Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Subscribe to NPR's Up First Email A police commando stands guard at the High Court complex ahead of a verdict related to the 2019 Easter bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. Eranga Jayawardane/AP hide caption Sri Lanka court convicts 15 over deadly 2019 Easter bombings September 22, 2026 • The Islamic State group-inspired attacks were among the deadliest in Sri Lanka's history, killing 42 foreigners. The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House is seen in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21, 2026. Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Up First Newsletter CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump. And, Paramount settles in massive merger lawsuit September 22, 2026 • CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued Trump after the networks were suspended from the White House. And, Paramount makes concessions to resolve a lawsuit over its massive Warner Bros. Discovery merger. News Outlets Protest Trump's Media Bans, Trump At UNGA, Paramount Merger Settlement Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-144512/nx-s1-mx-5977558-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Yemen's Houthi armed forces patrol as Yemeni prisoners loyal to the Houthi authorities arrive in the capital Sanaa on Sep. 12, after being released on the west coast where they were being held by Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces. Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Middle East conflict Houthis try to push deeper into western Yemen, upending life, witnesses tell NPR September 22, 2026 • As the U.S. conflict with Iran drags, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have opened a new front, taking new territory and displacing more than 100,000 people. The capture of Western Yemen is making the country's humanitarian crisis worse Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-144261/nx-s1-9933483" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Then-CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta talks with reporters as he returns to the White House after his press pass was restored on Nov. 16, 2018, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption A journalist once barred from the White House says this media ban is different September 22, 2026 • Jim Acosta has already been through a White House press-pass fight. Now, three news organizations are barred, and he says the press is showing solidarity that should have come sooner. Former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta on White House's ban of 3 media outlets Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5976755/nx-s1-9935562" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Where is Austin Tice?: The video September 22, 2026 • A video appears online titled: “Austin Tice Still Alive”. It shows Austin bound, blindfolded and terrified, surrounded by armed men. But as Josh and Sara dig deeper, the story begins to change. They uncover a trail that leads to the door of the most powerful man in Syria. Austin’s case is like no other. Where is Austin Tice?: The video Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5974112/nx-s1-mx-5974112-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> President Trump speaks about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Trump heads to the U.N. looking for wins after a rough week September 22, 2026 • The past couple of weeks have been particularly challenging for Trump with a series of legal and political setbacks. Trump heads to U.N. looking for wins after a rough week Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5976843/nx-s1-9935596" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> FILE - Diana, Princess of Wales waves to the crowd as she leaves the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney Australia, Friday, Nov. 1, 1996. RICK RYCROFT/AP hide caption New book by Princess Diana's brother prompts war of words with King Charles III September 22, 2026 • A new book by the late Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, has made headlines with damning allegations about King Charles III. Buckingham Palace responded with a strongly-worded statement. A United Nations logo on a security entrance door to the United Nations compound at the start of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at U.N. headquarters. Stefan Jeremiah/AP hide caption State of the World from NPR What role does the United Nations play now? September 21, 2026 • World leaders are again gathering in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. This will be the last meeting of the body for the current U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres. We hear about the challenges he faces in his final months in the job. And we hear from a U.N. insider about what the future of the body may be under the next secretary general. What role does the United Nations play now? Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5977036/nx-s1-mx-5977036-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on Sept. 29, 2025. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Up First Newsletter World leaders convene for UNGA. And, Trump says D.C. arch will be a 'military complex' September 21, 2026 • This week, world leaders convene for the U.N. General Assembly as war continues in Ukraine and the Gulf. And, President Trump has proposed that his arch serve as a military complex. UN General Assembly Week, Trump's Triumphal Arch, Trump Bans Media Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-144238/nx-s1-mx-5976010-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Supporters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appears on a screen in a TV studio following the closure of polling stations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state elections on September 20, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Michele Tantussi/Getty Images hide caption Germany's leader stands his ground after his party loses in state elections September 21, 2026 • German Chancellor Freidrich Merz conceded that the night spells "disaster" for the political center, but assured the public he'd push ahead with his federal agenda of tax and welfare reforms. Germany’s chancellor facing pressure after far right gains ground Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-144231/nx-s1-9934008" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks at the opening of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 8. Guterres will attend his last high-level week as secretary-general. Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images hide caption What to know as world leaders converge at the United Nations this week

