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Episode Date: September 16, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is losing five Angelenos in a deadly bus crash and the subsequent crash of a news helicopter is painful. A hardship of those impacted by the bus collision and the helicopter crash and with the entire community who lost members of their team while they were doing their job. Mayor Bass speaking late Tuesday night during a news conference after the helicopter working for KMBC TV crashed in the Chatsworth neighborhood in the San Fernando Fernando Valley as news crews were covering the bus crash. At least three people were killed

when the news chopper went down and erupted into a fireball. The bus crash left at least two people dead. An artificial intelligence researcher from Google's deep mind is the latest to sound the AI alarm. MPR's Bobby Allen reports on the growing course of AI professionals calling for a slower pace of development. Belal Shugtai witnessed Google's deep mind firsthand. And he says in a public resignation letter, quote, I too am extremely concerned by the default trajectory of this technology. I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all. Chugtai is the latest researcher to voice fears that AI could eventually escape human control. Anthropic CEO Dario Amadeh, Open AI, Chief Executive Sam Altman, and Elon Musk have all endorsed an AI slowdown. President Trump and some smaller AI companies argue

the fears are overblown and motivated by a desire to keep AI upstarts from overtaking the leading companies. Bobby Allen and PR News. A House has approved in Iran-war powers resolution for a third time. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in the 220 to 20-4 vote that came late Tuesday night. It would block President Trump's ability to continue military action against Iran without congressional approval. It now heads to the Senate. Earlier Tuesday, Republican Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey moved to impeached Defense Secretary Pete Hegss over the Iran war. The top human rights official with the UN says hundreds of bodies have been recovered from buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.

NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says he fears that the remains that have been uncovered so far are only the tip of the iceberg. Volker Turk says large parts of Gaza have been flattened by Israeli bombing, and the Israelis are bulldozing many areas of Gaza with, in his words, no respect for the dead under the rubble. Turk is calling for international investigators to be allowed into all parts of Gaza to help collect evidence of possible war crimes. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danone, says Turk is rushing to put Israel in the dock while ignoring Hamas, the quote terrorist organization

that turned Gaza's civilian infrastructure into a battlefield. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News. the State Department. And you're listening to NPR News. Former Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, is expected to appear in a courtroom in the Hague today. It will be his first public appearance since he was transferred to the International Criminal Court 18 months ago to face murder charges linked to his war on drugs. Duterte's lawyers say his cognitive decline leaves him unfit to stand trial. Prosecutors in Los Angeles say they will not seek the death penalty for Nick Reiner and the murder of his parents. Hollywood director Rob Reiner and photographer

Michelle Singer-Riner. 33-year-old Nick Reiner was indicted for the murders back in July. Here's Chloe Veltman. A Los Angeles County grand jury indicted Reiner on two counts of first-degree murder. Reiner has pleaded not guilty to these charges as well as the special allegation that he was lying in wait. At a morning press briefing, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hockman said prosecutors came to their decision following discussions. with law enforcement and the victim's family members. After a careful and thorough review of all these factors, the district attorney's office will not be seeking the death penalty in this case.

If convicted, Ryana now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Investors are waiting for a decision from the Federal Reserve on interest rates. The central bank widely expected to announce today a hike in its key short-term rate to fight in. inflation, putting the Fed at odds with demands by President Trump. Ahead of the announcement, stocks in Asia are mostly higher after losses on Wall Street.

I'm Trial Snyder. This is NPR News.