G20 Concludes Summit in South Africa Boycotted by U.S.
The G20 summit in South Africa concluded yesterday. It was the first time the event was held in the African continent. The United States boycotted the meeting, citing false allegations that South Africa was mistreating its white-minority Afrikaners. Leaders gathered at the summit adopted a joint declaration to address the climate crisis and other global challenges without input from the United States. The White House claimed that South Africa had “weaponized their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles.” Meanwhile, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared the G20 summit in South Africa a success.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “President Trump has been demonstrating this for several months now. He has already withdrawn from UNESCO and the World Trade Organization. He is attempting to preach the end of multilateralism in practice, trying to strengthen unilateralism. I believe multilateralism will prevail.”
Next year’s G20 summit will be held in the United States.
U.S., Ukrainian and European Officials in Geneva to Discuss U.S. Proposal to End Russia’s War on Ukraine
U.S., Ukrainian and European officials are meeting in Geneva to discuss the U.S. proposal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. The 28-point plan was negotiated by U.S. and Russian officials without the involvement of Ukraine. Reuters reports European negotiators submitted a modified version of the plan that reverses some of the proposed limits to the size of Ukraine’s military, as well as some territorial concessions. On Sunday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again praised the United States and President Trump, after Trump wrote on social media, ”UKRAINE 'LEADERSHIP' HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS.” Meanwhile, Russia has continued deadly attacks on Ukrainian civilians, including a drone strike on Kharkiv on Sunday that killed four people and wounded 17 others.
Trump Repeatedly Praises Mamdani During Oval Office Meeting
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met with President Trump at the White House Oval Office Friday. During the meeting, President Trump repeatedly praised Mamdani and said he would feel “very confident that he can do a very good job.” President Trump also said he would feel “comfortable” living in New York under Mamdani’s leadership. Speaking to reporters, Mamdani maintained his past criticisms of President Trump.
Jacqui Heinrich: “Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: “I’ve spoken about the” —
President Donald Trump: “That’s OK. You can just say yes. So” —
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: “OK. All right.”
President Donald Trump: “OK?”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: “Yeah.”
President Donald Trump: “It’s easier.”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: “Yeah.”
President Donald Trump: “It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.”
On Sunday, Mamdani doubled down on his views that President Trump is a fascist and a despot in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Kristen Welker: “Do you think that President Trump is a fascist?”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: “And after President Trump said that, I said, 'Yes.' And” —
Kristen Welker: “So you do?”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: “And that’s something that I’ve said in the past. I say it today. And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment.”
We’ll have more on Mamdani’s meeting with President Trump later in the broadcast.
COP30 Climate Summit Concludes Without Agreement to Phase Out Fossil Fuels
In Belém, Brazil, the U.N. climate summit, known as COP30, has concluded without an agreement to phase out the use of coal, oil and gas, which are by far the largest contributors to global climate change. More than 80 countries had supported a transition away from fossil fuels, but they were blocked by oil-producing nations, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This is Irene Vélez Torres, Colombia’s environment minister.
Irene Vélez Torres: “The root cause of this problem is fossil fuels. How are we dealing with that? How are we going to come out from this COP to say and to tell the people that we deny the most basic scientific truth, which is that the fossil fuels are the cause of more than 80% of the emissions that are generating climate change?”
The COP30 agreement also makes no new commitments to halt deforestation, nor does it address global meat consumption, another major driver of global heating. More than 1,600 fossil fuel industry lobbyists and 300 industrial agriculture lobbyists attended COP30; meanwhile, the Trump administration did not send a formal delegation, after the White House in January withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time.
Brazil’s Former President Jair Bolsonaro Arrested After Tampering with Ankle Monitor
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after he tampered with his ankle monitor while under house arrest. The arrest was ordered by Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over fears that Bolsonaro would attempt to escape his compound, days before he was heading to prison. Back in September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup against Brazil’s current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Israeli Airstrike on a Beirut Suburb Kills 5 People, Including Hezbollah’s Acting Chief of Staff
In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Sunday killed five people and wounded 28, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Israel claims that it assassinated Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff. The attack comes despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect last year.
Ali Ammar: “There was a ceasefire under international auspices, led primarily by the United States of America. Since then, and since the announcement of the agreement and the halt of military operations, the Israeli enemy has remained persistent and addicted to continuing its aggression, targeting buildings, people and civilians. And you know that this area is a civilian area.”
Democratic Lawmakers File Police Complaints After Trump’s Posts Accuse Them of “Seditious Behavior”
Several Democratic lawmakers have filed police complaints after President Trump called for them to be put to death for what he called “seditious behavior.” Trump’s threat came after six lawmakers — who are veterans of the military or CIA — called on active-duty service members to refuse illegal orders. Congressmembers Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan told the U.S. Capitol Police that Trump’s call for their execution has undermined their personal safety while putting the lives of congressional staffers at risk. Crow released audio of death threats phoned into his offices, while Deluzio reported his congressional offices in western Pennsylvania received bomb threats. On Friday, Trump doubled down on his threats, accusing the Democrats of ”SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.”
Trump Denied Federal Disaster Aid to Chicago Residents After Two Major Storms
President Trump denied federal disaster aid to thousands of Chicago residents, even though his administration documented extraordinary damage from two major storms this summer. That’s according to Politico, which reports it’s the first time since at least 2007 that any president has refused to help residents recover from such extensive damage to their homes. Trump’s denial stunned former FEMA officials. It comes after Trump said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson should be jailed over their resistance to Trump’s surge of federal immigration agents and National Guard forces into the Chicago region.
ICE Agents in Oregon Violently Abduct 17-Year-Old High School Student on Lunch Break
In Oregon, federal immigration agents forced a 17-year-old high school student from his vehicle and abducted him as the teen took a lunch break on Friday. Video shows masked ICE agents smashed the driver’s side window of a car being driven by Christian Jimenez, a senior at McMinnville High School, who told them he was a U.S. citizen, to which an agent replied “get out of the car” and “I don’t care.” Jimenez’s brother says the teen was racially profiled and injured by shattered glass. He was taken to an ICE facility in Portland and released later that day. He’s been charged with “interference or obstruction of an investigation.”
SCOTUS Temporarily Restores Texas Congressional Map Declared an Illegal Gerrymander by Lower Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily restored Texas’s new congressional map that’s designed to allow Republicans to win up to five additional House seats in next year’s midterm elections. On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower court ruling which stated that the new map was an illegal racial gerrymander. The high court has asked plaintiffs to respond by today before a final ruling on the congressional map.
50 Students Escape After Gunmen Abduct Hundreds from Catholic School in Nigeria
In Nigeria, 50 kidnapped students escaped their captors on Friday after gunmen stormed a Catholic boarding school and abducted over 300 children and 12 teachers last week. The Christian Association of Nigeria says the children who managed to escape have been reunited with their families. Now a major military-led search and rescue mission is underway to find the remaining children and teachers. Last week, gunmen stormed another boarding school and abducted 25 schoolgirls and killed the vice principal. The recent kidnappings have prompted officials to close 47 schools in northern Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu has also ordered the hiring of 30,000 more police officers, but Nigerians are calling for officials to take more action.
Elizabeth Awodeji: “We have seen our old women being kidnapped, being robbed in this country that we call giant of Africa. It is so bad. And the current government, they are not doing anything to what is happening.”