Donald Trump (2:47)

From hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it. Thank you very much, everybody.

Caitlin McCabe (3:03)

Responding to reports that ICE is expected to send 100 officers to Minneapolis, Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey was steadfast in his support for the city's Somali community.

Daniel Bach (3:14)

To our Somali community, we love you and we stand with you.

Caitlin McCabe (3:19)

That commitment is rock solid.

Daniel Bach (3:21)

Minneapolis is proud to be home to the largest Somali community in the entire country.

Caitlin McCabe (3:27)

According to estimates from the U.S. census Bureau, about 40,000 Minnesota residents were born in Somalia, most holding forms of legal status. Pope Leo has waded into the Trump administration's simmering conflict with Venezuela, urging the White House to turn to dialogue and economic pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government rather than by threatening military action. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of human rights abuses and drug trafficking, while arguing that the threat posed by illegal drugs to the US Justifies its military campaign to target drug runners in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez walked out of a West Virginia prison yesterday after he was pardoned by Trump. Hernandez was convicted last year of helping smuggle 400 tons of cocaine and was serving a 45 year prison sentence. The pardon fuels more political uncertainty in the Central American nation, which is in the middle of a presidential election. Marathon talks between Russia and the US to end the war in Ukraine finished without an agreement yesterday. Territory has emerged as one of the main stumbling blocks, with Moscow demanding that Kyiv cede all of the eastern Donbass region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected that. The conclusion of the talks come as NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be noticeably absent with a deputy attending in his place. A NATO spokeswoman said America's top diplomat hasn't missed the event since 1999. Rubio's absence has raised questions about Washington's commitment to the transatlantic alliance and comes as President Vladimir Putin yesterday said Russia was prepared to fight a war with Europe if attacked. Here's Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Sakana.

Donald Trump (5:23)

He's using these typical tactics to play without fears. But worst thing, Europe never attacks Russia. We will never do it. NATO never attacks nobody. So this is just, you know, playing with our minds.

Caitlin McCabe (5:37)

European countries have been preparing for a potential conflict, including Russia's near neighbor, Lithuania. Foreign correspondent Matthew Luxmore recently headed there to observe the preparations underway.

Matt Van Epps (5:50)

Traveling along the border today, it's clear these fences are not currently designed to withstand a full scale enemy attack. But the Lithuanian military plans to construct additional barriers across what it describes as a Baltic defence line in collaboration with Estonia, Latvia and Poland. The idea is to install layers of obstacles behind the current border in order to channel and delay an enemy advance. Each section will include another type of defensive measure, from anti tank ditches to landmines.

Caitlin McCabe (6:22)

For a closer look at how Europe is preparing for a potential war with Russia, check out Matthew's reporting from Eastern Europe. We've left a link in our show notes Coming up, Americans reach their breaking point with sky high car prices. Plus, after years of being some of the politest cars on the road, self driving waymos start to get pushy. Those stories after the break.

Genspark Announcer (6:50)

This episode is powered by genspark your all in one AI workspace. You know that feeling when everything clicks, ideas flowing, work flying? Now imagine that with a designer, a developer and a researcher working alongside you. From presentations to prototypes, genspark automates the busy work so you can focus on what moves you forward. Stop choosing what to build. Build it all. All from a single prompt. Follow your spark at genspark AI. That's G E N S P A R K AI.

Caitlin McCabe (7:23)

For the US auto industry, 2025 was supposed to be a banner year, fueled by tax cuts and a rollback on environmental regulations. Analysts predicted a third straight year of sales increases as carmakers moved past a pandemic slowdown and semiconductor shortages. But this week, new data shows US Car sales are slumping and forecasts are predict to no growth for the year. With even more of the same in 2026, Journal reporter Sharon Turlop covers the global auto industry. She spoke to our Daniel Bach about why consumers seem to be losing patience with high prices for cars.

Sharon Turlop (8:01)

There are a few reasons. Part of it is that a lot of the consumers who were willing to absorb these higher prices have bought their vehicles. And a lot of the people in the market who are left, and we're hearing this particularly from dealers, are people who have held out and held out specifically because they didn't want to pay higher prices. And probably a bigger part of it is the larger economic pressures. There's inflation, the job market is less certain. And so we're just seeing more people who are balking at car prices where they're at right now.

Daniel Bach (8:32)

And can you just unpack a little bit why car prices have got to this point and why they are so high?

