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--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Pete Hegseth joins NATO's defense ministers to discuss bolder action to combat aerial threats from Russia. Plus, as Israeli forces pull back in Gaza, Hamas begins a violent crackdown in a show of authority. And blue states band together to counter RFK Jr. Governors have formed this alliance because they're worried that federal funding cuts and policy changes, like changes to vaccine policy, they're worried that they are putting citizens at risk and forcing the governors to find alternatives.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: It's Wednesday, October 15th. I'm Caitlin McCabe for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: NATO is discussing new rules that can make it easier to shoot down Russian fighter jets. Changing NATO's rules of engagement is one of several moves to improve its defenses following recent incursions into the bloc's airspace.
--:-- Dovile Shakaliene: Lithuania has changed legislation to ensure that there is no need for political permission for each time that an object needs to be neutralized. I'm hoping that all other countries will ensure that exceptions that prevent immediate reaction by our air force are removed as fast as possible. Nobody can have time in the sky for political negotiations.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: While Russia has denied any involvement in drone and jet incursions over Poland, Denmark and Germany in recent weeks. Ministers arriving at the meeting this morning, including Estonia's Hano Pevkor, did not mince their words about the security threat facing NATO members.
--:-- Hano Pevkor: Communicating with Russia means that you can never expect that they will tell the truth. They will just tell what they want to say. It was the same also with MiGs. So they said that they were not in our airspace. So they were. So that's the reality.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: More support for Ukraine is also on the docket, with Dutch minister Ruben Breckelmans among allies backing the provision of U.S. longer-range Tomahawk missiles that can strike deep into Russian territory.
--:-- Ruben Breckelmans: We always said as the Netherlands that we are supporting deep strike operations by Ukraine, that there is no limit or no boundary to this in terms of kilometers, also no limit when it comes to the type of missiles. It's up to the U.S. to decide. But if the United States decides to provide tomahawk missiles, we will definitely support that.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is set to press more allies to pay for U.S. weapons for Ukraine. So far, deals worth just over $2 billion have been agreed And Washington and Kyiv want countries such as Britain France Spain and Italy to open their wallets too
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Turning now to the situation in Gaza where a pause in the war between Hamas and Israel under the U ceasefire has resulted in a violent crackdown between Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups in the enclave Journal security correspondent Benoit Foucan says the group is trying to assert authority as the remaining governing power in Gaza.
--:-- Benoit Foucan: The Israeli forces are pulled back from only part of the enclave. And that's where Hamas is re-assisting power. And they have been ready. They've been preparing for months to retake control. One thing they did is they set out a police force that was more focused on press gouging and looting. And initially it was actually sort of unarmed because they didn't want to be targeted by the Israelis.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: So Hamas officials told me that they really were working on this strategy and sort of setting new people on the ground. We also have a report from the Gaza Interior Ministry that I obtained that basically shows that they identify a dozen subgroups in Rafah under Israeli control. And they are so far out of reach unless Hamas launched an operation on effectively Israeli controlled territory. And so far, the Israelis and Hamas have avoided to have a direct confrontation over these groups.
--:-- Benoit Foucan: And Benoit says the crackdown could complicate Israel's hope for Hamas to disarm, something the militant group did not agree to under the ceasefire deal. It's privately something Hamas has said, that they think that the presence of armed groups that are rival to their power or in their case that they see as a source of disorder and criminality, they see it as an additional reason why they would need to keep weapons, officially in their case for law and order, but also obviously to protect themselves against attacks from these groups.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: So it's clearly an additional reason why Hamas, you know, is struggling to come to that particular point, which is the most fundamental one for Israel, which is disarming.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: As the Trump administration tries to publicly calm renewed trade tensions with China, Beijing may have found America's Achilles heel. President Trump's fixation on the stock market. According to people close to Beijing's decision-making, President Xi Jinping is betting that the U.S. economy can't absorb a prolonged trade standoff with the world's second-largest economy.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The market's sharp negative reaction on Friday to China's new rare-earth restrictions was a reminder of the economic vulnerability Beijing could be trying to exploit in a bid to force Trump to negotiate. Many economists say the U.S. isn't positioned to absorb another trade fight with China, with hiring slowing, manufacturing contracting, and prices continuing to rise.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Just yesterday, China sanctioned the U.S. units of a South Korean shipping company, resulting in another rollercoaster day for markets.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Coming up, U.S. states are joining forces to help one another prepare for pandemics and buy vaccines in bulk amid concerns around the federal health department's preparedness. That story and more after the break
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--:-- Caitlin McCabe: It's been roughly five weeks since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead while speaking on a college campus in Utah, and tensions over his killing are still running high. Yesterday, the State Department said it revoked the visas of at least six people over their comments on his death, including nationals of countries including Argentina, South Africa, and Mexico.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The department said on social media that the U.S. has, quote, no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans, end quote. It didn't say if the people were currently in America and didn't specify what kind of visas they held or when they were revoked.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And we're exclusively reporting that governors from 15 mainly blue states, including New York, California, and North Carolina, are forming a shadow public Health Alliance in a sign of growing resistance to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agenda.
