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  • Fresh off Gaza ceasefire, Trump says he’s focused on ending war in Ukraine

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    WASHINGTON — With a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal holding, President Donald Trump says he’s now turning his attention to bringing Russia’s war on Ukraine to an end and is weighing providing Kyiv long-range weaponry as he looks to prod Moscow to the negotiating table.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump says with a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire holding he’s now focused on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine

    • The Republican president is considering providing Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to end the war soon

    • Trump plans to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks on Friday, when they’re expected to discuss a potential sale of weapons, including the Tomahawk

    • Zelenskyy has long sought the weapons system and says it would help Ukraine put the sort of pressure on Russia needed to get Putin to engage in peace talks

    • Putin has made clear providing Ukraine with Tomahawks would damage relations between Moscow and Washington

    Ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza was central to Trump’s 2024 reelection pitch, in which he persistently pilloried President Joe Biden for his handling of the conflicts. Yet, like his predecessor, Trump also has been stymied by President Vladimir Putin as he’s unsuccessfully pressed the Russian leader to hold direct talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war that is nearing its fourth year.

    But fresh off the Gaza ceasefire, Trump is showing new confidence that he can finally make headway on ending the Russian invasion. He’s also signaling that he’s ready to step up pressure on Putin if he doesn’t come to the table soon.

    “Interestingly we made progress today, because of what’s happened in the Middle East,” Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday evening as he welcomed supporters of his White House ballroom project to a glitzy dinner.

    Earlier this week in Jerusalem, in a speech to the Knesset, Trump predicted the truce in Gaza would lay the groundwork for the U.S. to help Israel and many of its Middle East neighbors normalize relations. But Trump also made clear his top foreign policy priority now is ending the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

    “First we have to get Russia done,” Trump said, turning to his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has also served as his administration’s chief interlocutor with Putin. “We gotta get that one done. If you don’t mind, Steve, let’s focus on Russia first. All right?”

    Trump weighs Tomahawks for Ukraine

    Trump is set to host Zelenskyy for talks Friday, their fourth face-to-face meeting this year.

    Ahead of the meeting, Trump has said he’s weighing selling Kyiv long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, which would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory — if Putin doesn’t settle the war soon. Zelenskyy, who has long sought the weapons system, said it would help Ukraine put the sort of pressure on Russia needed to get Putin to engage in peace talks.

    Putin has made clear that providing Ukraine with Tomahawks would cross a red line and further damage relations between Moscow and Washington.

    But Trump has been undeterred.

    “He’d like to have Tomahawks,” Trump said of Zelenskyy on Tuesday. “We have a lot of Tomahawks.”

    Agreeing to sell Ukraine Tomahawks would be a splashy move, said Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington. But it could take years to supply and train Kyiv on the Tomahawk system.

    Montgomery said Ukraine could be better served in the near term with a surge of Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles and Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS. The U.S. already approved the sale of up to 3,350 ERAMs to Kyiv earlier this year.

    The Tomahawk, with a range of about 995 miles, would allow Ukraine to strike far deeper in Russian territory than either the ERAM (about 285 miles) or ATACMS (about 186 miles).

    “To provide Tomahawks is as much a political decision as it is a military decision,” Montgomery said. “The ERAM is shorter range, but this can help them put pressure on Russia operationally, on their logistics, the command and control, and its force disbursement within several hundred kilometers of the front line. It can be very effective.”

    Signs of White House interest in new Russia sanctions

    Zelenskyy is expected to reiterate his plea to Trump to hit Russia’s economy with further sanctions, something the Republican, to date, has appeared reluctant to do.

    Congress has weighed legislation that would lead to tougher sanctions on Moscow, but Trump has largely focused his attention on pressuring NATO members and other allies to cut off their purchases of Russian oil, the engine fueling Moscow’s war machine. To that end, Trump said Wednesday that India, which became one of Russia’s biggest crude buyers after the Ukraine invasion, had agreed to stop buying oil from Moscow.

    Waiting for Trump’s blessing is legislation in the Senate that would impose steep tariffs on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports in an attempt to cripple Moscow economically.

    Though the president hasn’t formally endorsed it — and Republican leaders do not plan to move forward without his support — the White House has shown, behind the scenes, more interest in the bill in recent weeks.

    Administration officials have gone through the legislation in depth, offering line edits and requesting technical changes, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions between the White House and the Senate. That has been interpreted on Capitol Hill as a sign that Trump is getting more serious about the legislation, sponsored by close ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

    A White House official said the administration is working with lawmakers to make sure that “introduced bills advance the president’s foreign policy objectives and authorities.” The official, who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations, said any sanctions package needs to give the president “complete flexibility.”

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday the administration is waiting for greater buy-in from Europe, which he noted faces a bigger threat from Russian aggression than the U.S. does.

    “So all I hear from the Europeans is that Putin is coming to Warsaw,” Bessent said. “There are very few things in life I’m sure about. I’m sure he’s not coming to Boston. So, we will respond … if our European partners will join us.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Colleges are fighting to prove their return on investment

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    WASHINGTON — For a generation of young Americans, choosing where to go to college — or whether to go at all — has become a complex calculation of costs and benefits that often revolves around a single question: Is the degree worth its price?

    What You Need To Know

    • For many young Americans, deciding on college has become a complex choice, and increasingly, a main question is whether a degree is worth its cost.

    • Confidence in higher education has dropped due to high tuition, student loans and a tough job market

    • Colleges are now trying to prove their value

    • New rankings and reports focus on the financial benefits of degrees

    Public confidence in higher education has plummeted in recent years amid high tuition prices, skyrocketing student loans and a dismal job market — plus ideological concerns from conservatives. Now, colleges are scrambling to prove their value to students.

    Borrowed from the business world, the term “return on investment” has been plastered on college advertisements across the U.S. A battery of new rankings grade campuses on the financial benefits they deliver. States such as Colorado have started publishing yearly reports on the monetary payoff of college, and Texas now factors it into calculations for how much taxpayer money goes to community colleges.

    “Students are becoming more aware of the times when college doesn’t pay off,” said Preston Cooper, who has studied college ROI at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. “It’s front of mind for universities today in a way that it was not necessarily 15, 20 years ago.”

    Most bachelor’s degrees are still worth it

    A wide body of research indicates a bachelor’s degree still pays off, at least on average and in the long run. Yet there’s growing recognition that not all degrees lead to a good salary, and even some that seem like a good bet are becoming riskier as graduates face one of the toughest job markets in years.

    A new analysis released Thursday by the Strada Education Foundation finds 70% of recent public university graduates can expect a positive return within 10 years — meaning their earnings over a decade will exceed that of a typical high school graduate by an amount greater than the cost of their degree. Yet it varies by state, from 53% in North Dakota to 82% in Washington, D.C. States where college is more affordable have fared better, the report says.

    It’s a critical issue for families who wonder how college tuition prices could ever pay off, said Emilia Mattucci, a high school counselor at East Allegheny schools, near Pittsburgh. More than two-thirds of her school’s students come from low-income families, and many aren’t willing to take on the level of debt that past generations accepted.

    Instead, more are heading to technical schools or the trades and passing on four-year universities, she said.

    “A lot of families are just saying they can’t afford it, or they don’t want to go into debt for years and years and years,” she said.

    Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been among those questioning the need for a four-year degree. Speaking at the Reagan Institute think tank in September, McMahon praised programs that prepare students for careers right out of high school.

    “I’m not saying kids shouldn’t go to college,” she said. “I’m just saying all kids don’t have to go in order to be successful.”

    Lowering college tuition and improving graduate earnings

    American higher education has been grappling with both sides of the ROI equation — tuition costs and graduate earnings. It’s becoming even more important as colleges compete for decreasing numbers of college-age students as a result of falling birth rates.

    Tuition rates have stayed flat on many campuses in recent years to address affordability concerns, and many private colleges have lowered their sticker prices in an effort to better reflect the cost most students actually pay after factoring in financial aid.

    The other part of the equation — making sure graduates land good jobs — is more complicated.

    A group of college presidents recently met at Gallup’s Washington headquarters to study public polling on higher education. One of the chief reasons for flagging confidence is a perception that colleges aren’t giving graduates the skills employers need, said Kevin Guskiewicz, president of Michigan State University, one of the leaders at the meeting.

    “We’re trying to get out in front of that,” he said.

    The issue has been a priority for Guskiewicz since he arrived on campus last year. He gathered a council of Michigan business leaders to identify skills that graduates will need for jobs, from agriculture to banking. The goal is to mold degree programs to the job market’s needs and to get students internships and work experience that can lead to a job.

    A disconnect with the job market

    Bridging the gap to the job market has been a persistent struggle for U.S. colleges, said Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, a think tank that studies the workforce. Last year the institute, partnering with Strada researchers, found 52% of recent college graduates were in jobs that didn’t require a degree. Even higher-demand fields, such as education and nursing, had large numbers of graduates in that situation.

    “No programs are immune, and no schools are immune,” Sigelman said.

    The federal government has been trying to fix the problem for decades, going back to President Barack Obama’s administration. A federal rule first established in 2011 aimed to cut federal money to college programs that leave graduates with low earnings, though it primarily targeted for-profit colleges.

    A Republican reconciliation bill passed this year takes a wider view, requiring most colleges to hit earnings standards to be eligible for federal funding. The goal is to make sure college graduates end up earning more than those without a degree.

    Others see transparency as a key solution.

    For decades, students had little way to know whether graduates of specific degree programs were landing good jobs after college. That started to change with the College Scorecard in 2015, a federal website that shares broad earnings outcomes for college programs. More recently, bipartisan legislation in Congress has sought to give the public even more detailed data.

    Lawmakers in North Carolina ordered a 2023 study on the financial return for degrees across the state’s public universities. It found that 93% produced a positive return, meaning graduates were expected to earn more over their lives than someone without a similar degree.

    The data is available to the public, showing, for example, that undergraduate degrees in applied math and business tend to have high returns at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while graduate degrees in psychology and foreign languages often don’t.

    Colleges are belatedly realizing how important that kind of data is to students and their families, said Lee Roberts, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, in an interview.

    “In uncertain times, students are even more focused — I would say rightly so — on what their job prospects are going to be,” he added. “So I think colleges and universities really owe students and their families this data.”

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    Associated Press

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  • From darkness to daylight: The difficult journey ahead for freed Hamas hostages

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    TEL AVIV, Israel — They will be treated for malnutrition, lack of sunlight and the trauma of wearing leg chains for months. They suffer from unexplained pain and unresolved emotions, and they will have to relearn how to make everyday decisions as simple as when to use the bathroom.

