Monday morning news: August 11, 2025

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

Trump-Putin meeting » President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin are slated to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending the war with Ukraine.

Trump has suggested that some exchange of territories could be a part of a peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, says his country will not acknowledge Russia’s annexation of any of its regions.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce:

BRUCE:  No one's going to be happy. That would have to be considered when you think about how do we get to a ceasefire. But the point is that the killing has to end.

Zelenskyy says he also will not agree to Moscow’s demands that Ukraine give up any future in the NATO alliance.

The Ukrainian president will not be a part of this week’s meeting between Trump and Putin. But Vice President JD Vance says Zelenskyy could be a part of another such meeting soon.

VANCE:  Vladimir Putin said that he would never sit down with Zelensky, the head of Ukraine, and the President has now got that to change. We're at a point now where we're, we're now trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss and into this conflict.

And Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said Zelenskyy is ready to have that meeting.

MARKAROVA: We have shown that he is ready to be anywhere to advance the, the agenda of peace.

Vice President Vance met Saturday with European and Ukrainian officials in England … to discuss bringing peace to Ukraine.

Netanyahu defends planned offensive » Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending a new military offensive in Gaza … that’s more sweeping than previously announced.

In the face of growing criticism from world leaders, Netanyahu said Sunday:

NETANYAHU: Look,  maybe some choose to forget October 7th, we, we will not forget what happened and we will, uh, do whatever it takes to defend our country and defend our people

He said his country “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.” And he said Israel will do that “with or without the support of others.”

Netanyahu said his security cabinet last week instructed the dismantling of Hamas strongholds not only in Gaza City but also in the “central camps” of Muwasi.

NETANYAHU:  Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists. The war can end tomorrow if Gaza, or rather if Hamas lays down its arms.

That comes after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Israeli military preparations to establish security control throughout Gaza … saying it “runs contrary” to international law and “the right of Palestinians to self-determination.”

House Intel members defend Israel after Gaza visit » And several U.S. lawmakers are coming to Israel’s defense … against growing criticism over a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer joined a bipartisan delegation from the House Intelligence Committee. The group recently visited a humanitarian aid staging site at the southern tip of Gaza. He said Sunday:

GOTTHEIMER:  Hamas won't let the aid get from Gaza, the border, from the Carlo crossing where we were. It's stuck there because they keep looting the trucks, the UN trucks, they're stealing the aid.

He added that he believes Israel must “crush Hamas,” to “get humanitarian aid” into the territory … and establish “a new governing structure.”

Republican Congressmen Rick Crawford and Ronny Jackson joined Gottheimer on that trip. The group met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other leaders, as well families of Hamas hostages.

Texas redistricting » The Texas House is expected to try again to reach a quorum today … to hold a vote on a new Republican-drawn congressional map.

But as of Sunday, more than 50 Democratic lawmakers were still camping out in places like Chicago … in order to block that vote.

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker:

PRITZKER: The Texas Democrats that are here, uh, are welcome. We're providing them a safe haven, a place for them to visit and stay, uh, breaking quorum because they're heroes.

But Republicans note that Illinois has what is widely considered to be one of the most thoroughly gerrymandered congressional maps in the country, heavily favoring Democrats.

And GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says that by fleeing the state, those Democratic state House members have forfeited their seats.

ABBOTT:  Lawmakers are violating the law in Article three of the Texas Constitution where they are required to act on bills because they're violating that constitutional mandate … that means they are not fulfilling their oath of office … and they can be removed from office.

And Abbott’s administration wants the Texas state Supreme Court to declare the seats of absent lawmakers vacant … on the grounds of “abandonment from office.”

Astronauts return from International Space Station » Four astronauts are back on Earth after a five-month stay at the International Space Station.

Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the California coast over the weekend.

SOUND: [SpaceX copy splashdown]

The crew consisted of two Americans, one Japanese and one Russian.

They launched in March as the replacements for the NASA astronauts that had been stuck at the space station for 9-plus months … due to a problem with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

This was SpaceX’s third Pacific splashdown with people on board, but the first for a NASA crew in 50 years.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a preview of a couple cases heading to the Supreme Court. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat with David Bahnsen.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.