NPR News: 09-15-2026 7AM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corvac Olman, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's push to restrict mail-in ballots before this year's midterm elections. And P.R. S. Hanselow Wong says the decision blocks Trump's order to the Postal Service to come up with a plan. That plan included new mail-in ballot requirements that states would have had to follow in order to get their ballots delivered by U.S.P.S. and a federal judge and boss inbound those requirements are likely illegal because U.S.P.S. has no authority to impose them on states. And this new Supreme Court order rejects the Trump administration's request to pause the judge's ruling. NPR's Hanselow Wong reporting the U.S. Postal Service is among NPR's financial supporters. A new investigation finds that a Russian businessman financed lavish celebrations that were tied to the wedding of President Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. earlier this year. And P.R. S. Charles Mainz reports from Moscow, Trump Jr., and his wife, Bettina Trump, are

1:05confirming the story. Russian businessman, who mar Cremlow, and Donald Trump Jr. got to know each other through mutual interest in hunting. And Cremlow's work is the head of the International Boxing Association. That turned into Cremlow funding lavish parties tied to Trump Jr.'s wedding in the Bahamas is less clear. The arrangement was first reported by pro-publica. Cremlow was under sanctions by Ukraine over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House said President Trump, who did not attend the wedding celebrations, had no knowledge of Cremlow, but in a statement, Trump Jr. is now wife Bettina Trump, confirmed Cremlow sponsored some post-wedding events, calling it an extraordinarily generous gift from a dear friend. Cremlow's main's in Pyrenees, Moscow. China is criticizing calls by artificial intelligence leaders in the U.S. to slow down the development of AI. And P.R.'s Rob Schmidt's reports, Chinese officials call these part of a quote, cold-war playbook. The comments followed an essay published over the weekend by anthropic CEO Dario Amade,

2:06an adorst by open-AICO Sam Altman and space ex-founder Elon Musk, to deliberately slow down the pace of AI models for the sake of safety, adding that a Chinese lead in AI would pose a quote, grave danger for the U.S. and the world. China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo-Jakuin responded by saying that, quote, fear-mongering, confrontation and malicious competition will only disrupt the process of global AI governance and serve no one's interests. President Trump also criticized Amade's essay, saying the U.S. is leading China in AI, and that he wants to keep it that way. Rob Schmidt's and P.R. News. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. says it is close to bankruptcy. The Center's board, he said to me today, members told a federal judge, they could be forced to shut down the Kennedy Center as soon as today. You're listening to NPR. Officials in Lithuania say NATO jets shot down a drone today about 60 miles west of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

3:08It is not yet clear who was controlling the drone. Emmy and Tony Award-winning costume and fashion designer Bob Mackie died yesterday at the age of 87. He closed some leading stars, including Tina Turner, Elton John, and most famously, Carol Burnett and Cher. Jeff London reports Mackie's outfits were sleek, be jeweled, and at times outrageous. Carol Burnett and Cher were nothing alike. Burnett was wacky and occasionally glamorous and Cher sleek draped in sequence, and she often bared her belly button. But during the 1970s, Bob Mackie designed costumes for both of their variety shows and discovered. They had exactly the same measurements, body-wise, and height and everything. It was amazing. If we needed a Minnie Mouse costume, I said, oh, I've got one of Carol's, it'll fit her perfectly. The zuberant costume designer said that the two occasionally appeared on each other's shows, and once Burnett dressed as Cher and Cher as Burnett, swapping costumes.

4:12For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. There was a big winner at last night's Emmy Awards handed out for the best in television, the horror comedy Widows Bay won 14 awards. That included best lead actor for Michael Reese, best supporting actress for Kate O'Flynn, and best supporting actor for Stephen Roach. I'm Corvacolman, NPR News in Washington. Hey, what's your problem? No, seriously, are your grocery bills too high? Are you spending too much time on your phone? Maybe you're searching for a new job or you're trying to figure out how to set boundaries with your family? Whatever's on your mind, life kit has you covered, with three episodes every week on health, money, mental health, and so much more. Listen to the life kit podcast in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.