NPR News: 09-14-2026 9PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's restrictions on mail-in voting for now. The decision allows states to continue sending ballots under existing processes used by nearly one-third of voters. Election officials said there wasn't enough time to implement the changes. An opponent said Trump lacked constitutional authority to set election rules. The Justice Department argues that postal rules are controlled by the federal government. The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it will no longer cap greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas plants. Houston Public Media's Natalie Weber tells us the change is a major rollback of Biden era rules. The Biden administration sought to limit climate change inducing emissions from power plants. At the time, the EPA said this sector accounted for the second highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin lauded the rollbacks at a press conference in Houston, saying the Biden administration overstepped its authority.

1:02Today's announcement isn't just about restoring the American economy. It's also about restoring the rule of law. Several environmental organizations have criticized the EPA's move, saying it will negatively impact the climate and public health. For NPR News, I'm Natalie Weber in Houston. In Turkey, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate today. The 84-year-old former Republican leader has not been to the Capitol since June 14th when he was hospitalized for a fall in his home. His three-month absence for the Senate generated a flood of criticism and speculation as he remained quiet for weeks about his condition. He eventually disclosed that he had been briefly unconscious and had been treated for pneumonia. In a statement today, McConnell said his recovery has been a long and often frustrating process. The artificial intelligence company OpenAI recently added a new feature on chat GPT for people in suicidal crisis. It's meant to connect those individuals to human sources of support. The company says it's seen good adoption of the feature, but as NPR's Ritu Chatterjee

2:03reports, mental health experts give it a mixed review. The new feature is called Trusted Contact, adult users of chat GPT can opt in using the app settings. They can add the name and contact of a loved one who can support them during a mental health crisis. If that person agrees, the bot then saves their contact. Psychologist Jennifer Lockman runs the Suicide Prevention Clinic at the University of Alabama. We know from research that human connection belonging is a huge protective factor to help people when they're thinking about suicide. Lockman says the Trusted Contact feature is another opportunity to connect people in crisis to someone they already trust. But she says the bot cannot replicate or replace mental health professionals who are trained to guide people in crisis. Ritu Chatterjee and PR News. Major US Stock Indexes fell today, the S&P 500 fell nearly half of a percent. This is NPR News. Some detainees at the now closed immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades

3:05known as Alligator Alcatraz spent time in small, metal enclosures, prison officials called calming areas. That's according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General who says the practice quote does not meet standards for human treatment. But advocates had previously reported and criticized the treatment of detainees. It marks the first time a government agency has confirmed the existence of such conditions. One of the most essential water sources in the American Southwest, the Rio Grande, is experiencing one of its driest periods ever, Bryce Dix with member station KUNM reports. In Albuquerque, there is no water in the riverbed. A feat that has only happened three times in a most half a century. Without water, the river's wildlife and vegetation are struggling. Paltasian is a conservationist with Autobahn Southwest. It's kind of existential what we're seeing out there. I don't think we're going to see a complete dieback, but we might end up with 30% less trees come next year. The historic dryness is due to a combination of low winter snowpack, persistent drought,

4:06and record breaking heat. In a less ditch effort to bring summer leaf, multiple groups came together in this month to dump over 650 million gallons of water to rewet the Rio Grande. Within days, it had dried up. For NPR News, I'm Bryce Dix in Albuquerque. Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 71st birthday today, but it was Vatican employees who got a gift. He issued a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts that Pope Francis had imposed. Leo said the financial challenges can now be overcome. This is NPR. Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon Prime members can listen to NPR News now, sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get NPR Plus at plus dot NPR dot org. That's plus dot NPR dot org.