Monday morning news: August 25, 2025

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Ukraine: Independence Day » Many nations and world leaders joined Ukrainian President Volydymyr Zelenskyy Sunday in marking Ukraine’s Independence Day 34 years after it declared independence from the Soviet Union.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was aglow with blue and yellow lights, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy greeted senior European officials and Canada’s prime minister at a defense forum:

ZELENSKYY: We are very thankful to your leaders, governments, and to yourself. Thank you so much for your long term support for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy awarded U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg with the Ukrainian Order of Merit, 1st Class … He said that was for Kellogg’s work to help strengthen Ukraine and bilateral relations.

Zelenskyy also thanked President Trump for his letter. In it, Trump praised the country’s “unbreakable spirit” and “courage.” He also added … “The United States supports a negotiated settlement that leads to a durable, lasting peace that ends the bloodshed and safeguards Ukraine’s sovereignty…”.

Ukraine: Ceasefire push » But Democratic Sen. Jack Reed says we’re no closer to a negotiated settlement after recent U.S. meetings with Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin.

REED:  Nothing has resulted from these meetings. Uh, Putin remains, uh, obstinate, refusing to consider anything other than surrender of Ukrainian territory, which I think would be a prelude just to a future attack.

Reed said he didn’t care for the “red carpet treatment Putin was afforded” during his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska.

But Vice President JD Vance told NBC’s Meet the Press that Democrats’ criticism rings hollow.

VANCE:  Frankly, president Trump has done more to apply pressure and to apply economic leverage to the Russians, certainly than Joe Biden did for three and a half years when he did nothing but talk, but do nothing to bring the killing to a stop. So you asked me what I'm enraged by. What I'm enraged by is the continuation of the war.

Russian forces are again advancing in Ukraine’s east, seizing two more villages over the weekend. Moscow claims to now control about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.

John Bolton » The vice president on Sunday also pushed back against accusations of political targeting by the Trump administration after the FBI raided the home and office of former Trump adviser—turned critic, John Bolton.

Prominent Democratic Senator Adam Schiff called the raid targeted retaliation against Trump dissenters. But Vance fired back, accusing Democrats of weaponizing the Justice Department under President Biden.

VANCE:  We don't think that we should throw people, even if they disagree with us politically, maybe, especially if they disagree with us politically. You shouldn't throw people willy-nilly in prison. You should let the law drive these determinations, and that's what we're doing.

In 2020, Bolton published a memoir, which detailed his brief tenure as Trump’s national security adviser. Months later, the Department of Justice opened a criminal probe into whether his book disclosed classified information. But the Biden Justice Department closed that investigation.

 Last week, FBI Agents raided Bolton's home in Maryland and his Washington office, likely searching for classified information. No charges have been filed.

NYC mayoral race » Residents in New York City will elect their next mayor just a little over two months from now. And former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is taking aim at the frontrunner.

Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, wants to hike taxes on corporations.

CUOMO:  It's antithetical to New York City to be anti-corporate. New York City corporations are, are already high taxed, as are the individuals. Uh, and I think it would be a, a death knell for New York City and he is, uh, dangerous, frankly, for New York City.

Mamdani also wants to freeze rent for many residents, provide free buses, free childcare and open city-owned grocery stores.

Cuomo, who was elected governor three times as a Democrat is running as an independent, as is the incumbent, another former Democrat, Eric Adams.

The latest polls show Mamdani with a big lead over the rest of the crowded field.

Illegal immigrant truck driver in custody » A Florida judge over the weekend denied bond to a truck driver arrested after a fatal crash earlier this month.

The driver, Harjinder Singh, is charged with vehicular homicide and immigration violations. The judge said Singh is considered an "unauthorized alien" and a high flight risk.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed leaders in California, where Singh was licensed.

DESANTIS:  They issued a commercial driver's license to an illegal alien, uh, who didn't speak English. Uh, worked for a California company and he ended up killing three people in Florida recently, and we're now holding him accountable.

Authorities say Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018.

He is accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people.

Singh is being held in St. Lucie County Jail.

Wildfires expand in Oregon and California » Wildfires in California wine country and central Oregon are expanding, forcing hundreds of evacuations.

Calfire says the Pickett Fire in Napa County had grown to more than 10 square miles Sunday. And in Oregon, the Flat Fire has grown to almost 34 square miles. Officials say that fire is threatening nearly 4,000 homes and some 10,000 people there are under some sort of evacuation notice.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: revisiting the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision prohibiting race-based admissions. Plus, considering rate cuts by the Fed on the Monday Moneybeat with David Bahnsen.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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