Salaries for horrible Ratings, and never get, as I used to say in The Apprentice, “FIRED.” Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP