NPR News: 09-08-2026 3PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. Trade War with Canada is ratcheting up. NPR Scott Horsley reports on how that's affecting cross-border commerce. As promised, Canada imposed tariffs this morning on some $20 billion worth of U.S. goods, including appliances, motorcycles, and dairy products. The import levies are in retaliation for tariffs that President Trump imposed on Canadian products two weeks ago. For decades, the U.S. and Canada shared a free trade agreement, which was renewed during Trump's first term as President. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney complains the U.S. signature is often written in pencil. Scott Horsley in Pair News, Washington. Polling locations in Nashua and Manchester, New Hampshire, are expecting an unknown number of election observers from the Justice Department during today's primaries. New Hampshire Public Radio reports that local voting officials say they do not anticipate an impact on voters or on ballot counting. The Trump administration recently lost a legal battle to access New Hampshire's non-public

1:00voter roles. President Trump has promoted unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. His administration's latest actions are part of a nationwide campaign to expose what it believes could be election-related violations. Smith-Soonian Secretary Lottie Bunch says he plans to step down at the end of the year and a statement, Bunch wrote that he leaves the post with, quote, mixed emotions. In Piers-Anger Limbong reports the institution is often been a target of President Trump. This Smithsonian institution includes dozens of museums, libraries, research centers, and the National Zoo. And Lottie Bunch has been its head since 2019. Recently, Trump has levied criticisms against the institution, saying it promotes a radical ideology and engages in, quote, extreme political activism. While Bunch has been fairly reticent to push back against Trump and public he recently wrote in an email to staffers obtained by MPR, quote, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy, and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America's story. The board in charge of the Smithsonian has yet to name an acting secretary but has announced

2:00a national search for Bunch's successor. Angel Limbong and Piers News. Russia is attacking Ukraine again following a three-day pause during which White House envoy Steve Whitkopf and Jared Kushner traveled to both countries for peace talks. We have the latest from NPR's Charles Mainz. Just hours after Whitkopf and Kushner departed Kiev, Russian ballistic missiles and drones rained down in the city. When Trump's envoys made no immediate breakthrough on their aim of negotiating an end to the war, Russia's defense ministry said its forces destroyed several sites related to Ukraine's military industrial complex, though several residential buildings were also hit. Meanwhile, fighting continued elsewhere, including Ukrainian drone attacks that left six people dead across Russia. Trump has suggested his envoys presented both sides with new U.S. proposals for peace. Yet thus far, the Kremlin has only allowed it wouldn't rule out future trilateral talks with the U.S. and Ukraine at some point. Charles Mainz in Piers News, Moscow. You're listening to NPR News.

3:01Patrick Clancy, whose ex-wife was on trial for killing her three young children in 2023, is threatening legal action over what he says or falsehood spreading about him online. His attorney, Howard Cooper, issued a statement saying, law enforcement has been notified. These former wife, Lindsey Clancy, saw her case end in a mistrial last Friday. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision on whether to hold her criminally responsible. The defense argued she suffered from postpartum psychosis. The prosecution said Clancy knew what she was doing. A new study from Pew Research finds more than four in ten Americans say that Muslims are having a negative effect on the U.S. And Piers Jason DeRose reports a study examines data collected over the past 25 years. Pew Research finds that views on Islam are now more negative and more partisan than shortly after 9-11. In 2026, just over half of those surveys said Islam is more likely than other religions

4:06to encourage violence. In 2002, that number was just 25%. More than three-quarters of Republicans this year say the religion promotes violence, whereas fewer than one-third believed that was the case shortly after 9-11. Pew also found that about six in ten American Muslims say there's a lot of discrimination against their communities while just over a third say someone has expressed support for them in the past year because of their religion. Jason DeRose, NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Billionaire Mark Cuban has stared into the belly of the beast of America's healthcare system. I mean, it's so bad you can go through a long list of really quality hospitals and they don't know their costs. So can Medicare for all be a solution? We take a hard look at the cost of the program along with U.S. healthcare itself. Find this and hear more stories from the indicator from Planet Money on the NPR app.