NPR News: 09-15-2026 7PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton, FBI Director Cash Patel, clashed with Democrats today over his firing of agents who participated in investigations of President Trump during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Patel also suggested that he was open to sending agents to polling places after he'd previously said he would not. New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker called him an incompetent lackey. He's like an 18-year-old kid who wants to join a fraternity that he could never be a member of, doing keg stands and chugging with friends. He's an embarrassment to the agency and wouldn't qualify even to be an FBI agent, sir. President Trump has tried to assert more control over the midterm elections earlier this week the Supreme Court ruled against Trump's order seeking to restrict mail-in voting. The Kennedy Center Board has voted to shut down the performing arts venue for renovations. This follows a federal court decision to once again block the board from putting President Trump's name back on the complex and appears on Associate Silcus has more. In his decision, Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the board may not put Trump's name back

1:04on the building or rename the grounds as the President Donald J. Trump Plaza as its members had wanted. Cooper wrote, quote, simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or any one or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing. The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted. The board has now responded by voting to shut down the center citing what it describes as structural hazards and a dire financial outlook. Anastasiya Tsulkas and Pierre News. The State Department says it is reprogramming $52 million in foreign military funding to focus more on the Western hemisphere, unless on Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In Pierre's Michelle Kellman reports it comes just after Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to South America. The foreign military financing program provides grants and loans to countries to buy U.S. military equipment and training. The State Department says for the last decade, 80 percent of that went to the Middle East. But now the Department has told Congress that it is redirecting $52 million meant for

2:09Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq, and moving that to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Secretary Rubio visited those last three countries just last week, promising to help them fight what he calls Narco Terrorism. He also wants to ensure that they rely on U.S. defense capabilities and not give a foothold to China or other U.S. adversaries. Michelle Kellman and Pierre News, the State Department. Pennsylvania officials are reporting a fourth measles associated death. An 18-year-old died from a severe neurological complication of the virus. One of the four who have died were vaccinated. The U.S. is experiencing its worst measles years since 1991, with seven deaths and two years. Pennsylvania's outbreak includes nearly 700 illnesses across 38 counties. This is NPR. A Paris court has awarded Kim Kardashian one euro in compensation for an armed robbery she experienced in 2016. It was a token amount she had requested.

3:11The court found eight people guilty last year for their roles in the robbery, which Kardashian describes as the most terrifying experience of her life. The court also awarded a former hotel receptionist more than 100,000 euros for trauma suffered during the heist. Antarctic krill, the shrimp-like crustaceans underpinning the food web of the southern ocean, have been found in a surprising habitat. And Pierre's Aridaneal reports. Antarctic krill tend to be located in the upper ocean, and occasionally deeper. But researchers spotted them off the Antarctic peninsula at a hydrothermal vent for the first time. Basically, a hot spring sumed 3,600 feet underwater. Kim Bernard is a biological oceanographer at Oregon State University. It's like underwater ballet. It just looks like they're perwitting. The four individuals she sampled were reproductive females. It may be they were there to feed on microbes or stock up on minerals, useful for embryo development. For it's say it may be worth creating a marine protected area process that allows new habitats

4:11like this one to be added as they're discovered. Aridaneal and Pierre News Soccer legend, Leonel Messi might have one last dance with Argentina after all. Despite announcing his international retirement, the 39-year-old has been included in the 28-man Argentina squad ahead of three friendly matches. Messi hasn't confirmed he'll accept, but the head of Argentina Soccer says he'll play the October 6th game against Benin in Buenos Aires. This is NPR News.