    What You Need To Know

    • The last 20 living hostages released by Hamas are beginning a difficult path to recovery that will include rebuilding a sense of control over their lives and following a carefully supervised diet

    • That’s according to Israeli health officials

    • Along the way, each one will be accompanied by a team of doctors, nurses, specialists and social workers to guide their reentry to society after two years of captivity in Gaza

    • The process includes treating malnutrition and pain, along with confronting emotions and relearning how to make everyday decisions

    • All of the hostages were in stable condition Monday following their release, and none required immediate intensive care

    The last 20 living hostages released by Hamas are beginning a difficult path to recovery that will also include rebuilding a sense of control over their lives, according to Israeli health officials. Along the way, each one will be accompanied by a team of doctors, nurses, specialists and social workers to guide their reentry to society after two years of captivity in Gaza.

    All of the hostages were in stable condition Monday following their release, and none required immediate intensive care.

    “But what appears on the outside doesn’t reflect what’s going on internally,” explained Dr. Hagai Levine, the head of the health team for the Hostages Family Forum, who has been involved in medical care for returned hostages and their relatives.

    The newly freed hostages will stay in the hospital for several days as they undergo tests, including a full psychiatric exam, according to protocols from the Israeli Ministry of Health. A nutritionist will guide them and their families on a diet to avoid refeeding syndrome, a dangerous medical condition that can develop after periods of starvation if food is reintroduced too quickly.

    Hostages emerged thin and pale

    After previous releases, some hostages and their families chose to stay together in a hotel north of Tel Aviv for a few weeks to get used to their new reality. Others returned home immediately after their discharge from the hospital.

    All of the hostages who emerged Monday were exceptionally thin and pale, the likely result of enduring long periods without enough food, Levine said.

    The lack of sunlight and nutrition can lead to issues with the kidneys, liver and cognition, as well as osteoporosis. Many hostages wore leg chains for their entire captivity, which can lead to orthopedic problems, muscle waste and blood clots.

    Elkana Bohbot told his family he suffers from pain all over his body, especially his back, feet and stomach due to force-feeding, according to Israeli television’s Channel 12.

    “Ahead of his release, he received food in large portions so he will look a bit better for the world,” Rebecca Bohbot, Elkana’s wife, told reporters Tuesday from the hospital.

    Some hostages who previously returned had minor strokes in captivity that were not treated, Levine said. Many also had infections and returned with severely compromised immune systems, which is why the number of visitors should be kept to a minimum, Levine said.

    “Previously released hostages were told they look ‘pretty good,’ but some needed surgeries that were very complicated. Some had constant pain. Many have all types of pains that they are not able to explain, but it’s really impacting their quality of life,” Levine said.

    Levine said Israel also learned from the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when more than 60 Israeli soldiers were held for six months in Syria. Many of them later developed cancer, cardiovascular problems and accelerated aging and were at risk for early death.

    The war began when Hamas-led militants burst across the Israeli border, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. The fighting has killed more than 67,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not say how many of the deaths were civilians or combatants.

    Restoring a sense of autonomy

    The most important step for returning hostages is to help them regain a sense of control, explained Einat Yehene, a clinical neuropsychologist and the head of rehabilitation for the Hostages Families Forum. Many of the hostages were brought straight from Hamas tunnels, seeing sunlight for the first time in nearly two years, she said.

    “I’m happy to see the sun. I’m happy to see the trees. I saw the sea. You have no idea how precious that is,” Elkana Bohbot told his family, according to Israeli media.

    “Stimulation-wise and autonomy-wise, it’s really overwhelming,” Yehene said. “Someone is asking you a question — do you need to go to the bathroom? Would you like to eat something? These are questions they never heard for two years.”

    Hostages’ sense of autonomy can be jump-started by allowing them to make small decisions. According to protocol, everyone treating them must ask their permission for each thing, no matter how small, including turning off a light, changing bedsheets or conducting medical tests.

    Some returned hostages are terrified of the physical sensation of thirst because it makes them feel as if they are still in captivity, Yehene said. Others cannot spend time on their own, requiring a family member to be present around the clock.

    Among the hostages who have experienced the smoothest integration from long-term captivity were those who were fathers, Levine said, though it took some time to rebuild trust with their young children.

    “It’s a facilitator of recovery because it forces them to get back into the role of father,” Levine said. None of the women held in captivity for long periods of time were mothers.

    The world starts ‘to move again’

    The first few days after being released, the hostages are in a state of euphoria, though many feel guilty for the pain their families have been through, Yehene said.

    For those who saw little media and have no idea what happened in Israel, people should take care to expose them to information slowly, she added.

    Yehene said she also saw an immediate psychological response from hostages who were released in previous ceasefires after Monday’s release. Many of the previously released hostages have been involved in the struggle to return the last hostages and said they were unable to focus on their own recovery until now.

    “I see movement from frozen emotions and frozen trauma,” Yehene said. “You don’t feel guilty anymore. You don’t feel responsible.”

    Iair Horn was released from captivity in February, but it did not feel real until Monday, when his younger brother, Eitan, was finally freed.

    “About eight months ago, I came home. But the truth is that only today am I truly free,” Horn said, sobbing as he spoke from the hospital where his brother is being evaluated. Only now that Eitan is back “is my heart, our heart, whole again.”

    Liran Berman is the brother of twins Gali and Ziv Berman, who were also released.

    “For 738 days, our lives were trapped between hope and fear,” Liran Berman said. “Yesterday that chapter ended. Seeing Gali and Ziv again, holding them after so long, was like feeling the world start to move again.”

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    Associated Press

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  • NFL uses AI to predict injuries, aiming to keep players healthier

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    Injuries are an inevitable part of the NFL with all the high-speed collisions, crushing hits and high exertion necessary on every play.

    What You Need To Know

    • Injuries are a big part of the NFL, and staying healthy can make or break a season
    • The NFL has partnered with Amazon Web Services to use technology and AI to predict and prevent injuries. The Digital Athlete tool collects data from all 32 teams to help manage players’ health

    • While overall injuries have decreased, experts say it’s hard to pinpoint a direct cause. The data also helps improve equipment like helmets to reduce concussions

    Success each season often comes down to which teams can be the healthiest at the end and a string of injuries has already hampered preseason contenders like Baltimore, San Francisco and Cincinnati.

    With teams investing hundreds of millions of dollars every season into their rosters, keeping those players available to play is crucial and any small edge has the potential to lead to better results on the field. To help achieve that, the NFL has turned to technology in recent years, partnering with Amazon Web Services on an injury prediction tool that uses data and artificial intelligence to help teams manage the health of their players.

    “Fans want their favorite players on the field. The team owners certainly want those players on the field. The athletes themselves want to be on the field,” said Julie Souza, the global head of sports at AWS. “Anything we can do to improve that and keep players healthy, that’s sort of a noble endeavor.”

    A ‘one-stop shop’ for injury data

    The Digital Athlete tool takes video and data from players on all 32 teams from training, practice and games, giving every team information on how hard its players have worked, whether they are at risk for more injuries, as well as helping them track leaguewide trends and benchmarks.

    This is the third season all teams have had access to the Digital Athlete portal and medical staff say it has been extremely beneficial, calling it a “one-stop shop” for information that previously was never available at one source.

    “Basically, it’s giving you more information to ask yourself better questions to then make better interventions to make your process more efficient,” said Tyler Williams, the vice president of health and performance for the Minnesota Vikings. “At the end of the day, if you sum sports science into one sentence: How can we measure and assess to make ourselves more effective and efficient.”

    Digital Athlete uses sensors in the shoulder pads, cameras and optical tracking to gather information from practice and games for every player on all 32 teams, similar to what NextGen stats does to determine who’s the fastest ball carrier or how much separation a receiver generates on his pass routes.

    But the amount of data is far different.

    While NetGen Stats generates about 500 million data points in an entire season, Digital Athlete does that on a weekly basis, meaning the only way to parse through all that to glean anything meaningful is through the use of machine learning and AI technology.

    “The sheer volume of data means somebody can’t be sitting there with a clipboard or Excel figuring that out,” Souza said. “This is absolutely a job for high-performance computers, machine learning, artificial intelligence, all of those things.”

    One of the strengths of Digital Athlete is its ability to aggregate the data from all 32 teams and more than 1,500 players to give training staffs and coaches better insights into which players might be more susceptible to getting hurt at a given time and what steps have helped reduce the impact of injuries.

    How Digital Athlete is used

    Teams have used it to help determine practice schedules for training camp, how hard they work the players in a given week of a season and what players or position groups have been pushed so hard that dialing back their work might prevent nagging soft-tissue injuries.

    “You want to find a sweet spot that’s not overworked or underprepared for football,” Williams said. “The more football you play, the better at football you are, but the more fatigued you are. It’s this seesaw balance of tactical and performance. How do we put the players out there to be the best versions of themselves, in the safest manner to have the longevity in the game?”

    Williams said much of the data reinforces his prior beliefs but there are times it helps him catch something he might have missed. Having empirical evidence also can help him persuade a player who might need a day off or a coach that he has to lighten the load at practice or sometimes can push his team harder.

    The model can tell the training staff how much a player has worked by tracking decelerations, accelerations, total workload on field, change of direction.

    While the NFL said overall injuries have been reduced since the introduction of Digital Athlete, Williams said there are many factors involved and he can’t be sure there’s a direct causation.

    “Everybody is always going to want the smoking gun that if we do A and pair it with B, we will get C,” Williams said. “It doesn’t ever work like that. Everyone wants to talk about well, this team’s really good at preventing injuries. Nobody’s preventing injuries. It’s what type of recipe can you put together that mitigates the risk the best. With the more we measure, the more risk we’ll be able to mitigate.”

    How it impacted rule changes

    The NFL has also used the data gathered from these systems to model the impact of rule changes like the new kickoff that was put in place last season or the crackdown on hip-drop tackles. Digital Athlete was able to simulate 10,000 seasons to help model how the new kickoff rule would impact injuries.

    It also has helped inform the league on things like which helmets are best at protecting players from concussions. NFL executive Dawn Aponte said the data helped the league make changes to the helmets for quarterbacks by putting more padding in the back of the helmet.

    “Last year we saw the lowest number of concussions in the NFL since we started tracking them,” Aponte said. “That really is something that we attribute to the fact of being able to look at all of this data and come up with better equipment, better-performing helmets, ways in which we make the helmets and manufacture them based on the types of hits and impacts these players are having.”

    Aponte said the initial reaction from some old-timers was to wonder if this was “junk science.” But now she sees much more acceptance from everyone involved, from coaches to medical staff to players.

