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Today is Thursday, October 23rd. We'll tell you about President Trump's first direct punishment against Russia as peace talks have fallen apart. Also, how America's military action against drug traffickers has widened. And new controversy over demolition at the White House. Plus, a powerful storm takes aim at the West Coast. Some tech leaders say AI superintelligence is too risky. And a wild bear pays a polite visit to a zoo. Those stories and even more news to know next. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in around 10, 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun, and on the go. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. There have been new setbacks in the quest for peace in Ukraine, and with that, President Trump is getting tougher on Russia. The president says he canceled his upcoming meeting with Russia's President Putin since diplomats have not seen much progress in ceasefire talks. And Trump says he didn't want to waste his time. Then the White House unveiled new sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil companies. They cut the companies off from much of the international financial system and keep other businesses from working with them. And it's a big deal since oil is one of Russia's largest revenue sources, helping to fund the war in Ukraine. These are the first direct measures the US has taken against Russia since President Trump returned to office. They also came as Russia launched new intense strikes in Ukraine. Power plants and a kindergarten school were hit and more than a dozen people were killed. The day before, Ukraine's military attacked a Russian chemical plant that apparently makes components for gunpowder explosives and rocket fuel used against Ukraine. Overall, fighting has been going on for almost four years now. President Trump met with NATO's leader yesterday to talk about the status of the war and the possibility of a ceasefire. The NATO chief said Trump was, quote, the only one who could get this done. To be continued. The U.S. military campaign against drug traffickers seems to be expanding. The Pentagon launched its eighth and ninth strikes against boats allegedly carrying drugs, and both were in the Pacific Ocean. Before this, all the strikes had been in the Caribbean Sea, but the Eastern Pacific is where much of the cocaine from the world's largest producers is smuggled. Still, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns about Trump ordering military actions without authorization from Congress. And some Democrats say even if Trump had gotten authorization, they would not agree with it, since they say it would be better to stop the boats and interrogate those on board to find the source of the drugs. The rather than just killing everyone. But the Trump administration is defending the strikes, saying they're meant to save Americans. And they say they're on solid legal ground. President Trump says strikes on land could be next. A powerful storm is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds and mountain snow to parts of the Western U.S. we're talking 5 inches of rain or more in some spots and up to two feet of mountain snow. Plus there could be strong winds and flooding in some spots. The storm is expected to start impacting the Pacific Northwest tonight before moving into Northern California tomorrow, and it could stick around for a while with more rain and snow through the weekend. Forecasters say this unsettled weather pattern could continue through the end of the month with the possibility of more storms like this. Earlier this year, the Trump administration stopped updating a federal database that tracked the cost of extreme weather, but the nonprofit group Climate Central just put out its own version of it. It was spearheaded by a former NOAA researcher who managed the federal database for 15 years, and he's now using the same methodology. The new database shows through the first half of this year, disasters across the US cause more than $100 billion in damage. That makes this the most expensive start to any year on record. All in all, it says there were 14 disasters that each cost at least a billion dollars in damage. This information is used by the insurance industry, policymakers, and researchers to understand and plan for the future. NOAA responded by saying it appreciates that the database can continue without the American taxpayer paying for it. Separately, President Trump still says he wants to eventually shift disaster relief and recovery from the federal government onto the states. A panel is expected to recommend changes to the way FEMA operates by the end of next month. President Trump's White House renovations are turning out to be far more extensive than originally reported. The entire East Wing is now being demolished to make way for Trump's ballroom. Originally, Trump said the White House would not be touched and the ballroom would just be next door. But yesterday he confirmed the change, saying, in order to do it properly, we have to take down the existing structure. Since this is one of the most historic buildings in the U.S. many Democrats have been angry and have questioned whether the Trump administration followed proper protocols, though the White House has dismissed the criticism as manufactured outrage, and it points out how many former presidents have updated and modernized the White House, not just Trump. The White House says it will submit plans for the ballroom construction for review by the National Capital Planning Commission. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has asked the Trump administration to pause that demo until the review is completed. It's also brought up concerns about the ballroom overwhelming the White House, since plans say the ballroom will be 90,000 square feet and the White House is 55,000 square feet. Either way, the demolition part of this project has already begun and is expected to be finished within days or a couple of weeks. More news still coming up, but first a break to talk about our sponsor. As a parent, I know how hard it can be to find something that's both healthy and something kids actually want to take. But my 4 year old loves his Chaia vitamins and probiotics. He even asks for them like they're a treat and I love that. I can feel good about it too. Unlike typical kids vitamins that are filled with sugar and gummy junk, Haya is made with a clean formula of fruits and vegetables packed with 12 organically sourced fruits and veggies, 15 essential vitamins and minerals and zero added sugar. And are you tired of battling with your kids to eat their greens? 