WORLD Radio – Thursday morning news: May 1, 2025
The news of the day, including U.S.-Ukraine agree to long-awaited mineral rights deal, economy contracted in first quarter, and Supreme Court hears school choice case with religious liberty implications
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, look on, Wednesday. Associated Press / Photo by Evan Vucci
Ukraine minerals deal » The ink is on the page: Ukraine has signed a long-awaited deal giving the United States access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine.
President Trump has long seen this as a way to recoup some of what the U.S. has spent on aid to Kyiv amid Ukraine’s war against Russian invaders.
TRUMP: As you know we’re looking for rare earth all the time. Rare earth is called rare for a reason.
Those minerals are critical for high-tech manufacturing, both commercial and military. And China, right now, controls much of the world’s supply.
The president said the deal also benefits Ukraine, and not just financially:
TRUMP: Because you’ll have an American presence at the site. Chris and the American presence will, I think, keep a lot of bad actors out of the country or certainly out of the area where we’re doing the digging.
Ukraine’s parliament must ratify the deal before it takes effect.
Kellogg on Ukraine peace talks » Meantime, the Trump administration is still pushing for peace in Ukraine. And US officials say a planned three-day ceasefire later this month announced by Vladimir Putin won’t cut it.
Special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg says the U.S. needs to see a comprehensive ceasefire of at least 30 days.
KELLOGG: Comprehensive sea air land infrastructure for at least 30 days. Why is 30 days important? Because it can build to a permanent peace, uh, initiative. And the reason why 30 days is important. It stops the killing. That’s what President Trump wants to do.
The president has been increasingly critical of Russia’s Vladimir Putin in recent days, with continued Russian attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine amid peace talks.
Economy contracted in first quarter » The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of this year. GDP was down three-tenths of one percent. Most economists had expected slight growth.
President Trump says it’s a hangover from the previous administration, noting that he didn’t even take office till late January.
Still, Democrats say the president is steering the economy in the wrong direction. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear:
BESHEAR: People believed he’d make paying bills at the end of the month, just a little bit easier. I think this tariff policy is misguided, and I think it’s making it harder on those same folks.
Energy Sec. Chris Wright said Wednesday that there are many components that drive GDP and people should not read too much into the numbers from one quarter. And he added:
WRIGHT: We’re in the middle of sausage making right now, right? We’re sort of restructuring global trade and how funds flow.
He did concede, though, that this process of “restructuring,” as he called it, creates uncertainty:
WRIGHT: Of course that’s uncertainty and that creates people fearful about, uh, delays in investment and what that mean, what, what that might mean for future economic growth. So I’m sure there’s a little bit of fear in there as well, but I think that fear is gonna get sorted out.
Trump says tariffs are driving major investments in the U.S.
Consumer spending grew in the first quarter.
Iran talks » U.S. and Iranian negotiators are heading back to Rome this weekend for the next round of nuclear talks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that on Wednesday on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting.
ARAGHCHI: [Speaking in Farsi]
He said he also expects a meeting tomorrow with diplomats from France, Germany and the UK to discuss the talks.
The talks with the U.S. again will be mediated by officials from Oman.
SCOTUS hears school choice case » The Supreme Court just heard arguments in a school choice case with religious liberty implications.
The case from Oklahoma centers on whether public money can be used to fund a religious charter school.
Jim Campbell with Alliance Defending Freedom told the justices:
CAMPBELL: St. Isador was privately created by two Catholic organizations, and it is controlled by a privately selected board of directors. Under this court’s test, St. Isador is neither the government nor engaged in state action.
But Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond argues that allowing the funding would violate the separation of church and state.
That puts Drummond at odds with other fellow Oklahoma Republicans, including Gov. Kevin Stitt:
STITT: If a group of families wanna set up a Hebrew school or a Muslim school or a, or a Catholic school or like I send my kids to a Christian school, why is the government standing in the way?
Drummond. though, also argues that a ruling in the school’s favor could open the door for taxpayer dollars to fund schools that teach extremist ideologies like Muslim Sharia Law.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. That raised the possibility of a tie, which would uphold the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling against the school.
Michael Brown investigation » A team of elders says a well-known Christian author and teacher can return to public ministry following a sexual abuse investigation. WORLD’s Christina Grube has more.
CHRISTINA GRUBE: A board of elders at Michael L. Brown’s Line of Fire Ministries … is disputing the findings of a third-party investigation.
The probe, conducted by the Firefly group … concluded Brown engaged in inappropriate relationships with two women in the early 2000s, labeling it sexual misconduct.
But the elders called it moral and leadership misconduct.
Brown admitted to forming an inappropriate emotional bond with a married woman … but denied physical wrongdoing.
He did not admit misconduct in a second case involving a former employee — though he acknowledged poor judgment.
The elder team did not directly address that allegation, but said Brown met his Biblical obligation to confess and repent, which he did in a December video.
They also noted that the Firefly report did not include Brown’s personal rebuttal or the testimony of his wife Nancy.
For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.
I’m Kent Covington.
Straight ahead: we’re heading to Alabama to learn how tariffs are affecting the American shrimp industry. Plus, addressing homelessness in Washington D.C.
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.
Please wait while we load the latest comments…
Please register, subscribe, or log in to comment on this article.
P.O. Box 20002
Asheville, NC 28802
(828) 435-2981
© 1986-2025 WORLD NEWS GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Thursday morning news: May 1, 2025 – wng.org
