Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Subscribe to NPR's Up First Email The Domino’s Pizza Tracker Theory of Everything September 18, 2026 • Did a pizza restaurant’s humble status page change how we wait forever? The Domino’s Pizza Tracker Theory of Everything Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5974101/nx-s1-mx-5974101-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Chinese and US flags wave outside a technology company in Beijing, on April 17, 2025. (Photo by PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images) AFP hide caption When Trump and Xi meet they will discuss AI. 'Track Two' talks are already buzzing September 18, 2026 • An informal network of dialogues at think tanks and universities is bringing together experts from the U.S. and China to talk about the shared perils of AI — and possible paths forward. Syrian regime planned American journalist's kidnapping for weeks September 18, 2026 • New reporting finds the abduction of journalist Austin Tice was planned by the Syrian government for weeks. Lego does not measure up to Hollywood's size, despite its wild popularity. And even if with higher value sets like this appealing to a broader customer base. Screenshot of the Death StarTM /lego.com hide caption What expensive sulfur means for your dinner table September 18, 2026 • Oil supplies are falling, sulfur prices are threatening food costs, and we measure Lego against Hollywood Will even one of the U.N.'s 17 'sustainable development goals' be met by 2030? September 18, 2026 • The 17 goals agreed upon by world leaders are incredibly ambitious. Are we even close to achieving any of them? If we don't, is the project a failure? Protesters in kayaks along the Potomac River protest near the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2026. Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Up First Newsletter Judge says Trump can't demolish Kennedy Center. And, lawsuits target voter intimidation September 18, 2026 • A federal judge ruled yesterday that President Trump cannot tear down the Kennedy Center without a 30-day notice. And, recent lawsuits seek to keep armed federal officers away from polling sites. Kennedy Center Demolition Threat, Trump's Troubles, Poland Warns Of Russian Attacks Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-143913/nx-s1-mx-5973805-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Honoree Rachel Accurso (aka Ms. Rachel) and her husband, Aron Accurso, attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at The Plaza Hotel on Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images hide caption Ms. Rachel has entered her album era, and she is so happy about it September 18, 2026 • Ms. Rachel has conquered YouTube, Netflix and the toy aisle. Now she's making an album, with real instruments, big feelings and her littlest listeners in mind. Ms. Rachel has entered her album era, and she is so happy about it Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5938847/nx-s1-9931346" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> FILE - Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a game of bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting May 5, 2019, in Omaha, Neb. Nati Harnik/AP hide caption Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman September 18, 2026 • Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after serving in the role for more than 50 years. His son, Howard, will become Berkshire Hathaway's new chairman Members of a women's church group sing next to a melted candle as they pay their respects at the site where the body of a woman was discovered the previous week, in Kempton Park, South Africa, east of Johannesburg, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Themba Hadebe/AP hide caption South Africa 'feels like a prison' for women amid spate of femicides September 18, 2026 • South Africa has some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, and a spate of killings of nine women in the same area in recent weeks has led to renewed outrage. From left: Macklemore, Kim Kardashian, Celine Dion. Morgan Hancock/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue; Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption The NPR news quiz True or false: Trump's name is now on the Kennedy Center. The quiz has the answer September 18, 2026 • The world made it to another Friday without an AI apocalypse, so here's the quiz! See you next week … maybe. When speaking this month at the Republican convention in Dallas, Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, made no secret of the fact he needed financial backup. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption Republican 'cavalry' arrives with a Trump-backed $150 million ad blitz in key races September 18, 2026 • To counter a difficult political environment, two Trump-aligned super PACs have reserved more than $150 million in ads — primarily in deep red House and Senate races that have now become competitive. Republican ‘cavalry’ arrives with a Trump-backed $150 million ad blitz in key races Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5971202/nx-s1-9931402" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Guy Davies, an inspector for the Florida Division of Plant Industry, checks an orange tree for the insect Asian citrus psyllid that carries the bacterium causing disease, "citrus greening," from tree to tree on May 13, 2013, in Fort Pierce, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption Could trees developed with gene-editing technology protect Florida's citrus industry? September 18, 2026 • A bacterial infection is wiping out Florida's citrus trees. Growers hope a rootstock developed with gene-editing technology could keep the disease at bay. Could genetically modified trees protect Florida's citrus industry? 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Signage directs voters at a polling place in White Bear Township, Minn., on Aug. 11. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images hide caption A DHS email raises new questions about the Trump administration's election plans September 18, 2026 • A heavily redacted email from last year, reported first by NPR, reveals that DHS personnel shared a list of jurisdictions that offer election materials in non-English languages. It's unclear why. Cynthia Montoya sits in the living room of her home in Thornton, Colo., where photographs and memories of her daughter, Juliana, surround her. Juliana was 13 years old when she started using AI chatbots, and within a year she died by suicide. Jimena Peck for NPR hide caption How Google is drafting AI chatbot laws around the country September 18, 2026 • As states push to regulate chatbots, tech companies are trying to write safety rules in ways that exempt some of their key products. