Under Gazas ceasefire deal, Israel freed dozens of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel seized during raids on hospitals. But more than 100 remain in Israeli prisons, including Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, a hospital director who became the face of the struggle to keep treating patients under Israeli siege and bombardment.

Despite widespread calls for his release, Abu Safiya was not among the hundreds of Palestinian detainees and prisoners freed Monday in exchange for 20 hostages held by Hamas. Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been imprisoned without charge by Israel for nearly 10 months.

Health Workers Watch, which documents detentions from Gaza, said 55 medical workers including 31 doctors and nurses were on lists of detainees from Gaza being freed Monday, though it could not immediately be confirmed all were released. The group said at least 115 medical workers remain in custody, as well as the remains of four who died while in Israeli prisons, where rights groups and witnesses have reported frequent abuse.

Cheering staff from al-Awda Hospital carried on their shoulders their released director, Ahmed Muhanna, who was held by Israel for about 22 months since being seized in a raid on the facility in northern Gaza in late 2023.

Al-Awda Hospital will be restored, its staff will rebuild it with their own hands. ... I am proud of what we have done and will do, Muhanna told well-wishers, his face visibly gaunter than before his detention, according to video posted on social media.

Al-Awda Hospital, damaged during multiple offensives in the largely leveled Jabaliya refugee camp, has been shut down since May, when it was forced to evacuate during Israel's latest offensive.

Israels two-year campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack decimated Gazas health system, forcing most of its hospitals to shut down and heavily damaging many, even as staff struggled to treat waves of wounded from bombardment amid supply shortages. During the war, Israeli forces raided a number of hospitals and struck others, detaining hundreds of staff.

Israel says it targeted hospitals because Hamas was using them for military purposes, a claim Palestinian health officials deny.

RELATED STORY | Ceasefire strained as Israel says body from Hamas not a hostage

Abu Safiya

It was not known if Abu Safiya, 52, might still be released. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. His family said on social media there were no confirmed details about the date of his release, adding that freed detainees described him as in good health and strong spirits.

The Israeli military said Abu Safiya was being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas. Staff and international aid groups that worked with him deny the claims. In November 2023, Israeli forces seized Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Gaza Citys Shifa Hospital, declaring him a Hamas officer but then released him seven months later.

Abu Safiya, a pediatrician, led Kamal Adwan Hospital through an 85-day siege of the facility during an Israeli offensive in the surrounding districts of Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun. The videos he put out made him a rallying figure for medical staff across Gaza who, like him, kept working under siege, even while injured or when family members were killed.

When troops raided the hospital on Dec. 27, images showed Abu Safiya in his white lab coat walking out of the building through streets of rubble toward an Israeli armored vehicle to discuss evacuation of patients. Abu Safiya and dozens of others, including patients and staff, were taken prisoner.

Abu Safiya stayed in the hospital until the last moment. He didnt leave because all health care services there would collapse if he left. Dr. Hossam is a truly great man, said Dr. Saeed Salah, medical director of the Patients Friends Hospital in Gaza City, who has known Abu Safiya for 29 years.

Surviving siege

Throughout the siege, Abu Safiya repeatedly refused military calls to shut down the hospital. He posted frequent videos on social media showing staff struggling to treat waves of wounded Palestinians. He pleaded for international help as the hospitals supplies ran out and reported on Israeli strikes on the building that caused injuries and deaths among patients and staff, and damaged wards.

In October 2024, a drone strike killed one of his sons, Ibrahim, at the hospital entrance.

I refused to leave the hospital and sacrifice my patients, so the army punished me by killing my son, he said in a video afterward, breaking down in tears.

RELATED STORY | A look at the living hostages released by Hamas under ceasefire deal

The next month, shrapnel from a drone blast wounded Abu Safiya as he sat in his office.

Even with his wound, he was circulating among the patients. He was sleeping, eating, drinking among the patients, said Dr. Rana Soboh, a nutrition technical adviser for the U.S. medical aid group MedGlobal.

Abu Safiya became the hospitals director in late 2023 after his predecessor, Dr. Ahmed Kahlout, was seized in an Israeli raid. Kahlout is also still being held by Israel, which accused him of being a member of Hamas, though he is not known to have been charged.

Abu Safiya worked to rebuild the heavily damaged hospital, reviving its intensive care unit and pediatric ward. Soboh worked with him to set up a malnutrition unit that has treated hundreds of children.

He is an amazing doctor, she said. He built things out of nothing.

The raid

On Dec. 27, troops surrounded the compound. Abu Safiyas son Elias, who was in the hospital, said his father went out to talk to the officers, then returned and asked the staff to gather everyone patients, staff and family members in the courtyard. Some were evacuated to other hospitals, others were detained.

Zaher Sahloul, president of MedGlobal, said troops wrecked the hospitals radiology department and operating rooms, and destroyed ventilators.

The Israeli military said it launched the raid after warning staff multiple times about Hamas fighters it claimed were operating from the hospital.

Days after Abu Safiya was detained, his 74-year-old mother died, Elias said.

She hadnt stopped crying since they detained him, he said.

Imprisonment

Abu Safiya is currently being held at Israels Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli rights group Physicians for Human RightsIsrael, which visited him in September, said he had not been brought before a judge or interrogated and had no information about why he was detained.

Abu Safiya said he and other detainees received insufficient food and medical care, the group said, adding that he had lost about 25 kilograms (55 pounds) since his detention. It said he reported that guards regularly beat prisoners during searches of their cells.

The Israelis "knew that he was a symbol for Gaza, said Islam Mohammed, a freelance journalist who was detained with Abu Safiya in the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. For a period, he was held at Sde Teiman Prison at the same time as Abu Safiya, though in a different cell, and said he and other detainees were often beaten, and guards shouted insults at them.

The treatment was inhuman from the time of detention, until release, said Mohammed, who was released to Gaza on Monday. To call it a beating does not describe it, he said.

Israeli officials say they follow legal standards for treatment of prisoners and that any violations by prison personnel are investigated.

Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday that ongoing violence in the capital of Haiti has forced it to permanently close its Port-au-Prince emergency care center, which had been a key lifeline in a city now 90% controlled by gangs.

More than 60% of the capital's health facilities, including Haitis general hospital, are now shuttered or non-functioning because of the surge in gang violence.

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The Doctors Without Borders emergency center in the neighborhood of Turgeau had temporarily closed in March 2025 after armed men opened fire on four of the organization's vehicles that were evacuating staff from the center. Some employees received minor injuries.

The building has already been hit several times by stray bullets due to its location close to the combat zones, which would make resuming activities too dangerous for both patients and staff, said Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF head of mission in Haiti.

Before the attack in March, staff at the emergency center had treated more than 300 patients between Feb. 24 and March 2. In February alone, the center reported more than 2,500 medical consultations.

The emergency center had originally opened in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Martissant in 2006, but was forced to move to Turgeau in 2021 for security reasons. From 2021 to March 2025, the Turgeau emergency center treated more than 100,000 patients.

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From January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed across Haiti and an additional 1,100 reported injured, according to the United Nations.

Gang violence also has displaced a record 1.4 million people, a 36% increase since the end of 2024, the U.N. International Organization for Migration announced Wednesday. Almost two-thirds of the new displacements were reported outside Port-au-Prince, especially in Haitis central region.

Meanwhile, makeshift shelters have increased from 142 in December to 238 so far this year, IOM said.

The Trump administration has revoked the visas of six foreigners deemed by U.S. officials to have made derisive comments or made light of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last month.

The State Department said Tuesday it had determined they should lose their visas after reviewing their online social media posts and clips about Kirk, who was killed while speaking at a Utah college campus on Sept. 10.

The announcement came as President Donald Trump was posthumously awarding him America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At Kirks funeral in September, Trump called him a great American hero and martyr for freedom.

