Wednesday morning news: August 27, 2025

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Trump on Russia » President Trump is warning of major consequences for Russia if Vladimir Putin does not end the war in Ukraine soon.

TRUMP: It will not be a world war. But it will be an economic war. And an economic war is gonna be bad. And it's gonna be bad for Russia. And I don't want that.

Trump says every conversation he has with Putin seems to go well, but is only followed by Russian strikes on Ukraine.

And he adds that he is ready to ramp up pressure on Moscow.

TRUMP: I want to see that deal end. It's very serious what I have in mind if I have to do it. But I want to see it end.

Trump is pushing for face to face meeting to include both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

And Zelenskyy says he’s ready and willing.

ZELENSKYY: In Ukrainian

In a video address, he suggested Turkey, the Gulf states, or Europe as possible locations for peace talks.

Trump vs Cook - Fed board » Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook is filing a lawsuit to try and stop President Trump from firing her.

Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell said Trump “has no authority to remove” Cook.

But the president says there is cause to replace her.

TRUMP: But no, she seems to have had an infraction and she can't have an infraction and especially that infraction.

That follows an allegation against Cook of mortgage fraud from the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But no criminal charges have been filed.

Critics of Trump’s move say the president is eroding the Fed’s independence, and that he’s trying to remove her because she opposes cutting interest rates right now.

Cook was appointed by President Biden in 20-22.

Israeli-Gaza » President Trump also predicted on Tuesday that the war in Gaza will come to an end within the next few weeks.

But Israeli government spokesman David Mencer says Israeli leaders remain laser focused:

MENCER:  To meet all of our war aims, the release of all of our hostages, the elimination of the military and governing capabilities of the Hama terrorist organization, and the removal of the terrorist threat from Gaza.

He says those things must happen before the war will end.

This comes as Israeli leaders are launching a major new military offensive in Gaza City.

There's also mounting global backlash to the ongoing war, after an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza this week killed at least 20 people, including several journalists. Israeli Defense Force say the strike on the Nassar Hospital in Southern Gaza was meant to target a cameraman conducting surveillance for Hamas.

SBA chief on debanking » Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler says she's putting financial institutions on notice over so-called “debanking” practices.

LOEFFLER:  Pro-life, uh, or Christian nonprofits starting, they wouldn't let those nonprofits start in their banks 'cause they disagreed with them. We're ending that.

She said the SBA just sent letters to its network of 5,000 lenders across this country. The letter demands that they stop de-banking deserving customers, and if they’ve already done so, to reinstate those borrowers.

Violators could face fines or other penalties.

President Trump has issued an executive order that prohibits banks from using political affiliation or religious beliefs as a basis for refusing banking services.

Sinaloa cartel El Mayo pleads guilty » The co-founder of Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa Cartel has entered a guilty plea to multiple crimes in U.S. federal court.

75-year-old Ismael Zambada Garcia – nicknamed “El Mayo” – ran the violent cartel for over 30 years, trafficking drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States.

Attorney General Pam Bondi:

BONDI: El Mayo and his accomplices made billions of dollars… by bringing poisonous drugs into our country.…They committed gruesome assassinations, kidnappings and horrible crimes to maintain discipline within their own organization.

Garcia faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without parole.

His longtime partner, known as “El Chapo,” is incarcerated at a federal prison in Colorado and will also remain behind bars for life.

Michigan trans interventions »The University of Michigan’s medical center says it is halting so-called transgender medical interventions for kids. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: The hospital system says it will no longer offer cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers for anyone under the age of 19.

Officials there said the move is in response to federal pressure to end those practices.

Last month, the Justice Dept. issued more than 20 subpoenas to physicians and clinics involved in providing those procedures … including the University Michigan medical center.

The Trump Administration has threatened to pull federal funds … from providers that perform the life–altering procedures on children.

However, private practices in the state can still offer the procedures … as Michigan is not one of the more than two-dozen states with laws protecting children.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Washington Wednesday with Hunter Baker. Plus, making homeless people feel at home and setting them up for success.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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