10.15 | A giant goes small

SPEAKER_1 (0:05)

Good morning.

Myrna Brown (0:06)

Iran's rulers may have put down street protests, but have they silenced the opposition?

Shirin Nariman (0:11)

The regime is afraid of its own people.

Mary Reichard (0:15)

Also today, a Hollywood merger that could mean more movies in theaters, and a new film takes on Facebook's record of censorship. Later, Dennis Prager on finding purpose and perspective after a devastating injury.

Dennis Prager (0:29)

I prepared myself for calamity in my attitudes towards happiness.

Mary Reichard (0:35)

And World commentator Daniel Suhr on a political breakthrough for school choice.

Myrna Brown (0:46)

It's Thursday, October 15th. This is The World and Everything In It from listeners-supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

Mary Reichard (0:53)

And I'm Mary Reichard. Good morning.

Myrna Brown (0:58)

Up next, Ken Covington with today's news.

Ken Covington (1:02)

President Trump was back on the campaign trail Wednesday, this time in Arizona. He was stumping for Republican Congressman Andy Biggs, who was running for governor.

SPEAKER_7 (1:11)

He's a conservative guy, but what he is, is he's really a common sense person because it's all about common sense, more importantly than any label.

Ken Covington (1:19)

The president campaigned for Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan a day earlier, looking to fire up Republican voters ahead of next month's midterms.

Meantime, Trump on social media said that oil, gas and mineral exploration in Greenland is his words, getting ready to begin, though he did not give a start date. But finding resources is only the first step. Greenland's Naya Nathanielsen serves in Denmark's parliament.

Naya Nathanielsen (1:45)

It's going to take on average 16 years on a mineral mine to develop from the get-go till there's a mine in production. And when it comes to oil extraction, well, once you've found it in the quantity you need, still it would take a decade, at least, before the first barrel was on ground.

Ken Covington (2:06)

The island governs itself within Denmark, and its government says any exploration must follow Greenland's laws.

Inflation heated up again last month just weeks before midterm elections. World's Benjamin Eicher has more.

Benjamin Eicher (2:21)

Consumer prices rose faster in September. The Labor Department says prices were 3.7% higher than a year ago. That was more than expected, and up from August's annual rate of 3.4%.

Gas prices jumped more than 9% in a single month. Airfares are up about 22% from a year ago. And the AI boom is pushing up electronics prices.

One bright spot is that grocery prices dipped slightly from August. Economists say the report could add pressure to the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again when it meets in two weeks. For World, I'm Benjamin Eicher.

Ken Covington (3:00)

Some high school girls in Washington walked away from a cross-country race this week, refusing to compete alongside a male athlete who identifies as transgender.

About a dozen Comus High School runners crossed the starting line and then left the course. The athlete had competed on the boys team earlier this season. The school district says it follows state rules allowing students to compete according to gender identity. Next month, Washington voters will consider a measure that would bar boys from certain girls' sports.

Some of America's biggest banks discriminated against customers because of their politics or their faith. That's according to a new federal report. World's Kristin Flavin has that story.

Kristin Flavin (3:44)

The report looked at nine major banks. It says Wells Fargo pushed a payment processor to stop serving a religious non-profit because of its views on same-sex marriage. JP Morgan Chase's former payment processor, WePay, also closed a religious group's account after the now scandal-ridden left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center labeled it a hate group.

WePay also cut off sellers of Trump merchandise. JP Morgan says it corrected problems at WePay before closing that business. The report also documents some cases of possible discrimination against liberal groups but doesn't say how widespread that was. The report says all nine banks have taken steps to change their policies, but more action may be needed. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating whether the banks broke the law.

For World, I'm Kristen Flavin.

Ken Covington (4:35)

Pope Leo XIV has begun walking in his hospital room after surgery for lung cancer. The Vatican says he also ate regular meals and celebrated Mass Wednesday at the hospital in Rome. Doctors say blood tests and a chest X-Ratio his recovery is going as expected. Surgeons removed the lower part of his right lung on Tuesday. The Vatican has not said whether the cancer has spread or whether he'll need more treatment. But for now, his scheduled trip to South America next month is still on the calendar.

I'm Kent Cuffington, and still to come, the Iranian people hope for change as the government continues to crack down on descent.