NPR News: 09-03-2026 8PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. The deadlock jury and the Lindsay Clancy case in Massachusetts went home today without reaching a verdict in her trial over the killing of her three children in 2023. They'll continue deliberations tomorrow. Today, there was a bit of commotion in the courtroom. Deborah Becker from Member Station WBUR has more. We got word that there was a note from the jury. Judge William Sullivan convened court and questioned each of the 12 jurors individually under oath. He then had a sidebar with both the prosecutors and Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington. Now Reddington appeared angry because we can't hear any of this. He brings Clancy up to the sidebar in her wheelchair so the jurors faced her while they were being questioned. The judge then called in the entire jury, read them further instructions about reasonable doubt. And the jury went back to deliberate and then they were sent home about a half hour later. Deborah Becker reporting.

1:00Lawyers for former FBI director Jim Comey are urging a judge to dismiss criminal charges against him. If he was Kerry Johnson reports, they argue he didn't threaten President Trump when he posted an image of sea shells online. Comey's lawyers say no reasonable person could interpret the photo of shells that spell out the numbers 8647 as a true threat on the life of the president. Rather, they say Comey was making a political statement about the need to get rid of President Trump using common restaurant slang. They say the language's core speech protected by the First Amendment. Comey later deleted the post and apologized after hearing his message could be misconstrued. The Justice Department says Comey was trying to gin up controversy to sell his novel when he made the Instagram post last year. The DOJ lawyers say they have not been influenced by Trump who's openly pushed for coming to face prosecution. Kerry Johnson, NPR News. Fox News has ousted veteran reporter Maria Bartiroma after 12 and a half years.

2:04She came to Fox with a record as an accomplished markets reporter in the Trump era. However, she ended up featured heavily in some of Fox's most stinging scandals as impures David Fokenflick reports. Maria Bartiroma arrived at Fox Business Network in 2014 after two decades at CNBC providing the young conservative financial channel some credibility. She became a mainstay of both Fox Business Network and sister channel Fox News hosting 16 and a half hours weekly until now. Bartiroma relied herself closely with President Trump and embraced his lies about fraud in the 2020 elections. She ended up being named as a defendant in two multi-billion dollar defamation suits over statements made about election tech companies. Spaten nearly $800 million to settle one of those cases, the second case is ongoing. Bartiroma made no mention of her pending departure on when turned out to be her last show. David Fokenflick, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration is again asking the Supreme Court to let it move ahead with restrictions

3:06on male ballots before the midterm elections in November. This says legal wrangling over President Trump's executive order continues in lower courts. This comes after a federal judge in Boston blocked Trump's executive order for now. The justice has previously allowed Trump's plan to move ahead but they haven't decided whether it's legal. States are preparing to out-mail ballots some as soon as tomorrow. It's hurricane season and these powerful storms can affect the bodies of animals down to their genes. NPR's Regina Barber has more on an adaptation that can help lizards survive high winds. The Silver Keonol, which lives on two islands on the Turks and Kekos, has adapted in just a few generations to have a shorter fourth toe on their hind legs. This was after Hurricane's Irma and Maria hit the islands about a decade ago. Scientists think this smaller toe gives more leverage to hold onto objects. This hypothesis was tested by evolutionary biologists at Princeton University. By putting lizards in front of a fan to simulate tropical storm-forced winds and then

4:11recorded how long the lizards could hold on. This study in curmpyology also detailed genetic analysis to confirm a specific gene that was linked to making the lizards' toes shorter. By continuing to analyze the genetics and environmental conditions, researchers hope to discover how other animals might adapt rapidly. Regina Barber and PR News I'm Janine Herfst and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Canada and tariffs, Venezuela and oil, the war in Iran, these are big, complicated stories. And they're changing fast. To stay ahead, start your day with Up First from NPR. New episodes are available each weekday when you wake up, so when new shifts overnight, you always have the latest info. Up first, on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.