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It could potentially freeze spending at current levels for a while, like until after next year's midterm elections. And that's seen as somewhat surprising since spending is still set at what it was when Biden was president. It also goes against what House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders have said that they want to negotiate individual spending bills for this fiscal year. And neither plan is expected to win over any more Democrats who still want expiring health care subsidies to be extended. For now, senators just keep putting the same GOP backed short term funding bill up for a vote. It failed for the 12th time yesterday without a quick fix. Many federal employees will not be getting paid tomorrow and President Trump is promising to lay off even more workers for good. Stay tuned. Immigration raids keep flaring up around the country this week. In New York City, several people were taken into custody after a raid on the famous shopping hub of Canal street that's known for its designer knockoffs. The Homeland Security Department says immigration agents picked up street vendors who are in the US Illegally and that some of them have criminal histories. But one Democratic congressman says four U.S. citizens were also arrested and held for nearly 24 hours without any charges being filed. Their families had filed missing persons reports. After the raid, New York's attorney general launched a portal for the public to submit photos and videos of ICE activity. Meanwhile, President Trump is working to send US Troops into more Democratic led cities to help with immigration and other anti crime enforcement efforts. California's attorney general told CNN federal agents are going to San Francisco next and that could come as soon as today. Also yesterday, a federal judge decided to extend an order blocking the National Guard deployment in Chicago, but President Trump is calling on the Supreme Court to allow it anyway. And whatever the high court decides is likely to have a big impact on other cities like Memphis, where lawsuits are pending. Stay tuned. North Carolina is the latest state to pass a controversial new election map meant to give Republicans another seat in the U.S. house. State lawmakers signed off yesterday and the governor doesn't have the power to veto it. It was passed despite protests this week, including from some who say the new districts are racist, arguing they dilute the political power of black and Latino voters. The new law will go into effect before next year's midterms, when Republicans nationwide are trying to protect their narrow majority in Congress. Of course, North Carolina is not alone in redrawing its election maps. Texas and Missouri have already done the same in favor of Republicans, and GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Indiana are considering it at this point. Democrats most notable effort against this is in California, but there state laws say voters have to weigh in on a new map before it can go into effect. Early voting on it started earlier this month and so far the Democratic mail in ballots have outnumbered the Republican ones. Democratic leaders in Maryland and Illinois are also talking about possible redistricting efforts. Stay tuned. A group of prominent tech experts, policymakers, scientists, religious leaders and celebrities want to stop the development of AI that can outperform humans. A new call to action has more than 1100 signatures from people like Apple co founder Steve Wozniak, Nobel Prize winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, Prince Harry, right wing political strategist Steve Bannon, President Obama's national security advisor Susan Rice, and many more. They're all against the superintelligence for a lot of reasons. The letter mentions the loss of freedom, civil liberties, dignity and control, as well as national security risks and even potentially human extinction. So it says superintelligence should not be the goal until it has strong public support and there's a scientific consensus that it can be built and controlled safely. But for now, companies like OpenAI and Xai are still working to release more advanced large language models, and Meta has gone so far to name its LLM division the Meta Superintelligence Labs supporters say Superintelligence could be groundbreaking in a lot of ways. For example, it could tackle global problems like climate change and disease that humans have not been able to solve. But most are also still in favor of safety, research and oversight. US Lawmakers have introduced bills that build some kinds of standards around superintelligence, but of course, all debate is on hold as long as the government is still shut down. A wild bear in Northern California decided to go on a field trip last week to the zoo. Staff at the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka were doing a morning inspection before opening for the day when they spotted an unexpected visitor, a wild black bear, leaning on a gate, watching three captive black bears inside their habitat. Zoo officials say the wild bear might have just been lonely. The animal apparently climbed in from the nearby redwood forest, then peacefully left after wildlife officers coaxed him back into the woods. Still, the zoo called the bear a very polite visitor, saying it didn't seem aggressive and even stayed on the boardwalk path during its visit. Facebook users agreed, joking that some human guests could learn a thing or two. No one human or bear was hurt. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Thing To Know Thursday. But first, this episode is sponsored by calm. I know these days a lot of people feel overwhelmed by the news, but even when it's not just that, it's the emails, the to do list, maybe the kids, the constant buzz of life. When I start to feel that building up, I turn to calm. It's the number one app for sleep and meditation, and it's like having a little reset button in my pocket. Calm offers guided meditations to help work through anxiety and stress, improve focus and build healthier habits. I appreciate morning meditations to start my day on the right foot, and when I just need a quick break in the afternoon, the grounding exercises and expert LED talks help me feel motivated and refreshed on nights I'm having trouble calming my mind. Calm has guided Meditations sleep stories, music and relaxation sessions. With over 2 million 5 star reviews, Calm helps you stress less, sleep more and live more mindfully. Anytime, anywhere. Calm your mind, change your life. Calm has an exclusive offer just for listeners of our show. Get 40% off a Calm premium subscription at calm.com newsworthy this is an amazing value. Go to C-A-L-M.com newsworthy for 40% off unlimited access to Calm's entire library. Calm.com newsworthy and tell. Com you heard about them from me. Now back to thing to Know Thursday Cold and flu season is upon us, and doctors are already starting to see a spike in cases in different parts of the country. Just this week, a new study came out confirming what many parents already that the youngest kids harbor the most germs. Researchers found kids aged three to five had the highest rates of actual illness, too. Doctors who led the study say young kids can have up to 10 respiratory viruses a year, since their immune systems are also being introduced to everything for the first time. And they point out how when you live in a household with multiple children, sicknesses can get passed around so easily that it can appear like someone is always sick. Of course, keeping kids healthy when they're that young is especially tough. But health experts are sharing the same advice this year as in years past, emphasizing hand washing, covering coughs and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces. They also suggest being up to date on vaccinations. In fact, they say now is the best time to get a flu shot. They should be available nationwide. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll catch you up on more news to know tomorrow. Until then, have a great day.