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Episode Date: September 29, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Gile Snyder. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will not participate in the High Court's first case to be argued in the new term next week. The case is a major test of when and if state and local governments can sue fossil fuel companies for allegedly deceiving the public about environmental harms that companies knew existed. Here's NPR's Nina Totenberg. Alito has long held financial interests in energy companies but did not recuse himself last February, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a major climate change case. Now, however,

one week before arguments in the case are to take place, the court indicated that Alito will not participate. While he gave no reason, it appears that he owns stock in two companies facing similar lawsuits that have been paused while the Supreme Court ponderes the issue. Elito's decision could lead to a four-to-four tie at the High Court, but most climate change experts see that as unlikely, given that the case is viewed as a long shot. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. Residents of Seabright, New Jersey, cleaning up after that Nora Easter that hit the East Coast over the weekend,

forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of flights, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses, and flooding low-lying areas in New Jersey and New York City. Mike Riley was out Monday trying to put his property to rights. When you live down here, we're kind of ready for it. It kind of happens all the time. even get to lightest little rain, you're going to have flooding. But this nor'eastern was a little bit more than just flooding.

So we had probably around three feet of water over here. And the Pacific forecasters say Hurricane Polo is nearing landfall in Mexico's Baja, California Peninsula. Polo is a Category 3 storm in the National Hurricane Center in Miami as warning of life-threatening winds and flash flooding. Pope Leo urged Europe to seek peace as he wrapped up a four-day trip to France and Piersz-Ele-Beardley reports. Pope Leo spoke in the city of mess. in the Alsace-Lorraine region long disputed by France and Germany. Today, unfortunately, war has come again to Europe, he said, where pointless massacres are taking civilian lives.

Leo said Europe can stop the spiral of violence. You have demonstrated over the past 80 years of peace that it's possible to express divergent opinions, demands, and interest through dialogue rather than confrontation, he said. The Pope also called on Europe to welcome those fleeing persecution and wars. That means integrating them as if into your own family, he said. The Pope called the migrants' arrival in Europe an exceptional encounter between peoples and cultures. Eleanor Beardsley and Pernoos, Paris.

British police say the five men arrested near a U.S.-run airbase in England will be released on bail. The UK's head of counterterrorism policing says the men face stringent conditions and remain under investigation. Investigators looking into a possible link to Iran, Russia, or non-scentraiser. state-backed military groups. This is NPR. U.S. Navy says two Navy aviators are being evaluated by medical personnel after they were forced to eject from their aircraft. The Navy says the incident happened off the coast of Virginia during aircraft recovery operations aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and that four Navy personnel on board the ship were injured. Over 30 artists contributed to a new anti-ice compilation album out later this week,

including Fred Armisen and Tommy Morello. The Benefit album is raising funds for immigrant rights organizations in California. Empires Isabella Gomez Sarmiento reports. Contra Ice Volume 1 spans across music, comedy, and spoken word. Musician and activist Kathleen Hanna contributed a cover of the song Let Me Love You by DJ Snake and Justin Bieber. Hannah tells NPR that she is deeply upset by ICE raids in her community in Los Angeles. She says she hopes Contra Ice will inspire listeners to take action and stand up for what they believe in. I think it reminds people of all the different ways they are at a protest.

ICE has so far not responded to NPR's request for comment on the creation and mission of the album. Isabella Gomez-RMiento, NPR News. The NFL wants the Homeland Security Department to take down a social media video featuring highlights of violent hits by Hall of Fame player Brian Dawkins in reference to a potential caravan of immigrants approaching the U.S. border. The video was posted Sunday, remains up on the department's X account, and a text to ESPN. Dawkins said he had not given permission. This is NPR News.