The administration and its supporters have targeted people for their comments about Kirk, leading to firings or other discipline of journalists, teachers and others, and raising free speech concerns.

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The six foreigners who had their visas revoked were from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa. They were not identified.

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws," the State Department said. "Aliens who take advantage of Americas hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be removed.

Vice President JD Vance and other top U.S. officials have encouraged people to call out offensive language about Kirk that they see online. In an unusual tweet last month, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau asked social media users to copy him on any relevant posts, saying he was personally disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action.

In addition to Tuesday's action, the administration has ramped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners in the United States, notably students, who it says have either fomented or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests against Israels military operations in Gaza. The administration has also denied visas to applicants whose social media histories have been critical of its policies.

Among the higher-profile cases, the administration has expelled South Africas ambassador to the United States for comments critical of Trump, revoked a visa for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the U.N. General Assembly and yanked the visas for British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan. It said it is reviewing the status of the more than 55 million current U.S. visa holders for potential violations of its standards.

Those actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as violations of constitutional protections for freedom of speech, which apply to anyone in the United States and not just to American citizens.

The Israeli military says one of four bodies handed over by Hamas on Tuesday is not that of any of the hostages who were held in Gaza, adding to strain on the fragile ceasefire to end the two-year war.

Separately, forensic experts in Gaza on Wednesday started identifying 45 bodies of Palestinians that Israel handed over to the Red Cross the previous day without identification. It wasnt immediately clear whether the bodies were those of people who died in Israeli prisons or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops.

Meanwhile, the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza has resumed after a two-day break. The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel, and medical supplies were bound for the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, while Israel and Hamas argue over the slow return of the bodies of deceased hostages.

RELATED STORY | A look at the living hostages released by Hamas under ceasefire deal

Bodies of more Palestinians returned to Gaza

Israel has transferred the bodies of more Palestinians to Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal, according to officials at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press journalist at the facility saw three trucks carrying the bodies arriving at the hospital.

Bodies recovered from under rubble are brought to Gaza hospitals

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday the bodies of 19 people have been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours.

They include 16 bodies that were recovered from under the rubble, the ministry said in its daily report. Hospitals also received 35 wounded.

That has brought the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war to 67,938 since Oct. 7, 2023, the ministry said. Another 169,638 have been wounded, it said.

RELATED STORY | Israelis embrace loved ones as Hamas releases hostages from captivity in Gaza

The ministry said it didnt add the 45 bodies that Israel transferred to Gaza on Tuesday to its tally.

The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the casualties were women and children.

EU says it's ready to deploy humanitarian mission

The European Union said on Wednesday it is on standby to deploy a long-standing humanitarian mission, known as EUBAM, at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza if conditions on the ground improve.

EUBAM remains on standby to deploy to the Rafah crossing point in support of the Gaza peace plan as soon as conditions allow, said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the European Commission. He did not elaborate on those conditions. We remain on standby and we stand ready to deploy at short notice.

The European Border Assistance Mission in Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border began in 2005.

The EU, which has provided key support for the Palestinian Authority, pledged to help flood Gaza with humanitarian aid. It said it could extend a police support program already operating in the West Bank to Gaza to buttress a stabilization force called for in current peace plan from U.S. President Donald Trump. Outrage over the war has riven the 27-nation bloc and pushed relations between Israel and the EU to a historic low.

General Motors will record a negative impact of $1.6 billion in its next quarter after tax incentives for electric vehicles were slashed by the U.S. and rules governing emissions are relaxed.

Shares fell less than 2% before the opening bell Tuesday.

The EV tax credit ended last month. The clean vehicle tax credit was worth $7,500 for new EVs and up to $4,000 for used ones.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has been working on easing rules aimed at cleaning up auto tailpipe emissions as the Trump administration move to undo incentives for automakers to go electric. President Donald Trump has also challenged federal EV charging infrastructure money and blocked Californias ban of new gas-powered vehicle sales. It adds up to less pressure on automakers to continue evolving their production away from gas-burning vehicles.

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General Motors, which had led the way among U.S. automakers with plans to convert production to an electric fleet of vehicles, said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it will have to book charges that include non-cash impairment and other charges of $1.2 billion due to EV capacity adjustments. There's also $400 million in charges mostly related to contract cancellation fees and commercial settlements associated with EV-related investments.

GM warned that it may take additional hits as it adjusts production, with non-cash charges potentially impacting operations and cash flow in the future.

The company said that its EV capacity realignment doesn't impact its retail portfolio of Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac EVs currently in production, and that it expects those models to remain available to consumers.

EVs were considered to be the future of the US automotive industry. GM had announced in 2020 that it was going to invest $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years, a 35% increase over plans made before the pandemic.

In 2021, GM said that it planned to have more than half of its North American and China factories be capable of making electric vehicles by 2030. It also pledged at the time to increase its investment in EV charging networks by nearly $750 million through 2025.

A year later, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the automaker would sell more electric vehicles in the U.S. than Tesla by the middle of the decade. GM also had a goal of making the vast majority of the vehicles it produces electric by 2035, and the entire company carbon neutral, including operations, five years after that.

Yet U.S. automakers are being hampered in some of their long-term planning, with drastic changes in economic and environmental policy from one administration to the next. The automakers are also facing increased competition from automakers such as China's BYD, which announced in July that its sales grew 31% in the first six months of the year to 2.1 million cars.

BYDs sales have skyrocketed on the back of a government-driven EV boom in China. The rise of BYD and other Chinese electric vehicle makers is a challenge for Tesla and the worlds other major automakers as Chinese competitors push into Europe, Southeast Asia and other overseas markets with a relatively affordable option for drivers who want to go green.

Los Angeles County officials voted Tuesday to declare a state of emergency that gives them power to provide assistance for residents they say have suffered financially from ongoing federal immigration raids.

The move allows the LA County Board of Supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants who have fallen behind as a result of the crackdown on immigrants.

The immigration raids that ramped up over the summer have spread fear in immigrant communities, prompting many to limit their outings. Federal agents have rounded up immigrants without legal status to be in the U.S. from Home Depots, car washes, bus stops, and farms. Some U.S. citizens have also been detained.

The local state of emergency can also funnel state money for legal aid and other services.

Funds for rent will be available to people who apply via an online portal that would be launched within two months, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's office said. The motion could also be a first step toward an eviction moratorium, but that would require a separate action by the supervisors.

Landlords worried it could be another financial hit after an extended ban on evictions and rental increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The declaration was passed by a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger opposing.

Horvath and Supervisor Janice Hahn said the raids have spread fear and destabilized households and businesses. In late August, there were more than 5,000 arrests in Los Angeles as part of the crackdown. About a third of the countys 10 million residents are foreign-born. Several cities in the region canceled their Fourth of July celebrations and summer movie nights as families stayed home due to safety concerns.

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Since June, the Los Angeles region has been a battleground in the Trump administrations aggressive immigration strategy that spurred protests and the deployment of the National Guards and Marines for more than a month.

We have residents afraid to leave their homes, we have constituents contacting my office because their family members never came home and they dont know if theyve been taken by ICE or where theyve been taken, Hahn said. We have entire families who are destitute because their fathers or mothers have been taken from their work places and they have no way to pay their rent or put food on their table.

Last week the five-member board voted 4-1 to put the declaration up for a vote at its regular Tuesday meeting. The sole no vote also came from Barger, who argued that the immigration raids did not meet the criteria of an emergency and that it could be unfair to landlords.

Im sure were going to be challenged legally, Barger said. The county's eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in multiple lawsuits.

Several people said they were against the emergency declaration if it would lead to an eviction moratorium during the public comment portion of Tuesdays vote.

Landlords are still reeling from the COVID-era freezes that cost them billions of dollars in uncollected rent and prohibited annual rent increase, said Daniel Yukelson, CEO of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles.

