Today's Top Stories from NBC News |
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2025 |
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In today's newsletter: Trump and Zelenskyy talk long-range missiles, with Putin's warning hanging over the discussion. George Santos gets his sentence commuted by the president. And, the case of the 1979 murder of Etan Patz takes another twist. Here's what to know today. |
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(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP - Getty Images) |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday, where the two leaders spoke about long-range Tomahawk missiles and the trajectory of the war with Russia as Kyiv intensifies its push for U.S. military aid. Trump said he hopes Ukraine "won't need" the missiles and that the war would be able to end "without thinking about Tomahawks." The sit-down follows Trump's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day prior, during which Moscow warned that a U.S. decision to provide long-range Tomahawks to Kyiv would sharply escalate tensions. The missiles, which could be used to strike deep into Russia, would signal a "qualitatively new stage of escalation," the Kremlin said. Putin and Trump plan to meet in Hungary to discuss the war. Adding to the speculation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised, without disclosing specific weaponry, that more "firepower" was coming for Ukraine ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels. The president sounded optimistic that an end to the conflict is still achievable, even as he conceded that it is "not an easy situation." Speaking with NBC News' "Meet the Press" after his visit with Trump, Zelenskyy acknowledged he didn't get what he wanted — but it could still happen. "It's good that President Trump didn't say 'no,' but for today, didn't say 'yes,'" Zelenskyy told moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview, which will air tomorrow. Read the full story. |
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Trump said that he signed a commutation order that would immediately release disgraced former Rep. George Santos from prison. "George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated," Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday. "Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!" Santos, a New York Republican, was sentenced in April to more than seven years in prison. Last year, he pleaded guilty to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, conduct that prosecutors said was part of a yearslong scheme that preyed upon the campaign finance system and his own political party, donors and family members in order to line his own pockets. Read the full story. |
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The man convicted of kidnapping and killing 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City in 1979 must be retried by June or be released, a federal judge in New York ruled. Pedro Hernandez, 64, was convicted in 2017 of the crimes and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after he admitted to luring the child into the basement of a bodega in the city's SoHo neighborhood in 1979. In July, a New York federal appeals court overturned that conviction, and ruled Hernandez must receive a new trial or be released from custody. The decision rested on a flawed instruction by the New York state judge presiding over his case in response to a jury note about his alleged confessions. Read the full story. |
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A. "Annie Hall"
B. "The Godfather"
C. "Marvin's Room"
D. "Something's Gotta Give"
Find out the answer and test your knowledge of this week's most-read stories. (The answer to the question is also at the bottom of this newsletter.)
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- The International Union for Conservation of Nature approved further exploration of the use of genetic engineering tools to aid in the preservation of animal species and other living organisms.
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- Baek Se-hee, the South Korean author who wrote about her mental health struggles in her bestselling 2018 memoir, died at the age of 35.
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On Day 15 of the government shutdown, a U.S. senator hosted a well-attended birthday party for his bulldog. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Trump gathered some donors for dinner without a mention of the government shutdown during 37-minute-long remarks thanking guests for their donations for a new White House ballroom. While thousands of federal workers are furloughed — or fired — and trying to stay afloat without paychecks, the ones responsible for the shutdown are eating cake. These are just two examples, catalogued by reporters Frank Thorp V, Monica Alba, Julie Tsirkin and Carol E. Lee, of how parts of Washington continue their normal routines during a shutdown that appears to have no end in sight. – Christian Orozco, newsletter and platforms editor |
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Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today's newsletter was curated for you by Christian Orozco. By the way, the answer to the quiz question above is A. "Annie Hall." If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send us an email at: MorningRundown@nbcuni.com If you're a fan, please forward it to your family and friends. They can sign up here. |
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