Russia Sanctions on Hold, a Wichita Soccer Field Tragedy, and the Pope Back at the Vatican

MayaIt's Sunday, which means my coffee is doing about 80% of the work here.

DavidOnly 80? Mine's carrying the whole show.

MayaOkay. I'm Maya. This is The Morning Rundown, and that's David, who's already on his second cup.

DavidThird. Don't tell anyone.

MayaYour secret's safe with everyone listening. Okay, grab whatever you're drinking because there's a lot to cover.

DavidAnd if you're just waking up, no worries. We'll take it one story at a time.

MayaSo three stories today. First, a Russia sanctions fight out of Washington that's got people in both parties grumbling.

DavidWait, both parties? That almost never happens.

MayaRight? Second, a tragedy at a soccer field in Wichita. We'll keep that one somber. No jokes, no riffing.

DavidAgreed. Straight and respectful, and we'll only say what's actually known.

MayaTotally. And third, the Pope is heading back to the Vatican.

DavidGood news, finally. Hmm.

MayaFinally is right. So anyway, let's start with the story drawing fire from both parties, Russia sanctions. Okay, so the order itself, Trump signed it October 16th, and ABC reports it waives every operative Russia provision of the Graham Act.

DavidEvery one?

MayaEvery one. That includes tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods.

David500? That's a number built to scare somebody.

MayaAnd it also covers up to 100% on the top buyers of Russian oil and gas. Those provisions were due to take effect two days after he signed.

DavidTwo days. So he didn't unwind something old. He stopped something right at the door.

MayaRight. Now, CNBC says the order keeps sanctions under earlier executive orders, so it's not a clean wipe.

DavidWhich the administration will lean on, I'd guess. The old stack stays. What's waived is the new, bigger stack that never got to start.

MayaCNBC also says the waived tariffs include the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas, China and India among them.

DavidHuh. Okay, that's where I'd look, honestly. Those are huge economies, and the incentive to wave off a fight with them is obvious.

MayaWait, say more. Obvious how?

DavidUm, look, a tariff on a country that buys Russian oil lands on that country's trade with us. A president who wants flexibility, who wants a deal on the table, doesn't want that trip wire going off automatically. That's the best version of his argument.

MayaIs there a version where that argument holds up for regular folks? Like, does flexibility mean anything at the kitchen table?

DavidHere's the thing. I can only go as far as the reporting. The reporting doesn't say what a deal would look like or what it would cost anyone. So the flexibility argument is real, but it's an argument, not a result.

MayaOkay, that's fair, and the waiver isn't permanent. The Business Standard says the waivers stay in effect until the president or the secretary of state decides further action is appropriate.

DavidRight, so the switch is in his hand, not Congress's.

MayaWhich is exactly what bugs people. The Washington Post says lawmakers, including several Republicans, called this reckless and a gift to Vladimir Putin.

DavidSeveral Republicans, that's not a footnote. The hawks in that party have spent years on this.

MayaTotally.

DavidAnd I get why they're uneasy. A law like this was meant to bind the executive a little. Now it's waived before it even starts.

MayaOkay, so give me the incentives on that side too. Why would a Republican say gift to Putin out loud about a president from their own party?

DavidFollow the politics. Their objection is about the signal. If you call a waiver a gift to Putin, you're saying it helps him more than it helps us. That's their claim, and The Post is reporting it as their claim.

MayaSo what did Trump say? Because Business Standard has him at Mar-a-Lago Saturday evening.

DavidGo on.

MayaHe called it a very good decision for the country and the world, and he said many people don't yet understand what the decision is.

DavidWhich is a hell of a line. Either the critics are wrong or the explanation hasn't happened yet.

MayaI mean, come on. If people don't understand it, somebody has to explain it.

DavidFair, and that's the open item. We don't have a detailed case from the administration in what we've got. We have that one reaction.

MayaSo where does that leave somebody trying to decide who's right?