He said housing providers are sympathetic to tenants and their family members affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities. But, he said, the association isn't aware of anyone unable to pay rent due to immigration enforcement.

If local jurisdictions once again allow rent payments to be deferred due to ICE enforcement activities, this will lead to the further deterioration and loss of affordable housing in our community, Yukelson said Monday.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to pull assistance for Argentina led by a political kindred spirit whose philosophy aligns with that of the Republican administration if the nations internal politics dont align with his interests in upcoming elections.

The comments came during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei, whose country is set to hold midterm elections for its legislative body later this month. U.S. presidents typically do not weigh in on the candidates in other countries democratic elections.

Referring to an opponent who was extremely far-left and encompassed a philosophy that got Argentina into this problem in the first place," Trump warned that the United States wouldn't waste our time with largesse toward Buenos Aires if Milei does not prevail. In addition to the midterms that will be a referendum on his policies, Milei himself is up for reelection in 2027.

We're not going to let somebody get into office and squander the taxpayer money from this country. I'm not gonna let it happen, Trump said from the Cabinet Room as he prepared to eat lunch with Milei. If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.

Even so, Trump insisted that the $20 billion assistance to Argentina, which administration officials strenuously deny is a bailout, was about helping our neighbors" rather than any ties to the upcoming midterms.

It's just helping a great philosophy take over a great country, the U.S. president said. "Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries that I've ever seen, and we want to see it succeed. It's very simple."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the administration believed Mileis coalition in the upcoming midterms would do quite well and continue his reform agenda.

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As he opened his lunch with Milei, Trump noted that the Argentine president, who is an economist by trade, is MAGA all the way. That traditionally refers to his campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," but this time, it also meant Make Argentina Great Again."

Trump's meeting with Milei was already making waves back in Argentina, with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, leader of the left-leaning Peronist opposition and a two-term former president, writing on social media: Trump to Milei: Our agreements are subject to whoever wins election. Argentines ... you know what to do!

The former president is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest since June for corruption, but she remains the most influential leader of Peronism, an ideologically flexible, labor rights-focused populist movement, which emerged in the 1940s and dominated politics for decades.

Ahead of his White House meeting and during it Milei lavished praise on Trump, deploying a tactic that has helped transform Milei's cash-strapped country into one of the Trump administrations closest allies.

Milei, speaking in Spanish, said he is very honored, especially in this moment when we are giving thanks for Trumps great leadership.

We can follow a peaceful route and make Argentina a strong example for freedom and prosperity, Milei said.

That bromance has already paid off for Argentina most recently, to the tune of a $20 billion bailout.

In a crisis, turning to Trump

The Trump administration made a highly unusual decision to intervene in Argentinas currency market after Milei's party suffered a landslide loss in a local election last month.

Along with setbacks in the opposition-dominated Congress, the party's crushing defeat created a crisis of confidence as voters in Buenos Aires Province registered their frustration with rising unemployment, contracting economic activity and brewing corruption scandals.

Alarmed that this could herald the end of popular support for Milei's free-market program, investors dumped Argentine bonds and sold off the peso.

Argentinas Treasury began hemorrhaging precious dollar reserves at a feverish pace, trying shore up the currency and keep its exchange rate within the trading band set as part of the countrys recent $20 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.

But as the peso continued to slide, Milei grew desperate.

He met with Trump on Sept. 23 while in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. A flurry of back-slapping, hand-shaking and mutual flattery between the two quickly gave way to Bessent publicly promising Argentina a lifeline of $20 billion.

Markets cheered, and investors breathed a sigh of relief.

Timing is everything

In the days that followed, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo spent hours in meetings in Washington trying to seal the deal.

Reassurance came last Thursday, when Bessent announced that the U.S. would allow Argentina to exchange up to $20 billion worth of pesos for an equal sum in dollars. Saying that the success of Mileis program was of systemic importance, Bessent added that the U.S. Treasury directly purchased an unspecified amount of pesos.

For the Trump administration, the timing was awkward as it struggles to manage the optics of bailing out a nine-time serial defaulter in the middle of a U.S. government shutdown that has led to mass layoffs. Democratic lawmakers and other critics have slammed it as an example of Trump rewarding loyalists at the expense of American taxpayers.

Later Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts who was singled out during the White House meeting by both Bessent and Trump tried to advance a bill that would block the $20 billion in U.S. assistance, but the gambit failed in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Saying Trump was only aiding Argentina to help Milei, Warren said, That's Argentina first, not America first.

But for Argentina, the U.S. help came in the nick of time.

Aware of how a weak currency could threaten his flagship achievement of taming inflation and hurt his popularity, Milei hopes to stave off what many economists see as an inescapable currency devaluation until after the Oct. 26 midterm elections. A devaluation of the peso would likely fuel a resurgence in inflation.

Talks also touch on artificial intelligence

Another topic that had been on the agenda was the Stargate project, which would expand a network of massive artificial intelligence centers to Latin America, according to a person with knowledge of the plans who was granted anonymity to speak about private discussions.

Argentina could be home to Latin Americas first Stargate, which is a joint initiative from OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that will build a network of big data centers that would power OpenAIs artificial intelligence technology. Its an initiative thats been championed by Trump himself.

Milei also joined a ceremony at the White House honoring Charlie Kirk, the prominent right-wing political activist who was fatally shot last month. Milei often crossed paths with Kirk on the speaking circuit of the ascendant global right.

There has been no word on how Argentina, the IMF's largest debtor, will end up paying the U.S. back for this $20 billion, which comes on top of IMFs own loan for the same amount in April. And that one came on top of an earlier IMF loan for $40 billion.

Despite all the help, Milei's government already missed the IMF's early targets for rebuilding currency reserves.

"The U.S. should be concerned that Argentina has had to return for $20 billion so quickly after getting $14 billion upfront from the IMF, said Brad Setser, a former Treasury official now at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Taylor Swifts 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, has officially sold 4.002 million equivalent album units which includes album sales and streaming activity in its first week in the U.S. That is the biggest first week in modern music history; at least, according to Luminate, the industry data and analytics company that began tracking sales in 1991.

Swift broke the record set by Adeles 25, which sold 3.378 million copies in its first week in 2015 in the U.S.

The Life of a Showgirl was released Oct. 3. In its first week, pure album sales totaled 3,479,500 copies.

She's also become the solo artist with the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, with 15. She was previously tied with Drake and Jay-Z, who each have 14.

Swift is now just behind The Beatles, who boast of 19 No. 1 albums.

She is no stranger to breaking records, and when it comes to The Life of a Showgirl, the history-making started immediately. In its first day of release, the album sold 2.7 million copies in traditional album sales, breaking her record for most first week sales... in one day.

Her last album, 2024s The Tortured Poets Department, amassed 2.61 million equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week.

Also, according to Luminate, The Life of a Showgirl broke the record for the most copies of a vinyl album sold in a single week in the U.S., with 1.2 million copies in its first day.

The previous record holder was The Tortured Poets Department, which sold 859,000 copies on vinyl in its first week.

Vinyl variants move the needle

One of the reasons Swift has seen so much success is that she released her record in several different variants. Those include multiple editions specific to Target three CDs titled Its Frightening, Its Rapturous and Its Beautiful, as well as an exclusive vinyl release, The Crowd Is Your King.

There are a number of other vinyl variants as well: The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection, The Baby Thats Show Business Collection, The Shiny Bug Collection, and the standard LP and cassette, in sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl.

New Disney+ projects will keep Swift at the top

The news of Swifts record-breaking sales arrived just after Good Morning America revealed Monday that shell have two new projects at Disney+. Thats a six-episode, behind-the-scenes docuseries about her landmark Eras Tour titled Taylor Swift ' The Eras Tour ' The End of an Era.

The first two episodes of her docuseries will premiere Dec. 12.

