Thursday morning news: October 23, 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 hosts NATO chief at WH » At the White House:

TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to have a friend of mine, a very good friend of mine, Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO…

President Trump hosting the NATO chief in the Oval Office Wednesday, where the two leaders talked a great deal about efforts to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Rutte told the president:

RUTTE:  I want to help, NATO wants to help, my colleagues, want to help to, uh, basically deliver on your vision of peace in Ukraine.

The meeting came as the United States announced new sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies to apply more pressure to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

TRUMP:  Among the biggest in the world, but they're Russian. They do a lot of oil, and, uh, hopefully it'll push, uh, … hopefully he'll become reasonable.

This week, Trump pulled the plug on another planned face to face meeting with Putin, saying he got the sense that the meeting would be a waste of time, with Moscow unwilling to budge from its maximalist demands for halting the war.

Vance-Netanyahu » Another top Trump administration official is headed to the Middle East.

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosia told reporters:

BEDROSIAN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is coming back to Israel this week. He will be arriving on Thursday and is scheduled to meet with the prime minister on Friday...

Vice President J.D. Vance was already on the ground in Israel Wednesday.

In a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Vance said he was optimistic that a peace deal between Israel and Hamas would hold up.

VANCE: I mean, we're really creating a peace plan and an infrastructure here where nothing existed even a week and a day ago. That's going to require a lot of work. That requires a lot of ingenuity...

Netanyahu said his government will continue to work closely with the White House, but he also added:

NETANYAHU: When it comes to Israel's security, we do what we have to do. That's always the case. That's not a question.

Around 200 U.S. troops have been sent to Israel, but the vice president said they will not be deployed on the ground in Gaza. Instead, their purpose is to monitor and help implement the ceasefire.

Another US drug boat strike (in Eastern Pacific) » The Pentagon says the U.S. military has launched its eighth strike against a vessel it says was smuggling drugs in international waters.

But this strike, on Tuesday night, occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The seven previous strikes all targeted vessels in the Caribbean.

All of those operations came after President Trump signed an order declaring cartels foreign terrorist organizations.

Officials say two people were killed in this week’s strike.

Trump to host Saudi prince » President Trump is reportedly preparing to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month in the United States. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Associated Press reports work is underway to prepare a package of agreements Trump and the crown prince could sign or witness during the visit.

The AP cites several sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The planned trip would likely be part of the push Trump has made to restore relations with Gulf Arab nations, incensed by Israel’s recent attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar. Also:

It would be the first visit to the United States by the crown prince since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in 20-18.

U.S. intelligence agencies have said Prince Mohammed likely directed the killing … which led to U.S. sanctions against several Saudi officials.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Minn. Trans powerlifting lawsuit » The Minnesota Supreme Court is sending a lawsuit brought by a transgender powerlifter back to lower courts for another look.

JayCee Cooper, a biological male, sued USA Powerlifting in 2021, after the association barred him from competing in the women’s category.

His attorneys argued that under the state’s Human Rights Act, barring Cooper from women’s competitions was discriminatory.

But attorney for USA Powerlifting Ansis Viksnins argued:

VIKSNINS: Well, it's not discrimination based on gender identity…the differentiation here was because of … biological sex, not…gender identity…And that is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the action that USA Powerlifting took.

The state court said that rationale must now be tested by a lower court.

American missionary kidnapped » The U.S. State Department says it’s working with authorities in Niger after reports that an American missionary pilot was kidnapped.

A diplomat told Reuters the man serves with the U.S.-based Evangelical missions group Serving in Mission. He was reportedly abducted by three armed men as he headed to the airport in the capital city, Niamey.

Authorities believe the kidnappers fled north, toward an area where Islamist militants linked to ISIS and al-Qaeda operate.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: allegations of mishandling classified information. Plus, a presidential history lesson.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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