NPR News: 09-11-2026 3PM EDT

0:00Lie from NPR News, Amlakshmi Singh. The country is reflecting on the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9-11 a quarter century ago, and for the thousands of people who have died since 2001, from illnesses related to the terrorist attacks. At ground zero this morning, a moment of silence was held for all of these lives. And reporter Steve Kastumbom also tells us that during the reading of the victim's names, one speaker broke from tradition. Michael Asbach. The victim's families were joined by dozens of current and former elected officials who sat in silence as the names were read aloud. Political speeches are banned from the ceremony. But Terry Strata, National Chair of 9-11 Families United, strayed from the script after honoring her husband, Tom Strata. But how can it be 25 years? And still, we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder.

1:01The 9-11 Commission and other investigations cleared the Saudi government of any role in the attacks, but several Saudi citizens with ties to the government were found to have provided support to the terrorists. Strata called on President Trump to hold those people accountable. For NPR News, I'm Steve Kastumbom in New York. After the last two nights in Dallas, Republicans held their first ever midterm convention. The upper deck of the arena had thousands of empty seats. And President Trump joked about it. I shouldn't have looked up there. But look at the serenity, that big arena. NPR's Tamarkey Thonly events, uncertain impact. It's just not clear that his party is in any better place than it was when it started. There will be rallies in the fall. In a way, this convention was Trump's last hurrah as a dominant political figure. NPR's Tamarkey Thonly last night's GOP midterm convention. NPR's Ryle and Barton reports Democrats did something similar. In 1978, as an unpopular president, Jimmy Carter tried to rally support.

2:06Thousands of Democrats descended on Memphis for what President Carter hoped would be a unified pap rally. What he got was a civil war. Overinflation and budget cuts. More liberal Democrats led by Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy revolted on the floor. Kennedy delivered a speech demanding universal health care, openly upstaging the sitting president. It's going to be for that democratic platform plan that provides decent quality. The spectacle laid the groundwork for Kennedy's 1980 primary challenge against Carter. Party leaders quietly killed off the midterm convention format a few years later. Ryle and Barton NPR News. At last, check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 600 points or more than 1 percent at 52664, the S&P and NASDAQ also what more than 1 percent. This is NPR News. Elon Musk is threatening to sue filmmaker Alex Gibney over an upcoming documentary on

3:07the billionaire. NPR's Bobby Allen reports Musk's lawyer wrote a letter to the film's production company claiming the film is defamatory. Gibney's film includes text messages Musk sent, which NPR has obtained, showing Musk discussing unleashing quote, the anomaly in the matrix, which he says involves his 10,000 lasers in space. There was a debunk conspiracy theory that Musk's SpaceX satellites somehow uploaded votes for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. But Genevieve Lakeier of the University of Chicago Law School says exploring it isn't defamation. It may be the case that Musk is unhappy about the space lasers thing, but it might be the case that he just does not like the documentary. He wants to do whatever he can to shut it down or to intimidate distributors. Musk's legal team says it will proceed accordingly ahead of the film's October release. Bobby Allen NPR News. California Governor Gavin News, him signed sweeping legislation this week to better shield people from online threats. The laws require tougher limits on miners' access to potentially addictive social media

4:10feeds. One million dollar per-child penalties on large social media companies found negligent of harming children through their platforms and stronger risk assessments of AI models. Last month, Metta reached a settlement with California in 28 other states to resolve a lawsuit that alleged the parent company of Instagram and Facebook intentionally designed their platforms to get miners addicted at the trial met it denied the allegations. This is NPR News. This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, the Republican midterm convention was basically a two-night mega-informershow. He has told voters, I want you to pretend please that I'm on the ballot just come out and vote and show up for it. We break down President Trump's midterm strategy, including that $5,000 promise. This week on the NPR Politics Podcast.