Sharon Turlop (8:37)

So car sales have continued to grow. And the reason prices shot up has a lot to do with with the combination of all the factories being shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. And then there was a big semiconductor shortage. So supply was incredibly tight, which drives up prices. Automakers like GM and Toyota and all these companies that have a really big North American footprint have managed to avoid much of the brunt of the tariffs that we've seen lately. But most analysts say these tariffs are still working their way through the supply chain, whether it's materials or parts. And so while companies haven't passed through a big price increase because of tariffs, most people think that's showing up a bit in the pricing.

Daniel Bach (9:20)

And are we seeing this starting to hit the industry? That is people not buying because of the sticker shock?

Sharon Turlop (9:27)

What we're seeing is what could be the beginning of something and a new dynamic. Part of this is that EV sales have dropped off substantially, and particularly in the US where there was a big tax credit that ended in September. So we saw a bunch of people rushing to buy EVs and then not buying them in big numbers, but also just seeing more muted sales growth. We talked to a lot of dealers, and they're saying, yeah, you know, we're still selling cars, but they're smaller cars. Consumers are just really, really fighting for discounts. They're having to take money off the hood. So it's showing up in a number of different ways.

Daniel Bach (10:04)

Sharon, you mentioned inflation and the cost of everything being higher. That includes car repairs, right? For people that are hanging onto a used car, sure.

Sharon Turlop (10:12)

I mean, we keep hearing over and over, there's really no relief, because when new cars are expensive and when new cars are in short supply, that trickles down to used cars. So used cars are very expensive, and because of tariffs and demand, car parts are expensive, and there's a shortage of mechanics. So even the labor to get your car repaired is expensive. So really, every aspect of car ownership is very costly right now.

Daniel Bach (10:38)

So we don't really seem to see any easing in prices. So what is the industry talking about here in terms of helping themselves?

Sharon Turlop (10:47)

Yeah, certainly there's going to be a lot of discussions around price. The automakers can raise or cut prices, and the dealers can cut prices as well. So I think there's a lot of discussion coming around. Do we raise prices as the tariffs go through? And as costs go through, do car companies continue to absorb tariff costs? How much do both dealers and automakers move in either direction? And that's going to be a big point of discussion on both levels at the end of this year.

Daniel Bach (11:15)

Journal reporter Sharon Turloop covers the global auto industry. Sharon, thanks for this.

Sharon Turlop (11:19)

Glad to be here. Thank you.

Caitlin McCabe (11:24)

And if you're not a car owner but a keen user of Waymo's self driving cars. You might want to pay attention to this update. That's because the vehicles, which are known for their achingly cautious driving and polite behavior, are adopting a more aggressive driving style akin to a New York taxi driver. Here's Journal tech reporter Katherine Binley.

Katherine Binley (11:47)

People in San Francisco have been noticing that Waymos have started getting a bit more assertive and really coming into their own. I spoke with someone over at Waymo who's in product management there, and he made the point that Waymos actually need to be more, quote, confidently assertive, as he put it, than they previously were. Because when the cars are so polite and so deferential, it doesn't actually help with the flow of traffic much. It can cause disruptions. And so if they're too passive, then you know, that's not a great experience for the other cars on the road.

Caitlin McCabe (12:22)

And while the Waymo update is important for the self driving car's integration on the busy streets of San Francisco, Catherine says it hasn't been smooth sailing.

Katherine Binley (12:31)

There was a Waymo who actually pulled an illegal U turn and there happened to be two police officers nearby and they pulled the Waymo over. There was no driver in the front seat, but the window did roll down. One of the officers told me that the operator who spoke to them over a speaker said that they would look into it and that they were very apologetic.

Caitlin McCabe (12:52)

Waymo's driverless vehicles operate in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta, with the company saying it's had 91% fewer crashes involving a serious injury when compared to human drivers. And that's it for what's news for this Wednesday morning. Today's show is produced by Hattie Moyer and Daniel Bach. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff, and I'm Caitlin McCabe for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.

Genspark Announcer (13:29)

This episode is powered by genspark. Your all in one AI workspace. You know that feeling when everything clicks, ideas flowing, work flying. Now imagine that with a designer, a developer and a researcher working alongside you. From presentations to prototypes, genspark automates the busy work so you can focus on what moves you forward. Stop choosing what to build. Build it all, all from a single prompt. Follow your spark at genspark AI that's G, E, N S P A R K AI.