World leaders meet in the Oval Office; New Kohberger documents

Summary

Podcast Summary: Here's the Scoop – August 18, 2025

Episode Theme:
This episode of Here’s the Scoop from NBC News, hosted by Morgan Chesky, delivers coverage and analysis on world-shaping events of the day: a high-stakes Oval Office summit where President Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky and major European leaders meet; new insights from released police documents in the Idaho murders case; updates from global and domestic headlines; and a lighthearted nod to new words added to the dictionary.

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1. Oval Office Summit: World Leaders Seek an End to the Ukraine War

[00:33 – 09:32]

Key Points

• Historic Meeting: President Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Zelensky, alongside leaders from France, Germany, and the UK in the Oval Office in a show of unity and pressure to move towards ending the war in Ukraine.
  • Morgan Chesky: “It’s a united front with one clear [message]: the war has to end.”
• War Still Rages: Despite diplomatic efforts, fighting continues, with recent Russian strikes killing 10 more Ukrainians.
• Tone Shift Since Last Trump-Zelensky Meeting: Six months prior, their Oval Office encounter had been tense; this time, Zelensky was somberly dressed and appeared more conciliatory, handing Trump a letter from his wife to soften the approach.
  • Gabe Gutierrez: “President Zelensky… presented [Trump] a letter from his wife. He presented it to him in the Oval Office in front of the world’s cameras.” (01:44)
• Possible Peace Process:
  • Trump is contemplating a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky.
  • Trump did not rule out – but also did not commit to – the possibility of sending US troops as peacekeepers.
  • European leaders pressed for a ceasefire; some forward motion reported, but Putin’s response unknown.
  • Gabe Gutierrez: “The question will be, will Vladimir Putin respond to this in any positive way, and will we actually see this war… come to an end?” (03:57)

Notable Quote

• Gabe Gutierrez (on difference in summit atmosphere):

  “An incredibly high stakes meeting… it was very different. President Zelensky getting a very warm reception… and a dramatically different tone.” (01:42)

Analysis from Moscow

• Keir Simmons’ Perspective: Life in Moscow remains surprisingly insulated from the conflict, but the population, while desiring an end to the war, is not willing to accept defeat.
  • Keir Simmons:

    “In central Moscow… restaurants are busy. It can be buzzing… what Russians say… is, we want this war to be over, but not at any cost. We do not want to lose.” (04:57)

• Diplomatic “Battles”: Simmons frames the past week’s summits (Trump-Putin, European leaders with Trump & Zelensky) as sequential diplomatic battles.
  • Keir Simmons:

    “What we’re seeing is a diplomatic war. And just like the war itself… there are battles. When President Putin met with President Trump on Friday, I think you could… say that was a battle President Putin won.” (06:06)

  • After Putin’s summit, Trump’s position shifted—from demanding a ceasefire “if not now, soon,” to a softer stance about getting a peace deal. Simmons calls this “another win for President Putin.” (07:15)
• Russian Public Opinion:
  • Pro-war factions in Russia are powerful and demand that what they sacrificed not be in vain.
  • Putin’s challenge: if the war ends without clear victory, returning soldiers may feel betrayed, posing internal risk.
  • Keir Simmons:

    “If the war is over, do [fighters] return home feeling victorious or… betrayed? If it’s the latter… how secure do you think President Putin feels in the years to come?” (08:10)

• Putin’s Stance on European Involvement: Simmons suggests Putin sees European leaders' unity with Zelensky as a potential disruption to his gains.
  • Keir Simmons:

    “He absolutely… [sees] a real chance that Europe… will come in and shift this. ‘I’ve managed to do something here and now they’re going to sabotage it.’” (09:20)

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2. Idaho Murders: New Documents Reveal Eerie Details

[10:42 – 13:56]

Key Points

• Kohberger Sentencing and Unanswered Questions:
  • Brian Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences for killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, but much remains unanswered.
  • After the end of a long-standing gag order, police have released hundreds of pages of investigative material, images, and surveillance footage.
• Disturbing Details from Newly Released Records:
  • A surviving roommate reported hearing the killer call victim Kaylee by name:
    • Leah Nagy:

