Chapter 1: What recent events led to airstrikes in Gaza?
Israel and Hamas say a ceasefire is back on after a day of violence in Gaza. Israel says Hamas shot its soldiers and Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes.
What kind of ceasefire is this if both sides were firing?
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl and this is Up First from NPR News. On day 20 of the government shutdown, the White House finds ways to pay some federal workers, easing pressure on Congress to act. But how long can that last?
Every day that the shutdown continues, it's harder for the administration to try to play whack-a-mole and mitigate impacts.
And the Trump administration is continuing to destroy boats in the Caribbean that it says are tied to the drug trade. How does it affect people in Trinidad and Tobago? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
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For a number of hours this weekend, the Gaza ceasefire was anything but that.
Israel blamed Hamas for an attack and launched an assault on Gaza. Each side is accusing the other of violating the truce that was brokered by the United States.
NPR's Rob Schmitz joins us now from Tel Aviv to talk about all this. Good morning, Rob.
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Chapter 2: How is the U.S. government addressing the ongoing shutdown?
Morning, Leila. Okay, so this doesn't exactly sound like a ceasefire if both sides seem to be firing. What do we know about what Israel says prompted the airstrikes?
Yeah, officials from Israel's military say their soldiers, who are working in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, which remains under Israeli control, came under rocket-propelled grenade and gunfire attack by Hamas militants. Israel says two of its soldiers were killed in that attack.
In a statement, Hamas said it was unaware of this attack, saying it had lost contact with its fighters there months ago. And President Trump now says it appeared to be a rebel group inside of Hamas that did this.
Chapter 3: What unique challenges are lawmakers facing during this shutdown?
Israel responded by launching dozens of missile attacks throughout the day yesterday on what it called Hamas targets in various parts of the Gaza Strip. Gaza health officials have just updated the death toll to at least 46 Palestinians who were killed in those attacks yesterday.
OK, so this comes a week after President Trump visited the region to celebrate this ceasefire that he basically brokered. But is that ceasefire just now unraveling if both sides appear to be attacking each other?
Yeah, I mean, it's clear yesterday's events mark the most serious threat to the ceasefire since it was signed a week ago. And it shows kind of how jittery both sides are in the wake of this war. Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman for Israel's military, said this about what this means for the ceasefire agreement.
We are not eager to fight, but we are eager to make sure that our people are safe, that our troops are safe, and that this agreement is kept. And it is a mutual agreement like any agreement. It needs to be held by Hamas. They need to do their part of the agreement.
Chapter 4: How are airstrikes impacting the Caribbean region?
And what has Hamas said about this?
Yeah, in a lengthy statement, Hamas said it was Israel that had violated the ceasefire agreement since what it says was the first day of the ceasefire, saying that Israel has committed numerous violations of the agreement, including shooting civilians in Gaza after the deal was signed and crossing the so-called yellow line behind which Israeli soldiers were supposed to fall back to.
But what's interesting here is that both sides, Hamas and Israel, are saying that despite what's happened, they're still committed to the spirit of the ceasefire.
Okay, and this brings us to a delegation of visitors arriving today from the Trump White House who hope to get things back on track. Who's heading there?
Yeah, so U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump Advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived already today. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to arrive in Israel tomorrow to try to get this ceasefire agreement and peace process back on track. Woodcoff will try to facilitate the return of the remaining deceased Israeli hostages.
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Chapter 5: What details have emerged about U.S. military operations in the Caribbean?
This is an important part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement because Israel has threatened to withhold aid to Gaza until all those bodies are returned. And it's worth pointing out here that when you have a day like yesterday full of air attacks, that tends to put a stop to the flow of aid into Gaza anyway.
Now, Vice President Vance plans to speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the next phase of this ceasefire plan. But, you know, first things first, they'll need to ensure that these attacks stop before before they can carry out these next steps.
That's NPR's Rob Schmitz in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Rob.
Thank you.
The government shutdown is entering day 20, and there are no serious negotiations to end it.
We are still well short of history's longest federal shutdown, which was 35 days during President Trump's first term. But there is a factor in this shutdown that makes it hard to see yet how it would end.
NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh is here to talk about this. Good morning. Good morning, Leila. Okay, so you've covered previous shutdowns. What makes this one different?
