NPR News: 09-12-2026 8AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The U.S. National Anthem played as President Trump arrived at Dublin Airport this morning for a two-day visit to Ireland. Trump began his trip with a meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, then spoke to a group of American and Irish business leaders. During his remarks, the president said he would love to see Ireland and Northern Ireland unify it, calling it a great thing. But he also acknowledged the political sensitivity of the question. I gave a nice answer, I think. We'll read about it tomorrow. That's one of those questions where no matter what you say, no matter how well you say it, there's no good answer, right? There are about four or five, I could tell you some other ones, but I'm not going to get you started. Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom. Under the Good Friday agreement, that can change only if a majority of voters there support

1:00reunification. Trump will later travel to his call for Zord in Dunebeg, which is hosting the Irish Open this weekend. Saudi Arabia says it has shut down a major oil pipeline after it was attacked by drones on Friday. NPR's Hedial Al-Shalce reports the move puts another vital oil shipping route at risk, as Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said the drones were launched from Iraq and targeted the East-West pipeline in the areas around Riyadh and Medina. It said that the attacks resulted in injuries and damage to the pipeline. The Iraqi Prime Minister ordered an investigation. On Friday, the Houthis captured a strategic island in the Beb-ul-Mendab Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea. The rebel group has been fighting Yemeni government forces, which are backed by Saudi Arabia, and it controls most of Yemen's north and capital. The Houthis have been attacking Saudi oil tankers moving through Beb-ul-Mendab, which is a vital shipping channel near the Red Sea.

2:01Hedial Al-Shalce NPR News is dumbled. A new study finds that laws requiring age restrictions on social media apps are not effective, and PR's Retoo Chatterjee reports the research appears in German network open. Researchers looked at nearly 40 published studies on the effectiveness of various social media-related legislations across the world and the United States. In the US, two-thirds of 11 and 12-year-olds use social media despite a minimum age requirement of 13. Study author Dr. Jason Nagata is a pediatrician at the University of California San Francisco. He says age verification is crucial to protecting miners from the harms of social media. There's a lot of other strategies are really dependent on the fact that we can identify underage or minor users. He says social media companies are already using sophisticated algorithms for targeted content, and they could also use them for age verification of miners. Retoo Chatterjee and PR News. It's NPR. American tennis player Ben Shelton has advanced to the US Open Men's Singles Final.

3:06NPR's Becky Sullivan reports he won in four sets over fellow American Francis Tiafo. Friday's semifinal between Shelton and Tiafo 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 US Open back in 2003. But the semifinal was history for another reason. Both players are black Americans. Tiafo is the Maryland-born son of immigrants from Sierra Leone. Shelton is mixed race. His dad Brian, who's also his coach, is black. No black man had reached the US Open singles final since Arthur Ash, 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 Zverov, 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 PR News. Diesel prices in the US have reached another record high as the war with Iran continues to disrupt global fuel supplies.

4:06According to AAA, the price for a gallon of diesel is $6.16 a gallon. That's up 28 cents in the past week. The surge could push up the cost of everyday goods because diesel powers much of the nation's freight and delivery network. Some businesses are already passing those higher costs onto consumers through added fees. A year ago, Diesel was averaging about $3.70 per gallon. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from the Center for US Voters Abroad Foundation. US citizens live, travel, and serve all over the world. But wherever they are, they can stay connected to home through voting. All US 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.