NPR News: 09-15-2026 3PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Kennedy Center Board has voted to shut down the venue for renovations. This follows a decision from a federal judge to once again block the Kennedy Center's board from putting President Trump's name back on the complex. And peers on Estatia Celcus reports. In his decision, Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the board may not put Trump's name back on 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 anyone 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. Anastasia Celcus and P.R. News. President Trump is rebuking the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against his executive order to

1:03restrict mail-in voting in this year's midterm elections. On social media today, he said the justices who opposed him were, quote, not the people I interviewed. The high court had rule that restrictions would most likely lose in court, at least for the November vote. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the court's decision does not affect ongoing investigations into possible voter fraud. Part of the decision was the timing and that we ran out of time because of the litigation in part. And so our efforts to, and President Trump's efforts to make sure that we have free and fair elections are not going to stop just in November or after or thereafter. So I expect you can see that work continue. Leading today's White House press briefing Blanche also addressed the intensifying debate over AI, asserting that recent alarms are, quote, nothing but an effort to influence the midterms. Major AI industry leaders are collectively calling for a slowdown in development. President Trump fiercely opposes that, saying the U.S. needs to stay ahead of China in

2:05AI. The average American family made more money last year than in 2024, while the number of people living in poverty fell. And Pierre Scott Horsley reports on a new snapshot from the Census Bureau. The median American family made a little over $87,000 last year. That's up 2.6% from 2024. Families at the top of the income ladder saw bigger gains than those at the bottom. The share of families living in poverty fell slightly to 10.2%. The annual snapshot from the Census Bureau comes as many Americans are wrestling with stubborn inflation that's been rekindled by the war with Iran. Vice-hikes have been outpacing wage gains for the last five months. It was a happier story in 2025 when the typical households saw real improvements in their purchasing power and less caution. Some of those gains could be eroded in the coming years by cuts to the social safety net. Scott Horsley in Pair News, Washington. This is NPR. A spokesperson for Prince Harry and his wife, Megan, says the couple, have moved their

3:07two children to a new school over security concerns. This, coming weeks after the family relocated back to the United Kingdom. Local media reported the distance of the school run and heavy traffic on the route were among the security concerns raised. Harry and Megan gave up their royal duties more than six years ago and moved to California. They now live at a non-royal residence outside London. Jean Smart of the comedy Hacks made history at last night's Emmy Awards ceremony. And PR's Mandelite del Bautico report Smart is the first woman to win best actress for every season the show's run. On Hacks, Jean Smart plays a comedian who gets her own late-night talk show. She teams up with a younger writer played by Hannah Einbinder. For playing comedian Deborah Vance, Smart picked up her fifth consecutive Emmy award. Joking that women in the audience must be tired of having to stand up to applaud her

4:10win. This is Smart's eighth Emmy award in her career. Mandelite del Bautico NPR News The United Windows Recruple AA reports the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is edged higher to $4.33 in the price of diesel also up. This is NPR. Up first from NPR News is your way to slow down a fast moving world and make sense of it, which is just what tech leaders say they need right now. One of the big stories this week is that tech leaders say they want to slow down AI development. Also the latest fighting in the Middle East could push oil prices even higher. Start your day with what you need to know on up first. Listen, on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.