NPR News: 09-19-2026 1AM EDT

0:00This message comes from ODO. Running a business shouldn't feel like surviving a software group project. Start managing your business with one unified system. ODO is the all-in-one business management software. Drive for free today at odu.com slash NPR podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump used social media Friday to announce that CNN, Politico and MSNOW are being banned from the White House. Trump said all three outlets were reporting fake news. NPR's David Fulkenflick says CNN offered a quick response. CNN put out a statement today saying that they would stand by their White House team, their fair and accurate reporting. They say there's right under the Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government. And they said it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental constitutionally protected right. Should the ban that President Trump announced go ahead? Trump said the ban takes effect immediately and could be expanded to other news outlets.

1:03Google now says for the first time its AI model Gemini was involved in hacking incidents that were not planned. The news comes after other AI companies have reported AI agents going rogue. In what NPR's John Ruhrge says is a series of episodes that have raised concerns about AI spiraling out of control. Google says there were three instances of its AI going off script, all of which it says it reported to the entities involved. The company says during a standard evaluation its AI model found public information online and guessed credentials to access websites it thought were part of the test. In all three it says the model stopped. The company did not say which entities were breached. Heather Adkins, Vice President of Security Engineering at Google, says the company worked with a partner involved in the model training to change the testing process. Adkins says the events highlight the importance of training AI to act responsibly. Concern about AI going off script is soared in recent weeks and the Google incidents add to a growing list of examples.

2:03John Ruhrge and PR News. President Trump says all 50 states have applied for a pilot program to lower Medicaid drug prices. It's part of the administration's most favored nation deals with drug companies. Those deals are meant to bring prices down to levels paid in other wealthy countries. Impares Sidney Lepkin as more on that story. State Medicaid programs had to apply by September 10th to view details about the pilot's drug discounts. President Trump announced today from the Oval Office that all of them did, but those applications aren't binding. States have until the end of the month to sign formal participation agreements. So far, 40 states in Puerto Rico have done that according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Rising drug costs have strained state Medicaid budgets. It is not yet clear which drugs will be discounted or how much more money Medicaid will be able to save beyond the discounts it already gets. Sidney Lepkin and PR News. In-person voting for the November midterm elections is underway in several states now.

3:04Early voting opened in Virginia Friday, while citizens in a few other states including Minnesota and South Dakota can now cast absentee ballots in person. Americans now have just six weeks until those crucial elections. This is NPR News. The UN's World Food Program has a new executive director. It's American Luke Lindbergh. He'll succeed Cindy McCain who left for health reasons. And Pairs Michelle Kellerman tells us more about him. The U.S. has long been the largest donor to the World Food Program and the State Department says Luke Lindbergh is the right leader to continue this tradition. The Department says he has a proven record of public service, a commitment to accountability and a clear understanding that humanitarian assistance must reach those who need it most. Lindbergh, who's in his late 30s, was tapped by President Trump as an undersecretary at the Department of Agriculture. He's the son-in-law of Senate Majority Leader John Thune and he founded and led South Dakota Trade, which works to expand international markets for the state.

4:07Michelle Kellerman and P.R. News, the State Department. Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Tehran Friday pledging their readiness to get trained and take up arms after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February. The rally in weapons display was organized by the government and came as the U.S. began applying new measures to increase economic problems for that country. Officials in Ukraine say a Russian glide bomb has hit an apartment building in the northern city of Sumi that happened on Friday. At least two people were killed and seven others injured, including three that are listed in serious condition. Four people were rescued after the attack and more could still be buried beneath the rubble. Russian forces also hit a clinic in another city and a logistics center outside Kiev. Stocks finished mostly up on Friday and Wall Street. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. This message comes from Wellthrundt. Earn a high APY on all your cash in a Wellthrundt cash account. No more juggling between checking and savings, just one account that delivers the best of both and makes every dollar work harder.

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