NPR News: 09-12-2026 12PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Bahrain says it will not attend a meeting that Iran says takes place in Oman on Monday to discuss the straight of Hormuz. Iran says the regional meeting would include foreign ministers of countries along the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Ampures Hadeel Al-Shalchi has more. According to a statement posted online, the Bahrain-y foreign ministry said it will not participate in any meeting that Iran is involved in until the two countries have restored diplomatic relations. It said it communicated this to Oman, which is meant to host the meeting. Bahrain cited Iran's repeated attacks on its military installations and infrastructure. Iran has responded to U.S. strikes by targeting U.S. assets in Gulf countries. On Friday, the Iranian foreign ministry said eight Persian Gulf countries will attend the meeting to discuss the straight of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the war began in February. None of the other Persian Gulf countries so far have commented on the meeting.

1:01Hadeel Al-Shalchi and PR News is stumble. In India, a BRICS summit is taking place with 11 countries, including Iran and several Gulf nations who are now at war. The meeting which represents about half the world's population focuses on giving emerging countries a voice. Ampures Dia Hadeed has more. BRICS is effectively a forum for emerging economies. It's aimed at countering long-standing Western dominance. And there's leaders from more than a dozen countries who have turned up. It's quite the gathering. China's President, Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are here. But for now, the attention is on those involved in the latest mid-east war, because the Iranian President is here. And Iran has been striking Gulf countries that are also at the summit. Ampures Dia Hadeed reporting from New Delhi. Analysts say internal rivalries and differences on the recent wars in Ukraine and Iran have stymied progress. One thing they do agree on, reducing dependence on the U.S. dollar for trade.

2:02Manufacturers are looking for ways to operate more efficiently without sacrificing quality. Ampures Andrea Shoe reports some are turning to AI to help them do it. At a GE Appliances plant in northwest Georgia, director of manufacturing operations, Tony Gabbart, points to an AI-powered camera system on an assembly line. It's been trained to look for errors and shut the line down if it finds one, like the wrong part on another. The quicker we know what the problem is, the quicker we can fix it. GE Appliances is also using AI to sift through millions of lines of data to detect anomalies before they become problems. If a motor is running hot, they can schedule a repair to avoid an unexpected breakdown. That far the introduction of AI and other advanced technology has not led to job cuts. In fact, the Georgia plant added 600 jobs as part of a recent expansion. Andrea Shoe and PR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. At the U.S. Open Women's Final today, number one ranked defending champ, Ariana Subalenka,

3:07takes on number two seed, Elena Rybachina from Russia. Abalenka from Belarus is chasing history. One went away from becoming the first player since Serena Williams and Chris Everett is the only women to get three consecutive U.S. Open titles. Subalenka is on a 19 match win streak right now. This match starts at 4 p.m. Eastern at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The two players have already gone head to head this year in a Grand Slam Final, with Rybach in winning the Australian Open. An American tennis player Ben Shelton is advanced to the U.S. Open Men's single final. Ampere's Becky Sullivan reports he won in four sets over fellow American Francis TFO. Friday's semi-final between Shelton and TFO was plenty anticipated because both players are American men. No American man has won any Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roday class won the U.S. Open back in 2003. But the semi-final was history for another reason. Both players are Black Americans. TFO is the Maryland-born son of immigrants from Sierra Leone.

4:09Shelton is mixed race. His dad, Brian, who's also his coach, is Black. No Black man had reached the U.S. Open singles final since Arthur Ashe more than half a century ago. This will be Shelton's first appearance in any Grand Slam Final. He's 23. He will face Alexander's Verif, the German who won the French Open earlier this summer. The match is set to start at 2 p.m. Eastern time Sunday. Becky Sullivan in pure news. And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from the Center for U.S. Voters Abroad Foundation. U.S. citizens live, travel, and serve all over the world. But wherever they are, they can stay connected to home through voting. All U.S. citizens abroad may request an absentee ballot to vote in the 2026 election, and requesting yours is easy. Keep your connection strong no matter how far away you are. Visit registerabroad.com to get started.