      “She heard a male voice say, ‘It’s okay, Kaylee, I’m here for you.’ That definitely caught our eye… why these four victims, did Kohberger know them?” (11:36)

  • A university professor sent warnings to colleagues:
    • Leah Nagy:

      “If we give him a PhD, that’s the guy that will be harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing his… his students one day when he’s a professor.” (12:10)

  • Other students’ chilling conversations with Kohberger, including him saying “whoever had committed the homicides must have been pretty good." (12:25)
• Digital Evidence & Motive:

  • No established connection between Kohberger and victims or clear motive.

  • Investigators found:

    • Kohberger had wiped his phone data, creating digital gaps.
    • His phone showed only 18 contacts (mostly his parents), noted as fewer contacts than in major terrorism cases.
    • Many selfies with “an American Psycho feel.”
    • Leah Nagy:

      “He had so few contacts on his phone, I think about 18, that one of the investigators said, I’ve worked major terrorism investigations, and these terrorists had more contacts than that.” (13:21) “We think he loved himself.” (13:38)

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3. Headline Roundup

[14:02 – 18:10]

Quick Takes

• Hurricane Aaron: Category 4 storm, not expected to make direct landfall in the US, but dangerous surf and flooding predicted from Florida to New England.
• Wisconsin Boy Scouts: A trip derailed but all make it home safely amidst storm chaos.
• Redistricting in Texas: Democrats return, having temporarily blocked a GOP redistricting map. Governor Abbott calls a new special session to push the map forward.
• Protests in Israel: Massive anti-war demonstrations demanding a ceasefire and the release of Gaza hostages. Tension mounting over rumored military strikes in densely populated areas.
  • Only 20 of the remaining 50 hostages are believed alive.
• Air Canada Labor Dispute: Massive disruptions as flight attendants strike, grounding flights for half a million passengers.
• New Dictionary Words: Cambridge adds over 6,000 new words, including “skibidi,” “tradwife,” “delulu,” “inspo,” and even “mouse jiggler” (a tool to fake computer activity at work).
  • Morgan Chesky:

    “You can now say ‘what the skibidi’s going on’ with full academic credibility.”

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4. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Summit Atmosphere:
  • “This was the most crowded, perhaps the busiest day that I’ve seen here on the White House North Lawn since I started covering the White House.” – Gabe Gutierrez (01:27)
• On the Stakes for Putin:
  • “How secure do you think President Putin feels… if there are fighters, war-hardened men… who are dissatisfied and feel they gave everything and President Putin… gave up on it?” – Keir Simmons (08:27)
• On the Idaho Documents:
  • “We still do not know the connection, if any, between Kohberger and these victims. His motive. Why that house on King Road that night?” – Leah Nagy (12:53)
• On Kohberger’s Digital Life:
  • “I’ve worked major terrorism investigations, and these terrorists had more contacts than that.” – Leah Nagy quoting investigator (13:24)
• On Cambridge’s New Additions:
  • “You can now say ‘what the Skibidi’s going on’ with full academic credibility.” – Morgan Chesky (17:57)

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5. Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|:-------------| | 00:33 | Introduction and Summit Preview | | 01:23 | Live from White House: Gabe Gutierrez on leaders’ meeting | | 04:24 | Trump-Putin Alaska summit and Keir Simmons joins | | 04:46–09:32 | Keir Simmons analyzes Moscow atmosphere, diplomatic battles, public opinion, Putin’s calculus | | 10:42 | Idaho Murders: New Kohberger documents, Leah Nagy interview | | 14:02 | Headline Roundup: Hurricanes, Texas politics, Israel protests, Air Canada strike, New dictionary words |

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Tone:
Throughout, the hosts and correspondents maintain an incisive, yet accessible and conversational tone, mixing gravitas on world affairs with sardonic wit in the headline roundup.

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Perfect For:

Anyone seeking concise, insightful coverage of the day’s most consequential stories, with both domestic and international scope, personal stories, expert commentary, and just enough pop-culture news to lighten the mood before signing off.