Usually it's lawmakers who feel pressure from the public to help constituents who rely on programs that are shut down or pay essential workers who are showing up. But this time it's the Trump administration who's deciding which federal workers get paid which government programs get infusions of cash to keep operating, Congress is really just on the sidelines.
It's the Office of Management and Budget that's making the decisions.
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Chapter 6: How are local communities responding to the U.S. strikes?
And the president admits they're targeting agencies that Democrats care about for cuts. We've seen the Pentagon move around money to pay the military. The administration has tapped tariff revenue to pay for a program providing nutritional assistance to low-income families. And OMB is canceling transportation and energy projects targeting blue states and districts.
So what does this mean for Talks on the Hill? There's just less pressure to get a deal because some of the impacts are not being felt as widely by the public yet. And instead of Democrats feeling pressure to fold because their projects are being targeted, they're digging in. saying this is more of the same thing from the Trump administration.
Cuts and layoffs, those were happening before the shutdown. Most Democrats say what the Trump administration is doing is illegal.
Chapter 7: What are the implications of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza?
It's Congress that holds the power of the purse. I talked to Virginia Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw at a rally on the East Front steps last week, He supports paying the troops, but says what the administration is doing is just not sustainable.
Every day that the shutdown continues, it's harder for the administration to try to play whack-a-mole and mitigate impacts.
I mean, the question we've had every day for 20 days is, how does this end? So are we just going to see more of the same in the week ahead, Deirdre?
We are. The Senate has voted 10 times on the House-passed stopgap bill. That one funds federal agencies through November 21st, and they're going to vote again tonight. But it takes 60 votes to advance that bill in the Senate.
Senate Democrats are expected to keep blocking it, insisting any deal to reopen the government has to address these health care subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year. Also this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is planning to bring up another targeted bill. that will ensure federal employees who are working during the shutdown get paid.
But there's no real bipartisan talks in the Senate about a way out, and the House hasn't voted or even been in town for a month. So, I mean, how long can this last, though? It depends how much longer OMB can keep plugging these holes to keep some programs afloat, and they haven't responded to NPR's request to explain their plans.
For example, air traffic controllers are still working but not getting paid. If we see more airport delays, that could really be a pressure point. Democrats also point to November 1st. That's the start of open enrollment as a possible pivot point when people will get notices about how their premiums are going up.
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Chapter 8: What tragic stories are emerging from the recent strikes on boats?
Another factor is President Trump. If he gets engaged, that could change the dynamic here. That's NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Thank you, Deirdre. Thanks, Layla.
President Trump says he is stopping all subsidies to Colombia and promising to add new tariffs after Colombia's president said... Trump's attacks on boats coming from Venezuela amount to murder.
U.S. forces have destroyed boats in open waters in what the U.S. government describes as a counter-narcotics operation.
NPR's Eder Peralta is in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago to report on this story. Good morning, Eder. Hey, good morning, Leila. Okay, so catch us up. What do we know so far about the Trump administration's strikes on boats in the Caribbean?
I mean, Leila, these strikes, they've happened in the open waters. So there have been no independent witnesses. A lot of what we know comes from the U.S. And what they're saying is they've struck at least seven vessels, which they allege were loaded with drugs coming to the U.S. Last week, U.S. forces attacked a semi-submersible. A U.S.
official told NPR that it appeared to be headed toward Europe. Two were killed and two were taken into custody in that incident. The two survivors were sent back home to Colombia and Ecuador. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said another strike had occurred on Friday and that that boat belonged to a leftist Colombian guerrilla group. Three were killed in that attack.
And Colombia's president said what the U.S. blew up was a fishing vessel. I think the big picture here is that it has been decades since the U.S. military has taken this kind of posture in the Americas. So the region is tense.
OK, so you're in Trinidad on land, not far from where the U.S. says strikes are occurring. What's it like there?
It's tense. Over the weekend, the U.S. Embassy issued a warning telling American citizens to stay away from American facilities because of a threat that they did not elaborate on. I was at a fishing village here, and the fishermen are scared. I spoke to Renute Roberts, and he says when he's out at night, he can hear drones circling. So he just heads back to shore.
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