DavidHonestly, holding two things at once. A president does need room to maneuver, and automatic penalties do limit that. But when members of both parties push back, the explanation matters. And so far, we've heard one line from the administration side.

MayaThen there's Zelenskyy. CNBC says he condemned the waiver on X, said it helps only Russia, and predicted more sanctions relief to come.

DavidHmm. That prediction is the part to watch. It's his read, not a fact yet.

MayaAgreed. And for regular folks, ABC ties the order to a Russian diesel supply deal and a Treasury general license for Russian diesel imports.

DavidDiesel. So that's the pump and the freight truck maybe.

MayaMaybe. I wouldn't go further than the report does. ABC says it has heightened tensions with Zelensky too.

DavidYeah. Prices are the thing people feel, so that's why the diesel link matters. But nobody's shown us a number, so no price forecast from us.

MayaSo what's the takeaway for someone who's just trying to follow along?

DavidTwo things. The order is real, and the reaction is split between the case for flexibility and worry about the signal it sends. And what we don't know is what comes next since the waivers stay in place until the president or the secretary of state decides otherwise.

MayaSo for regular folks, that sounds like watch and wait, not panic. We haven't seen reporting that puts a number on any change.

DavidAgreed. We'll tell you what we know when we know it.

MayaRight. Developing story, and we'll leave it there.

DavidNow to a story with far fewer answers so far and a much heavier one.

MayaYeah, Wichita. This happened Saturday at the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita, Kansas. A youth soccer game was underway.

DavidHmm.

MayaCBS, citing Wichita police, reports a truck drove onto a soccer field. A six-year-old boy and a thirty-five-year-old man were killed.

DavidA six-year-old at a soccer game

MayaYeah. CNN reported the same two deaths and said authorities confirmed it. Kids game, Saturday morning energy, and then this.

DavidLet's just sit with that for a second. A child and an adult at a place where families go on a weekend.

MayaAnd that's what has been reported so far, two people killed, and I wanna say that slowly because behind each of those is a family.

DavidDo we know how many others were hurt?

Maya11, all hospitalized. Police said those injuries were not life-threatening, and they range in age from five to 68. So you've got kids and you've got parents, maybe grandparents, all on the same sideline.

DavidRight. And 11 people in hospitals is still 11 families waiting on news. Not life-threatening doesn't mean easy.

MayaYes, and the ages run from five to 68, so it's not one team or one family. It's a whole stretch of people who happened to be there.

DavidWhich is why it feels so close to home for so many.

MayaPolice Captain Aaron Moses gave the details at a news conference, and I wanna be careful here because the question everyone has is, "Why?"

DavidSure.

MayaAnd the answer right now is that we don't know. The cause is still under investigation. Nothing on the driver, nothing we can responsibly say about who they are, what happened inside that truck, or a reason.

DavidGood, because the guessing starts within about an hour of these things, and it's usually wrong. We're relying on police and on the outlets reporting what police said, and we're not adding anything.

MayaAnd to say it plainly one more time, we do not know the cause. Police have said it is still under investigation, and that is where the facts end.

DavidIt's uncomfortable to say we don't know, but it's the honest answer. Filling that silence with guesses wouldn't help anyone who was out there.

MayaTotally. Details may change as police keep working, and that's where it stands as of this recording. If something firm comes out, we'll bring it to you.

DavidThinking of that family, honestly, and the other families out there.

MayaYeah, me too.

DavidIf you're a parent listening or a coach or somebody who's ever stood on a sideline, this one probably lands harder.

MayaIt does. And if you know someone who was out there, the most useful thing most of us can do is check in with them. We'll leave the facts to the investigators.

DavidAnd if you're not sure what to say, something simple like, "I'm thinking of you," is enough. You don't need perfect words.

MayaRight. And be patient with the news as it develops. Early reports get updated, so lean on police and the outlets quoting them.

DavidOkay. Can we end on something a little lighter?

MayaWe can. We'll end on some better news from the Vatican.

DavidPlease.

