NPR News: 09-16-2026 5PM EDT
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Why is President Trump criticizing the Fed’s recent interest‑rate hike?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump expressed his displeasure with the Fed after it raised interest rates today, posting online that US interest rates should be one percent or less because he says the country is booming. The Fed says the move is intended to counteract elevated inflation. NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben has more.
Speaking to Fox News, White House spokesman Cush Desai called the decision unfortunate, adding that the White House fears the higher rates will slow economic growth. Kevin Wars took over as Fed chair in May as Jerome Powell's term as chair ended. Trump often criticized and even insulted Powell publicly, saying Powell was keeping interest rates too high. The administration also launched a criminal investigation into Powell regarding renovations of the Federal Reserve building. The Justice Department dropped that investigation in April.
What is the scope of the $2.8 billion arms package the Trump administration is selling to Israel?
The Trump Treasury Department has attempted to lower longer-term interest rates by buying back debt, but rates have not fallen in a sustained way. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.
The Trump administration is consulting with Congress about a large package of munitions for Israel. It's one of the largest single sales in recent years. NPR's Michelle Calluman reports it includes a large number of two thousand-pound bombs.
How are Senate health‑care nominees being questioned about measles and the MMR vaccine?
The $2.8 billion package, first reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by NPR, would include 40,000 of those two thousand-pound bombs. The Biden administration had delayed a package of those munitions out of concern for civilian deaths in Gaza, but President Trump reversed that policy when he came back to office. The State Department wouldn't comment on pending sales. But on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Chris Van Holland says he will work to stop the arms deal, while Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quote keeps bombing Gaza and blocks justice for Americans killed on Netanyahu's watch.
Which federal grant programs have been cut or frozen by the Trump administration and why?
Michelle Kellaman NPR News, the State Department.
The Senate Committee on Health held a confirmation hearing today for three of the Trump administration's picks for top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. As NPR Selena Simmons Duffin reports, Senators from both parties questioned the nominees on measles cases and vaccines.
President Trump's pick for Surgeon General is Dr.
What caused the San Francisco Opera musicians to strike and how is the organization responding?
Nicole Sapphire, a radiologist and former Fox News commentator. At the very beginning of the hearing, Chair Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, who's a physician, challenged Sapphire on the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles.
Does it cause autism?
I do not believe childhood
vaccines
cause autism.
How are farms across America honoring Dolly Parton with corn mazes and charitable fundraising?
Cassidy then asked if parents should get their kids vaccinated against measles.
The best tool we have to combat these infections to save the most lives and to also create population herd immunity is vaccination against the MMR.
Those are different positions than that of the man who will be Sapphire's boss if she's confirmed. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior, a longtime anti vaccine activist. Selena Simmons Duffin, NPR News, Washington.
You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177 billion in federal grants since the president since President Trump took office for his second term. That's according to an analysis by the state's United Democracy Center. Health, nutrition, the environment, and disaster relief make up the largest share of the cuts. The eliminated frozen or delayed grants include maternal health in Michigan, education research in Mississippi, and assistance to minority farmers in Iowa. The San Francisco Opera has canceled performances and postponed its annual gala because of a strike called by the company's orchestra. And Pierre's Chloe Veltman reports it comes after a proposed twenty percent pay cut the musicians say would push their pay back to twenty eighteen levels.
In a statement, the San Francisco Opera says the proposed pay levels reflect long-term economic realities, costs have outpaced revenue, and the growing economic strain has caused a $15 million annual deficit.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Why is President Trump criticizing the Fed’s recent interest‑rate hike?
0:00–0:49
2
What is the scope of the $2.8 billion arms package the Trump administration is selling to Israel?
0:49–1:12
3
How are Senate health‑care nominees being questioned about measles and the MMR vaccine?
1:12–1:51
4
Which federal grant programs have been cut or frozen by the Trump administration and why?
1:51–2:12
5
What caused the San Francisco Opera musicians to strike and how is the organization responding?
2:12–2:31
6
How are farms across America honoring Dolly Parton with corn mazes and charitable fundraising?
2:31–5:03