Transcript

[A]

Taking over the helm of NBC nightly news, a 75 year old broadcast. It's a great responsibility. Good evening. I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News. For NBC News, I'm Tom Galmas. That's what we do every night.

[B]

NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas, evenings on NBC.

[A]

Hey, friends. And welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Morgan Chesky. It's a busy Monday on the show today. We have new details about the University of Idaho murders, protests in Israel over the war in Gaza, and some brand new words are getting added to the dictionary. But first, our top story. President Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Oval Office today. And Zelensky did not come alone. Joining him in a very intentional show of support, the leaders of France, Germany and the UK It's a united front with one clear the war has to end. And while the meetings play out in D.C. the war keeps on raging. Zelensky says 10 people were killed overnight in Russian strikes. Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez has a front row seat to all of it at the White House today.

[B]

It was a wild day here at the White House. First of all, this was the most crowded, perhaps the busiest day that I've seen here on the White House North Lawn since I started covering the White House two years ago. There were reporters here from all these different European countries, domestic reporters, international reporters, all wanting to catch a glimpse of these European leaders and of Ukrainian President Zelensky as he made his way to the West White House. An incredibly high stakes meeting, of course, because it had been six months since that eruption in the Oval Office between President Trump and President Zelensky. This time it was very different. President Zelensky getting a very warm reception from the president and top White House officials. He was wearing this black suit, black tie, very somber dress, but is much more dressed up than his military garb that he wore six months ago, which drew some criticism from White House officials. And Zelensky gave President Trump a letter from the Ukrainian first lady, his wife. This comes after first Lady Melania Trump last week gave a letter from herself to Russian President Putin, essentially talking about the plight of children of this war. This time, Ukrainian President Zelensky perhaps trying to establish a softer tone with President Trump to connect on a more human Level gave him this letter from his wife. He presented it to him in the Oval Office in front of the world's cameras. And it was a dramatically different tone throughout the entire meeting than what we saw six months ago. For President Trump, this was extremely high stakes. The president is mentioning the possibility of a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelensky. Right now. That is still up in the air after today's meetings. The president says that he will call President Putin and try to set that up. Another headline that came out of today is the president was asked more than once whether he would commit US Troops to some sort of peacekeeping force in Ukraine. He didn't say whether he would one way or the other, but it was notable that he did not rule that out. European leaders also this afternoon met with Zelensky, met with President Trump. Several of them pushed for a ceasefire. There does seem to be at least some forward motion. The question will be, will Vladimir Putin respond to this in any positive way, and will we actually see this war that has now been more than three years long? Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or wounded. Will this come to an end?

[A]

And remember, this meeting follows President Trump's face to face with Putin in Alaska on Friday, a summit the president hailed as, quote, extremely productive. For more on that, I want to bring in NBC News chief international correspondent Keir Simmons. Keir, you're one of the few who has spent years on the ground in Moscow. What's it like?

[C]

I think it's not the way that people might imagine in the sense that we think of Russia at war. And it is, of course, but Russia is a huge country, 11 time zones, and Moscow is a long way away from the war. The truth is that in central Moscow, kind of the most upscale part of Moscow, restaurants are busy, it can be buzzing. And all of this doesn't sound like war reporting, does it? Moscow is a place that has been able to keep going. And at the same time, there have been the drone attacks, there have been assassinations, people have been impacted. And what Russians say, and they say it to the one pollster that we might be able to believe a little bit. And they say it quite often when I talk to Muscovites on the streets, what they say is, we want this war to be over, but not at any cost. We do not want to lose.

[A]

You have interviewed President Putin. Can you put this moment in some historical context for us?

