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Episode Date: September 28, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump has praised the arrests of Five Men's Sunday in England in connection with what British authorities are describing as a suspected terror plot. They were arrested near a British air base the U.S. has been using to launch attacks on Iran. NPR's Lauren Frair reports from London. The British government declined to join the U.S. in Israeli war on Iran, but it's allowed the U.S. to use British air bases for what it calls defensive attacks on Iran. and Royal Air Force Base Fairford is one of those, hosting American bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Last summer, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said any base used against Iran is a, quote, legitimate target. Early Sunday, police say they intercepted three suspicious vans near R.A.F. Fairford and arrested five suspects. They have not identified the men who remain in custody on suspicion, police say, of committing offenses under the Explosives Act and also of preparing a terrorist act.

Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. For the second year in a row, President Trump is refusing to send hundreds of millions of dollars to the places that Congress says it has to go. The move is called a pocket rescission. The federal government's nonpartisan watchdog government accountability office says the maneuver is illegal. NPR's Eric McDaniel has more. Each year, Congress passes laws, allocate money to the federal government's various programs and agencies, that is their constitutional

responsibility, the power of the purse. Now, the executive branch is unilaterally withholding money owed to programs the president opposes. That's $560 million to programs that provide services to refugees and other immigrants, according to a memo from the White House. Also, $15 million to a Justice Department team tasked with preventing and resolving racial tensions. That's $70 million to programs providing grants and fellowships to support institutions, bringing foreign students, students and faculty to the U.S. and tens of millions more to initiatives that touch on climate change or racial and gender minority work. Eric McDaniel, NPR News in Washington. With the critical midterm elections now just over a month away, some Democrats are focusing

on faith as an issue that just might sway voters to their side. MPR's Jason DeRose reports that a noteworthy number of Democratic candidates are members of clergy. In Texas, Baptist Pastor Frederick Haynes is running for an open U.S. house seat in the Dallas area, and Presbyterian seminary student James Tala Rico is the Democratic nominee for Senate there. A Methodist pastor is the Democratic Senate nominee in Kansas. And a Lutheran pastor and a Presbyterian chaplain are running as Democrats for two different U.S. House seats in Iowa. Pew researchers found that fewer than one-third of Democrats say religion is important to them, but communities vary widely, and these candidates appear to be gaining traction.

The Cook Political Report has moved the Texas Senate seat and one Iowa House district from Lienes, Republican to toss up. Jason DeRose, NPR News. And this is NPR News. Two giant pandas from China have arrived at the Atlanta Zoo from member station WABE in Atlanta. Alex Helmick reports that the animals were promised by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit with President Trump last Thursday. Ping Ping and Fuswang are on loan to Zoo Atlanta for 10 years. The deal was one of the few firmed outcomes from the three. day visit with Xi saying it was a sign of friendship between the two countries. China has long used pandas as part of its diplomacy. The last pandas at the zoo were sent back to China in

2024 when a previous deal expired. The bears will be quarantined for about a month in the zoo's new giant panda complex. An opening date for that has not yet been announced. For NPR News, I'm Alex Helmick in Atlanta. A strike by musicians at the Cleveland Orchestra has ended. The musicians agreed Sunday to a new three-year contract. The deal includes what the musicians say is a fair pay and benefits package, along with the voice and auditions and improved safety for musicians. The strike began on Friday, and there was concern that it would jeopardize a planned European tour, which is now going ahead. Seven years after becoming the second highest grossing film ever, Avengers End Game, had an encore showing this weekend in movie theaters, and it did not disappoint

grossing $26 million in North American theaters and landing in first place. It added another $60 million in overseas sales. Zach Craigers' reboot of Resident Evil was in second, bringing in $23.3 million, and the Brad Pitt-led Heart of the Beast landed in third with $20 million in sales. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.