September 18, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. As election season heats up, many Americans are tightening their budgets due to rising inflation and soaring prices for gas, diesel and imports. NPR wants to hear from you: How are you managing rising expenses, and how are they affecting your daily life? Here’s the news we’re following today:

Today’s top stories

President Donald Trump is seen aboard Air Force One looking at a large Kennedy Center printout after landing in Maryland on Wednesday.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge ruled yesterday that President Trump cannot demolish the Kennedy Center without providing a 30-day notice. The decision comes after the center's board of directors voted to close the art center, citing its poor condition and finances. On Wednesday, Trump said the complex could be "ripped down" if his name isn't displayed on its main building. The president has also said the Kennedy Center has lost millions of dollars, but didn’t offer evidence of this claim.

🎧 There has been confusion surrounding the building's closure, NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas tells Up First. On Wednesday, Matt Floca, the center's executive director, called the closure “temporary.” That same day, a staff member from a law firm representing Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who is suing Trump and the center's board, submitted a sworn statement claiming she witnessed construction crews installing barriers while a forklift repeatedly hit the building's pillars. Yesterday, eight architecture and culture groups asked the court to appoint an independent monitor or neutral party to protect the building and the institution.

Voting officials and civil rights groups have filed federal lawsuits arguing that the Trump administration's suggestion to deploy federal agents at polling places violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which bans voter intimidation. NPR was the first to report on the latest lawsuit, which highlights the Trump administration's pursuit of noncitizen voters. It alleges that immigration officers are "reportedly using flawed methodologies and faulty data that will almost certainly result in the surveillance, investigation, and even unlawful detention of U.S. citizens, particularly those from communities of color." The plaintiffs say that a visible presence of immigration law enforcement around voting centers amounts to unlawful voter intimidation under federal voting rights laws. The White House hasn't responded yet to the request for comment on the allegations.

➡️ An internal Department of Homeland Security email, newly acquired by NPR, raises concerns about the agency's efforts to identify non-U.S. citizens on state voter rolls. The email included a 78-page document listing jurisdictions that provide election materials in non-English languages, alongside a Department of Justice checklist for prosecuting voter-related offenses.

Russia plans to send drones or missiles into NATO territories that support Ukraine and label these incidents as "accidental," Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned. Tusk said that these strikes aim to "paralyze NATO" or weaken the alliance's collective response, to show that Article 5 "exists only in theory." Article 5 states that an attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on all members. Tusk's warning yesterday follows recent incidents along NATO’s eastern flank that member countries attribute to Russia. Tusk said he received the intelligence from NATO, Ukraine and U.S. agencies, but did not specify which one he was citing.

🎧 Reporter Esme Nicholson emphasizes that Tusk said that "there is nothing to suggest an invasion." But he did say that Poland faces a critical test as a key ally of Ukraine. Tusk questioned whether NATO members consider the vulnerabilities of the eastern flank, suggesting that Poland may need Article 5 support more urgently than countries like Portugal or Ireland. After Tusk's remarks yesterday, Trump announced that the U.S. is making progress on establishing a permanent Army base in Poland, which currently hosts troops on a rotational basis.

Local stories from WAMU 88.5 (edit station)

photo by Diarra Fields

Get Out There: Fall theater preview

Theatre Washington has once again launched its annual Theatre Week. Local theater content creator Whitney Hill shared a short list of some of her favorite shows to help you "Get Out There" in time for act one.

D.C. Councilmember Trayon White attends a council meeting in February 2024. His federal bribery trial kicked off this week.

WAMU/Tyrone Turner

The case for and against Councilmember Trayon White

D.C. Councilmember Trayon White's federal bribery trial got underway this week. Paul Butler, a Georgetown law professor, author, and former federal prosecutor joined WAMU to break down the cases for both the prosecution and the defense.

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Life advice

A four-square illustration of a person in a green shirt backing a cake.

Malaka Gharib/NPR

If you find that you tend to criticize yourself during emotionally tumultuous moments, it may be a sign that you struggle with self-worth, according to psychologist Marisa Franco. Luckily, self-worth is a skill you can develop, and one way to do so is by revisiting challenging memories. In a conversation with Life Kit, Franco explains the benefits of self-esteem and offers an exercise to enhance your self-worth.

🪞 Revisit a memory and imagine yourself as an adult saying, "You're safe, I care about you, and I'm never going to leave you."
🪞 This exercise can improve self-esteem, reduce trauma symptoms and lead to changes in the hippocampus, the part of our brain where memories are stored.
🪞 When self-esteem is low, you may achieve great success but still feel like a failure. Higher self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself allows you to fully appreciate the positive experiences around you.

For more advice on how to reshape your memories to help with self-esteem, listen to this episode of NPR's Life Kit. Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

Weekend picks

Screenshots of movie scenes. Clockwise from left: “The Social Reckoning,” “The Scout,” “Club Kid,” “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” “Possible Love” and “Wildwood.”

Columbia Pictures; Greenwich Entertainment; A24; Jaclyn Martinez/Amazon MGM Studios; Netflix; Laika

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: This fall, NPR critics are looking forward to a variety of films, including a follow-up to The Social Network, the origin story of the Rocky film and more than 20 other exciting movies.

📺 TV: Last Seen follows an emergency dispatcher as he becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth after receiving a call one night from a girl he believes might be his long-missing daughter.

📚 Books: Kate Atkinson's Our Noble Selves is a historical escape that focuses on the Festival of Britain, a real-life celebration aimed at uplifting British people’s spirits after World War II.

🎵 Music: Neil Young's 50th studio album, Second Song, features five new personal tracks along with two newly recorded songs that he wrote during his teenage years in Canada. Before the album's release today, Young spoke with NPR about this reflective work.

🎭 Theater: Theatre producer Francesca Moody, who was instrumental in bringing Fleabag and Baby Reindeer to the Edinburgh Fringe festival before their global success, told NPR what she looks for in a performance.

❓ Quiz: We’ve made it through another Friday without an AI apocalypse, *phew*, so let’s celebrate with a quiz of this week's highlights.

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