And that is not to be confused with the second, titled Taylor Swift ' The Eras Tour ' The Final Show, a concert film now with the inclusion of The Tortured Poets Department section. The 2024 album was incorporated into her three-and-a-half-hour performance following its release. It was filmed in Vancouver.

That differs from 2023's Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film, which was compiled from several Swift shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles and arrived ahead of The Tortured Poets Department.

Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the U.S.'s longest standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction.

Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers and other marine industries.

A GOP-led bill in the works has support from fishermen in Maine who say the law makes lobster fishing more difficult, lobbyists for big-money species such as tuna in Hawaii and crab in Alaska, and marine manufacturers who see the law as antiquated.

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Conservation groups adamantly oppose the changes and say weakening the law will erase years of hard-won gains for jeopardized species such as the vanishing North Atlantic right whale, of which there are less than 400, and is vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear.

Here's what to know about the protection act and the proposed changes.

Why does the 1970s law still matter

The Marine Mammal Protection Act is important because its one of our bedrock laws that help us to base conservation measures on the best available science, said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager with International Fund for Animal Welfare. Species on the brink of extinction have been brought back.

It was enacted the year before the Endangered Species Act, at a time when the movement to save whales from extinction was growing. Scientist Roger Payne had discovered that whales could sing in the late 1960s, and their voices soon appeared on record albums and throughout popular culture.

The law protects all marine mammals, and prohibits capturing or killing them in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It allowed for preventative measures to stop commercial fishing ships and other businesses from accidentally harming animals such as whales and seals. The animals can be harmed by entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and other hazards at sea.

The law also prevents the hunting of marine mammals, including polar bears, with exceptions for Indigenous groups. Some of those animals can be legally hunted in other countries.

Changes to oil and gas operations and whale safety

Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska, a state with a large fishing industry, submitted a bill draft this summer that would roll back aspects of the law. The bill says the act has unduly and unnecessarily constrained government, tribes and the regulated community since its inception.

The proposal states that it would make changes such as lowering population goals for marine mammals from maximum productivity to the level needed to support continued survival. It would also ease rules on what constitutes harm to marine mammals.

For example, the law currently prevents harassment of sea mammals such as whales, and defines harassment as activities that have the potential to injure a marine mammal. The proposed changes would limit the definition to only activities that actually injure the animals. That change could have major implications for industries such as oil and gas exploration where rare whales live.

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That poses an existential threat to the Rice's whale, which numbers only in the dozens and lives in the Gulf of Mexico, conservationists said. And the proposal takes specific aim at the North Atlantic right whale protections with a clause that would delay rules designed to protect that declining whale population until 2035.

Begich and his staff did not return calls for comment on the bill, and his staff declined to provide an update about where it stands in Congress. Begich has said he wants "a bill that protects marine mammals and also works for the people who live and work alongside them, especially in Alaska.

Fishing groups want restrictions loosened

A coalition of fishing groups from both coasts has come out in support of the proposed changes. Some of the same groups lauded a previous effort by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory burdens on commercial fishing.

The groups said in a July letter to House members that they feel Begich's changes reflect a positive and necessary step" for American fisheries' success.

Restrictions imposed on lobster fishermen of Maine are designed to protect the right whale, but they often provide little protection for the animals while limiting one of America's signature fisheries, Virginia Olsen, political director of the Maine Lobstering Union, said. The restrictions stipulate where lobstermen can fish and what kinds of gear they can use. The whales are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in heavy fishing rope.

Gathering more accurate data about right whales while revising the original law would help protect the animals, Olsen said.

We do not want to see marine mammals harmed; we need a healthy, vibrant ocean and a plentiful marine habitat to continue Maines heritage fishery, Olsen said.

Some members of other maritime industries have also called on Congress to update the law. The National Marine Manufacturers Association said in a statement that the rules have not kept pace with advancements in the marine industry, making innovation in the business difficult.

Environmentalists fight back

Numerous environmental groups have vowed to fight to save the protection act. They characterized the proposed changes as part of the Trump administration's assault on environmental protections.

The act was instrumental in protecting the humpback whale, one of the species most beloved by whale watchers, said Gib Brogan, senior campaign director with Oceana. Along with other sea mammals, humpbacks would be in jeopardy without it, he said.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act is flexible. It works. It's effective. We don't need to overhaul this law at this point, Brogan said.

What does this mean for seafood imports

The original law makes it illegal to import marine mammal products without a permit, and allows the U.S. to impose import prohibitions on seafood products from foreign fisheries that dont meet U.S. standards.

The import embargoes are a major sticking point because they punish American businesses, said Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer of the National Fisheries Institute, a Virginia-based seafood industry trade group. Its critical to source seafood globally to be able to meet American demand for seafood, he said.

The National Fisheries Institute and a coalition of industry groups sued the federal government Thursday over what they described as unlawful implementation of the protection act. Gibbons said the groups don't oppose the act, but want to see it responsibly implemented.

Our fisheries are well regulated and appropriately fished to their maximum sustainable yield, Gibbons said. The men and women who work our waters are iconic and responsible. They cant be expected to just fish more here to make up a deficit while jeopardizing the sustainability theyve worked so hard to maintain.

Some environmental groups said the Republican lawmakers proposed changes could weaken American seafood competitiveness by allowing imports from poorly regulated foreign fisheries.

Their faces stare down from every street corner in Israel on posters now sun-faded and ripped. Their stories, told by anguished family members, are almost as well-known as celebrities. They are civilians and soldiers, fathers and sons. Some were at the Nova music festival, where almost 400 people were killed and dozens kidnapped.

On Monday, Hamas released 20 hostages into the custody of the Red Cross, which then brought them to Israel as part of a new ceasefire deal that many hope will signal an end to two years of war in the devastated Gaza Strip. Under the agreement, all living hostages were to be released, as well as the bodies of the deceased.

Also Monday, two hostages previously thought to be living were confirmed dead.

RELATED STORY | Israelis embrace loved ones as Hamas releases hostages from captivity in Gaza

The war was triggered by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped.

The fighting has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which doesnt differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children, and displaced around 90% of the Gaza population of some 2 million. 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 in Gaza.

Prior to Monday's release, there were 48 hostages held in Gaza, including the body of one soldier from a previous war. Israel had determined that at least 25 of the hostages were killed on Oct. 7, 2023, or died while in captivity. Just before the release of the first hostages under the ceasefire, Hamas informed Israel that two additional hostages were no longer alive, Tamir Nimrodi and Bipin Joshi. Israel had previously expressed grave concern over their status.

There is only one remaining female hostage, who Israel believes was killed in captivity.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING | 'The hostages are back': Trump touts Gaza ceasefire deal before Israeli legislature

Under the ceasefire agreement that took effect last Friday, the remaining hostages were to be released within 72 hours. Israel is set to release around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

Here is a look at the 20 hostages released Monday:

Gali Berman & Ziv Berman, 28

The fraternal twins were taken from their homes in kibbutz Kfar Aza, on the border with Gaza, during the Oct. 7 attack. Seventeen others were also abducted from Kfar Aza, but the Berman twins were the only hostages from the kibbutz who remained in captivity. The family had heard from hostages who returned in a previous deal that, as of February, the brothers were alive but being held separately. Liran Berman, their older brother, said its the longest the two have ever spent apart. In Kfar Aza, the twins lived in apartments across from each other. Gali is more outgoing, while Ziv is more reserved and shy with a sharp sense of humor, their brother said.

Omri Miran, 48

Omri Miran was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz kibbutz. During the attack, militants held his family, including his two daughters, ages 2 and 6 months, hostage in the kitchen of a neighbors house and then broadcast it on Facebook Live. Miran and the father of the other family, Tsachi Idan, were kidnapped. Idans body was released during the last hostage exchange after he was killed in captivity. Lishay Miran Lavi, Mirans wife, said their younger daughter knew daddy Omri only through photos and videos, and didn't really understand what a father is.

