Thursday morning news: October 8, 2026

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.

Oct 7 commemorations » A somber day of remembrance in Israel.

SOUND: [Hatikvah]

The nation’s national anthem, heard there as tens of thousands gathered in Tel Aviv last night to mark the third anniversary of the massacre carried out by the Hamas group on October 7, 2023.

Earlier in the day:

SOUND: [Siren]

A siren sounded in the city in honor of the roughly 1,200 people who were killed on that day as demonstrators held posters bearing the faces of some of the victims.

SOUND: [Kfar Aza music]

In Kfar Aza, a small communal village hit especially hard by the attacks, families mourned and lit candles. One local resident remarked:

AUDIO: We as a community we're not OK yet. We're still, most of us are not, we didn't came back home yet. We didn't come back home yet. And the war is not over yet, not officially. And we are looking for a bit of peace and quiet, and we want to go back and live our lives.

And indeed the conflict isn't over yet.

SOUND: [Israeli F-16s and explosions]

The Associated Press capturing the sound of Israeli fighter jets flying over Gaza City on Wednesday. Residents reported hearing explosions, and plumes of smoke were seen rising into the sky.

Russian strikes kill at least 20 » More Russian missiles and drones have torn through Ukrainian cities, leaving dozens dead. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has that story.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Ukraine’s interior ministry says Wednesday’s attacks killed at least 28 people.

In the northern city of Pryluky, a Russian missile struck a five-story apartment building, reportedly killing at least 20 people.

Rescuers were still urgently digging through the building’s shattered concrete and twisted metal last night.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the fact that Vladimir Putin turned 74 on Wednesday:

ZELESNKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

EICHER: He said—quote … “This is the kind of birthday present Putin gave himself: the killing of children and the killing of people.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry claims it targeted factories making missiles and drones, along with port facilities.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine urgently needs more ammunition for its air defenses. He’s pressing allies for American-made Patriot interceptor missiles.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Trump account announcement » At the White House, President Trump Wednesday announced an expansion of his administration's investment account program for children.

TRUMP: To ensure every American child has a fair shot at the American dream, today I'm pleased to announce that every single eligible minor child in America has now been automatically enrolled in a Trump account.

The Treasury Department is depositing the seed money for each child born from the start of 2025 through the end of 2028, provided they’re a US citizen with a valid Social Security number.

Parents or guardians must claim the account through the program’s app or website.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the president in the Oval Office.

BESSENT: A child born during President Trump's presidency, uh, Treasury will seed the accounts with a thousand dollars. For children eighteen and under, we have great philanthropists who are putting in substantial gifts.

Michael & Susan Dell — or Dell computers fame, are donating more than $6 billion dollars to the program.

Contributions go into stock market investments. Families and employers can contribute a combined $5,000 per child each year.

Children generally cannot withdraw money before the year they turn 18.

Tropical Storm Isaias » Gulf Coast residents are bracing for a hurricane.

The storm, Isaias, could slam the coast somewhere between Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle late tomorrow.

National Hurricane Center specialist Eric Blake said Wednesday:

BLAKE: There's a really increasing risk of heavy rainfall, storm surge, high wind impacts, uh, along some portion of the northern Gulf Coast.

The hurricane center warns winds could push seawater inland, with five to seven feet of flooding possible in some coastal areas if peak surge arrives at high tide.

Officials also warn of possible flash flooding. They expect three to six inches of rain along the northern Gulf Coast beginning tomorrow, with some places getting up to 10 inches.

In preparation, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared an emergency in dozens of North Florida counties.

Crista Pike situation » Lawyers for a Tennessee woman who survived lethal injection want answers about what went wrong. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has that story.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Christa Pike is reportedly awake and speaking after nearly a week unconscious in a hospital. Her lawyers say she survived two rounds of execution drugs last week.

They add that her arms are burned and blistered, and she faces a long recovery.

Pike was sentenced to death for torturing and murdering classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995.

Her attorneys asked a judge Wednesday to order Tennessee prison officials to preserve needles, drug records and other evidence from the execution attempt.

State attorneys say an order isn’t needed because officials already have a duty to preserve that evidence.

Pike’s lawyers are also asking Governor Bill Lee to reduce her sentence to life without parole.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

Still ahead: The political debate over school choice on a large scale. And later, is your phone listening to you?

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.