U.S. Allies Reject Trump’s Demands for Warships, and Bovino to Retire From Border Patrol

I can finally play with other people.

“I'm pretty competitive, it's fun to beat friends and co-workers.”

I have a J for 10 points. I'm guessing Tenga is not a word, let's see. Tenga is a word. Oh! As an English as a second language speaker, I like to learn new words.

Crossplay, the first two-player word game from New York Times Games. Download it for free today. From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford, today's Tuesday, March 17th.

Here's what we're covering.

While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider world. Across Europe and around the world, U.S. allies are drawing a line on the war with Iran. This war started without any consultations before a war which we didn't stop.

After President Trump put out a call this weekend for countries to send warships to escort traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, many declined, Germany, Japan, Italy and Australia. Other nations, including Britain and South Korea, were non-committal. I said for you mean, for 40 years, we're protecting you and you don't want to get involved

and something that is very minor, very few shots going to be taken. Trump has lashed out in response,

complaining that the U.S. has been defending other countries for decades.

He insisted some had agreed to help and said he was thinking of his request as a loyalty test. We have the strongest military by far and the way we don't need them. But it's interesting. I'm almost doing it in some cases, not because we need them, but because I want to find out how they react. Since the war started, the Strait of Hormuz has been all but closed to traffic.

As 17 ships have been attacked in or near the waterway, including one this morning.

“That's cut off a key supply route for not just oil,”

but also fertilizer and other products that help fuel the global economy. Beyond the U.S.'s allies, Trump also called on China to send naval support, but Beijing has little incentive to jump in. It gets oil from Iran and Iran has been letting those ships pass safely through the Strait. Meanwhile,

Here's a real headline for you for an actual patriotic press. How about Iran shrinking going underground? The Trump administration is pushing back on coverage of the war. Recently, Defense Secretary Pete Hugseth criticized how CNN has covered the conflict. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.

Hugseth said he was looking forward to the outlet being under the control of the Texan David Ellison, who is friendly with Trump and currently trying to buy the network. And over the weekend, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, threatened to revoke broadcaster's licenses over their coverage of the war.

His latest move in a campaign to stamp out what he sees as liberal bias in media. Carr accused broadcasters of running hoaxes and news distortions, and warned them to quote "correct course." Previous administrations also complained about news coverage, but this White House's attempts to shame journalists

or try to limit how they do their work has fueled comparisons to the demands of authoritarian leaders. Carr's comments, in particular, drew criticism from the president's own party. With Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin telling Fox News, he thought they went too far.

Yeah, I'm a big support of the First Amendment.

I do not like the heavy hand of government no matter who's wielding it. Really, the Federal Government's roles protect our freedoms. Protect our constitutional rights. Thank you so much. Now, a few other quick updates on the Trump administration.

I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That's a big honor. Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. At the White House yesterday, whether I free it, take it,

“I think I could do anything I want with it.”

You want to know the truth. President Trump publicly raised the possibility of what he called "taking Cuba." It comes as his administration has ramped up its pressure campaign against the island. It's effectively cut off all oil supplies for the past few months, which has wreaked havoc.

Yesterday, the entire island was plunged into a blackout. Cuba has been trying to negotiate with the U.S. And the Times has learned that the White House is demanding that Cuba push its president. Miguel Diaz can now out of power. U.S. officials think that would be a win for them,

even if it doesn't completely remake the Communist government.

the combative border patrol official who became one of the most high profile figures in the administration's deportation campaign,

tells the Times he plans to retire.

“Over the past year, Bovino oversaw aggressive operations in LA, Chicago, New Orleans, and Minnesota,”

often posting about it on social media. Those operations sparked lawsuits and allegations of racial profiling. And Bovino was sidelined after backlash to the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Bovino says he'll step down from his post in the coming weeks.

And last update, a federal judge has dealt a major blow to some of the controversial vaccine policies rolled out under health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The judge's ruling puts a stop to Kennedy's efforts to cut down on the number of recommended shots,

“as well as his push to limit COVID vaccines.”

The judge also reversed all decisions made by the vaccine advisory panel that Kennedy handpicked. In his ruling, he noted that less than half appear to have quote any meaningful experience in vaccines. A lawyer for the medical groups that had challenged the administration called Monday's ruling, a significant victory for public health, evidence-based medicine, the rule of law, and the American people. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said the agency wanted to see the decision overturned,

saying it was one of many quote attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing. Across the US, the time has been covering a significant new policy shift that's helping people transition smoothly into life outside prison. It has to do with Medicaid coverage. When Medicaid was established back in the 1960s, the program's policy was to drop health coverage for anyone who was sent to jail. They then needed to re-enroll after they were let out.

That process could take months, and it left people coming out of prison, many of whom have substance use disorders or mental health issues vulnerable.

One study found that a person's risk of death in the first two weeks after their release from prison was nearly 13 times higher than the general population.

But about a decade ago, advocates, local officials and law enforcement started pushing to change that system. They eventually got Congress to pass a law that's paved the way for more than two dozen states to move towards getting Medicaid to kick back in before a prisoner is released. One of those states is California, where more than 50,000 inmates have now received pre-release services paid for by the state's Medicaid program. That includes John DeSantis, a 37-year-old in San Jose, who told the times he was able to meet with a county health care worker a month before completing his sentence.

He then walked out of jail with a 30-day supply of medications at the ready, and a case manager was waiting to set him up with appointments with a psychiatrist. Supporters of the expanded services say it's not just a good thing for the inmates themselves, but also for the entire community.

“When I mentioned this, because that's scary people don't want to talk about it, which is very silly, I think, because that's the only thing that's coming to us.”

Margaretta Magnison, who made the concept of Swedish death-cleaning a global phenomenon, has died at 91, and if she lived by what she preached, no one is going to be sorting through boxes and boxes of her dusty nick-knacks and heirlooms to figure out what to do with her stuff. In 2018, when she was in her 80s, Magnison published a book introducing people to the Swedish concept of dust-editing or tidying up before you die. She wrote the book after hearing about someone in the US dreading the idea of trying to sort through his dad's possessions.

It became a manifesto, urging people to make sure they weren't leaving their loved ones a mess. To Magnison, death-cleaning was a way of making the end of life seem less overwhelming and scary, and a way to share the joy of your belongings while you still can. She encouraged readers to invite friends and family over to rummage through books and treasures and take what they want, saying it was a chance to tell the stories that go along with those objects. A deep dive on Iran's new Supreme Leader, and what his appointment means for the war and the future of the country.

You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford, we'll be back tomorrow.