Friday morning new: August 29, 2025

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Minnesota shooting latest » Parents of the two students killed in this week’s shooting during a time of prayer at a Catholic school Mass in Minneapolis are giving the nation windows into their grief.

This is Jesse Merkel, who lost his 8-year-old son Fletcher when the gunman opened fire Wednesday.

MERKEL: We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.

He says Fletcher loved his family along with fishing, cooking, and sports.

The other victim who died was Harper Moyski, a 10-year-old. Her parents describe her as bright and joyful, and say words cannot capture the depth of their pain.

15 other children between the ages of 6 and 15 were hurt in the shooting, along with three worshipers in their 80s. Police do expect most of those remaining victims to survive.

Investigators say the shooter, who also killed himself, expressed hate toward almost every group imaginable. They also say he was obsessed with the idea of killing children and had a deranged fascination with mass killings.

John Stonestreet will have in-depth analysis in the wake of this tragedy in just a few minutes, on Culture Friday.

Trump administration okays $825 million arms sale to Ukraine » The Trump Administration has green-lighted its first major sale of new weapons to Ukraine.

Under the deal, Ukraine will pay $825 million dollars for more than 3,300 extended range attack missiles. The U.S. could deliver those missiles this year.

This comes as Russia intensifies its assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, where an aerial attack Thursday left 21 people dead, including four children.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, interpreted through a translator, says it’s proof Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s words are meaningless.

ZELENSKYY: In Washington, we heard that Putin is supposedly ready to end the war, to meet at the leadership level, and resolve key issues. But he chooses ballistics instead of any real steps towards peace.

Zelenskyy also calls Thursday’s bombardment a strike against President Trump and other global players trying to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

Britain says the latest attack has sabotaged peace efforts.

Putin, Kim Jong-Un to attend China’s military parade » A military parade in China next week is set to double as a display of dictatorial unity.

The stated purpose of the parade in Tiananmen Square is to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

But China is raising eyebrows by announcing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will be in attendance, both at the top of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s guest list. The three nations, all U.S. adversaries, have spent the past few years forging closer ties with one another.

Though China was a crucial partner of the Allied powers in World War II, leaders from major Western nations are not on Xi’s guest list.

CDC interim director appointed » Deputy Health and Human Services Secretary Jim O’Neill will serve as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.

President Trump fired CDC Director Susan Monarez Wednesday. The White House says she wasn’t aligned with the president’s mission and refused to resign.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt..

LEAVITT: It was President Trump who was overwhelmingly reelected on November 5th. This woman has never received a vote in her life, and the president has the authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.

Monarez is still fighting to keep her job. Her lawyers say she was targeted because she stood up for science.

SOUND: CHEERING

Supporters cheered as several other top officials who resigned in solidarity with Monarez left CDC Headquarters in Atlanta Thursday.

DOE says Denver schools all-gender bathrooms violate Title IX » The Trump administration says one school district in Colorado's failure to protect private spaces for girls is unconstitutional. WORLD's Travis Kircher has more.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: The Department of Education found that a Denver Public Schools bathroom policy violates Title IX of the U.S. Constitution.

Title IX is of course the provision prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.

The announcement comes after the school system converted girls' restrooms to what the district calls "all gender" facilities. That means both male and female students can use the same multi-stall restroom...as long as the facility lines up with their so-called gender identity.

In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor says the district is free to endorse a self-defeating gender ideology...if that's it wants. But he said it can't do that if it expects to receive federal funds.

The school district has yet to respond to the decision.

For WORLD, I'm Travis Kircher.

Hundreds of Texas school systems will use Bible-infused curriculum » More than 300 school districts and charter schools in Texas are adopting a new curriculum that uses the Bible as part of its lessons.

The state-developed reading lessons became the focus of national attention last year because of their extensive references to the Bible and Christianity.

Texas Tribune Reporter Jaden Edison tells KVUE some districts with large numbers of economically disadvantaged students are adopting the program for financial reasons.

EDISON: With this curriculum comes a $60 dollar per student incentive… that districts otherwise may not be able to get… You know, those that have kind of a high financial need… they adopted the materials not necessarily for the religious components, but for some of that financial relief.

The Texas Tribune reports the number of districts and charter schools planning to use the new curriculum comes to about a quarter of all Texas public school systems.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: John Stonestreet is standing by for Culture Friday. Plus, the 50th anniversary of a shark story that changed summer movies.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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