    “I think this has now been presented as an additive tool,” she said. “It doesn’t take away from decisions of coaches that are going to do what they feel is best for that specific athlete, or the team at large. But when you’re actually able to point them to certain things and say, hey, this is what we’re seeing. This is causing X times more likely for this player to sustain an injury. When they start losing players, particularly in training camp, they pay more attention.”

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Living Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners released as part of ceasefire

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    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza on Monday, while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that pummeled the territory, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and had left scores of captives in militant hands.

    What You Need To Know

    • Hamas has released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza, as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that pummeled the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and had left scores of captives in militant hands

    • Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal

    • Over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are set to be released

    • The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear

    The hostages, all men, arrived back in Israel, where they will reunite with their families and undergo medical checks. The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also expected to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear.

    Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah and in the Gaza Strip, as Israel began releasing more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire deal.

    Cheering crowds met the buses arriving in Ramallah from Ofer prison, in the Israel-occupied West Bank. At least one bus also crossed into the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Prisoners Office said.

    While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners raised hopes for ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and the militant group. The ceasefire is also expected to be accompanied by a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that he was “committed to this peace” in a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

    U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected to address the Knesset, and later will attend a summit to discuss the U.S.-proposed deal and postwar plans with other leaders.

    The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 taken hostage.

    In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the dead were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    The toll is expected to grow as bodies are pulled from rubble previously made inaccessible by fighting.

    The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its some 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

    “Much of Gaza is a wasteland,” U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the AP on Sunday.

    Hostages freed

    In Tel Aviv, families and friends of the hostages who gathered in a square broke into wild cheers as Israeli television channels announced that the first group of hostages was in the hands of the Red Cross. Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the transfers at public screenings across the country.

    Israel released the first photos of the freed hostages, including one showing 28-year-old twins Gali and Ziv Berman embracing as they were reunited. Hostages previously released had said the twins from Kfar Aza were held separately.

    The photos of the first seven hostages showed them looking pale but less gaunt than some of the hostages freed in January.

    Earlier, while Palestinians awaited the release of hundreds of prisoners held by Israel, an armored vehicle flying an Israeli flag fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a crowd. As drones buzzed overhead, the group scattered.

    The tear gas followed the circulation of a flier warning that anyone supporting what it called “terrorist organizations” risked arrest. Israel’s military did not respond to questions about the flier, which The Associated Press obtained on site.

    The prisoners being released include 250 people serving life sentences for convictions in attacks on Israelis, in addition to 1,700 seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge. They will be returned to the West Bank or Gaza or sent into exile.

    A painful chapter

    The hostages’ return caps a painful chapter for Israel. Since they were captured in the attack that ignited the war, newscasts have marked their days in captivity and Israelis have worn yellow pins and ribbons in solidarity. Tens of thousands have joined their families in weekly demonstrations calling for their release.

    As the war dragged on, demonstrators accused Netanyahu of dragging his feet for political purposes, even as he accused Hamas of intransigence. Last week, under heavy international pressure and increasing isolation for Israel, the bitter enemies agreed to the ceasefire.

    It remains unclear when the remains of 28 dead hostages will be returned. An international task force will work to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within 72 hours, said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and the missing.

    Trump in Israel and Egypt

    Trump arrived Monday in Israel, where he was to speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Vice President JD Vance said Trump was likely to meet with newly freed hostages.

    “The war is over,” Trump told to reporters as he departed — even though his ceasefire deal leaves many unanswered questions about the future of Hamas and Gaza.

    Among the most thorny is Israel’s insistence that a weakened Hamas disarm. Hamas refuses to do that and wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza.

    So far, the Israeli military has withdrawn from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza’s far north, and the wide strip along the length of Gaza’s border with Israel.

    The future governance of Gaza also remains unclear. Under the U.S. plan, an international body will govern the territory, overseeing Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. Hamas has said Gaza’s government should be worked out among Palestinians.

    Later Monday, Trump will head to Egypt, where he and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will lead a summit with leaders from more than 20 countries on the future of Gaza and the broader Middle East.

    Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, will attend, according to a judge and adviser to Abbas, Mahmoud al-Habbash.

    Egypt’s presidency said Netanyahu would attend as well, but the Israel leader’s office later said he would not because due to a Jewish holiday.

    The plan envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years.

    The plan also calls for an Arab-led international security force in Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy. About 200 U.S. troops are now in Israel to monitor the ceasefire.

    The plan also mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state, another nonstarter for Netanyahu.

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    Associated Press

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  • Trump sets off for the Mideast to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

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    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is setting off for Israel and Egypt on Sunday to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas and urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a durable peace in the volatile region.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump is setting off for Israel and Egypt to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. He’s also expected to urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a durable peace in the volatile region
    • Trump is stopping first in Israel to meet with hostage families and address the parliament
    • Vice President JD Vance says Trump could also meet with hostages themselves
    • In Egypt, the Republican president and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will chair a summit on peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East with leaders from more than 20 countries

    It’s a fragile moment with Israel and Hamas only in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the Trump agreement designed to bring a permanent end to the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

    Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the Mideast and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

    It is a moment, the Republican president says, that has been helped along by his administration’s support of Israel’s decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

    The White House says momentum is also building because Arab and Muslim states are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States

    “I think you are going to have tremendous success and Gaza is going to be rebuilt,” Trump said Friday. “And you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there. It would take a small fraction of their wealth to do that. And I think they want to do it.”

    A tenuous point in the agreement

    The first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas, including about 20 believed to be alive; the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.

    Israeli troops on Friday finished withdrawing from parts of Gaza, triggering a 72-hour countdown under the deal for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages, potentially while Trump is on the ground there. He said he expected their return to be completed on Monday or Tuesday.

    Trump will visit Israel first to meet with hostage families and address the Knesset, or parliament, an honor last extended to President George W. Bush during a visit in 2008. Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said Trump also was likely to meet with newly freed hostages, too.

    “Knock on wood, but we feel very confident the hostages will be released and this president is actually traveling to the Middle East, likely this evening, in order to meet them and greet them in person,” Vance told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

    Trump then stops in Egypt, where he and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will lead a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with leaders from more than 20 countries on peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East.

    It is a tenuous truce and it is unclear whether the sides have reached any agreement on Gaza’s postwar governance, the territory’s reconstruction and Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm. Negotiations over those issues could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.

    “I think the chances of (Hamas) disarming themselves, you know, are pretty close to zero,” H.R. McMaster, a national security adviser during Trump’s first term, said at an event hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies on Thursday. He said he thought what probably would happen in the coming months is that the Israeli military “is going to have to destroy them.”

    Israel continues to rule over millions of Palestinians without basic rights as settlements expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank. Despite growing international recognition, Palestinian statehood appears exceedingly remote because of Israel’s opposition and actions on the ground,

    The war has left Israel isolated internationally and facing allegations of genocide, which it denies. International arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister are in effect, and the United Nations’ highest court is considering allegations of genocide brought by South Africa.

    Hamas has been militarily decimated and has given up its only bargaining chip with Israel by releasing the hostages. But the Islamic militant group is still intact and could eventually rebuild if there’s an extended period of calm.

    Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would continue with its demilitarization of Hamas after the hostages are returned.

    “Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt that the sword was on its neck — and it is still on its neck,” Netanyahu said Friday as Israel began to pull back its troops.

    Trump wants to expand the Abraham Accords

    Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and rebuilding is expected to take years. The territory’s roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in desperate conditions.

    Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help ease the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

    Trump is also standing up a U.S.-led civil-military coordination center in Israel to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into Gaza.

    Roughly 200 U.S. troops will be sent to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players. U.S. troops will not be sent to Gaza, Adm. Brad Cooper, the U.S. military commander for the region, said in a social media post Saturday.

    The White House has signaled that Trump is looking to quickly return attention to building on a first-term effort known as the Abraham Accords, which forged diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

    A permanent agreement in Gaza would help pave the path for Trump to begin talks with Saudi Arabia as well Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, toward normalizing ties with Israel, according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

    Such a deal with Saudi Arabia, the most powerful and wealthy Arab state, has the potential to reshape the region and boost Israel’s standing in historic ways.

    But brokering such an agreement remains a heavy lift as the kingdom has said it won’t officially recognize Israel before a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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  • Palestinians return to ruins and U.S. troops land in Israel as ceasefire holds

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    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to their Gaza neighborhoods Saturday, weaving through dust-shrouded streets as bulldozers clawed through the wreckage of two years of war and a ceasefire held in its second day.

    What You Need To Know

    • Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to their neighborhoods as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas enters its second day

    • Aid groups are preparing to scale up relief work but many will find their homes reduced to rubble

    • UNICEF is urging Israel to reopen more border crossings to allow aid to flow freely

    • About 200 U.S. troops have arrived in Israel to help retrieve hostages and monitor the ceasefire, which Israel’s military confirmed took effect Friday

    “Gaza is completely destroyed. I have no idea where we should live or where to go,” said Mahmoud al-Shandoghli as he walked through Gaza City. A boy climbed a shattered building to raise the Palestinian flag.

    About 200 U.S. troops arrived in Israel to monitor the ceasefire with Hamas. They will set up a center to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance. The head of the U.S. military’s Central Command said he visited Gaza on Saturday to prepare it.

    “This great effort will be achieved with no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza,” Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement.

    An Egyptian official said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with senior U.S. and Israeli military officials in Gaza on Saturday and that Witkoff stressed the implementation of the ceasefire deal’s first phase. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters.

    Tons of desperately needed food

    Aid groups urged Israel to reopen more crossings to allow aid into Gaza. A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public, said Israel has approved expanded aid deliveries, starting Sunday.

    The World Food Program said it was ready to restore 145 food distribution points across the famine-stricken territory, once Israel allows for expanded deliveries. Before Israel sealed off Gaza in March, U.N. agencies provided food at 400 distribution points.

    Though the timeline and how the food will enter Gaza remain unclear, the distribution points will allow Palestinians to access food at more locations than they could through the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which had operated four locations since taking over distribution in late May.

    COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid, said more than 500 trucks entered Gaza on Friday, although many crossings remain closed.

    Some 170,000 metric tons of food aid have been positioned in neighboring countries awaiting permission from Israel to restart deliveries.

    Israel braces for hostages’ return

    Israel’s military has said the 48 hostages still in Gaza would be freed Monday. The government believes around 20 remain alive. They were among about 250 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

    “It’s been a few nights that we can’t sleep. We want them back and we feel that everything is just hanging on a thread,” Maayan Eliasi, a Tel Aviv resident, said at a gathering at the city’s Hostages Square.

    Israel is to free some 250 Palestinians serving prison sentences, as well as around 1,700 people seized from Gaza the past two years and held without charge. The Israel Prison Service said Saturday that prisoners have been transferred to deportation facilities at Ofer and Ktzi’ot prisons, “awaiting instructions from the political echelon.”

