NPR News: 09-20-2026 1PM EDT

0:00This message comes from Thumbtack. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between Matt, Paint, Finish, and Satin, or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app. Download today. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Saudi Arabia is confirming that Yemen's Houthi rebels tried to attack Riyadh with a ballistic missile. Ampere Zaya Batrawi reports, it comes as a group say half of Yemen's population needs humanitarian assistance. The UN World Food Program says that in just a matter of days this month, 125,000 people were displaced in Yemen. And it says that number will likely rise as frontline fighting moves. Allison Botanley is with the aid group the Norwegian Refugee Council in Yemen.

1:01It's a very dynamic moving, massive scale of displacement. Botanley says the situation is dire. Most of the camps are already full, so they're hoping to find space or they move on or they try to find someone in the local villages that will help them, but people are also sleeping under trees. The UN Refugee Council says more than 2400 people have fled Yemen this past week alone. A. Batrawi and peer news, Dubai. Democrats and journalists are warning that President Trump's decision to ban CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House would limit freedom of the press, but the White House defends it. In Piers Lydia Calitri reports, it comes as Trump has faced several setbacks this week. After President Trump announced the ban on Friday, former President Barack Obama said it was unimaginable what the reaction would have been if he had done the same during his presidency. You just can't come to the White House press briefings anymore. Because you're giving the current president unfavorable coverage.

2:03You and Ambassador Mike Waltz defended Trump's ban on Sunday, telling CNN. The president is absolutely within his rights to limit journalists to government facilities. Particularly when in his opinion, they're not behaving as good faith journalists. White House Correspondents Association president Jackie Heinrich says that denying access to journalists violates the First Amendment. Lydia Calitri, MPR News, Washington. Early voting for November's General Election gets underway in several more states this week. Piers Steven Vowler reports political campaigns and outside groups have pledged nearly $2 billion in ads that will run between now and election day. Republicans have a spending advantage in eight of the nine most competitive US Senate races. That's thanks to outside groups like two Trump-aligned super PACs that have dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into races in just the last two weeks. But if you look at where that money's going, you see the GOP is playing defense.

3:05Like spending in house districts where Trump won by more than 10 or 15 points in 2024 in Texas, Kentucky, and Alabama. And those Senate races and reliably red states that Democrats now have a chance to flip. Steven Vowler, MPR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Cuba is restoring power after another nationwide blackout left millions in the dark. The latest collapse comes nine months into a US oil blockade that's deepened the island's fuel crisis. And Piers-Eta Peralta has more from Mexico City. Cuba's electrical grid has been on the ropes for years, but ever since the US enacted an oil blockade in January, nationwide blackouts have become commonplace. This year there have been at least six total collapses. The Cuban government says this one started in the West and spread to the whole island on Friday. By Saturday morning, some of the grid had come online and most of the capital, Havana, had been restored.

4:06Even outside these blackouts, Cubans have been living with precious little electricity, often going more than 30 hours at a time without power. The US government says the oil blockade is intended to bring a political transition in Cuba, but the Cuban government says right now there are no active negotiations with the United States. It'll brought up NPR News, Mexico City. Russia says Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones overnight around the country and hundreds of targets in Moscow, including a major oil refinery and a residential building. At least two people are dead, dozens of others are wounded. Ukraine's president Zelensky says the attack was aimed at oil and logistics facilities to put pressure on Russia's economy. This comes a week after President Trump told Zelensky to stop hitting Russian diesel infrastructure. It happened during the final day of Russia's parliamentary elections. Russia's Ministry of Defense says it shot down many of the drones. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from Thumbtack.

5:07Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start, Thumbtack knows homes so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between Matt Payne finish and Satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app. Download today.