[C]

We are watching history being made, and these are pivotal moments. But I would describe it like this, too. There are different ways to view what's happening? And here's one of them. What we're seeing is a diplomatic war. And just like the war itself, the kinetic war in Ukraine, there are battles. So when press President Putin met with President Trump on Friday, I think you could justifiably describe that as a battle that President Putin won. Now we have another battle, which is when European leaders and President Zelenskyy all descend on the White House, on the Trump administration and fight their fight together, unified. And this is a helpful way to think about things because it kind of takes us away from saying, well, that's it, it's done now. One side has won. You can win battles and not win the war. And that's true on both. In terms of what happened on Friday and why that was a win for President Putin, it's clear that he did manage to shift President Trump from the stance he was taking on Air Force One on the way, where he was saying there needs to be a ceasefire and the ceasefire should happen, if not now, soon. And I'll be very unhappy if that doesn't happen to when he then says over the weekend, okay, actually, I now think we don't need to have a ceasefire, we should just have just try and get a peace deal. Now, clearly President Putin has had influence and that's another win for President Putin. I don't think that you can say that just because President Putin had some successes on Friday, that necessarily means the war will be a victory for him.

[A]

What are Russians saying about Putin's most recent, what you're calling a kind of a victory at Friday summit?

[C]

Well, there are different Russians, of course, like there are in any country. And one group of Russians who are very influential at this stage are the pro war Russians. Now, they are particularly of the view that Russia has lost a lot of blood and treasure in this and that therefore they cannot stop now, that they must keep going. President Putin, even President Putin, someone who is so dominant in his own country, will be trying to get to an end point that he thinks that people will accept, and particularly those people. Wars change countries in history, and that's true for Russia with this war too. If you just think about it, all of these mostly men who have been fighting, if the war is over, return home. Do they return home feeling victorious, or do they return home feeling betrayed, feeling as if it was for nothing? If it's the latter, if it's the second feeling, how secure do you think President Putin feels in the years to come? If there are fighters, war hardened men, mostly across Russia, who are dissatisfied and feel they gave everything and people they know died and President Putin kind of just gave up on it. From a perspective of an autocrat like Putin, it is a factor.

[A]

Now we have Zelensky in the White House joined by a variety of major European leaders. How concerned do you think Putin is about their additional presence today?

[C]

He absolutely was of the view on Friday as he walked out of that meeting that there's a real chance that Europe, from his perspective and Ukraine will come in and shift this. I've managed to do something here and now they're going to sabotage it.

[A]

Kier Simmons, always appreciate your time. All right, team, when we're back, what new documents are telling us about the murder of those four college students in Idaho? That's after the break.

[D]

I'm Josh Mankiewicz and I hope you'll join us for season four of DATELINE Missing in America. In each episode of dateline's award winning series, we will focus on one missing persons case and hear from the families, the friends and the investigators, all desperate to find them. You will want to listen closely. Maybe you could help investigators solve a mystery. DATELINE Missing in America. All episodes available now.

[B]

Wherever you get your podcasts.

[D]

This week on MEET THE press, following the Trump Putin summit in Alaska, Kristen Welker sits down with Secretary of State Mike Marco Rubio and Senator Chris Murphy to discuss what's at stake for the future of Ukraine and the world. Only on MEET THE press. Listen to the full episode now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

And we're back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Brian Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole for killing four University of Idaho students back in 2022. But for the families and the public, a lot of questions remained even after those court proceedings ended, some of which are now being answered after local police released hundreds of documents, plus images and even surveillance footage from the very case. And we do have a quick warning before we get started. Some of these details are really disturbing and graphic. Leah Nagy is our producer for the Today Show. Leah, thanks for being here.

[E]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

So, Leah, you've been reading through these documents. We're talking about hundreds of pages here. What are you learning?

[E]

Yeah. So keep in mind there was a gag order hanging over this case almost from the beginning that prevented law enforcement and legal teams from talking to media. These documents are coming out now that the gag order has been lifted. And of course, police have been inundated now with with media requests. So they are putting out huge troves of These documents that really show us the huge scope of this investigation. And a few things really stood out from these docum. One was a surviving roommate telling officers that she heard Kohberger call one of the victims by name, saying, you know, she heard a male voice say, it's okay, Kaylee, I'm here for you. That definitely caught our eye because it gets to the biggest unanswered question. Why these four victims, did Kohberger know them, have any connection to them ahead of time? Prosecutors have said that to this day, they don't know of a connection, but the fact that he apparently said one of their names is very interesting. For that reason, a professor also sounded alarm bells to colleagues about Coburger, saying, you know, I work with predators, and if we give him a PhD, that's the guy that will be harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing his. His students one day when he's a professor. Another really chilling moment that stood out was a fellow PhD student telling police she talked with Kohberger about the murders weeks after, and that Kohberger told her that whoever had committed the homicides must have been pretty good.

