NPR News: 06-18-2026 5AM EDT
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What recent military developments did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announce?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. is reviewing its military forces in Europe. Hegseth made the announcement today while speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels after criticizing allies he says have not done enough to provide for their own security. Hegseth also described as shameful European allies that denied U.S. forces access to their bases for American attacks against Iran. Those countries include France and Spain. A formal signing ceremony is being held in Geneva tomorrow on the deal to end the war between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump says he's signed the Memorandum of Understanding. Two researchers at MIT say they believe they've uncovered how a top-secret Russian missile actually flies.
NPR's Jeff Brumfield says Moscow has fired that missile at Ukraine.
In October, Russia launched what it said was a nuclear-powered missile. The missile flew for almost 15 hours, far longer than a regular missile could. Jake Heckla is a researcher at MIT. He says nuclear-powered flight is something that is possible, but wildly expensive and very dangerous. Heckla and his colleague Scott Kemp analyzed the missile. They believe it's sucking air directly through its nuclear core and spewing radioactivity as it flies.
As a result, anyone living near is at enormous risk, potentially.
And the missile isn't all that useful, he says. Despite being nuclear-powered, it's relatively slow-moving and easy to shoot down. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
The latest poll from NPR, PBS News, and Marist shows President Trump's approval ratings have fallen to record lows. One-third of Americans say they approve of Trump's handling of the U.S. economy. That's three points lower than President Biden's lowest rating during his four years. The poll shows 36 percent of Americans approve of Trump's overall job performance. The Senate postponed yesterday's confirmation hearing for President Trump's pick to be permanent director of national intelligence. NPR's Eric McDaniel reports.
President Trump has two demands on Senate Republicans. First, he'll hold back Jay Clayton, his permanent pick as director of national intelligence, until Clayton's replacement as a federal prosecutor gets confirmed by the Senate. That leaves the very controversial Bill Pulte in the job as acting DNI. Second, Trump says he'll block renewal of a key spy law until Senate Republicans pass his election security bill, the Save America Act. They've tried twice and failed twice because the election bill doesn't have enough support to become law. It's unusual for the president to block the confirmation of his own cabinet nominee and the surveillance tool the government says is responsible for 60% of the material in the president's daily intelligence briefing.
Eric McDaniel, NPR News, Washington.
This is NPR News. Police in Ohio say they've arrested a second suspect linked to a shooting at a neighborhood street festival in Toledo. It left 12 people wounded. A 20-year-old man was taken into custody yesterday. The other suspect, also 20 years old, was arrested nearly a week earlier. The gunfire erupted on June 6th when large crowds were attending the Old West End Festival in Toledo's historic district. Police say the shooting occurred after a fight between rival groups escalated. Stocks on Wall Street ended lower yesterday after the Federal Reserve decided to leave U.S. interest rates unchanged.
How did MIT researchers uncover details about a Russian missile?
NPR's Scott Horsley says the Dow lost more than 500 points, or close to 1%.
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rates steady, but updated forecasts suggest members of the Fed's rate-setting committee expect to raise rates by a quarter percentage point before the end of the year. The news comes as a wartime spike in energy prices has pushed inflation to its highest level in more than three years. The Fed's new chairman, Kevin Warsh, vowed he and his colleagues will bring prices under control.
I've said for years inflation is a choice. You bet it is. And today I'm announcing that this committee unambiguously and unanimously have decided we are going to deliver on that.
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