Start Your Day Here: The State Of The Pandemic, The UN's Concern With AI And Other Top Stories

Published September 16, 2021 at 7:34 AM EDT
J Balvin performs in white sunglasses and a patterned purple and green shirt. He has tattoos on his arms.
Ferhat Zupcevic/Getty Images for Guess
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Getty Images Europe
J Balvin performs on stage at a concert on July 26, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. The reggaeton sensation is the first artist featured in NPR's "El Tiny" concert series, premiering today at noon ET.

Good morning,

Here are some of the stories we're following today:

Pandemic update: The state of the pandemic is still grim, but there is a glimmer of hope. Here are the latest numbers.

U.N.'s warning: The United Nations' human rights chief is calling for a moratorium on artificial intelligence systems because of their potential impact on human rights.

El Tiny: NPR is kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month with a special spinoff of the Tiny Desk Concert series. First up is a video of Colombian reggaeton artist J Balvin. Here's why we're excited.

🎧 Also on Up First, our daily podcast, the U.S. is sharing its nuclear submarine technology with Australia.

— The Morning Edition live blog team

(Dana Farrington, Scott Neuman, Nell Clark, Chris Hopkins, Lilly Quiroz and Manuela López Restrepo)