Matan Angrest, 22

Matan Angrest, an Israeli soldier, was taken from his military tank in southern Israel. He is the oldest of four children from Kiryat Bialik, outside of Haifa. His family has been among the most vocal protesters and very critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Tuesday's two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, his mother, Anat Angrest, addressed her son at a rally. I know youre in pain, and I cant hug you. I hear you whisper, Come for me, Mom, and I cant protect you," she said.

Eitan Mor, 25

Eitan Mor was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival, where he helped evacuate people injured in the attack. Mors parents helped found the Tikva Forum, a loosely organized group of hostage families. They advocated for military pressure, not an immediate ceasefire or hostage release deal, as the best chance for bringing the hostages home. That stance has put Mors father at odds with many of the other families of hostages.

Alon Ohel, 24

Alon Ohel, who also has German and Serbian citizenship, was kidnapped at the Nova music festival from a mobile bomb shelter along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli who was killed in captivity in August 2024. A talented pianist, his family has placed pianos across Israel and several sites around the world to raise awareness of his plight. Three other hostages who had been held with Ohel for more than a year were released during the previous ceasefire, including Eli Sharabi, who said Ohel was like his adopted son. Sharabi said they were kept chained for the entire period of their captivity and subsisted on a moldy pita per day. Ohel has shrapnel in his eye from the attack on the bomb shelter and his family is worried he may be partially blind.

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24

Guy Gilboa-Dalal was among those abducted from the Nova music festival, while his brother managed to escape. In the past year, hes appeared in two videos released by Hamas. In one, he appears alongside his childhood friend, David, with militants filming them pleading for their freedom in a vehicle while they watch three other hostages on stage being released to the Red Cross.

Elkana Bohbot, 36

Elkana Bohbot was kidnapped from the Nova music festival. In the past year, Hamas has published multiple videos of Bohbot, filmed under duress, including one where he has a fake telephone conversation with his wife, Rivka; their son, Reem; his mother and his brother pleading with them to help him get out of Gaza. His son made binoculars in kindergarten which he often used to go out and look for his father, according to Bohbots mother, Ruhama.

Rom Braslavski, 21

Braslavski was working as a security guard at the Nova festival. He attempted to help festival goers evacuate and was wounded in both hands before being kidnapped, witnesses said. In August, the Islamic Jihad militant group released a video of a skeletal Braslavski sobbing and pleading for his life, adding that injuries to his foot prevent him from standing. The videos of Braslavski and Evyatar David digging his own grave horrified Israelis, sparking some of the largest attendance in months at weekly protests. His father, Ofir, said Rom is usually a strong, happy-go-lucky kid, and that video is the first time hes seen his son cry.

Nimrod Cohen, 21

Nimrod Cohen was taken from a tank where he was stationed as a soldier in southern Israel. Cohen is obsessed with Rubik's cubes, his family said, and a burned Rubik's cube was found in the tank he was abducted from. This year, his mother, Viki Cohen, illustrated a Passover haggadah, the text laying out the rituals and story recited during the Passover holiday, in honor of hostages, partly because her family stopped celebrating holidays after the attack. We dont gather as a family, because it reminds us how much he is missing, Cohen said. The only time the extended family would gather is at protests, she said.

Ariel Cunio, 28

The youngest of four Cunio brothers, Ariel was kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehoud, and her brother, Dolev, a married father of four who was later killed in captivity. According to news reports, Cunio and Yehoud had returned from an extended trip to South America weeks before the attack and had just adopted a puppy. Yehoud was released during the ceasefire in January.

David Cunio, 35

David Cunio, brother of Ariel Cunio, was kidnapped with his wife, Sharon, and their 3-year-old twins from the Nir Oz kibbutz. Sharons sister Danielle and her 5-year-old daughter, who were visiting, also were kidnapped. All were released in November, except for David Cunio. In July, Sharon shared a photo of the twins marking their fifth birthday, their second without their father, writing on Facebook that the girls have changed so much while hes been in captivity that theyre not the same little girls he knew.

Evyatar David, 24

Evyatar David was taken hostage at the Nova music festival along with his childhood friend, Guy Gilboa-Dalal. In August, Hamas released a video of David, gaunt and pale, who said he was digging his own grave. The condition of the hostages in the videos horrified Israelis and led tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets and demand a ceasefire deal, in one of the largest turnouts for the weekly hostage protests in months.

Maksym Harkin, 37

Maksym Harkin was abducted from Nova, which was the first festival he had ever attended, according to his family. Harkin was born in Ukraine and moved to Israel with his family, where he lived in Tirat HaCarmel in the north. He has a 3-year-old daughter and was the primary provider for his mother and 11-year-old brother. Just before he was taken, his mother said he sent a final text message that said, I love you. In July, Hamas released a video of him filmed under duress several months prior.

Eitan Horn, 38

Eitan Horn, originally from Kfar Saba, was visiting his brother Iair at the Nir Oz kibbutz on Oct. 7. Both were kidnapped. For most of the war, the two were held with three other hostages in a filthy cell underground. In early February, militants filmed the emotional interaction between the brothers as they were told that Iair would be released and Eitan would stay in Gaza. Since his release, Iair Horn has campaigned for his brother and the other hostages, flying frequently to the United States and meeting with politicians.

Segev Kalfon, 27

Segev Kalfon was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, where he was last seen attempting to flee militants along the highway. Before the attack, he worked at his familys bakery in Dimona, in southern Israeli. The middle child of three, Kalfon had recently been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a condition his family has highlighted in urging his release. Kalfons family received a sign of life from him after the last ceasefire, when some of the hostages said they were held with him for months. Kalfons family has focused on religious rituals in their fight for his release, including traveling to the grave of prominent rabbis and dedicating a Torah scroll in his honor.

Bar Kupershtein, 23

Bar Kupershtein was working at the Nova festival as a security guard when he was abducted. Witnesses said Kupershtein stayed at the festival to try to provide first aid to people who had been shot and injured. Kupershtein was the main financial support for his family after his father was severely injured in an accident several years ago, his aunt, Ora Rubinstein, told reporters. She said that his father worked with a physical therapist to regain the ability to speak, so he could meet with politicians to advocate for his sons release. He has told the family that he would walk again when his son came home, she said.

Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 25

Yosef-Chaim Ohana was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, where he was working as a bartender. Witnesses saw him attempting to help others escape before he was kidnapped. He is the oldest of three brothers, one of whom previously died from an illness.

Avinatan Or, 32

Avinatan Or was kidnapped from the Nova music festival along with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, who was rescued by Israeli forces in June 2024. On Oct. 7, Hamas released a video of the pair that has become one of the most well-known videos from that day. It showed Argamani on an all-terrain vehicle crying, Dont kill me! and reaching out her arms to Or, who is being marched away from her by militants. Or worked in hi-tech in Tel Aviv before his abduction.

Matan Zangauker, 25

Matan Zangauker was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz along with his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky. The two met while working on a medical cannabis farm there. Gritzewsky was released after 55 days and has since advocated tirelessly for his release, wearing a hat of Zangaukers she rescued from their burned home. His mother, Einav, has been a constant presence at protests, giving impassioned speeches and even being hoisted in a cage above the crowd to draw attention to the hostages plight. Zangauker, who said she was previously a Netanyahu supporter, has emerged as one of his harshest critics.

Two hostages determined to be dead on Monday:Bipin Joshi, 24

Bipin Joshi arrived in Israel from his native Nepal a month before the attack. He is the only non-Israeli hostage believed to be alive in Gaza. He came to Israel on a student exchange to work and study agriculture at kibbutz Alumim on the Gaza border. Ten of the 17 Nepali students in the program were killed during the attack. Joshi, who was able to throw a number of live grenades out of the bomb shelter where they were hiding, was injured and kidnapped. Joshis sister, 17-year-old Pushpa Joshi, regularly travels eight hours each direction on buses to Kathmandu from her home in western Nepal to lobby officials to secure her brothers release. In August, his family traveled to Israel to meet with President Isaac Herzog and join families demonstrating in Tel Avivs Hostage Square. Last week, Joshis family released footage of him in captivity filmed under duress from around November 2023.

