On today's podcast:
1) Israel’s cabinet approved a deal that will see Hamas free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for around 2,000 prisoners, a major step toward ending a two-year war that’s killed tens of thousands of people and destabilized the wider Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition gave its approval overnight, around a day after negotiators for the warring sides reached an agreement in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. The deal is based on a plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump late last month and followed days of talks mediated by the Americans, as well as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
2) Congressional leaders continued to blame the other party for the US government shutdown as President Trump doubled down on his threats to use the stalemate, now entering its tenth day, to make sweeping cuts to Democratic priorities and the federal bureaucracy. There was no sign of progress as government workers and military personnel prepare for missed paychecks and the general public begins to feel the effects of the closure on everything from taxpayer services to air travel.
3) New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia, making her the second of President Trump’s perceived political enemies to be criminally charged in two weeks. James was charged with one count of alleged bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment made public on Thursday follows allegations from Trump administration officials that James engaged in mortgage fraud.
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