Thursday morning news: August 28, 2025

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Catholic school shooting » Families are mourning today after a mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

Police say a 23-year-old gunman armed with several guns opened fire as students were observing mass Wednesday morning.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara:

O'HARA: At this point, we know we have a total of 19 victims from this tragedy. Two were young children, ages eight and 10, that were sitting in the pews at mass when they were shot and killed.

Fourteen other children, between the ages of 6 and 15, and three adults … were wounded.

O'Hara said they are all expected to survive. As for the gunman…

O'HARA: The coward that shot these victims took his own life in the rear of the church. That coward has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, no prior criminal history.

No word yet on a motive, but FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is investigating the attack as domestic terrorism … and a hate crime against Catholics.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz yesterday called the situation unthinkable.

WALZ: And there's no words that are going to ease the pain of the families today. On behalf of all the people of Minnesota, our deepest sympathies. A wish that any of these words would make what you're feeling now better, but it won't.

President Trump ordered flags at federal buildings to be flown at half-staff until the end of the month … in order to honor the victims of the shooting.

Israel latest » As war rages on in the Gaza Strip … President Trump gathered with top advisors on Wednesday to discuss what a post-war Gaza will look like.

Trump has expressed optimism about ending the war soon. And U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff remarked …

WIKOFF: We think that we are going to settle this one way or another, certainly before the end of this year. Hamas is now signaling that they're open to a settlement.

Witkoff is leading U.S. negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Separately, Israeli leaders met with U.S. officials in Washington yesterday to discuss the war and post-war Gaza.

And Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told reporters:

DANON:  In order for the war to end, we need to see the hostages back home, first of all, and Hamas out of the equation.

That comes as Israel ramps up its military operation in Gaza City aimed at fully unseating Hamas as a political and military power in Gaza.

CDC director out » The director of the CDC is out after just weeks on the job. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Health and Human Services announced the departure of Susan Monarez but did not explain it. The Senate just confirmed her on July 29th.

And Reuters is now reporting that several others at the CDC have issued their resignation letters.

The reason was not immediately clear. But The New York Times is reporting that it’s over differences with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr on vaccine policies.

Monarez and others reportedly resisted Kennedy’s dismissal of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel as well as a series of rollbacks of COVID-19 recommendations.

Under new changes, COVID vaccines are only automatically authorized for adults 65 and older and those with high-risk conditions. All others have to get authorization from a doctor.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Texas MAHA » Meantime, Sec. Kennedy traveled to the Lone Star State on Wednesday to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for a signing ceremony.

The Republican governor signed multiple bills aligned with Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement. Abbott says those bills include one …

ABBOTT: …  That prohibits schools that participate in the national school lunch and breakfast programs from serving foods with additives that are linked to disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Kennedy praised the new laws, including another that prohibits taxpayer-funded food stamps from being used to buy sugary drinks and snacks.

KENNEDY:  We are poisoning 60% of our kids who are getting food stamps. We're giving them diabetes, and then we're paying for it upfront with food stamps. We're paying for it again with Medicaid.

The new measures will also require warning labels on packaged foods containing certain additives and dyes.

Food companies have through the end of next year to begin adding those warnings.

Wildfires » Firefighters on the West Coast are battling several wildfires … including in Central Oregon.  The so-called Flat Fire there is threatening homes. Captain Steve Chapman:

CHAPMAN:  We've got nine task forces, uh, during the day and four at night. So we're spread pretty thin for the amount of structures that we have, so we're really concentrating on the structures that have the most heat around it.

Meanwhile, California's Picket Fire has scorched roughly 7,000 acres near Napa Valley Wine Country.

Public Information Officer Charles Kuniyoshi.

KUNIYOSHI: All efforts are being put in to, um, contain this fire as quickly as possible. Um, we've increased containment.

Firefighters say the weather there has been somewhat agreeable for setting up containment lines.

Improved weather is also helping in Fresno County … where the Garnet Fire has burned some 9,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: more on yesterday’s school shooting in Minneapolis.

Plus, a conversation with a new director at the Bureau of Prisons.

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