Israel-Hamas hostage swap; Letitia James indicted : NPR
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Today’s best stories
Today marks the start of the first phase of President Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. This follows the Israeli government’s approval of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, allowing the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and around 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Israeli soldiers gather near armored vehicles along the Israel-Gaza border fence on October 10. Gaza’s civil defense agency said on October 10 that Israeli forces had begun to withdraw from parts of the territory, particularly in Gaza City and Khan Yunis. The Israeli prime minister’s office said the government had “approved the framework” of a hostage release deal with Hamas, as both sides move closer to ending more than two years of hostilities in Gaza.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
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Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 The Israeli army announced that it would withdraw from deep inside Gaza towards an agreed linetriggering the ceasefire, reports NPR’s Aya Batrawy First. Immediately afterwards, crowds of people in Gaza returned to their homes. But many of them will find that their residence is gone. There is some skepticism about the deal, as the two previous U.S.-backed deals failed. But Trump says this agreement is not just about Gaza: it is about peace in the Middle East.
- 🎧 Officials said last night that the United States was sending about 200 troops to the region as part of an international stabilization force. Their role is to monitor the area to ensure there are no violations of the signed agreement, explains NPR’s Deepa Shivaram. Trump also said he was trying to leave on Sunday to visit the region, likely Egypt, but it’s unclear where exactly he plans to go. When the hostages are freed, the president says he hopes to be in Israel, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited him to address the country’s parliament.
The Justice Department yesterday indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James for bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. The accusations follow continued pressure from Trump to prosecute one of his longtime political enemies. The indictment claims that James lied on her application for a $109,600 mortgage to purchase a property in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. It alleges that she promised her financial lenders that it would be a second home for her personal use, but instead rented it out.
- 🎧 The indictment was handled by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia.the same place where former FBI Director James Comey was indicted a few weeks ago. The White House expelled that court’s top prosecutor after lengthy investigations that showed the evidence in both cases was too weak to charge Comey or James, NPR’s Ryan Lucas said. After Trump publicly called on the Justice Department to prosecute them, they were indicted, setting off alarm bells that the president was using the DOJ to target his perceived political enemies. James says she is being targeted for doing her job as New York State attorney general.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised her for her tireless efforts to promote the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people.
Deep dive
High angle view of white glass, fork, knife and plate on colorful table
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Francesco Carta photo/Moment RF/Getty Images
Health officials are expected to release new dietary guidelines this fall, and based on public comments from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a sea change could be coming from what Americans have seen in recent years. The Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture update the guidelines every five years to reflect the latest research findings. The advice in the 2025 scientific reports hasn’t changed much from previous years and emphasizes eating fruits and vegetables, lean meats and whole grains. However, Kennedy promised big changes. Here’s what might be in store:
- 🍽️ Guidelines traditionally recommend limiting saturated fat, which is typically found in red meat. However, Kennedy likes meat and saturated fats. Some recent research on low-carb, high-fat diets, such as the carnivore diet, shows potential improvement in markers of cardiovascular health.
- 🍽️ Kennedy defended full-fat dairy, calling for an end to the “attack on whole milk, cheese and yogurt.” Some researchers say the data does not support the existing recommendation to favor low-fat dairy products.
- 🍽️ The Trump administration has committed to developing a “government-wide definition” for ultra-processed foods. Some experts are concerned about the impact of a new definition and believe that it should avoid sweeping away foods beneficial to health, such as certain yogurts or wholemeal breads.
Weekend Picks
Laufey
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Emma Summerton/TK
Find out what NPR watch, read and listen this weekend:
🍿 Movies: Fresh air film critic Justin Chang says After the hunt isn’t a great film, but Julia Roberts shines as a Yale professor whose life unravels after a colleague is accused of sexually assaulting a student.
📺 Television: In The last frontiera plane full of detainees crashes in Alaska, forcing local law enforcement and the CIA to work together to find them. Among those wanted is a very dangerous, CIA-trained fugitive who the agency may not be particularly keen to apprehend.
📚 Books: Thomas Pynchon’s first novel in 12 years, Ghost ticketis a mystery that delves into the disappearance of a cheese heiress and leads private detective Hicks McTaggart down a rabbit hole.
🎵 Music: Laufey displays his love of classical and jazz music in his new album, A question of time. Hear her perform some tracks from the album in this Fresh air interview or read the transcript.
🎭 Theater: The Bread and Puppet troupe, a pillar of radical political performance for decades, is touring the United States. The 2025 show is pro-Palestinian. Artists wave flags bearing red poppies, a symbol of Palestinian loyalty to the land.
❓Quizzes: I got two questions wrong today, and that still feels like a win. Get your brain going and start your morning by testing your knowledge.
3 things to know before you leave
An election judge installs a Dominion voting machine during a public testing of voting equipment accuracy August 3, 2022 in Burnsville, Minnesota.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
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Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
- Dominion Voting Systems, the company at the center of false claims of fraud surrounding the 2020 election, has been acquired by Liberty Vote.
- Derrick Groves, the 10th and final man to escape from a New Orleans prison in May, was captured Wednesday in the crawl space of an Atlanta home.
- László Krasznahorkai, a 71-year-old Hungarian writer, won the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is known for his postmodern and apocalyptic novels.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.