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks to the press during a press conference in the gardens of the Prime Minister's Chancellery building in Warsaw on July 3. Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Poland's prime minister warns of Russian 'accidental' attacks on Ukraine's allies September 18, 2026 • Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that these potential strikes "intend to paralyze NATO" in an attempt to demonstrate that Article 5 "exists only in theory." Poland's prime minister says Russia could strike countries that support Ukraine Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5973265/nx-s1-9931400" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Tents are lined up in the Al-Firdaws camp for displaced Yemenis in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP hide caption What to know after a week of Houthi attacks that threaten Saudi oil September 18, 2026 • The Houthis' biggest land grab in years reignited Yemen's 12-year civil war and pushed up global fuel prices, extending their reach to a key maritime chokepoint and threatening Saudi Arabia's oil exports. A voter casts her ballot in Colorado's primary election at the Central Library on June 30 in Denver. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images hide caption It's illegal for armed federal officers to be at polls. Lawsuits seek to ensure that September 18, 2026 • The latest lawsuit, first reported by NPR, argues the Trump administration's repeated suggestions that federal officers could be at polling sites is a form of illegal voter intimidation. The Indicator from Planet Money OpenAI's waiting game, gas pump pain, and severe sulfur strain! September 18, 2026 • This week’s indicators: Tracking your pain at the gas pump in real-time; OpenAI’s IPO hard-launch tug-of-war; one unexpected ingredient is making fertilizer—and potentially your groceries—a whole lot more expensive. OpenAI's waiting game, gas pump pain, and severe sulfur strain! Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5973282/nx-s1-mx-5973282-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> It's Been a Minute The report that changed public education September 18, 2026 • In 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a 60-year debate over race, resources, and what education in America is actually for. This is the story of how the report came together… and the policy whirlwind that followed. The report that changed public education Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5971415/nx-s1-mx-5971415-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Experts are sounding the alarm on advanced AI development... and calling for an industry-wide slowdown. Are they being paranoid about AI takeover? Or should we be concerned? J Studios/Getty Images hide caption The latest on AI panic — and whether it's justified September 18, 2026 • AI is in the news again – for its potential to end civilization. A researcher at Anthropic resigned very publicly last week, citing concerns about the accelerating capabilities of AI and what he called “irresponsible” behavior from major AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI. Following his resignation, the leaders of both companies called for an internationally cooperative, industry-wide slowdown on advanced AI development. And Wednesday, OpenAI disclosed six more incidents of “unexpected or concerning model behavior” and debuted a new framework for reporting misalignments. So, given all these events, how worried should we be about the future of AI? And what safety measures are – or could be – set in place to safeguard humanity? NPR’s power and policy reporter Huo Jingnan reports. SCI POD - AI slow roll Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5971154/nx-s1-mx-5971154-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Savannah Sampson, right, and Nicole Lewis, help set up a vigil for the victims of Tuesday's fatal SUV-Metro bus collision and the subsequent crash of a TV news helicopter that was covering it in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption The driver who slammed into an LA bus before helicopter crash is charged with murder September 18, 2026 • An SUV driver was under the influence of drugs when she swerved into the wrong lane, blew a red light and slammed into a Los Angeles city bus, killing two riders, prosecutors said as they charged her with murder. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a call for a slowdown of frontier AI research over the weekend. Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images hide caption Sources & Methods AI hacks are already here / U.S.-China race dynamics / Global guardrails September 17, 2026 • All a sudden everyone is talking about the risk of an AI catastrophe or, in the case of President Trump, an AI "hoax." AI hacks are already here / U.S.-China race dynamics / Global guardrails Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5971502/nx-s1-mx-5971502-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Gastonia Municipal Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Gastonia, N.C. Matt Kelley/AP hide caption Trump withdraws Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, as his nominee to lead ICE September 17, 2026 • The White House says it is withdrawing its nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead ICE, ensuring that an agency at the forefront of President Trump's domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer. ICE agent Christian Castro gets in a vehicle surrounded by journalists after leaving the Cameron County Detention Center in Brownsville, Texas. Michael Gonzalez/AP hide caption ICE agent appears in Minnesota court to face charges in the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant September 17, 2026 • Christian Castro, a federal immigration officer, made his first court appearance in Minnesota since he was booked Wednesday into a local jail. Castro faces multiple state and federal charges in connection with a shooting during the immigration surge in Minnesota.