    Questions about Gaza’s future

    Questions remain on who will govern Gaza after Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm, as called for in the ceasefire agreement.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended the previous ceasefire in March, has suggested Israel could resume its offensive if Hamas fails to disarm.

    “If it’s achieved the easy way, so be it. If not, it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said Friday, pledging that the next stage would bring Hamas’ disarmament.

    The scale of Gaza’s destruction will become clearer if the truce holds. More than three out of every four buildings have been destroyed, the U.N. said in September — a volume of debris equivalent to 25 Eiffel Towers, much of it likely toxic.

    A February assessment by the European Union and World Bank estimated $49 billion in damage, including $16 billion to housing and $6.3 billion to the health sector.

    The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies that couldn’t be retrieved during Israel’s offensive are found.

    A manager at northern Gaza’s Shifa Hospital told The Associated Press that 45 bodies pulled from the rubble in Gaza City had arrived over the past 24 hours. The manager, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, said the bodies had been missing for several days to two weeks.

    New security arrangements

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s initial 20-point plan calls for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza, though the timeline is unclear.

    The Israeli military has said it will continue to operate defensively from the roughly 50% of Gaza it still controls after pulling back to agreed-upon lines.

    Witkoff told Israeli officials on Friday that the United States would establish a center in Israel to coordinate issues concerning Gaza until there is a permanent government, according to a readout of the meeting by a person who attended it and obtained by the AP. Another official who was not authorized to speak to the media confirmed the readout’s contents.

    The readout said no U.S. soldiers will be on the ground in Gaza, but there will be people who report to the U.S. and aircraft might operate over the strip for monitoring.

    The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel in the 2023 attack, killing some 1,200 people.

    In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    The war has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

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  • Crypto spent millions to defeat Sherrod Brown elect allies. It’s ready to repeat

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    COLUMBUS, Ohio — At a five-star resort tucked in the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the cryptocurrency industry was celebrating a historic start to the year on Capitol Hill. Its priorities were sailing through Congress with unusual speed and one senator did not hesitate to say why.

    What You Need To Know

    • The cryptocurrency industry spent millions last year to unseat a longtime critic, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and install its allies in Washington

    • It’s ready for a repeat in 2026 and may once more target Brown, who’s making a comeback bid

    • Democrats are hopeful about Brown’s chances to return to the Senate, especially without President Donald Trump at the top of the ballot, but crypto interests have even more to spend this time
    • The industry has seen the Republican-controlled Congress turn in its favor now that Brown no longer heads the Senate banking committee. But Brown’s approach to crypto sounds different this time

    Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, was asked during the August panel what had changed to clear the way for such progress.

    “I got to tell you,” said Scott, R-S.C. “Thank you, to all of y’all, for getting rid of Sherrod Brown,” he said, referring to the Ohio Democrat who lost his Senate seat in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno.

    Laughter and applause rippled through the room. “Literally, the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate,” he added, according to a video from the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.

    In 2024, crypto interests poured more than $40 million into that race — more than four times their spending in any other Senate contest. Brown, who headed the committee when Democrats held the majority from 2021 to 2025, had long been one of Washington’s toughest critics of digital assets. That spending on behalf of Moreno, a businessman, sent a clear message: Challenge crypto, and the industry will come for you.

    Brown, in a comeback bid, is seeking a fourth term next year, and Democrats are hopeful of their chances in an election without Republican President Donald Trump at the top of the ballot. But crypto has even more to spend this cycle and is enjoying a Congress that, without Brown, has turned sharply in its favor.

    “We saw what happened in the last administration,” Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the nation’s largest crypto exchange, told The Associated Press. “We’re never gonna let that happen again.”

    A pro-crypto Congress

    In a striking reversal after the skepticism from Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, Congress this year has acted quickly to embrace the cryptocurrency industry after record spending in last year’s election.

    Lawmakers have passed legislation establishing new regulations and consumer protections for stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency typically tied to the U.S. dollar to limit volatility. Now, an even bigger priority for the industry — a broader bill aimed at clarifying how digital assets are regulated — is advancing through Congress.

    From the White House, Trump has fully aligned himself with the industry, calling for the United States to become the “crypto capital of the world.” His family has also profited along the way, holding a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that launched its own stablecoin earlier this year.

    Supporters say the new policies will strengthen oversight and add consumer safeguards, helping to legitimize a sector long dogged by volatility and scandal — from the collapse of FTX to the conviction of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.

    “Americans continue to lose money every day in crypto scams and frauds,” Brown said in a 2023 statement after Bankman-Fried’s conviction. “We need to crack down on abuses and can’t let the crypto industry write its own rulebook.”

    As the Senate committee chairman, Brown was an outspoken critic of crypto and warned that digital assets opened the door to money laundering. He held several committee hearings over cryptocurrency issues, ranging from the negative impact on consumers to use of the currencies to fund illicit activities.

    During the 2024 campaign, Brown remained defiant despite tens of millions in industry spending against him. He lost to Moreno, who has ties to the crypto industry, by just over 3.5 percentage points.

    “Sherrod Brown’s race really indicated that it’s politically unpopular to be anti-crypto,” Armstrong told the AP. “There is no constituency for that.”

    Crypto spending reshapes politics

    In 2024, the crypto industry spent more than $130 million in congressional races, including $40 million in Ohio and $10 million each in Arizona and Michigan. The ads rarely mentioned cryptocurrency directly, instead focusing on promoting favored candidates — most often successfully.

    “DC received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career,” Coinbase’s Armstrong wrote on social media after Brown’s loss.

    Brown’s approach to crypto sounds different this time.

    “Cryptocurrency is a part of America’s economy,” Brown said in a statement. “My goal is to make sure that as more people use cryptocurrency, it expands opportunity and lifts up Ohioans and they are not put at risk.”

    It is unclear whether Brown will be targeted again. Hundreds of millions are being stockpiled by pro-crypto political action committees, many of which maintain close ties with Trump and congressional conservatives.

    Brown is set to face Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance’s seat. Husted has been a reliable crypto ally and backed the GENIUS Act, the legislation regulating stablecoins.

    A majority of the crypto dollars spent against Brown last year came from Fairshake, a super PAC backed by Coinbase and others. The super PAC reported $141 million in cash on hand as of July, already surpassing what it spent during the 2024 cycle.

    Coinbase and the PAC have emphasized that they back candidates from both parties, as long as they are pro-crypto. They have yet to say publicly whether they will spend similarly against Brown.

    “Last year, voters sent a clear message that the Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren agenda was deeply out of touch with Ohio values,” said Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto. “We will continue to support pro-crypto candidates and oppose anti-crypto candidates — in Ohio and nationwide.” Warren is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts.

    Fairshake is not alone.

    Crypto entrepreneurs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have launched a $21 million group to back crypto-friendly Republicans. And another group, the Fellowship PAC, has pledged to spend $100 million in the next cycle.

    A new crypto constituency

    Crypto advocates believe voter sentiment, not spending, is the source of their growing influence.

    “There’s a large number of people who want to see crypto rules be passed in America. And they’re users of crypto themselves,” Armstrong said.

    A significant share of Americans see cryptocurrency investments as a financial hazard. Most U.S. adults, 55%, say they consider cryptocurrency a “very risky” investment, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

    A relatively small group of U.S. adults say they currently own cryptocurrency, but men under 50 are especially likely to invest in it. Roughly 1 in 4 men in that age group say they own cryptocurrency, according to Gallup polling from June. And they’re more open to buying in the future: only 44% say they’re “not interested in ever buying” digital assets, compared to far higher skepticism among older men or women of any age.

    That enthusiasm — combined with vast industry spending — has helped transform crypto from a niche technology into a potent political force, one now firmly embedded in the country’s financial and political mainstream.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Former President Joe Biden undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer

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    Former President Joe Biden is undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment as part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told Spectrum News on Saturday. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Joe Biden is undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told Spectrum News on Saturday

    • Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer in May

    • Prostate cancers are given grades for aggressiveness on what’s called a Gleason score, which ranges from 6 to 10 with higher numbers indicating a higher level of aggressive behavior

    • Biden’s office said in May that his prostate cancer was a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone, suggesting it is among the most aggressive

    Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer in May. 

    “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” his office said at the time. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

    Prostate cancers are given grades for aggressiveness on what’s called a Gleason score, which ranges from 6 to 10 with higher numbers indicating a higher level of aggressive behavior. 

    Biden’s office said in May that his prostate cancer was a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone, suggesting it is among the most aggressive.

    NBC News was the first to report that Biden is undergoing radiation, and that the treatment is expected to take five weeks. The former president has already been taking a pill form of hormone medication and is “doing well,” the outlet reported.

    Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men worldwide, according to the Mayo Clinic, and the risk of developing it increases with age. Treatments include radiation, hormone therapy, surgery and chemotherapy.

    In a post on social media announcing his diagnosis in May, Biden wrote, “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

    The 82-year-old former president had previously undergone surgery to remove skin cancer lesions last month on his forehead, and in 2023, Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest. Testing confirmed that the lesion was basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

    Biden left the White House in January at the end of his four-year term. Months earlier he had suspended his campaign for reelection and endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who later lost to President Donald Trump.

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    Christina Santucci, Taylor Popielarz

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  • Budget office says ‘substantial’ layoffs of federal workers have started

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    WASHINGTON — The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started, an attempt by President Donald Trump’s administration to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown dragged into a 10th day.

    What You Need To Know

    • Mass layoffs of federal workers have begun

    • That was the announcement Friday from the White House as Republicans worked to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers to end the government shutdown

    • In a court filing, the budget office said the positions of well over 4,000 employees would be cut, though it noted that the funding situation was “fluid and rapidly evolving”

    • Democrats blasted the move as unions for federal workers quickly took the matter to court

    Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

    In a court filing, the budget office said the positions of well over 4,000 employees would be cut, though it noted that the funding situation was “fluid and rapidly evolving.”

    The layoffs would hit the hardest at the departments of the Treasury, which would lose over 1,400 employees, and Health and Human Services, with a loss of over 1,100. The Education Department and Housing and Urban Development each would lose over 400 staffers. The departments of Commerce, Energy and Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency were all set to reduce their payrolls by hundreds of more employees. It was not clear which particular programs would be affected.

    The aggressive move by Trump’s budget office goes far beyond what usually happens in a government shutdown and escalates an already politically toxic dynamic between the White House and Congress. Talks to end the shutdown are almost nonexistent.

    Typically, federal workers are furloughed but restored to their jobs once the shutdown ends, traditionally with back pay. Some 750,000 employees are expected to be furloughed during the shutdown, officials have said.

