NPR News: 09-12-2026 2PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. The world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, says it shut down a crucial pipeline after it was attacked by drones, blaming Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The kingdom was relying on the East-West pipeline to export oil via the Red Sea and thus bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. April Longley Alley, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, and an expert on Yemen has more on what's ahead. The Iranians and the Houthis want to create a new reality in the region, a new status quo where they control these critical choke points, where they push the U.S. out of the region. So the order, the region orders and flux and they have a vision for where it wants to go. Now in terms of the next few weeks, I think they feel like they have the wind at their back. And so they're probably going to try to consolidate the gains they've made on the coast and maybe push into more territory in Yemen. Speaking there on NPR's Weekend Edition, meanwhile Iran plans meeting Monday hosted by Oman on the Strait.

1:02India hosted the BRICS summit this weekend, where leaders from nearly a dozen countries criticized unilateral tariffs and sanctions. Imperial Zomkar Kandakar reports the group included China and Russia. Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Iran's president Masood Pezashkin were among the world leaders gathered in New Delhi for a summit that's seen as a voice of emerging economies. In a joint statement, they condemned the use of sanctions not authorized by the UN and attacks on nuclear facilities. Analysts say this was an indirect criticism of the U.S. actions on Russia and Iran respectively, although the statement did not name these countries. The group also condemned Israel's invasion of Lebanon and continued violence in Gaza despite a ceasefire. Israel and the White House haven't commented yet. Oman Kandakar and Piyat News, New Delhi. Male invoting for the midterm election is underway in some states, including Alabama,

2:02North Carolina, and Wisconsin. This is official's wait for a Supreme Court ruling on President Trump's push for new restrictions, as NPR's Hansi LaWong reports. The Supreme Court is deciding whether to allow the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver male and balanced devotors in states, where election officials do not turn over voter lists to the male agency and do not have certain bar codes on their ballot envelopes. We should note U.S. PS is a financial supporter of NPR. A federal judge blocked those requirements after finding the Postal Service has no authority to impose them. Tammy Patrick of the National Association of Election Officials says many voters can prepare now. No matter what has changed in your state or how you decide you want to go and vote, make a plan early and don't wait until the last day of the polls. Still, Patrick says the U.S. PS plan would put some voters at risk of losing the ability to exercise their right to vote, including many disabled voters in those living in places without polling sites. Hansi LaWong and Piair News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A British Museum has removed an ancient Egyptian mummy from public display

3:06in order it says to respect the wishes of the dead. Vicky Barker has more from London. The high status Egyptian woman named Ashruh had been on display in Manchester Museum since 1825 when its layered linen wrappings were peeled away, revealing the mummified body beneath. But now the 2500 year old remains have been moved into storage with museum managers, saying the removal, quote, aligns most closely with what we understand about her own wishes. The Pitt Rivers Anthropological Museum in Oxford removed all human remains from its displays six years ago. And this week it announced its returning the bones of dozens of Indigenous Naga people to their ancestral homes in India and Myanmar. For NPR News, I'm Vicky Barker in London. At the U.S. tennis open women's final today, number one ranked defending champ, Ariana Sabalenka, takes on number two seed, Elena Rybachina from Russia.

4:11Sabalenka from Belarus is chasing history, she's won win away from becoming the first player since Serena Williams and Chris Everett is the only women to get three consecutive U.S. open titles. Sabalenka is on a 19 match winning streak right now. The match starts at 4 p.m. Eastern, it takes place in New York. The two players have already gone head to head this year in a grand slam final with Rybachina winning the Australian Open. I'm Janine Herbst NPR News in Washington. This is Ira Glass. On this American life, we tell stories about when things change. Like for this guy David, whose entire life took a sharp, unexpected, and very unpleasant term. And it did take me a while to realize that this basically becomes the monkey press the button. That's right, because the monkey pressed the button. Spicing stories every week, wherever you get your podcasts.