NPR News: 09-03-2026 1PM EDT

0:00This message comes from Schwab. Investing with Schwab is like a hike with endless trails. Go solo with self-directed investing. Take stops along the way with trading or choose a guide with full service wealth management. Whatever trails you take, you can invest your way with Schwab. Lie from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The former leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says, the Trump administration is no longer trying to dismantle the agency. NPR's Rebecca Hirscher spoke with David Richardson in one of his first interviews since leaving the agency late last year. Richardson took over at FEMA in May 2025. I went there for three things. To get FEMA through hurricane season, shut it down or drastically reduce its size and essentially get it ready for rebranding. That's why I went. He's at the agency for about six months and says, during that time, the Trump administration changed course.

1:01And now the country's top disaster agency is here to stay. FEMA and the White House declined to answer questions from NPR about the administration's goals for the agency. Rebecca Hirscher and PR News. Gloria Steinem, a name synonymous with the women's liberation movement in the second half of the 20th century, died yesterday. No cause of death was disclosed. She was 92. Through her work as a social justice activist, journalist and co-founder of the Fame MIS magazine, Steinem helped lead the fight for more protections regarding abortion, sexual harassment, domestic violence, among other issues that have directly affected millions of historically marginalized people. Every year, the ignoble prizes are awarded for research that's entertaining and thought-provoking. And PR's R.I. Daniels' for the first time, the ceremony, took place outside the U.S. Mark Abrams founded the ignoble prize in 1991. Before last year, almost every winner would find a way to travel to the ceremony from around the world.

2:04Last year of the 10 winners, we ended up with only six of them at the ceremony. Four didn't want to come to the U.S. citing safety concerns related to unpredictable immigration and visa protocols. So this year, Abrams and his team decided to hold the ceremony abroad in Switzerland. As for the prizes, the Biomechanics Award went to a team that developed a more rigorous definition of kissing. And the Physics Award was for a group that built the theory around and then prototyped a splash-free urinal. R.I. Daniel, NPR News. Today, a federal judge in Boston is considering whether to continue barring the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out changes to mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections in November. USS Rick Court Judge Indira Talwani said in a hearing today that the U.S. PS has not explained how it planned to regulate mail ballots as part of an executive order from President Trump.

3:04We should note the U.S. PS is a financial supporter of NPR. Tomorrow, North Carolina will be the first state to start sending out ballots to voters. This is NPR News. Diesel prices jump sharply overnight, more from NPR Scott Horsley. The average price of diesel fuel jumped nearly 10 cents a gallon overnight. Triple A says the average cost is now $5.78 a gallon. That's up more than $2 a gallon since the U.S. launched its war against Iran and just 3 cents shy of the all-time high. Set back in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Rising diesel prices increase the cost of everything that moves by truck or train. It also raises the cost of operating farm equipment during the busy fall harvest season. Stocking the Campbell's company fell after the supine snack maker reported to drop in sales and profits. Campbell's is also cutting its dividend and the U.S. trade deficit widened in July by 24 percent as imports rose and exports fell. That's Scott Horsley reporting. In New Hampshire, a public housing provider is facing a loss due from its own tenants after installing high tech sensors.

4:09High tech sensors in rental units. Hampshire Public Radio is Todd Bookman with more. Concreds federally funded housing provider installed about 300 sensors, saying it wanted to crack down on people smoking in their apartments or causing noise complaints. The devices don't record video or sound, but instead contract motion, decibel levels, mold, smoke, and even the number of people in an apartment. The ACLU's Nate Westler says that essentially gives the government a warrantless search. You can tell when someone wakes up in the morning. You can infer if they used an alarm clock or they woke up slowly. How late they stay up? Are they at home or are they not at home? This motion data is how loud they and their guests are being. It's an incredible infosition on people's privacy in their homes. The lawsuit contends the housing authority didn't fully disclose what the sensors were capable of measuring. It's NP. This message comes from Thumbtack. Are unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is?

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