[A]

What questions are still left unanswered here?

[E]

We still do not know the connection, if any, between Kohberger and these victims. His motive, why that house on King Road that night? I spoke to digital forensic investigators who said that he had effectively wiped his phone for the months surrounding the murders. And that gap in the digital data is really the most damning thing they saw. But they were able to dig deeper and discover, you know, some details about his digital footprint that paint a picture, really, of an extreme loner. He had so few contacts on his phone, I think about 18, that one of the investigators said, I've worked major terrorism investigations, and these terrorists had more contacts than that. But who he did talk with constantly, they said was his parents, who were in his phone as mother and father. He also had a lot of selfies where he would be topless, flexing, giving what they termed an American Psycho feel. They said, we think he loved himself. So still a lot of questions about his. His online behavior and what was wiped on that phone. But we did learn some more about who Brian Coburger was today.

[A]

Producer Leah Nagy. Leah, thanks so much.

[E]

Thank you.

[A]

All right, time now to move on to some headlines. Aaron's kicking off hurricane season with a bang. It's already a dangerous Category 4 storm. The good news, it's not expected to slam directly into the US Coast. The bad news, from Florida all the way up to New England. Forecasters are warning of life threatening surf, rip currents, flooding and coastal erosion. The storm's outer bands already knocked out power for thousands in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands. What was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for a Boy Scout troop from Wisconsin turned into an absolute scramble to get back home. Thankfully, they're safe. Officials in places like North Carolina's Outer Banks are now urging people to prep because this is a storm we're going to be talking about all week long. Texas Democrats are back in the Lone Star State today, ending a weeks long standoff over redistricting. Now Dems are calling it a win since they did block state Republicans from passing a new congressional map during a special legislative session. But, but, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already called another special session making it likely that Republicans will be able to to advance their map soon. Israel saw one of the biggest protests yesterday since the war in Gaza began nearly two years ago. Frustrated demonstrators flooded the streets there, calling for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. The spark reports of a new planned military strike in some of Gaza's most populated areas. Protesters worry that military action in these cities could put the remaining hostages at even greater risk. It's believed that only 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are still alive. And it's still not clear when Israel plans to begin this new offensive. Meanwhile, the war grinds on. Hospitals and witnesses said 17 more aid seekers were killed in Gaza and Israeli airstrikes hit a power plant in Yemen. Air Canada has hit a little bit of turbulence, but not the kind a seatbelt sign can fix. The airline scrapped its financial outlook for the quarter and the year after, 10,000 of its flight attendants walked right off the job. Canada's labor board called the strike unlawful and ordered the union to get everyone back on board. But the union basically said, yeah, no thanks. The airline estimates that the Defiance has now grounded flights for about half a million passengers. At the heart of all of this standoff, eight months of bad blood over pay, scheduling and all those unpaid hours flight attendants say they rack up in the sky. The airline is hoping to resume flights tonight though. Okay, before we let you go, looks like the Cambridge Dictionary is done being delulu. Stay with me. It just added more than 6,000 new words, including Gen Z staples like skibidi, which I have just now learned means, well, basically anything good, bad, or just what's happening. And then there's tradwife, short for traditional wife, a married mom who cooks, cleans and broadcasts all of it on social media. The dictionary only picks words it thinks has staying power. Which means yes, you can now say what the Skibidi's going on with full academic credibility. Also making the cuts Delulu Inspo and Mouse Jiggler AKA that little gadget that fakes computer activity so it looks like you're actually working. Truly a proud moment for anyone who doubted the English language would ever recognize procrastination tech. Alright, that's going to do it for us at here's the scoop. Thanks for listening. And hey, I guess if Cambridge recognizes Skibidi, well, perhaps I will give it a shot. I mean, yolo, right? Signing off on Morgan Chesky.

[F]

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