    Democrats — and some Republicans — criticize the administration’s actions

    In comments to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday night, Trump said many people would be losing their jobs, and that the layoffs would be focused on Democrat-oriented areas, though he didn’t explain exactly what that meant.

    “It’ll be a lot, and we’ll announce the numbers over the next couple of days,” he said. “But it’ll be a lot of people.”

    Trump said that, going forward, “We’re going to make a determination, do we want a lot? And I must tell you, a lot of them happen to be Democrat oriented.”

    “These are people that the Democrats wanted, that, in many cases, were not appropriate,” he said of federal employees, eventually adding, “Many of them will be fired.”

    Still, some leading Republicans were highly critical of the administration’s actions.

    “I strongly oppose OMB Director Russ Vought’s attempt to permanently lay off federal workers who have been furloughed due to a completely unnecessary government shutdown,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, who blamed the federal closure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

    Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski called the announcement “poorly timed” and “yet another example of this administration’s punitive actions toward the federal workforce.”

    For his part, Schumer said the blame for the layoffs rested with Trump.

    “Let’s be blunt: nobody’s forcing Trump and Vought to do this,” Schumer said. “They don’t have to do it; they want to. They’re callously choosing to hurt people — the workers who protect our country, inspect our food, respond when disasters strike. This is deliberate chaos.”

    Notice of layoffs has already begun at several federal agencies

    The White House had previewed its tactics shortly before the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, telling all federal agencies to submit their reduction-in-force plans to the budget office for its review.

    It said reduction-in-force plans could apply to federal programs whose funding would lapse in a government shutdown, are otherwise not funded and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”

    On Friday, the Education Department was among the agencies hit by new layoffs, a department spokesperson said. A labor union for the agency’s workers said the administration is laying off almost all employees below the director level at the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, while fewer than 10 employees were being terminated at the agency’s Office of Communications and Outreach.

    Notices of layoffs have also taken place at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which leads federal efforts to reduce risk to the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure, according to DHS, where CISA is housed. The agency has been a frequent Trump target over its work to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic. DHS said the layoffs were “part of getting CISA back on mission.”

    Federal health workers were also being fired, though an HHS spokesman did not say how many or which agencies were being hit hardest. A spokesperson for the EPA, which also has an unspecified number of layoffs, blamed the Democrats for the firings and said they can vote to reopen the government anytime.

    Threats of more cuts across the federal workforce

    An official for the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents federal workers and is suing the Trump administration over the job reductions, said in a legal filing Friday that the Treasury Department is set to issue layoff notices to 1,300 employees.

    The AFGE asked a federal judge to halt the layoffs, calling the action an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.

    “It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a statement.

    Democrats have tried to call the administration’s bluff, arguing the cuts could be illegal, and had seemed bolstered by the fact that the White House had not immediately pursued the layoffs once the shutdown began.

    But Trump signaled earlier this week that job cuts could be coming in “four or five days.”

    “If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back,” he said Tuesday.

    Workforce cuts appear unhelpful to bipartisan shutdown negotiations

    Meanwhile, the halls of the Capitol were quiet on Friday, the 10th day of the shutdown, with both the House and the Senate out of Washington and both sides digging in for a protracted shutdown fight. Senate Republicans have tried repeatedly to cajole Democratic holdouts to vote for a stopgap bill to reopen the government, but Democrats have refused as they hold out for a firm commitment to extend health care benefits.

    Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have suggested that Vought’s threats of mass layoffs have been unhelpful to bipartisan talks.

    And the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, said in a statement that the “shutdown does not give Trump or Vought new, special powers” to lay off workers.

    “This is nothing new, and no one should be intimidated by these crooks,” she added.

    Still, there was no sign that the top Democratic and Republican Senate leaders were even talking about a way to solve the impasse. Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to try to peel away centrist Democrats who may be willing to cross party lines.

    “It’s time for them to get a backbone,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Friday.

    The Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan organization that tracks federal service, says more than 200,000 civil servants have left since the start of this administration in January due to earlier firings, retirements and deferred resignation offers.

    “These unnecessary and misguided reductions in force will further hollow out our federal government, rob it of critical expertise and hobble its capacity to effectively serve the public,” said the organization’s president and CEO, Max Stier.

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    Associated Press

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  • There are no survivors in blast at Tennessee explosives factory, sheriff says

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    McEWEN, Tenn. — The blast in rural Tennessee that leveled an explosives plant and was felt for miles around left no survivors, authorities said Saturday.

    What You Need To Know

    • The blast that leveled an explosives plant and was felt for miles around in rural Tennessee left no survivors, authorities said Saturday

    • Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference that officials were working on the assumption that all of the people at the site were dead

    • The total number of people who died was unclear, as was the cause of the blast

    • Davis had said earlier there were 18 people missing

    The total number of dead was unclear, as was the cause of the Friday blast. By the weekend the devastation came into focus, with officials saying they had found no survivors. A total of 16 people were missing, officials said.

    “There’s a gauntlet of emotions there,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference, pausing to clear his throat before he asked for prayers for the families of the victims in a shaky voice.

    “We’ve recovered no survivors,” he added.

    During a vigil at Hurricane Chapel in McEwen, senior pastor Tim Farris noted that many in attendance know each other and the victims and their families.

    “There’s a lot of people hurting. A lot of people who are crying a lot of tears,” he said. “We are sad that our community is going through this, but it’s a tremendous opportunity for the church to minister to a lot of those people today.”

    State officials brought in a “rapid DNA” team to help identify the remains of people recovered at the site.

    The explosion left a smoldering wreck of twisted metal and burned-out vehicles at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant, which supplies and researches explosives for the military.

    Davis said about 300 responders are working in a “slow, methodical method” as they deal with explosive material that has been damaged and remains volatile. An ambulance and a helicopter used for air evacuations were brought in, for the safety of first responders.

    “It’s not like working an accident. It’s not like working a tornado. We’re dealing with explosions. And I would say at this time, we’re dealing with remains,” he said.

    Guy McCormick, a supervisory special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said explosive specialists and bomb technicians are trying to make the area safe before national ATF investigators arrive. He said the nature of the scene can change because of the heat and pressure caused by the explosion.

    Davis said it could be days, weeks or even months before foul play is ruled out.

    The site is located in a heavily wooded area of middle Tennessee, between the economically vital Tennessee River to the west and the bustling metropolis of Nashville to the east. Modest homes dot the wooded landscape, residences belonging to “good old country people,” as local man Terry Bagsby put it.

    Residents attend a vigil honoring the victims of a blast at an explosives plant, Accurate Energetic Systems, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Centerville Tenn. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)

    ‘A lot of grief’

    Bagsby, 68, is retired but he helps out working the register at a gas station near the site. He said people in the close-knit community are “very, very sad.”

    He said he knows people who worked at the site and are missing.

    “I don’t know how to explain it. … Just a lot of grief.”

    Earlier Saturday afternoon at the church in McEwen, about 30 people prayed together with a pastor for the victims of the explosions and their families. As they prayed, music played and mourners bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Some knelt at an altar, placing their hands on each others’ shoulders. Some wept softly, among the whispered prayers.

    The company’s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville. It is not immediately known how many people work at the plant or how many were there when the explosion happened.

    Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a post on social media on Friday that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the families and community impacted.

    “We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions,” the post said.

    Smoke fills the air as debris covers the ground and vehicles after a powerful blast ripped through a military explosives manufacturing plant in Hickman County, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (WTVF-TV via AP)

    Smoke fills the air as debris covers the ground and vehicles after a powerful blast ripped through a military explosives manufacturing plant in Hickman County, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (WTVF-TV via AP)

    Explosion jolts residents from sleep

    The company has been awarded numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply different types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. The products range from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges, including C4.

    When the explosion occurred, residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake, and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.

    The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.

    “I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he told The Associated Press. “I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

    Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee posted on the social platform X that he is monitoring the situation and asked “Tennesseans to join us in prayer for the families impacted by this tragic incident.”

    A small group gathered for a vigil Friday night at a nearby park, clutching candles as they prayed for the missing and their families and sang “Amazing Grace.”

    The U.S. has a long history of deadly accidents at workplaces, including the Monongah coal mine explosion that killed 362 men and boys in West Virginia in 1907. Several high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s helped lead President Richard Nixon to sign a law creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the next year.

    In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems faced several small fines from the U.S. Department of Labor for violations of policies meant to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation and other irritants, according to citations from OSHA.

    In 2014, an explosion occurred at another ammunition facility in the same small community, killing one person and injuring at least three others.

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  • Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins the Nobel Peace Prize

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    Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

    The former opposition presidential candidate is a “key, unifying figure” in the once deeply divided opposition to President Nicolás Maduro’s government, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former opposition presidential candidate and activist María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, has won the Nobel Peace Prize, with the Norwegian Nobel committee praising her as a unifying figure in the country

    • Machado has remained in hiding due to threats against her life; she has not been seen in public since January

    • Machado was disqualified from running against President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s election, which saw widespread repression and human rights violations

    • The election results led to protests and ended diplomatic relations between Venezuela and several countries

    “In the past year, Ms. Machado has been forced to live in hiding,” Watne Frydnes said. “Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

    Machado says she’s humbled and grateful

    Machado’s ally, Edmundo González, who lives in exile in Spain, celebrated the Nobel award as a “very well-deserved recognition” of her fight and that of Venezuelans for freedom and democracy. He posted a short video on X of himself speaking by phone with Machado.

    “I am in shock,” she said, adding, “I cannot believe it.”

    “This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. “I am just part of a huge movement. … I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honored not only by this recognition, but I’m honored to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today.”

    “I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she said, adding that “even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted” and insisted on struggling by peaceful means. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed.”

    Crackdown on dissent

    Maduro’s government has routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents.

    Machado, who turned 58 this week, was set to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government disqualified her. González, who had never run for office before, took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.

    The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

    The election results announced by the Electoral Council sparked protests across the country to which the government responded with force that ended with more than 20 people dead. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.

    Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González over the publication of election results. He went into exile in Spain and was granted asylum.

    More than 800 people are in prison in Venezuela for political reasons, according to the human rights advocacy group Foro Penal. Among them is González’s son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, who was detained in January.

    Dozens of those prisoners actively participated in Machado’s efforts last year. Some of her closest collaborators, including her campaign manager, avoided prison by sheltering for more than a year at a diplomatic compound in Caracas. They remained there until May, when they fled to the U.S.

    Early Friday in Caracas, some people heading to work expressed disbelief at the news of Machado’s win.

    “I don’t know what can be done to improve the situation, but she deserves it,” said Sandra Martínez, 32, as she waited at a bus stop. “She’s a great woman.”

