Monday morning news: October 13, 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.

SOUND: [Hostages Square cheers]

Expected hostage release » Sounds from Hostages Square in Tel Aviv as the crowd gathered there received word of the first 7 Israeli hostages set free this morning.

They were released into the custody of the Red Cross. Their health condition was reportedly “normal” by initial assessments.

Those 7 Israelis, held by the Hamas terror group for two years … were the first of 20 surviving captives set to be returned home as part of a ceasefire deal.

Alana Zeitchik is a relative of Israeli hostage David Cunio. She said David's young kids would finally get to know their father.

ZEITCHIK:  Their initial reaction to him coming home is, has been shock. You know, they were in captivity, um, at three years old and now they're five. So they've celebrated two birthdays without their dad.

After the hostages are freed, Israel is ready to release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and receive around 28 dead hostages.

Many Palestinians are also celebrating as the gunfire stops … and humanitarian aid surges into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

President Trump was set to visit Israel and Egypt today after … days after Hamas accepted phase one of his administration’s peace plan.

Ukraine latest » President Trump is warning Russia that he may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles … if Moscow doesn't settle its war there soon.

He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday …

TRUMP:  I might say, look, if this war's not gonna get settled, I'm gonna send them tomahawks. I may say that Tomahawk is a, an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon, and honestly, Russia does not need that.

Moscow expressed “extreme concern” over that possibility.

Trump’s comments came after a phone call earlier Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

China trade » President Trump is also trying to open the door for more talks with China — after threatening to slap a 100-percent tariff on Chinese goods beginning in November.

The move follows Beijing’s surprise decision to tighten export controls on rare earth minerals — vital for cell phones, electric cars, and military equipment.

President Trump remarked on Friday:

TRUMP: We said, where did that come from? It was just, that was out of the blue, right out of the blue.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer says Washington quickly reached out to arrange a call, but China declined to take it.

Trump over the weekend remarked on social media—his words … “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine. Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it.”

White House warns of deeper cuts amid shutdowns » The federal government shutdown is now nearly weeks old … and still, no end in sight.

The top Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says there will be no deal to reopen the government …

JEFFRIES:  If Republicans continue to refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

He says Democrats are fighting to keep healthcare costs from going up for many Americans.

President Trump and GOP leaders at the Capitol say they’re willing to negotiate on Obamacare tax credits and other concerns … but only if and when Democrats agree to pass a clean funding bill to reopen the government.

And House Speaker Mike Johnson added …

JOHNSON:  We have hundreds of ideas, literally on the table to fix healthcare, to make it more affordable for the American people … to make access more available and to in increase the quality of care.

Meantime, Vice President JD Vance is warning of deeper federal cuts, the longer the shutdown goes on. Hundreds of thousands are already furloughed.

And in a court filing on Friday, the White House said well over 4,000 employees would soon be fired.

But the White House and Pentagon have shifted emergency funds to ensure military paychecks continue without interruption.

Nor'easter hits east coast » Powerful winds and heavy rains are still battering much of the East Coast this morning … as a nor’easter affects numerous states from the Carolinas to New England.

Frank Pereira with the National Weather Service warned on Sunday … that in some areas, the worst was yet to come.

PEREIRA:  We are expecting wind gusts in excess of 50 miles an hour, uh, near the coast especially. Um, and with that, uh, there is the, uh, significant potential for scattered power outages and damages, uh, resulting from those winds.

New Jersey declared a state of emergency over the weekend … where forecasters predicted up to 5 inches of rain in some parts.

Authorities placed New York City, Long Island and part of Westchester County under a coastal flood warning and wind advisory.

Sixteen killed in Tennessee explosion » Authorities in rural Tennessee are combing through the charred remains of an explosives plant … trying to determine the cause of a blast over the weekend that killed more than a dozen people.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis:

DAVIS:  We have notified all 16 families of those people, uh, that we feel, uh, was involved in this situation, this tragedy.

The explosion was felt for miles left a smoldering wreck of twisted metal and burned-out vehicles at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant. The munitions plant supplies and researches explosives for the military.

ATF special agent Tyra Cunningham said authorities are dedicated to ensuring …

CUNNINGHAM:  That if criminal activity is involved, those responsible will be held accountable, and if it was accidental, that lessons have been learned to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.

Investigators are combing the charred property foot-by-foot searching for possible evidence.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a free speech showdown at the Supreme Court on Legal Docket. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat looks at a new skirmish in the trade wars.

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.