September 21, 2026 • United Nations head António Guterres returns to New York for his final U.N. General Assembly as diplomacy falters over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the global body faces deep divisions. What to know as world leaders converge at the United Nations this week Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5971262/nx-s1-9934202" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> FILE - Colombians and Haitians who are accused of involvement in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise are escorted in handcuffs to their court hearing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 26, 2025. Odelyn Joseph/AP hide caption 18 suspects accused in the 2021 killing of Haiti's president being extradited to U.S. September 21, 2026 • Eighteen suspects who were arrested in the July 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were being extradited to the U.S. on Sunday to face justice in Florida. John Boyd Jr., left, and filmmaker Josh Tickell speak at the Washington premiere of "Common Ground" on Nov. 13, 2023. Boyd is a fourth-generation Virginia farmer and president of the National Black Farmers Association. Paul Morigi/Getty Images hide caption How a national farm leader is dealing with record diesel prices September 21, 2026 • John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, says soaring diesel costs are deepening a farm crisis as farmers face sharply higher fuel costs in the middle of harvest season. How rising diesel fuel costs are affecting American farmers Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5973073/nx-s1-9934052" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Lions walk in the Ngorongoro Crater in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, west of Arusha, northern Tanzania, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP hide caption Poison suspected in deaths of ten lions in game reserve in Tanzania September 20, 2026 • The lions were found dead inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a popular wildlife reserve in Tanzania. Deaths raise concerns over wildlife poisonings in East Africa. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks to media at the Christian Democratic Union party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. Markus Schreiber/AP hide caption Germany's Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after historic state election defeat September 20, 2026 • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has faced a major electoral setback in two state elections, with his center-right party losing ground. The far-right Alternative for Germany party made significant gains. The fisherfolk at Kasimedu Fishing Harbour in Chennai, India, love and fear the sea. Viraj Nayar hide caption These stunning photos capture the hard yet fulfilling lives of fisherfolk September 20, 2026 • In the bustling heart of the southern Indian city of Chennai is a market that never sleeps, where residents from the poorest neighborhoods wage a battle of survival with the sea. In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier prepares an FPV drone to fire towards Russian positions in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Andriy Andriyenko/Ukrainian 65 Mechanized brigade/ AP hide caption Ukraine invasion — explained Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia, including hundreds launched at Moscow September 20, 2026 • Moscow's mayor described the wave of drones as the "largest ever" attack on the Russian capital and said there had been damage to a Moscow oil refinery and a residential building. Supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebels shout slogans during a rally in support of the group in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday. Osamah Abdulrahman/AP hide caption Middle East conflict Saudi Arabia says Houthis tried to attack its capital September 19, 2026 • Saudi Arabia said Yemen's Houthi rebels tried to attack Riyadh with a ballistic missile, the first time its capital has been targeted since the escalation in fighting with the Iran-backed rebels. French UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol beyond the "yellow line" — the boundary of occupying Israeli forces — through the flattened towns of Houla, Kfar Kila, and Odaisseh. Israel has established a restricted buffer zone beyond that line after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire this year. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption The Picture Show The new lines of southern Lebanon September 19, 2026 • The U.N. expanded the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon's mandate 20 years ago to include monitoring adherence to a ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah — the militant group created in 1982 to counter a second Israeli invasion. Voters cast ballots at a polling station during Russia's parliamentary election, in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. AP Photo/AP hide caption Russia holds parliamentary vote in areas it seized from Ukraine in the war September 19, 2026 • Russia's parliamentary election for the first time is being held in Ukraine's regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago. Francesco Severino, a senior researcher in medical entomology, places a net over a cage containing mosquitoes inside a laboratory at the Italian National Institute of Health in Rome, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Gregorio Borgia/AP hide caption As Europe warms, Italy sees West Nile virus spread September 19, 2026 • Italian health authorities see evidence that rising temperatures and longer warm seasons are helping mosquitoes spread West Nile virus across a wider area, during more months of the year. Houses covered in snow are seen on the coast of a sea inlet of Nuuk, Greenland, March 7, 2025. Evgeniy Maloletka/AP hide caption U.S. and Denmark reach deal to build U.S. military presence in Greenland September 19, 2026 • President Trump says he has a deal with Denmark to bolster the U.S. military presence in Greenland. The announcement comes after months of threatening to take the island by force from the NATO ally. A woman votes in Russia's parliamentary election at a polling station in Saint Petersburg on September 18, 2026. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty hide caption State of the World from NPR A Russian election and a warning to Europe about Russian aggression September 18, 2026 • Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk says that Russia is planning “accidental” strikes on countries supporting Ukraine. This comes after a number of incidents, blamed on Russia, in countries that are part of the NATO alliance. A Russian election and a warning to Europe about Russian aggression Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5974242/nx-s1-mx-5974242-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a statement during a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption Consider This from NPR European leaders say Russia is provoking NATO. How will the alliance respond? September 18, 2026 • A number of European leaders have signaled that Russia is provoking nearby NATO countries. NATO’s article 5 is clear: an attack on one is an attack on all. But what counts as an attack? And how will NATO respond? European leaders say Russia is provoking NATO. How will the alliance respond? Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5974204/nx-s1-mx-5974204-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">