9.24 | Reading the red carpet

Myrna Brown (0:05)

Good morning. A deadly daytime attack in Ukraine.

SPEAKER_2 (0:09)

In the last moment, we black little in the car. That's all we can do.

Mary Reichard (0:14)

We'll hear from our reporter in Kyiv. Also, the US-China Summit gets underway, and missed opportunities to protect women's sports.

Later, the Christian rock that shaped one dad's fate is now shaping his kids' playlists.

Dan Shaker (0:28)

This message of, I can come back to God. I can go to him. I can find safety in him.

Mary Reichard (0:36)

World commentator Daniel Suhr on schools shifting away from screens.

Myrna Brown (0:46)

It's Thursday, September 24th. This is The World and Everything In It from listener-supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

Mary Reichard (0:54)

I'm Mary Reichard. Good morning.

Myrna Brown (0:58)

Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

Kent Covington (1:01)

One day after President Trump addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly, Iran's president did the same.

Massoud Pesachian on Wednesday played the victim card in a rare wartime speech. He held up a photo of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed an American in Israeli airstrikes back in February.

SPEAKER_6 (1:20)

Those who are terrorists and train and protect terrorists describe us as such.

We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists.

Kent Covington (1:31)

The US., Canada, Australia and the European Union, among others, have designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard as either a terrorist entity or a state sponsor of terror. Pesachian also struck a defiant tone.

SPEAKER_6 (1:44)

We will never bow our head or bend at the knee. We are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force.

Kent Covington (1:54)

That came after Trump on Tuesday said he has a big decision to make, strike a deal with Iranian leaders or, his words, annihilate Iran. Though he said he does believe that there will be a deal. Iran says it will let ships through the Strait of Hormuz again if Washington lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, releases frozen Iranian money and ends the war on all fronts. US officials have not verified that those were Tehran's terms but confirmed that they did talk with Iran this week. They also note however that Iran already broke an agreement that it signed back in June.

And Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio said if Iran thinks US midterm elections give them leverage, they're wrong.

SPEAKER_7 (2:37)

When it comes to the imposition of both sanctions and the use of military force, the president has extraordinary powers. Every president does. He's the commander in chief, both constitutional and otherwise to be able to carry out those functions.

Kent Covington (2:49)

President Trump believes that Tehran has been hoping that political pressure ahead of the midterms would lead him to offer more favorable terms. That he says will not happen. Secretary of State Rubio spoke from UN headquarters one day after the White House made it official that Rubio is now Trump's National Security Advisor, no longer just his acting advisor. That makes Rubio only the second person in history to hold both of those posts at the same time, joining only Henry Kissinger.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also addressed the General Assembly yesterday. He called on world leaders to turn up the pressure on Russia economically.

SPEAKER_8 (3:28)

When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. That is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor and why we are burning Russia's revenues ourselves.

Kent Covington (3:46)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, spoke to the UN Security Council.

He said the Kremlin is ready to negotiate toward a lasting peace, but it will not pause the war in the meantime, because he said that would just give Kiev more time to rearm. Also, on Wednesday, 50 countries and the European Union issued a joint statement in support of Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, meantime, said he has given up on trying to figure out what's going on in Vladimir Putin's head, but he says there's one thing he does know.

SPEAKER_9 (4:18)

We have to make sure that we are prepared, we are strong, and he knows it. And if he does anything silly, he knows our reaction will be tough. We will never be aggressive, but if necessary, we will defend ourselves and every inch of our territory.

Kent Covington (4:34)

Moscow continues to carry out near daily strikes throughout Ukraine.

And at Joint Base Andrews near Washington on Wednesday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerged in the doorway of his jet to a ceremonial welcome.

He descended down a flight of stairs where President Trump was there to greet him on the tarmac with a handshake. Both leaders then made a slow walk down a red carpet pausing for a ceremonial flyover before they both departed separately for the White House. The two leaders will meet today on a range of issues, including trade, AI and the war with Iran. Tonight, the Chinese leader will be the guest of honor at a state dinner with some of America's biggest tech leaders also on the guest list. The powerful Hurricane Polo is churning off Mexico's Pacific Coast, threatening deadly flooding and mudslides. World's Kristin Flavin has that story.