8.27.26 Financial squeeze on Iran, Angel families, Washington’s role in education, and altering veteran care

**Myrna Brown** (0:05)
Good morning. New efforts to reduce the reach of the Department of Education.

**Tim Walberg** (0:10)
It's become a monolithic organization that's cost us $3 trillion so far, and all we've seen are declining test scores.

**Mary Reichard** (0:18)
And we'll talk to an expert about America's new economic pressure campaign on Iran. Also, families with loved ones killed by illegal immigrants share their perspective on border policy, and VA clinic closures force aging veterans to start over.

**Bill Frank** (0:35)
All of a sudden the government says, sorry, but you can't use that doctor anymore. It bothers me a lot.

**Mary Reichard** (0:41)
And WORLD commentator Daniel Suhr on the massive settlement by Meta that could change how teens interact online.

**Myrna Brown** (0:55)
It's Thursday, August 27th. This is The World and Everything In It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

**Mary Reichard** (1:03)
And I'm Mary Reichard.

**Myrna Brown** (1:07)
Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

**Kent Covington** (1:10)
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, will pay up to $18 billion to settle claims that it built its platforms to hook children. The settlement ends a trial in Oakland, California, and covers 47 states. Florida, New Mexico, and Texas are not a part of it.
Meta does not admit wrongdoing in the deal and a judge still has to sign off. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called it a strong down payment on protecting kids.

**Rob Bonta** (1:38)
Meta has agreed to make significant changes that will reduce the risk of harm that Instagram and Facebook pose to teen users.

**Kent Covington** (1:46)
Those changes include a two-hour daily limit for teen users unless a parent lifts it. The app goes dark from midnight to 6 a.m., no push notifications during school hours, like counts are hidden and parents can turn off autoplay, and an outside auditor will check on whether Meta follows through on its promises. Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays called it the beginning of the end of the bad old days when children had unfettered access to products designed to addict them and expose them to serious mental harm. She also called on other social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube to mirror the changes Meta has committed to making, and there is money riding on that. Roughly $5 billion of Meta's potential payout comes only if other major platforms agree to similar measures.
In Alaska, Dan Sullivan has advanced in a Senate primary in a bid to unseat the incumbent senator, Dan Sullivan. If you're confused, you're not alone. World's Benjamin Eicher explains.

**Benjamin Eicher** (2:54)
Dan J. Sullivan is a retired teacher who happens to have the same name as the incumbent Republican senator, Dan Sullivan. A top state election official had ruled that Dan J. Sullivan had filed his candidacy with the intent to confuse voters, but a judge invalidated the decision, allowing him on the primary ballot.
Alaska doesn't choose separate Republican and Democratic nominees. Instead, all candidates run in the same primary, with the top four advancing to a ranked choice election in November. And as of Wednesday, Dan J. Sullivan officially advanced. Some believe the resulting confusion on the ballot could be enough to tilt a tight race in the direction of Democrat Mary Peltola.
For World, I'm Benjamin Eicher.

**Kent Covington** (3:41)
Why was the United States CIA director in Moscow? That's a question many are asking after a visit by director John Ratcliffe, who was spotted in the Russian capital Tuesday morning, and Moscow officials later confirmed the visit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe spoke with representatives of Russian intelligence services, but there were no meetings with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He declined to comment further. President Trump later told the Glenn Beck program.

**Donald Trump** (4:10)
He's there, you know, very sort of semi-routine. I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end. And he is not in there for any of the things that you said. Now something may come out, you know, out of it. We're working very hard to get that war ended.
And frankly, they both want to see it ended.

**Kent Covington** (4:30)
Trump also dismissed rumors that Russia was planning a strike against NATO, or that the CIA director was there to show that the US is serious about sanctions against Iran.
Grieving parents in Pakistan are demanding answers after a hospital fire had killed at least 14 newborns on Wednesday. Rescue crews climbed ladders to a third-floor window in Islamabad, but were only able to pull one baby out alive.
Pakistani Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told reporters that multiple agencies are investigating the tragedy and that all evidence will be revealed. Early reports pointed to an exploding air conditioner. It appears also that all but one of the children who died were on oxygen support. Parents gathered outside, weeping. One mother said she gave birth only three days ago and said she does not know whom to blame, only that her child is gone. And on the Nepal-China border, at least 160 people are confirmed dead, with hundreds more missing following flash floods. WORLD's Kristin Flavin reports.