Tamir Nimrodi, 20

Tamir Nimrodi was taken from Erez, a crossing on the northern border of Gaza that had been the main route for people entering and leaving the territory. He had been serving with the Israeli defense body overseeing humanitarian aid in Gaza. Nimrodi was taken with two other soldiers by militants who walked them to the Gaza gate and forced them to cross. Israel confirmed the deaths of the two soldiers who were taken with Nimrodi. There had been no sign of life from Nimrodi in the two years since he was seen in footage walking into Gaza in shorts and a T-shirt without his glasses. Herut Nimrodi, his mother, said she didn't know what was worse: to think he has been killed in captivity, or that he was alive but being held in terrible conditions. Im scared to even imagine, she said.

A mass shooting at a crowded bar on an idyllic South Carolina island has left four people dead and at least 20 injured, officials say.

The shooting occurred early Sunday at Willie's Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island, officials said. A large crowd was at the scene when sheriff's deputies arrived and found several people suffering from gunshot wounds.

Multiple victims and witnesses ran to the nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from the gun shots, the Beaufort County Sheriffs Office said in a statement on the social media platform X.

This is a tragic and difficult incident for everyone. We ask for your patience as we continue to investigate this incident. Our thoughts are with all of the victims and their loved ones, the statement said.

Four people were found dead at the scene, and at least 20 other people were injured. Among the injured, four were in critical condition at area hospitals.

The victims' identities were not released.

COMPLETELY HEARTBROKEN to learn about the devastating shooting in Beaufort County, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X. Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence.

A ceasefire in the war in Gaza was holding for the third day on Sunday as aid agencies worked to rush in more desperately needed aid to the besieged territory under the truce deal. Preparations were also underway for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who pushed to clinch the ceasefire deal, is expected to arrive in Israel Monday morning. He will meet with families of hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israels parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House.

Trump will then continue on to Egypt, where the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said he will co-chair a peace summit on Monday with attendance by regional and international leaders.

RELATED STORY | How the Gaza peace plan came together

Gaza's Hamas-run Interior Ministry has deployed thousands of police in areas the Israeli military withdrew from after the ceasefire took effect.

Armed policemen were seen on Gaza City streets and in southern Gaza on Saturday, providing a sense of security to the local population. The police also provided security for aid trucks driving through areas no controlled by the Israeli military, according to residents.

Heres the latest:

UN aid agency standing ready

The largest humanitarian actor in Gaza, UNRWA, which has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks of aid waiting outside in Egypt and Jordan, said it had no clarity on its role in the new scaling up of relief provided to Gaza.

Spokesperson Jonathan Fowler said the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is standing ready to contribute and has enough food supplies in its warehouses for the entire population of the Gaza Strip for three months.

No US troops in Gaza, says Vance

As Trump prepares to travel to the Middle East, his vice president said he believes we are on the cusp of peace in Gaza for the first time not just in a couple of years, but really in a very long time.

Trump has been able to unite the Israelis with the Gulf Arab states for a common objective, and that is to bring the hostages home, to stop the war and to build the kind of long time settlement that we really do believe can lead to a lasting peace, JD Vance told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.

He said about 200 troops from U.S. Central Command are already in the region to monitor the terms of the ceasefire and help ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

It's not going to be necessary for American troops to be in Gaza, Vance said.

More aid into Gaza

Associated Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Red Crescent said they carried medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel.

The trucks will head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops.

Abeer Etifa, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said workers were clearing roads inside Gaza Sunday to facilitate delivery.

The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said that the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip is expected to increase Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.

Egypt said it is sending 400 aid trucks into Gaza Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in.

Preparations for release of hostages

A message sent Saturday from Gal Hirsch, Israels coordinator for the hostages and the missing and obtained by the AP, told hostage families to prepare for the release of their loved ones starting Monday morning. One of the families of the hostages confirmed the notes authenticity.

Hirsch said preparations in hospitals and in Reiim camp were complete to receive the live hostages, while the dead will be transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.

Israeli officials believe about 20 of the hostages out of 48 held by Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are still alive. All of the living hostages are expected to be released Monday.

Palestinian prisoners to be freed

The timing has not yet been announced for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are to be freed under the deal. They include 250 people serving life sentences in addition to 1,700 people seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.

Health authorities in Gaza are preparing for the return of 1,900 Palestinian prisoners many of whom are expected to require urgent treatment and dead bodies taken by Israels military from the strip, Dr. Mounir al-Boursh, Director General of the Ministry of Health in the enclave, said in a statement.

He said he hopes that the bodies of medical personnel who died in Israeli detention centers will be among those handed over and called for the release of doctors Hossam Abu Safiya and Marwan al-Hams, who were detained from Gaza during the war.

Satellite photos show Gazans returning home

The photos, taken on Saturday and analyzed by the AP, show a line of vehicles traveling north to Gaza City. The line of vehicles was seen on Al Rashid Street, which runs north-south along the Gaza Strips coastline on the Mediterranean Sea.

Tents along the coast also could be seen near Gaza Citys marina. Many people have been living along the sea to avoid being targeted in Israeli bombardment of the city.

Armed police were seen in Gaza City and southern Gaza patrolling the streets and securing aid trucks driving through areas from which the Israeli military had withdrawn, according to residents. The police force is part of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

Leaders heading to Egypt

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Egypt to take part in the signing ceremony on the truce agreement for Gaza, according to his spokesperson.

Germany will be committed to implementing the peace plan, initially focusing on maintaining a stable ceasefire and providing humanitarian aid, Stefan Cornelius said in a written statement Sunday, adding that the chancellors trip tomorrow underscores this commitment.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will also be attending the summit in Egypt, as will Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, officials said Sunday.

European Council President Antnio Costa will take part in the ceremony behalf of the 27-nation bloc.

Inflation has risen in three of the last four months and is slightly higher than it was a year ago, when it helped sink then-Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. Yet you wouldn't know it from listening to President Donald Trump or even some of the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.

Trump told the United Nations General Assembly late last month: Grocery prices are down, mortgage rates are down, and inflation has been defeated.

And at a high-profile speech in August, just before the Fed cut its key interest rate for the first time this year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said: Inflation, though still somewhat elevated, has come down a great deal from its post-pandemic highs. Upside risks to inflation have diminished.

IN RELATED NEWS | Rising inflation and weakening job market raise fears of stagflation

Yet dismissing or even downplaying inflation while it is still above the Fed's target of 2% poses big risks for the White House and the Federal Reserve. For the Trump administration, it could find itself on the wrong side of a potent issue: Surveys show that many Americans still see high prices as a major burden on their finances.

The Fed may be taking an even bigger gamble: It has cut its key interest rate on the assumption that the Trump administration's tariffs will only cause a temporary bump up in inflation. If that turns out to be wrong if inflation gets worse or remains elevated for longer than expected the Fed's inflation-fighting credibility could take a hit.

That credibility plays a crucial role in the Fed's ability to keep prices stable. If Americans are confident that the central bank can keep inflation in check, they won't take steps such as demanding sharply higher pay when prices rise that can launch an inflationary spiral. Companies often increase prices further to offset higher labor costs.

But Karen Dynan, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said this week that with memories of pandemic-era inflation still fresh and tariffs pushing up the cost of imported goods, consumers and businesses could start to lose confidence that inflation will stay low.

If that proves to be the case, in hindsight it will be that the Fed cuts -- and I do expect several more -- are going to be seen as a mistake, Dynan said.

