NPR News: 09-13-2026 4PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. The leaders behind some of the world's most advanced AI systems are warning that the industry has to hit the brakes. It reports the technology went rogue. Dario Amade, CEO of Anthropic, published a letter saying he believes in AI and that it could bring benefits, but he says it's moving too fast. Open AI, Sam Alvin and Elon Musk agreed, Anthropics researcher Jake Cawkson quit later warning on social media that the people building AI quote, believe it could kill us by the end of the decade. I think the concept of building a super intelligence is, well, it's been likened to summoning an alien species. Thinking about it in terms of an alien mind that we don't fully understand is pretty terrifying, even without any, any concrete scenario. Speaking there on ABC's this week, Anthropic is the financial supporter of NPR.

1:00Lawmakers in Britain are weighing in on President Trump's off the cuff call for United Ireland. Vicki Barker reports Trump met with the Irish president and Prime Minister during his two-day visit. Politicians from Northern Ireland's mainly Protestant unionist parties were as quick to condemn President Trump's comments as their mainly Catholic, Republican counterparts were to praise it. A British government spokesman says there's no evidence Northern Ireland's people want unification. Even the Trumpist reform leader Nigel Farage has said he disagrees with Trump on this one. And opposition conservative leader, Kimmy Badenock, has said the comments are creating unnecessary tension. As the Brits would say, quite separatist politicians from Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland will meet Monday to discuss their vision for full secession from the UK. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London.

2:00Election officials around the country are getting ready to mark National Voter Registration Day this week. And Piers-Hanzilo Wang reports the first set of registration deadlines for the midterm election is coming up in some parts of the country. The window starts to close the first week in October for registering to vote or updating your registration for the midterm general election. At some places including Alaska, Rhode Island, South Carolina and the US Virgin Islands. Then October 5th is a major voter registration deadline for Arizona, Indiana, Ohio and American Samoa. October 5th is also the last date to sign up in the southern states of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. If you're already registered, election officials recommend confirming your status and contact information before the deadline by visiting your state's official election website. Officials can remove your name from voter rolls, especially if you recently moved, changed your name or haven't voted in a while. On Zilo Wang and VR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

3:01A new study finds that suicide-related emergency department visits by kids aged 5 to 17 rose dramatically between 2016 and 2022. The findings published in the annals of emergency medicine also found half those visits were in poorly resourced hospitals that were not equipped to provide appropriate care. And here's Reto Chatty has more. Researchers use data on nearly 5.4 million pediatric mental health-related visits to emergency departments across the country. Dr. Audrey Brewer is a pediatrician at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago and the main author of the study. She says nearly half of the suicide-related visits were to hospitals that are not specialized for pediatric care, like community hospitals. And so that can be really concerning, especially where these kids are coming in with more severe mental illness. And there may not be the necessary resources to really meet their needs.

4:01She says these hospitals are also seeing a significant number of kids with depression and substance use disorders. Reto Chatty and VR News. Gas and oil prices continue to rise in the U.S. Triple A says the average price of gas is $4.31 a gallon around the country that's up 13 cents in one week. That while a gallon of diesel has hit a fresh record at $6.20 a gallon. Diesel is used in transportation production and by farmers for the machinery that harvests crops. I'm Janine Herbst in VR News. This message comes from Thumbtack. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start, Thumbtack knows homes so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app.

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