NPR News: 09-20-2026 3PM EDT
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What is President Trump's proposed 250‑foot arch and why is it controversial?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. President Trump has revealed plans to make his proposed two hundred fifty foot arch in Washington DC serve as a quote military complex, including areas for military snipers and weaponry. Imperial's Kristen Wright has more.
President Trump says on true social military operations at the proposed triumphal arch near the national mall are needed for national security purposes. He says at the request of the military, the arch will post snipers and house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones and ammunition. The administration's plans to build the arch between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial have been met with opposition. Three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian sued, claiming the president needs congressional approval and that the arch would obscure a historically symbolic sight line. The National Park Service hasn't given final approval.
How are new Republican super‑PACs influencing the 2026 Senate and House races?
Trump has also framed plans for a White House ballroom and underground bunker as a matter of national security.
To help out vulnerable Republican candidates. And Pierre Stephen Fowler reports some one hundred fifty million is from two new se super PACs.
It's part of this post-Labor Day Republican money bomb that has led to the GOP having more planned spending than Democrats in eight of nine key Senate races, Georgia being the only exception. Looking in context at data from the tracking firm Ad Impact, there's been almost $4 billion in ad reservations planned for House and Senate races. But one of these new groups, No Going Back Pack, is already quite quickly one of the largest spenders of the entire midterm in just the span of a few weeks.
and Pierre Stephen Fowler reporting. Russia says Ukraine launched more than a thousand drones into its country, including hundreds into Moscow, as Russia was holding state elections. Moscow's mayor calls it the largest attack ever on the Russian capital.
What impact did the massive Ukrainian drone attacks have on Russian infrastructure and elections?
Imperius Joanna Kakisis has more.
The governor of the Moscow region said the area had come under a large scale drone attack early Sunday. Russian air defense shot down more than 240 Ukrainian attack drones. But some of those drones did hit their target. The Gazprom Neft Moscow oil refinery. The Ukrainian military claims its drones damaged three units there. Videos on social media show the facility on fire. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the military also struck a logistics facility in Russia. The strikes happened during the first parliamentary vote in Russia since twenty twenty two when the Kremlin ordered the full scale invasion of Ukraine. Joanna Kakisis N PR News Kyiv.
Why have diesel prices in the United States hit a new record of $6.50 per gallon?
Meanwhile, diesel prices in the US reached another record. Triple A says the average price of a gallon of diesel is six dollars fifty cents. This is NPR. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Mertz had a brutal election setback today when voters in two state elections dealt him a historic defeat for his party, as the far right alternative for Germany made significant gains. Early projections by public broadcaster ARD show Mertz's center right Christian Democratic Union got just about five percent in Mecklenburg, Western Pomerania. The party's worst result since World War two. Mertz says his party's results were quote a disaster, but he also pledged to press ahead with his government's reform agenda, saying Germany's economic and political problems mean difficult and possibly unpopular moves are more urgent.
New York regulators will be taking a closer look at how the state's utilities use AI. Samuel King with New York Public News Network has more.
More utilities are using AI for things like facility inspections, outage modeling, and customer service, but New York's Public Service Commission says their growing use of AI comes with risks like hacking or model errors that could impact the electrical grid or other resources.
What does Germany’s recent election setback mean for Chancellor Mertz’s reform agenda?
So they want utilities to file semi annual reports to better inform potential regulations. Dennis Dabari is with the state's Department of Public Service.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is President Trump's proposed 250‑foot arch and why is it controversial?
0:00–0:55
2
How are new Republican super‑PACs influencing the 2026 Senate and House races?
0:55–2:04
3
What impact did the massive Ukrainian drone attacks have on Russian infrastructure and elections?
2:04–2:52
4
Why have diesel prices in the United States hit a new record of $6.50 per gallon?
2:52–4:08
5
What does Germany’s recent election setback mean for Chancellor Mertz’s reform agenda?
4:08–4:44
6
How is New York regulating utility companies’ use of AI to protect the power grid?
4:44–5:04