    There was no immediate reaction from Maduro’s government.

    Support for Machado and the opposition in general has decreased since the July 2024 election — particularly since January, when Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term and disappointment set in.

    Machado was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in April. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote her entry, in which he described her as “the Venezuelan Iron Lady” and “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”

    Machado becomes the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, of the 112 individuals who have been honored.

    Speculation about Trump’s Nobel chances

    There had been persistent speculation ahead of the announcement about the possibility of the prize going to U.S. President Donald Trump, fueled in part by the president himself and amplified by this week’s approval of his plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

    Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Watne Frydnes said: “I think this committee has seen any type of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them leads to peace.

    “This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

    White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X Friday morning that “President Trump will continue making peace deals around the world, ending wars, and saving lives.” He added that “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

    The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway.

    Four of the other prizes have already been awarded in the Swedish capital, Stockholm this week — in medicine on Monday, physics on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The winner of the prize in economics will be announced on Monday.

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  • Israel, Hamas to exchange hostages and prisoners after deal to pause in Gaza war

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    CAIRO — Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners — a breakthrough greeted with joy and relief Thursday but also caution.

    What You Need To Know

    • Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners

    • The breakthrough was greeted with joy and relief Thursday but also caution

    • Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump

    • Those aspects include whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza, but the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory, and triggered other conflicts across the Middle East.

    Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory, and triggered other conflicts across the Middle East.

    The war, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has also sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

    Even with the agreement expected to be signed in Egypt later in the day, Israeli strikes continued, with explosions seen Thursday in northern Gaza. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

    An Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines said that Israel was continuing to hit targets that posed a threat to its troops as they reposition.

    In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, celebrations were relatively muted and often colored by grief.

    “I am happy and unhappy. We have lost a lot of people and lost loved ones, friends and family. We lost our homes,” said Mohammad Al-Farra. “Despite our happiness, we cannot help but think of what is to come. … The areas we are going back to, or intending to return to, are uninhabitable.”

    In Tel Aviv, families of the remaining hostages popped champagne and cried tears of joy after Trump announced on social media late Wednesday that “ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line.”

    On Thursday, thousands of observant Jews streamed into Jerusalem’s Old City to mark the holiday of Sukkot, with extra rejoicing for the upcoming hostage release.

    “We were screaming and singing last night,” said Hindel Berman, a New Jersey resident who came to Jerusalem for the holiday. “We never, never, never gave up hope.”

    Under the terms, Hamas intends to release all 20 living hostages in a matter of days, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details of an agreement that has not fully been made public.

    “With God’s help we will bring them all home,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed on social media.

    Netanyahu plans to convene his Security Cabinet late Thursday to approve the ceasefire, and the entire parliament will then meet to approve the release of Palestinian prisoners.

    The deal will include a list of prisoners to be released and maps for the first phase of an Israeli withdrawal to new positions in Gaza, according to two Egyptian officials briefed on the talks, a Hamas official and another official.

    Israel will publish the list of the prisoners — and victims of their attacks have 24 hours to lodge objections.

    The withdrawal could start as soon as Thursday evening, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named speaking about the negotiations.

    The hostage and prisoner releases are expected to begin Monday, the officials from Egypt and Hamas said, though the other official said they could occur as early as Sunday night.

    Five border crossings would reopen, including the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, allowing 400 trucks in the initial days and increasing to 600 trucks after that, the Egyptian and Hamas officials said.

    Trump is expected in the region in the coming days.

    Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has opposed previous ceasefire deals, said he had “mixed emotions.”

    While he welcomed the return of the hostages, he said he had “immense fear about the consequences of emptying the jails and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders” and said that as soon as the hostages are returned, Israel must continue trying to eradicate Hamas and ensure Gaza is demilitarized.

    Hamas, meanwhile, called on Trump and the mediators to ensure that Israel implements “without disavowal or delay” the troop withdrawal, the entry of aid into Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

    Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip celebrate after the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan, as they gather at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

    Trump’s peace plan

    The Trump plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that militants in Gaza still hold from their attack on Israel two years ago. Some 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led militants in that assault, and 251 were taken hostage. Israel believes around 20 of the hostages are still alive.

    Under the plan, Israel would maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza. The U.S. would lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort in Gaza.

    The plan also envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years to implement.

    The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu firmly rejects.

    More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded during the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    People react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

    People react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

    Relief at a deal

    Even with many details yet to be agreed, many expressed relief at the progress.

    In Tel Aviv, joyful relatives of hostages and their supporters spilled into the central square that has become the main gathering point in the effort to free the captives.

    Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker and a prominent advocate for the hostages’ release, told reporters that she wants to tell her son she loves him.

    “If I have one dream, it is seeing Matan sleep in his own bed,” she said.

    From the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, Alaa Abd Rabbo called the announcement “a godsend.”

    “This is the day we have been waiting for,” said Abd Rabbo, who was originally from northern Gaza but was forced to move multiple times during the war. “We want to go home.”

    This would be the third ceasefire since the start of the war. The previous two also saw hostages and prisoners exchanged. Israel ended the most recent ceasefire, which started in January, with a surprise bombardment in March.

    Ayman Saber, a Palestinian from Khan Younis, said he plans to return to his home city and try to rebuild his house, which was destroyed last year by an Israeli strike.

    “I will rebuild the house, we will rebuild Gaza,” he said.

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  • Hurricane Milton: One Year Later

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    Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida one year ago today. Look back on Milton’s impacts and the damage it left behind.

    What You Need To Know

    • Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida one year ago

    • It moved inland near Siesta Key on Oct. 9, 2024

    • More than 20 inches of rain fell in St. Petersburg
    • More Hurricane Milton stories

    MILTON STATS

    Milton was one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin, reaching Category 5 intensity in the Gulf on Oct. 7, 2024 with peak winds 180 mph.

    The pressure is estimated to have been 895 mb at the time of peak intensity. This ties Hurricane Rita of 2005 for the fourth-lowest minimum central pressure in the Atlantic basin. The lower central pressures include 882 mb in Wilma in 2005, 888 mb in Gilbert in 1988 and 892 mb in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.

    Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla. on Oct. 9, 2024 at 8:30 p.m. as a Category 3 hurricane with max winds of 115 mph.


    The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) estimates that Milton caused $34.3 billion in damage in the United States, almost exclusively in Florida.

    One prominent building damaged by the hurricane was Tropicana Field, where the fabric roof was ripped off by high winds followed by water damage from rain falling into the stadium.

    The report notes that the west coast most affected by Hurricane Milton had also been affected by Hurricane Helene two weeks before, which complicated damage assessments.

    In Florida, Milton caused hurricane conditions along the west coast from Clearwater Beach and Tampa southward across Sarasota to near Venice. Tropical storm conditions occurred elsewhere across the Florida Peninsula south of a Cedar Key – Fernandina Beach line, with hurricane-force wind gusts reported in central Florida near the track of the center.

    STORM SURGE

    The highest storm surge was reported between Venice southward to Boca Grande, with up to 6 to 9 feet inundation. An isolated peak of up to 10 feet was estimated near Manasota Key.

    NOAA’s final report on Milton notes that the same area had a significant storm surge from Hurricane Helene two weeks prior, and the erosion and debris from its aftermath compounded the damages incurred during Milton.

    Here are the storm surge numbers from around Florida:

    Analyzed storm surge inundation (feet above ground level) along the coast of Florida from Hurricane Milton. Milton’s track is overlaid (black line). (Courtesy: NOAA/NHC)

    Analyzed storm surge inundation (feet above ground level) along the coast of Florida from Hurricane Milton. Milton’s track is overlaid (black line). (Courtesy: NOAA/NHC)

    WINDS

    Peak winds exceeded 100 mph in Manatee and Pinellas County. The strongest winds were recorded in Egmont Key with a 105 mph gust.

    Here are the maximum wind gusts reported around Florida during Hurricane Milton:


    RAINFALL AND FLOODING

    Milton produced a large area of heavy rain across portions of the central and northern Florida Peninsula, including 10 to 20 inches of rain in Tampa Bay.

    The highest reported storm total rainfall was 20.40 inches at a Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) site near St. Petersburg.

    Here’s an interactive rainfall map from around Florida.


    TORNADOES

    Milton caused a significant tornado outbreak over the southern and central portions of the Florida Peninsula on Oct. 9, including 45 confirmed tornadoes. There were 3 EF3 tornadoes, 6 EF2 tornadoes, 25 EF1 tornadoes and 7 EF0 tornadoes.

    Here is an interactive map of the tornadoes produced by Hurricane Milton.


    IMPACTS

    Milton was responsible for 15 direct deaths – 12 in the United States (all in Florida) and 3 in Mexico.

    • Six people died due to the tornado near Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.
    • Four people were killed by falling trees, while there were two deaths due to freshwater flooding.

    Milton caused 27 indirect deaths in the United States, all in Florida.

    Most of the deaths were due to health issues during storm preparations or post-storm clean-up or due to falls related to storm preparations, clean-up, or power failures.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • As shutdown continues, House speaker calls Democratic priorities ‘absurd’

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    WASHINGTON — On the seventh day of the federal government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he agrees with President Donald Trump about working with the Democrats to address health care funding but will only do so after the government reopens.

    Democrats have conditioned their support of Republicans’ short-term funding patch on a continuation of the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will otherwise expire at the end of 2025.

    What You Need To Know

    • On the seventh day of the federal government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he agrees with President Donald Trump about working with the Democrats to address health care funding but will only do so after the government reopens

    • Democrats have conditioned their support of Republicans’ short-term funding patch on a continuation of the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will otherwise expire at the end of 2025

    • The federal government has been closed since Oct. 1 when Democrats and Republicans in Congress failed to pass legislation that would fund the government for the 2026 fiscal year

    • Johnson addressed a new legal analysis from the White House Office of Management and Budget that suggested the federal government might not need to provide back pay to furloughed civilian employees; he said he wasn’t read in on the details of the draft White House memo but said he and President Trump both support paying furloughed workers


    During a news conference Tuesday where he blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as “leading the Democrats to tell the government to shut down,” Johnson urged lawmakers on the other side of the aisle to “wake up and do the right thing and stop inflicting pain on the American people.”

    The federal government has been closed since Oct. 1 when Democrats and Republicans in Congress failed to pass legislation to fund the government for the 2026 fiscal year. Republicans have proposed funding the government at existing levels through Nov. 21, but Democrats have countered with funding through Oct. 31 that includes an extension of ACA subsidies.

    Johnson cited new statistics from House Republicans that detailed the cost of the government shutdown. He said for each week the shutdown continues, it reduces the country’s gross domestic product by $15 billion. A monthlong shutdown not only means that 750,000 federal civilian employees are furloughed but an additional 43,000 American will be unemployed as a ripple effect, he said.