--:-- Betsy McKay: The journal's Betsy McKay says the initiative aims to help detect and respond to disease threats of all kinds. So they're joining forces to help one another prepare for pandemics, track infectious diseases, write public health guidelines that the federal government normally writes, and share expertise on everything from preventive care to outbreaks.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: So these governors said they would share public health intelligence and data with each other, disease-fighting strategies, and states that are well-resourced, like New York, said they will share information on health threats that they identify in their own laboratories with each other, with less-resourced states.
--:-- Betsy McKay: Betsy says the states, which represent about a third of the U.S. population, have joined forces out of concern that the Trump administration's federal funding cuts and policy changes are putting their citizens at risk.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: So New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that with the assaults on science and medicine from Washington, governors have no choice but to step up and lead to protect their citizens.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Just this past weekend, 600 jobs were eliminated at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the federal shutdown. So most federal funding to the CDC goes to state and local health departments, and there have been cuts. And the shutdown is just exacerbating that.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: So officials in the state of Maine asked the CDC in September for help with a response to an outbreak of HIV and hepatitis C. and the CDC approved the request but the state of Maine learned on Friday that the CDC can send teams right now because of the shutdown
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: A health and human services spokesman accused Democrat states of eroding Americans' trust in public health agencies and said the HHS would ensure policy on vaccines is set based on rigorous evidence and not the, quote, failed politics of the pandemic, end quote.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And in other health care news, enrollment for 2026 Medicare coverage starts today. And for the second year in a row, big changes are coming to the program, which means seniors could end up with surprises like higher drug costs or the loss of a favorite doctor.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Thankfully, our colleagues on the health team have put together an explainer, walking you through all the potential pitfalls of this year's Medicare enrollment. You can check it out now on wsj.com, and we'll leave a link in our show notes.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And finally, London, England is very much known as the land of the black cabs. Soon, however, they'll be getting some new competition, robo-taxis. Waymo says it will launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the UK next year, marking the Alphabet-owned company's European debut.
--:-- Stephen Wilmot: Waymo says it will launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the UK next year, marking the Alphabet-owned company's European debut. And Uber is also planning to roll out a London robo-taxi service after striking a partnership with local autonomous driving startup Wave.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Journal Auto's reporter Stephen Wilmot says these sorts of ventures are finding fertile ground in the UK. The UK government rolled out a red carpet for robo-taxis in June. It announced a plan to allow pilot programs starting in the spring of 2026, and it has a full legal framework for robo-taxis coming out in the second half of 2027.
--:-- Stephen Wilmot: But I think that that plan out in June was clearly a way to say, don't wait until 2027. We want you to start testing earlier. The UK government, led by Keir Starmer, is very keen to reinvigorate growth. They've made a big deal of this and they're looking to welcome anything that looks like artificial intelligence, high tech led investment. So, yeah, it's part of the UK government's growth agenda.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Uber's partner Wave is already testing its self-driving technology in London with safety drivers behind the wheel of adapted cars.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: I asked Stephen how worried black cabs were about competition from robo-taxis. I spoke to the head of their union and his response was, I don't think they'll work, which is not unreasonable. Until they take the safety drivers out, we don't actually know what they'll do. And until then, they're just expensive taxis.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And that's it for What's News for this Wednesday morning. Today's show is produced by Daniel Bach and Kate Boulivant. Our supervising producers were Christina Rocha and Sondra Kilhoff. And I'm Caitlin McCabe for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Powering the engine of modern business. Powering possibilities. Restrictions apply.