So far, the Trump administration's tariffs haven't lifted inflation as much as as many economists expected earlier this year. And it remains far below its 9.1% peak three years ago. Still, consumer prices increased 2.9% in August from a year earlier, up from 2.6% at the same time last year and above the Feds 2% target.

The government is scheduled to release the September inflation report on Wednesday, but the data will probably be delayed by the government shutdown.

Tariffs have pushed up the cost of many imported items, including furniture, appliances, and toys. Overall, the cost of long-lasting manufactured goods rose nearly 2% in August from a year earlier. It was a modest gain, but comes after nearly three decades when the cost of such items mostly fell.

The cost of some everyday goods are still rising more quickly than before the pandemic: Grocery prices moved up 2.7% in August from a year ago, the largest gain, outside the pandemic, since 2015. Coffee prices have soared nearly 21% in the past year, partly because Trump has slapped 50% import taxes on Brazil, a leading coffee exporter, and also because climate change-induced droughts have cut into coffee bean harvests.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Wall Street drops to its worst day since April after Trump's threats of tariffs shatter its calm

Most Fed officials are still concerned that inflation is too high, according the minutes of its Sept. 16-17 meeting. Yet they still chose to cut their key interest rate, because they were more worried about the risk of worsening unemployment than about higher inflation.

But the concern for some economists is that the ongoing rollout of tariffs and the fact that many companies are still implementing price hikes in response could result in more than just a temporary boost to inflation.

It is a big gamble after what weve been going through ... to count on it being transitory, said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard University and a former top adviser to President Barack Obama. Once upon a time, (3% inflation) would have been considered really high.

Just two weeks ago, Trump slapped new tariffs on a range of products, including 100% on pharmaceuticals, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and 25% on heavy trucks. On Friday, he threatened a massive increase of tariffs on imports from China in response to that country's restrictions on rare earth exports.

Some companies are still raising prices to offset the tariff costs. Duties on steel and aluminum imports have pushed up the cost of the cans used by Campbell Soups, leading the companys CEO to say in September that it will implement surgical pricing initiatives."

Chris Butler, CEO of National Tree Company, the nations largest artificial Christmas tree seller, says his company will raise prices by about 10% this holiday season on its trees, wreaths, and garlands to offset tariff costs. About 45% of its trees are made in China, with the rest from Southeast Asia, Mexico, and other countries. The cost of labor and real estate is too high to make them in the United States, he said.

Butler also expects there will be a reduced supply of artificial trees and decorations this year, which could lift industry-wide prices further, because most production in China shut down when tariffs on that country hit 145% earlier this year. Production resumed after Trump reduced the duties to 30% but at a slower pace.

Butler has pushed his suppliers to absorb some of the cost of the tariffs, but they wont pay all of it.

At the end of the day, we cant absorb the entirety of it and our factories cant absorb the entirety of it, he said. So weve had to pass along some of the increases to consumers.

Many Fed policymakers are aware of the risks. Jeffrey Schmid, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, who votes on interest rate decisions, said Monday that high inflation that results from a loss of confidence in the central bank is harder to fight than other price spikes, such as those that result from supply disruptions.

The Fed must maintain its credibility on inflation, Schmid said. History has shown that while all inflations are universally disliked, not all inflations are equally costly to fight.

Yet some Fed officials say that other trends are offsetting the impact of tariffs. Fed governor Stephen Miran, whom Trump appointed just before the central banks September meeting, said Tuesday that a steady slowdown in rental costs should reduce underlying inflation in the coming months. And the sharp drop in immigration as a result of the administrations clampdown will reduce demand, he said, cooling inflation pressures.

Im more sanguine about the inflation outlook than a lot of other people are, he said.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has directed the Defense Department to use all available funds to ensure U.S. troops are paid on Wednesday despite the government shutdown.

Trump said in a social media post that he was acting because our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.

The Republican president's action removes one of the pressure points that could have forced Congress into action, likely ensuring that the shutdown -- now in its 11th day and counting extends into a third week and possibly beyond. But no similar action seems forthcoming for federal workers, thousands of whom are now being laid off during the lapse in government operations. The White House budget office started that process on Friday.

Trump blamed Democrats and said he was exercising his authority as commander in chief to direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. The Republican president added, "We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.

U.S service members were in danger of not receiving their next paycheck on Wednesday after the government shut down on Oct. 1, the start of the federal budget cycle. The U.S. has about 1.3 million active-duty service members, and the prospect of troops going without pay has been a focal point when lawmakers on Capitol Hill have discussed the shutdowns negative impact.

Trump did not say where he's getting the money from, but it likely will be funded by the billions of dollars that were pumped into the Defense Department under Trump's big tax and spending cut bill that he signed in the summer. The Congressional Budget Office said such a move was possible.

RELATED STORY | Trump administration begins 'reduction in force' as government shutdown continues

The Administration also could decide to use mandatory funding provided in the 2025 reconciliation act or other sources of mandatory funding to continue activities financed by those direct appropriations at various agencies, CBO said.

The CBO cited the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget as among the departments that received specific funds under the law.

Some of the Pentagon's money "could be used to pay active-duty personnel during a shutdown, thus reducing the number of excepted workers who would receive delayed compensation, CBO wrote in a letter responding to questions raised by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

The White House did not immediately respond to an email request for details on the president's announcement.

Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a New York federal judge Saturday to dismiss some criminal charges, including the only count for which he could face the death penalty, from a federal indictment brought against him in the December assassination of UnitedHealthcares chief executive.

In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said prosecutors should also be prevented from using at trial his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack where a gun and ammunition were found.

They said Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by law enforcement officers, who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference.

They added that officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione's backpack.

RELATED STORY | From perp walk to press conference: Defense says Mangione cant get fair trial

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his companys annual investor conference.

The killing set off a multi-state search after the suspected shooter slipped away from the scene and rode a bike to Central Park, before taking a taxi to a bus depot that offers service to several nearby states.

Five days later, a tip from a McDonalds about 233 miles (375 kilometers) away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, led police to arrest Mangione. He has been held without bail since then.

Last month, lawyers for Mangione asked that his federal charges be dismissed and the death penalty be taken off the table as a result of public comments by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi directed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling the killing of Thompson a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.

Murder cases are usually tried in state courts, but prosecutors have also charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms as part of other crimes of violence. Its the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it's not used in New York state.

The papers filed early Saturday morning argued that this charge should be dismissed because prosecutors have failed to identify the other offenses that would be required to convict him, saying that the alleged other crime stalking is not a crime of violence.

The assassination and its aftermath has captured the American imagination, setting off a cascade of resentment and online vitriol toward U.S. health insurers while rattling corporate executives concerned about security.

After the killing, investigators found the words delay, deny and depose, written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

The Las Vegas Aces won their third WNBA championship in four seasons, beating the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 on Friday night for a four-game sweep of the Finals.

The Aces made quick work of the league's first best-of-seven Finals. It was another offensive onslaught from Las Vegas, which scored 54 points in the first half and averaged more than 90 points per game in the series.

Wilson a four-time MVP was in the middle of the action once again even if she didn't have the best shooting night. She finished 7 of 21 from the field, but made 17 of 19 free throws. Gray made four 3-pointers, including two in the fourth quarter to help turn back a final rally by the Mercury.

The Aces led 76-62 going into the fourth quarter, but the Mercury went on an 8-0 run early that cut the deficit to 76-70 with 7:56 left. That was as close as they would get.

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Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 30 points, shooting 12 of 22 from the field. Alyssa Thomas had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two quick technical fouls from official Gina Cross. Tibbetts was arguing a foul call against Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani, and reacted in disbelief as he was escorted off the court.

DeWanna Bonner and Copper also got called for technical fouls in the fourth quarter.

The Aces never trailed in the series clincher, building a 30-21 lead by the end of the first quarter on 55% shooting. Jewell Loyd, Gray and Dana Evans made three straight 3s early in the second quarter to put Las Vegas ahead by 19.