    “That is the pain that is being wrung,” Johnson said. “We have troops, we have border patrol agents, TSA agents. They are all serving, protecting all of us, protecting the country without pay right now.”

    Johnson addressed a new legal analysis, according to multiple reports, from the White House Office of Management and Budget that suggested the federal government might not need to provide back pay to furloughed civilian employees.

    “If that’s true, that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here,” Johnson said.

    The House speaker said he wasn’t read in on the details of the draft White House memo but said he and Trump both support paying furloughed workers.

    Asked about the memo in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said: “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”

    Johnson said he spoke to the president “at length” Monday about negotiating with Democrats on health care funding and that he and Trump are “100% consistent and united” on the need to reopen the government first.

    On Monday, Trump told reporters, “We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things. And I’m talking about good things with regard to health care.”

    Trump then followed up on his comments in a Truth Social post, writing, “I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open.”

    Congressional Democratic leaders Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., both said Monday that they had not been in touch with the president.

    “I do not know of any Democrats who have spoken to President Trump or members of his administration on this issue of reopening the government and enacting a bipartisan spending agreement and addressing the Republican health care crisis,” Jeffries told reporters Monday.

    “Senate Democrats have consistently made clear that we will sit down with anyone at any time and at any place either here at the Capitol or over at the White House to reopen the government to enact a bipartisan spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people,” he said.  

    The blame game between Democrats and Republicans over the government shutdown continued Tuesday — one day after a fifth failed round of votes in the Senate on competing bills to fund the government. Neither the Republican measure nor the Democratic proposal came close to gaining the 60 votes needed to advance.

    “FIVE FAILED VOTES BY SENATE REPUBLICANS. FIVE,” Schumer wrote on X on Monday. “They should know: They can’t go forward unless we come to an agreement to address the healthcare crisis in America.”

    Jeffries also weighed in, writing on X on Monday, “House Republicans think protecting the healthcare of everyday Americans is less important than their vacation. We strongly disagree. Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare.”

    The House is not expected to be in session this week, as the Senate takes the lead on funding negotiations that could reopen the government in the Republican-led Congress.

    On Tuesday, Johnson condemned the Democrats’ latest counterproposal as “a list of absurd priorities” that included returning $500 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that was cut from the program through legislation Congress passed in July.

    “It has nothing to do with the current proposal to keep the government in operation for seven more weeks so that we can continue the appropriations process,” he said.

    Johnson insisted that health care negotiations with Democrats are “a December 31 issue. There are lots of conversations and deliberations and discussions right now, even bipartisan amongst members about necessary changes,” he said. “The whole point is you keep the government open and then we have those discussions. We were always planning to have those discussions in the month of October.”

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Illinois, Chicago sue to stop Trump from sending National Guard troops to city

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    CHICAGO — Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit Monday aiming to stop President Donald Trump’s administration from sending hundreds of National Guard troops to the city, just as troops prepared to deploy and hours after a federal judge blocked troops from being sent to Portland, Oregon.

    What You Need To Know

    • Illinois and Chicago have filed a lawsuit aiming to stop President Donald Trump’s administration from sending hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago

    • Trump moved to deploy the National Guard in another city on Saturday by authorizing 300 troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago

    • Trump has long threatened to send troops to Chicago, but it was not immediately clear when or exactly where they would be deployed

    • The lawsuit filed on Monday alleges that “these advances in President Trump’s long-declared ‘War’ on Chicago and Illinois are unlawful and dangerous”

    The quickly unfolding developments come as the administration portrays the Democrat-led cities as war-ravaged and lawless and amid Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Officials in both cities have disputed the president’s characterizations, saying military intervention isn’t needed and it’s federal involvement that’s inflaming the situation.

    The legal challenge comes after Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said some 300 of the state’s guard troops were to be federalized and deployed to the nation’s third-largest city, along with 400 others from Texas.

    The lawsuit alleges that “these advances in President Trump’s long-declared ‘War’ on Chicago and Illinois are unlawful and dangerous.”

    “The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” the lawsuit says.

    Pritzker said the potential deployment amounted to “Trump’s invasion” and called on Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to block it. Abbott pushed back and said the crackdown was needed to protect federal workers who are in the city as part of the president’s increased immigration enforcement.

    White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed in a weekend statement that Trump authorized using Illinois National Guard members, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.

    In Chicago, the sight of armed Border Patrol agents making arrests near famous landmarks amplified concerns from residents already uneasy after an immigration crackdown that began last month. Agents have targeted immigrant-heavy and largely Latino areas.

    Protesters have frequently rallied near an immigration facility outside the city, and federal officials reported the arrests of 13 protesters on Friday near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview.

    The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that federal agents shot a woman Saturday morning on the southwest side of Chicago. A department statement said it happened after Border Patrol agents patrolling the area “were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.”

    No law enforcement officers were seriously injured, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

    In Portland, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut granted a temporary restraining order sought by Oregon and California to block the deployment of guard troops from those states to the city.

    There has been a sustained and low-level protest outside the Portland ICE facility, but it’s been less disruptive than the downtown clashes of 2020 when demonstrations erupted after George Floyd’s killing.

    Immergut, a first-term Trump appointee, seemed incredulous that the president moved to send National Guard troops to Oregon from neighboring California and then from Texas on Sunday.

    “Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order?” she said. “Why is this appropriate?”

    Local officials have suggested that many of the president’s claims and social media posts about Portland appear to rely on images from 2020. Under a new mayor, the city has reduced crime, and downtown has seen fewer homeless encampments and increased foot traffic.

    Most violent crime around the U.S. has actually declined in recent years, including in Portland, where a recent report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found that homicides from January through June decreased by 51% this year compared to the same period in 2024.

    Since the start of his second term, Trump has sent or talked about sending troops to 10 cities, including Baltimore; Memphis, Tennessee; the District of Columbia; New Orleans; and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

    A federal judge in September said the administration “willfully” broke federal law by deploying guard troops to Los Angeles over protests about immigration raids.

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    Associated Press

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  • Supreme Court rejects appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell

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    WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein

    • The justices Monday declined to take up a case that would’ve renewed attention on the Epstein sexual-abuse saga after President Donald Trump’s administration sought to tamp down criticism over its refusal to publicly release more investigative files

    • Trump’s Republican administration had urged the high court to stay out of the case

    • Lawyers for Maxwell argued she never should’ve been tried or convicted for a role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Maxwell is serving 20 years and recently was transferred from a Florida prison to a Texas prison camp

    On the first day of their new term, the justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sordid sexual-abuse saga after President Donald Trump’s administration sought to tamp down criticism over its refusal to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein’s case.

    Lawyers for Maxwell, a British socialite, argued that she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, a New York financier. She is serving a 20-year prison term, though she was moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas after she was interviewed in July by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

    As is their custom, the justices did not explain why they turned away the appeal.

    Trump’s Republican administration had urged the high court to stay out of the case.

    Maxwell’s lawyers contended that a non-prosecution agreement reached in 2007 by federal prosecutors in Miami and Epstein’s lawyers also protected his “potential co-conspirators” from federal charges anywhere in the country.

    Maxwell was prosecuted in Manhattan, and the federal appeals court there ruled that the prosecution was proper. A jury found her guilty of sex trafficking a teenage girl, among other charges.

    Maxwell’s trial featured accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14 told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s homes.

    Neither Maxwell’s lawyers nor the federal Bureau of Prisons has explained the reason for her transfer, but one of her lawyers, David Oscar Markus, has said she is “innocent and never should have been tried, much less convicted.” Markus also was the lead lawyer on her Supreme Court case.

    Maxwell was interviewed by Blanche at a Florida courthouse. She was given limited immunity, allowing her to speak freely without fear of prosecution for anything she said except for in the event of a false statement. She repeatedly denied witnessing any sexually inappropriate interactions involving Trump, according to records released in August meant to distance the president from the disgraced financer.

    Epstein was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges and was accused of sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls. A month later, he was found dead in a New York jail cell in what investigators described as a suicide.

    The Epstein case had consumed Trump’s administration following an announcement from the FBI and the Justice Department in July that Epstein had killed himself despite conspiracy theories to the contrary, that a “client list” that Attorney General Pam Bondi had intimated was on her desk did not actually exist, and that no additional documents from the high-profile investigation were suitable to be released.

    The announcement produced outrage from conspiracy theorists and Trump supporters who had been hoping to see proof of a government coverup. That expectation was driven in part by comments from officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who on podcasts before taking their current positions had repeatedly promoted the idea that damaging details about prominent people were being withheld.

    Patel, for instance, said in at least one podcast interview before becoming FBI director that Epstein’s “black book” was under the “direct control of the director of the FBI.”

    But the Justice Department said its review of evidence in the government’s possession determined that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims and “only a fraction” of it “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.”

    Faced with fury from his base, Trump sought to quickly turn the page, shutting down questioning of Bondi about Epstein at a White House Cabinet meeting and deriding as “weaklings” supporters he said were falling for the “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”

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  • Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from deploying troops in Portland

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    PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying the National Guard in Portland, ruling Saturday in a lawsuit brought by the state and city.

    U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, issued the order pending further arguments in the suit. She said the relatively small protests the city has seen did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.

    What You Need To Know

    • A federal judge in Oregon has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying the National Guard in Portland
    • U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued the order Saturday in a lawsuit brought by the state and city
    • The Defense Department had said it was placing 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard under federal control for 60 days to protect federal property at locations where protests are occurring or likely to occur after Trump called the city “war-ravaged
    • Oregon officials and Portland residents alike said that description was ludicrous. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland has recently been the site of nightly protests



    “This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” Immergut wrote. She later continued, “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”

    The Trump administration late Saturday filed a notice of appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump voiced his frustration on Sunday morning about the ruling by Immergut.

    “I wasn’t served well by the people that picked judges,” Trump said, adding that the judge “ought to be ashamed of herself” because “Portland is burning to the ground.”

    State and city officials sued to stop the deployment last week, one day after the Trump administration announced that 200 Oregon National Guard troops would be federalized to protect federal buildings. The president called the city “war-ravaged.”

    Oregon officials said that characterization was ludicrous. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in the city has been the site of nightly protests that typically drew a couple dozen people in recent weeks before the deployment was announced.

    Judge: The federal response didn’t match the facts

    Generally speaking the president is allowed “a great level of deference” to federalize National Guard troops in situations where regular law enforcement forces are not able to execute the laws of the United States, the judge said, but that has not been the case in Portland.

