The News Roundup for May 15, 2026
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2026
⏱️ 88 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act has paved the way for Alabama to use a controversial GOP-drawn electoral map in the upcoming midterms.
And FBI Director Kash Patel appeared on Capitol Hill this week to give testimony before Congress. He clashed with Democrats over reporting from The Atlantic that indicated that the Trump official’s alcohol use was impeding him from completing his duties.
We cover the most important stories from around the country in the domestic hour of the News Roundup.
And, in global news, President Donald Trump traveled to China this week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Taiwan, the war in Iran, and trade are all up for discussion between the two leaders of the world’s largest economies.
The price tag of the war with Iran has now topped $29 billion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that he believes his country’s invasion of Ukraine is “coming to an end.”
We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Todd, your host for this edition of The News Roundup. |
| 0:03.9 | Just a quick heads up before we start the show, the news is rapidly changing. |
| 0:08.3 | Things might have changed by the time you hear this episode. |
| 0:11.1 | Stay up to date with all of the latest by listening to your local NPR member station and by visiting npr.org. |
| 0:29.0 | I'm Todd's Willick, and it's the 1A Friday News Roundup. |
| 0:32.7 | How much did you pay the last time you pumped gas? |
| 0:34.9 | What about the last time you bought tomatoes? |
| 0:38.3 | The Iran War and the price hikes that come with it are driving the news for a lot of Americans this week. |
| 0:41.7 | Donald Trump is less than six months away from the midterms |
| 0:44.6 | with no clear way out of this war. |
| 0:47.6 | So is any of this motivating him to hurry up and make a deal with Iran? |
| 0:52.3 | Not even a little bit. |
| 0:53.4 | The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. |
| 0:58.3 | I don't think about American financial situation. |
| 1:02.1 | I don't think about anybody. |
| 1:03.3 | I think about one thing. |
| 1:04.9 | We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. |
| 1:07.9 | That's all. |
| 1:08.6 | Campaign operatives everywhere are saving that clip for November, especially since inflation |
| 1:15.5 | spiked this week to its worst level since May of 2022. So President Trump headed to China, |
| 1:22.2 | where the man with maybe the most sway to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was waiting for him |
| 1:27.0 | in Beijing. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 7 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.