Las Vegas settled for a 54-38 halftime advantage. Wilson had 14 points before the break while Gray added 10.

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The Mercury were without forward Satou Sabally, who suffered a concussion near the end of Game 3. They suffered another injury blow on Friday when Thomas had to leave just before halftime after taking a hard hit to her right shoulder on a screen from Loyd.

Thomas returned for the second half but was hampered by the injury.

The Mercury enjoyed a deep playoff run under Tibbetts, but couldn't find a way to slow down the Aces. Phoenix made it to the finals after beating the defending champion New York Liberty in the opening round and knocking off the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals.

Phoenix lost in the WNBA Finals for the second time in five years, also falling to the Chicago Sky in 2021. The Mercury have won three championships, with the last coming in 2014.

The U.S. military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important U.S. ally in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday.

Hegseth, who made the announcement during a visit by Qatar's defense minister, said the facility to be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base would host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability.

The arrangement is not unusual. Pentagon officials noted that similar facilities have been set up for other allies for decades, and the Idaho base already hosts a fighter squadron from Singapore.

But the news drew a sharp rebuke from close Trump ally and right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who called the plan an abomination and accused the Qataris of being associated with Islamic terror organizations.

No foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries, Loomer wrote in one of several social media posts just hours after Hegseth's announcement.

Although Loomer holds no formal position within the Trump administration, her online complaints have a history of achieving results. Her criticisms have led to the firing of officials on the National Security Council, Dr. Vinay Prasad, the Food and Drug Administrations vaccine chief, and Gen. Tim Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency.

Qatar would pay for the construction of the new facility, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide information not publicly released. When asked for more details, Hegseths office said it had nothing to offer beyond the secretarys remarks.

The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to use all measures, including U.S. military action, to defend Qatar, which hosts the biggest U.S. military base in the Middle East.

Loomer also criticized that decision, writing I dont want to die for Qatar. Do you? on social media. However, she was not alone.

The Wall Street Journals editorial board also questioned the pledge, writing that "this is a decision that can be and should have been debated.

Instead it comes out of the blue an executive order following no public debate, the board wrote.

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The small, gas-rich country played a key role in negotiating the most recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza, as well as in several other key negotiations. Doha, the capital of Qatar, came under surprise attack from Israel last month as members of Hamas were in the city last month to discuss a ceasefire.

Qatar also lavished a $400 million jumbo jet on Trump for use as Air Force One.

However, the Qataris' connection with U.S. military aviation predates these more recent developments.

In 2020, the U.S. Air Force announced it has signed a deal with Qatar for the sale of more than 35 F-15 fighter jets.

An Air Force environmental study, completed two years later, revealed that Mountain Home Air Force Base was proposing building a facility that would house 12 Qatari F-15 jets and about 300 additional Qatari and U.S. Air Force personnel.

While the U.S. military has a long history of training pilots for allied countries, the practice received scrutiny in 2019 following a deadly mass shooting at Pensacola Naval Air Station that killed three U.S. service members and wounded several others.

The shooter, Mohammad Saeed Al-Shamrani, was a Saudi Air Force officer who was training at the Pensacola base. The FBI said he was linked to the al-Qaida extremist group and had been in contact with it before the shooting.

In the wake of the shooting, the U.S. sent home 21 other Saudi military students after an investigation revealed each had expressed jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had contact with child pornography, including in internet chat rooms, according to officials at the time. However, the U.S. continued to train Saudi pilots.

Loomer referenced the incident in her social media posts on Friday. Why are we trying to train more Muslims how to fly planes on US soil? Didnt we already learn our lesson?, she wrote on social media.

AstraZeneca on Friday became the second major pharmaceutical manufacturer to announce it had agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid under a deal struck with the Trump administration that avoided its threats of steep tariffs.

President Donald Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office with AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, who said that during tough negotiations to reach a deal, Trump and his team of officials had really kept me up at night.

Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will charge most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid, while guaranteeing such pricing on newly launched drugs, Trump said. That involves matching the lowest price offered in other developed nations.

For many years, Americans have paid the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, by far, Trump said, adding that the new deal may cut prices to the lowest price anywhere in the world. Thats what we get.

AstraZeneca's deal follows a similar agreement Pfizer announced late last month. Advocates have generally praised the administrations efforts to cut drug prices, though some have expressed concerns that too much onus is being placed on the manufacturers to lower costs without implementing U.S. policy safeguards to ensure such outcomes.

Both agreements, however, build on an executive order Trump signed in May that set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. Trump had suggested that a series of deals with drug companies would subsequently be coming.

The tariffs were a big reason he came here, Trump said of Soriot.

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Cambridge, United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca makes a range of cancer treatments. Its products include the lung cancer drug Tagrisso; Lynparza, an oral treatment for ovarian cancer, and Calquence, which treats chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Those drugs brought in a total of more than $7.5 billion in U.S. sales last year.

AstraZeneca announced Thursday that it would spend $4.5 billion on a new manufacturing plant near Charlottesville, Virginia, and its Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, spoke during Friday's Oval Office announcement to cheer groundbreaking on the new facility.

The drugmaker said that project was the centerpiece of $50 billion in investments the company plans to make in the U.S. by 2030.

AstraZeneca said it plans to reach $80 billion in total revenue by then, half of which will be generated in the United States.

Trump predicted the investments could lead to 3,600 jobs domestically just to begin with.

One of the AstraZeneca drugs was already subject to price reductions due to a Medicare negotiating strategy implemented under President Biden. Still, Trump insisted that Democrats shouldn't get credit and suggested the party's key leaders may try.

The announcements came months after AstraZeneca said it was scrapping plans to expand a vaccine manufacturing plant in its home country. The company blamed several factors, including reduced government financial support.

The Trump administration has put up a landing page for its new website, TrumpRX.gov, where people will be able to buy drugs directly from manufacturers, according to officials. Both Pfizer and AstraZeneca will offer medications through the site, according to the administration.

The websites landing page features two very large pictures of Trump and a promise that the site is Coming Soon in January 2026.

It says at the bottom of the page that the site was Designed in DC by The National Design Studio, the new government website design hub that Trump created by executive order in August, which is being led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia.

Melania Trump announced Friday that eight children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war have been reunited with their families following ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The first lady in August wrote to Putin and had her husband hand-deliver the letter when he held a summit with the Russian president in Alaska. The letter called for peace in Ukraine.

Putins invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has resulted in Russia taking Ukrainian children out of their country so they can be raised as Russian. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lobbied various world leaders for help reuniting children he says were taken by Russia after the invasion began.

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Speaking at the White House, the first lady said that after Putin responded in writing to her letter, they established an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of those children.

Her announcement came as President Donald Trumps own efforts to broker an end to Putins war in Ukraine have stalled, and he repeatedly has expressed frustration over the setback along with what he describes as his disappointment with Russias leader.

Melania Trump said the issue of the children is important to her.

For the past three months, both sides have participated in several back-channel meetings and calls, all in good faith, she said. We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war.

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One of her representatives has been working directly with Putins team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families." She did not identify the representative.

In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours, she said. Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine.

The Associated Press documented the grabbing of Ukrainian children in 2022, after which the International Criminal Court said it had issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

Three of the eight children were separated from their parents and displaced to Russia because of front-line fighting, Melania Trump said. The other five were separated from family members across borders because of the conflict, including a girl who has gone from Ukraine to Russia, she said.

Melania Trump said she also raised concerns about children who were minors at the time they were displaced by the war but have since reached adulthood and currently live in Russia.

She said that their safe return requires coordinated assistance and that Russia has agreed to rejoin individuals who have turned 18 within a short period of time.

Reunification efforts continue, she added, and plans were underway for more children to rejoin their families in the immediate future.

I hope peace will come soon," the first lady said. It will begin with our children.