    Plaintiffs were able to show that the demonstrations at the immigration building were not significantly violent or disruptive ahead of the president’s order, the judge wrote, and “overall, the protests were small and uneventful.”

    “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts,” Immergut wrote.

    White House says it will appeal

    Following the ruling, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”

    Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the ruling “a healthy check on the president.”

    “It reaffirms what we already knew: Portland is not the president’s war-torn fantasy. Our city is not ravaged, and there is no rebellion,” Rayfield said in a statement. He added: “Members of the Oregon National Guard are not a tool for him to use in his political theater.”

    Trump has deployed or threatened to deploy troops in several U.S. cities, particularly ones led by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and Memphis. Speaking Tuesday to U.S. military leaders in Virginia, he proposed using cities as training grounds for the armed forces.

    Last month a federal judge ruled that the president’s deployment of some 4,700 National Guard soldiers and Marines in Los Angeles this year was illegal, but he allowed the 300 who remain in the city to stay as long as they do not enforce civilian laws. The Trump administration appealed, and an appellate panel has put the lower court’s block on hold while it moves forward.

    Portland protests were small, but grew after deployment was announced

    The Portland protests have been limited to a one-block area in a city that covers about 145 square miles and has about 636,000 residents.

    They grew somewhat following the Sept. 28 announcement of the guard deployment. The Portland Police Bureau, which has said it does not participate in immigration enforcement and only intervenes in the protests if there is vandalism or criminal activity, arrested two people on assault charges. A peaceful march earlier that day drew thousands to downtown and saw no arrests, police said.

    On Saturday, before the ruling was released, roughly 400 people marched to the ICE facility. The crowd included people of all ages and races, families with children and older people using walkers. Federal agents responded with chemical crowd control munitions, including tear gas canisters and less-lethal guns that sprayed pepper balls. At least six people were arrested as the protesters reached the ICE facility.

    Later in the evening, federal agents again emerged from the facility and deployed tear gas on a crowd of about 100 people.

    Trump sent federal officers to Portland over the objections of local and state leaders in 2020 during long-running racial justice protests following George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police. The administration sent hundreds of agents for the stated purpose of protecting the federal courthouse and other federal property from vandalism.

    That deployment antagonized demonstrators and prompted nightly clashes. Federal officers fired rubber bullets and used tear gas.

    Viral videos captured federal officers arresting people and hustling them into unmarked vehicles. A report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general found that while the federal government had legal authority to deploy the officers, many of them lacked the training and equipment necessary for the mission.

    The government agreed this year to settle an excessive force lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union by paying compensating several plaintiffs for their injuries.

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  • Government shutdown enters fifth day with Democrats, Republicans at impasse

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    WASHINGTON —  Republican and Democratic lawmakers at an impasse on reopening the federal government provided few public signs Sunday of meaningful negotiations talking place to end what has so far been a five-day shutdown.

    What You Need To Know

    • Washington lawmakers remain at a standstill over reopening the government, showing few signs of progress
    • Both parties believe public opinion supports their stance, with Democrats pushing for health insurance subsidies and President Donald Trump aiming to maintain current spending levels
    • The shutdown adds to economic uncertainty, with hiring slowing and inflation high. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday criticized Republicans for not negotiating
    • Trump was confident but vague, claims cost-cutting success. The Trump administration sees the shutdown as a chance to cut federal jobs
    • Talks remain unproductive, with a Senate vote failing to advance a Republican bill

    Leaders in both parties are betting that public sentiment has swung their way, putting pressure on the other side to cave. Democrats are insisting on renewing subsidies to cover health insurance costs for millions of households, while President Donald Trump wants to preserve existing spending levels and threatening to permanently fire federal workers if the government remains closed.

    The squabble comes at a moment of troubling economic uncertainty. While the U.S. economy has continued to grow this year, hiring has slowed and inflation remains elevated as Trump’s import taxes have created a series of disruptions for businesses and employers have hurt confidence in his leadership. At the same time, there is a recognition that the nearly $2 trillion annual budget deficit is financially unsustainable yet there has to be a coalition around the potential tax increases and spending cuts to reduce borrowing levels.

    House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, among those appearing on the Sunday news shows, said there have been no talks with Republican leaders since their White House meeting Monday.

    “And unfortunately, since that point in time, Republicans, including Donald Trump, have gone radio silent,” Jeffries said. “And what we’ve seen is negotiation through deep fake videos, the House canceling votes, and of course President Trump spending yesterday on the golf course. That’s not responsible behavior.”

    Trump was asked via text message by CNN’s Jake Tapper about shutdown talks. The Republican president responded with confidence but no details.

    “We are winning and cutting costs big time,” Trump said in a text message, according to CNN.

    His administration sees the shutdown as an opening to wield greater power over the budget, with multiple officials saying they will save money as workers are furloughed by imposing permanent job cuts on thousands of government workers, a tactic that has never been used before.

    While Trump rose to fame on the TV show “The Apprentice” with is catchphrase of “You’re fired,” Republicans on Sunday claimed that the administration would take no pleasure in letting go of federal workers, even though they have put funding on hold for infrastructure and energy projects in Democratic areas.

    “We haven’t seen the details yet about what’s happening” with layoffs, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on NBC. “But it is a regrettable situation that the president does not want.”

    Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said that the administration wants to avoid the layoffs it had indicated could start on Friday, a deadline that came and went without any decisions being announced.

    “We want the Democrats to come forward and to make a deal that’s a clean, continuing resolution that gives us seven more weeks to talk about these things,” Hassett said on CNN. “But the bottom line is that with Republicans in control, the Republicans have a lot more power over the outcome than the Democrats.”

    Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California defended his party’s stance on the shutdown, saying on NBC that the possible increase in health care costs for “millions of Americans” would make insurance unaffordable in what he called a “crisis.”

    But Schiff also noted that the Trump administration has withheld congressionally approved spending from being used, essentially undermining the value of Democrats’ seeking compromises on the budgets as the White House could decline to not honor Congress’ wishes. The Trump administration sent Congress roughly $4.9 billion in  pocket rescissions” on foreign aid, a process that meant the spending was withheld without time for Congress to weigh in before the previous fiscal year ended last month.

    “We need both to address the health care crisis and we need some written assurance in the law, I won’t take a promise, that they’re not going to renege on any deal we make,” Schiff said.

    The television appearances indicated that Democrats and Republicans are busy talking, deploying internet memes against each other that have raised concerns about whether it’s possible to negotiate in good faith.

    Vice President JD Vance said that a video putting Jeffries in a sombrero and thick mustache was simply a joke, even though it came across as mocking people of Mexican descent as Republicans insist that the Democratic demands would lead to health care spending on immigrants in the country illegally, a claim that Democrats dispute.

    Immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for any federal health care programs, including insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act.

    The challenge, however, is that the two parties do not appear to be having productive conversations with each other in private.

    On Friday, a Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would reopen the government failed to notch the necessary 60 votes to end a filibuster. Johnson said the House would close for legislative business next week, a strategy that could obligate the Senate to work with the government funding bill that was passed by House Republicans.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Sunday that the shutdown on discretionary spending, the furloughing of federal workers and requirements that other federal employees work without pay will go on so long as Democrats vote no.

    “They’ll get another chance on Monday to vote again,” said Thune on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

    “And I’m hoping that some of them have a change of heart,” he said.

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  • Gaza flotilla activists allege mistreatment while being detained in Israel

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    ROME — Some of the activists detained while trying to reach Gaza by sea have returned to their home countries to describe mistreatment at the hands of Israeli guards, claims that Israel denies.

    Some 450 activists were arrested as Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of 42 boats seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to the famine-stricken territory. Those detained between Wednesday and Friday were brought to Israel, where many remain in prison.

    What You Need To Know

    • Activists detained while trying to reach Gaza by sea have complained of mistreatment by Israeli guards
    • Some 450 activists were arrested as Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of 42 boats seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza
    • Many remain in prison in Israel. Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi said Israeli soldiers withheld medicines and treated prisoners “like monkeys”
    • Activist Paolo De Montis added that detainees were held in conditions of “constant stress and humiliation.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry described the claims of mistreatment as “brazen lies”

    The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it offered voluntary deportation to all of the activists and those that remain in detention chose to stay there in order to go through a legal deportation process.

    On his return at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport late Saturday, Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi said Israeli soldiers withheld medicines and treated prisoners “like monkeys.”

    Israel’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said the claims of mistreatment were “brazen lies.”

    Among those detained were Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers.

    Tommasi said Thunberg was singled out by Israeli forces after being arrested.

    “We also saw Greta Thunberg at the port, in that case with her arms tied and an Israeli flag next to her, just a mockery,” he said. “Let’s say the mockery was part of the verbal and psychological violence they always carried out, in order to demean, ridicule and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about.”

    In a statement on social media, the ministry said all detainees’ legal rights had been “fully upheld,” adding that Thunberg had not complained about the “ludicrous and baseless allegations — because they never occurred.”

    The interception of the flotilla came as U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to broker a fresh ceasefire initiative in Gaza, as he ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza. Israel said it had accepted Trump’s proposal, and Hamas has said it accepts some aspects. Negotiators are expected in Cairo on Monday.

    Another Italian journalist, Lorenzo D’Agostino, said detainees were repeatedly woken during the two nights he spent behind bars. They were also intimidated with dogs and by soldiers pointing the laser sights of their guns at prisoners “to scare us,” he said after landing at Istanbul Airport, where 137 activists from 13 countries arrived from Israel on Saturday.

    D’Agostino added that his belongings and money had been “stolen by the Israelis.”

    Activist Paolo De Montis described being crammed into a prison van for hours with his hands secured by zip ties.

    “Constant stress and humiliation,” he said. “You weren’t allowed to look them in the face, always had to keep your head down and when I did look up, a man … came and shook me and slapped me on the back of the head. They forced us to stay on our knees for four hours.”

    Ben-Gvir ‘proud’ of treatment

    In a statement, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he was “proud” of the way staff behaved at Ketziot prison, a facility in the Negev desert.

    “I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” he said.

    “If any of them thought they would come here and receive a red carpet and trumpets — they were mistaken. They should get a good feel for the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again.”

    The arrests led to criticism from several governments including Turkey, Colombia and Pakistan. Greece, which had 27 of its nationals in Israeli custody, issued a “strong written protest” to Israel over the “unacceptable and inappropriate behavior of an Israeli minister.”

    The complaint is thought to refer to footage of Ben-Gvir upbraiding the activists for supporting “terrorism” and mocking their aid initiative after they were brought ashore at the southern port of Ashdod on Friday.

    The Swedish Foreign Ministry said it had “acted intensively to ensure that the detained Swedes’ rights are observed.”

    The interception of the flotilla also led to large-scale demonstrations in cities across the world.

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