Tuesday morning news: March 25, 2025

U.S.-Yemen airstrikes » A familiar sound in Israel:

SOUND: Air raid sirens

Air raid sirens blared over Jerusalem last night, after the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

Houthi rebels based in Yemen have fired a handful of long-range missiles at Israel in recent days.

SOUND: U.S. airstrikes

And the United States is responding with fighter jets launching airstrikes against Houthi targets for more than a week.

U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz told CBS' Face the Nation:

WALTZ - These guys are like, Al-Qaeda, or ISIS, with advanced cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and some of the most sophisticated air defenses, all provided by Iran.

Waltz says the U.S. airstrikes have taken out key Houthi leaders, including the man who oversaw missile attacks against Israel and critical shipping lanes in the Middle East.

National security group chat » Meantime, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back on reports of a possible national security breach.

Reporters pressed him after it was revealed that several of President Trump’s national security advisers mistakenly added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to a secure group chat where they discussed military strikes in Yemen.

But Hegseth said of headlines suggesting that war plans were shared in the chat.

HEGSETH: I’ve heard how it was characterized. Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.

House Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker says lawmakers will look into the matter on a bipartisan basis.

Ukraine talks » In Saudi Arabia Monday, U.S. negotiators sat down with Russian and Ukrainian diplomats, though not at the same time.

 The two warring parties reportedly occupying different floors of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.

President Trump said they talked about multiple pieces of a potential peace deal.

TRUMP:  We're talking about territory right now, we're talking about lines of demarcation. Uh, we're talking about power, power, plant ownership.

Trump referring there to the possibility of the U.S. taking ownership of — and responsibility for the safety … of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russia seized control of it shortly after invading three years ago. UN nuclear watchdogs have voiced concerns about its stability ever since.

Talks yesterday also centered today on safeguarding critical shipping lanes on the Black Sea.

US Hyundai investment / tariffs--Venezuela » At the White House, President Trump on Monday also welcomed executives from Hyundai and leaders from Louisiana to announce a $20 billion investment, including a $5 billion steel facility in Louisiana.

TRUMP:  This will be Hyundai's first ever steel mill in the United States. One of the largest companies in the world, by the way, supplying steel for its auto parts and auto plants in Alabama and Georgia, which will soon produce more than 1 million American made cars every single year.

He noted that by making steel here, the automaker will avoid paying new tariffs on imported steel.

The president called it a “clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work.”

Canada’s snap election » Meanwhile, Canada’s prime minister is citing the ongoing tariff war with the United States in calling a snap election months ahead of schedule.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he wanted voters to select their government now in light of the tariff battle.

CARNEY: I'm asking Canadians for a strong positive mandate to deal with President Trump and to build a new Canadian economy that works for everyone, because I know we need change.

The ruling Liberal Party elected Carney to office earlier this month after former-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down.

All House of Commons seats, nearly 350, will be on the ballot. Whichever party controls a majority of those seats will form a government and choose a new prime minister.

Mia Love » Former Republican Congresswoman Mia Love has died at the age of 49.

Elected in 2014, she represented Utah on Capitol Hill for four years and made history as the first black Republican woman to serve in the House.

LOVE: This election is historic because it has raised Utah's voice, and we have boldly told Congress that The status quo will not work.

Mia Love was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in 2022. Her daughter said the cancer stopped responding to treatment earlier this month.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a new education bill in Illinois threatens to crack down on private and home education. Plus, the end of the line for a historic American ship.

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.