MayaOkay, Vatican time. Pope Leo is home. AP reported he went back to the Vatican just days after surgery.

DavidAnd Reuters put a number on it in the headline, "Four days after cancer surgery."

MayaFour days. I can't get through four days after a dentist visit without a nap.

DavidFair. But AP also says his surgeon expects him to be fit for the Latin American tour.

MayaWait, really? The trip is still on?

DavidThat's what the AP headline says the surgeon is saying. He should be fit for the tour. I'd stay careful past that. A headline gives us the conclusion, not the reasoning.

MayaOkay, but what does fit for the tour actually tell us? Because that sounds like a promise.

DavidIt's an expectation, not a promise. The line is that he should be fit. Should is a doctor's word, and it leaves room for things to change, so I wouldn't read more into it than that.

MayaRight. So what did the surgery actually involve? Because I've only heard nodule, and then suddenly it's cancer?

DavidYeah. A PBS-carried AP story says the Vatican confirmed lung adenocarcinoma after the October 13th surgery.

MayaMm.

DavidDoctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican called the surgery successful with no complications.

MayaOkay, that's a big operation. That's a piece of a lung.

DavidIt is. But the same story says oncologists describe the prognosis as excellent because the cancer was caught early.

MayaCaught early, that's the phrase you wanna hear.

DavidTotally. And that's the oncologist's word, separate from the Vatican's own line about a successful surgery with no complications. Two sources, and I'm keeping them apart. Here's a detail I liked. Leo disclosed the nodule himself.

MayaHimself? Like, he told people?

DavidYep. The AP story calls that unusually transparent for a pope.

MayaOkay, that's a notable thing for a pope to do.

DavidRight. And that's the AP's framing. I'll leave it there and not make claims past what the story says.

MayaFair. And it probably helps. People aren't left guessing, you know what I mean?

DavidRight. Though I'll say I don't wanna run ahead of the doctors. Excellent prognosis is their word, and that's as far as we should go.

MayaAgreed. No victory laps, but I mean, a man leaves the hospital and says he feels much better. I'll take that.

DavidA New York Times headline has him saying, "I am much better, thank you."

MayaOh, very polite. Even recovering, he's thanking people.

DavidSomebody get the man some soup.

MayaOkay, so what do we actually know about recovery from here?

DavidNot a lot beyond what we've said. He's back at the Vatican. The surgeon expects him to be fit for the tour, and the oncologists call the prognosis excellent. No timeline for anything has come up in what we've got, so we won't invent one.

MayaAnd the tour?

DavidA Vatican News headline says the surgeon sees no clinical reason to cancel the visit to South America. Again, that's the surgeon's view as the headline reports it.

MayaOkay, so we'll see. But it's a good note to land on after a heavy morning.

DavidIt is. Early catch, successful surgery, a pope back home.

MayaThat's a good place to leave it. Wishing him a calm, steady recovery and honestly wishing all of us a little less heavy news this week.

DavidAgreed. A hopeful note to finish on and then a quick goodbye from us.

MayaLet's wrap it up. Okay, so three stories, one line each. Washington is arguing over a sanctions waiver that has members of both parties wincing.

DavidWichita lost a little boy and a man at a soccer complex, and the why is still with investigators.

MayaAnd Pope Leo is home at the Vatican, resting up.

DavidTwo of those are still moving, Maya. The sanctions fight and the Wichita investigation will both have new chapters.

MayaRight. We'll be here when they do.

DavidAnd if you're catching up later today, the Wichita details especially could change, so check the latest from police and local reporting.

MayaGood call. Same goes for the sanctions story, where the waivers stay in effect until the president or the secretary of state decides otherwise.

DavidIf you've got people you love near a Saturday field today, go give them a hug.

MayaAnd thanks for spending part of your Sunday with us.

DavidSame. Drink some water. Finish the coffee. Be kind to somebody today.

MayaTotally. Take care of each other, everybody. And that's the rundown.