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Today's top stories
Israel says it will retaliate if Hamas doesn't hand over more bodies of deceased hostages. Israel closed a crucial border crossing from Egypt to Gaza on Wednesday, cutting in half the amount of aid allowed to enter in retaliation for what they are calling a delay in receiving the hostage bodies. This comes after Hamas and Israel have exchanged surviving hostages and prisoners in the first phase of a ceasefire deal for the war in Gaza. President Trump has also stated there could be violence if Hamas doesn't give up its weapons.
- 🎧 Hamas has handed over seven hostage bodies, but there were 28 in total in Gaza, NPR's Daniel Estrin tells Up First. Israel says it hasn't received the hostage bodies as quickly as it expected. Estrin says Israel doesn't want to shatter the ceasefire deal before it gets the bodies back, and it is unknown how many bodies are under rubble or missing. Israel is conducting autopsies on the bodies that have returned. One family said their son was killed by Israeli bombardment while in captivity. The ceasefire remains shaky on its sixth day. There have been reports of Israeli fire killing at least six people yesterday and additional fire today. Hamas is also fighting a bloody power battle in Gaza against rival clans.
It is day 15 of the federal government shutdown, and Republicans and Democrats seem no closer to an agreement on reopening the government. The Trump administration indicates readiness for a prolonged stalemate, while congressional leaders say there are no active negotiations. Last night, the Senate failed to advance a short-term funding bill for the eighth time.
- 🎧 During past shutdowns, the possibility of the military not being paid put pressure on Congress, but that's off the table this time because the White House is able to repurpose funds for now to pay them, says NPR's Sam Gringlas. There may be layoffs, especially as Trump has pledged to fire more federal workers during the shutdown. However, Democrats say they are unwavering in their stance to negotiate an extension for expiring health care subsidies. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland says not to believe the administration when it says the shutdown is the reason they are firing federal employees. Gringlas says even if the impacts of the shutdown do become more severe, an end to the stalemate may not arrive soon.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments today in a case that challenges the last significant provision of the Voting Rights Act. The case focuses on a lower court ruling that determined that the previous version of Louisiana's congressional map unlawfully diluted Black voting power. This ruling resulted in the state creating a second majority-Black district. However, critics who argue that race was overly emphasized in this decision are now contesting the new map.
- 🎧 The court will consider whether the state's creation of a second majority district violates the guarantees of the right to vote outlined in the 14th and 15th Amendments and Congress's authority to enforce that mandate, says NPR's Nina Totenberg. Louisiana has a 30% Black population, yet there was only 1 out of 6 congressional districts where African Americans had a realistic chance to elect a candidate of their choice. So the state drew a second majority-Black district last year. Louisiana has since changed its position and now argues that the redistricting provisions of the Voting Rights Act are unconstitutionally discriminatory. The key provisions in the law have been gutted over time, with one exception aimed at ensuring that minority voters are not shut out of the process of drawing new congressional districts.
Deep dive
The Trump administration is blaming Democrats for the government shutdown and has made it known publicly by sharing the message through internal federal agency communications and public agency websites. At the start of the shutdown, a bright red banner and pop-up message appeared on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's website, stating: "The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need." This is just one example of the messages federal employees have reported. Experts have suggested that these communications may violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits civil servants in the executive branch from engaging in most political activities while on duty or within federal buildings.
- ➡️ The act prohibits communication that contains advocacy in opposition to a political party. While a reference to Democrats alone likely doesn't constitute a violation of the law, the explicit blaming of their party for the shutdown may, said Michael Fallings, a partner at Tully Rinckey, an employment law firm.
- ➡️ The messages seen did not advocate for particular candidates or weigh in on elections, but they violate the spirit of the law, said Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. During the stress of a shutdown, Sherman says the agency leadership's role is to provide nonpartisan service to their constituents.
- ➡️ The messages during this shutdown differ from those used by previous administrations. In 2013, then-President Barack Obama penned a thank-you letter to federal employees for their service and scolded Congress for failing to approve a spending plan, without placing blame.
Learn more about why some ethics experts are ringing the alarm over the administration using this type of language to describe the shutdown.
Today's listen
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and novelist Nicholas Sparks have come together to work on their new project, Remain, which is both a novel and a film based on a story they collaborated on. The book is out currently, and the movie will hit theaters next October. The two were set to work together on The Notebook when Shyamalan was tapped to direct the film, but he turned it down to work on what would become his breakout film, The Sixth Sense (1999). The wait has led to their unique experiment: Remain. In the story, successful architect Tate Donovan arrives on Cape Cod to design a summer home for a client. Donovan has recently been released from treatment for severe depression. He meets a young woman who challenges his point of view. Shyamalan and Sparks say this experiment worked for them because they are so attuned to one another, and they have trust in each other's work. Morning Edition's Leila Fadel sat down with the two to learn more about the unique collaboration. Watch their interview here. Listen to Shyamalan and Sparks describe the collaboration or read the transcript.
3 things to know before you go
- D'Angelo, the R&B singer who helped pioneer the neo-soul subgenre, has died at the age of 51 after a battle with cancer, according to a statement from his family published by multiple outlets.
- NPR's Word of the Week, "broadcasting," dates back centuries and has roots in agriculture, not radio or television. The word gained new meaning with the rise of radio in the 1920s.
- Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday at the White House, just over a month after Kirk was shot and killed during an event in Orem, Utah.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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