by Brittney Melton

October 9, 2025

Good morning. The season of gift-giving is here. But rising living costs are affecting people's spending habits. As we prepare for holiday shopping and deals, NPR wants to hear from you about your plans. Here’s the news we’re following today:

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phases of a ceasefire deal that aims to end the war in Gaza, which entered its third year on Tuesday. The deal relies on the exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians detained and imprisoned by Israel. This announcement comes just hours after President Trump informed reporters at the White House that he is prepared to travel to the Middle East as early as this weekend.

People ride a horse-drawn cart past destroyed buildings along Al-Rasheed Street in west Gaza City on Oct. 7.

Abood Abusalama/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

🎧 Within 72 hours of signing the agreement, Hamas said it will release all living hostages, which is believed to be 20 people, NPR’s Carrie Kahn, who is in Tel Aviv, tells Up First. Israel says it will make a partial pullback in the territory, but will remain deep inside Gaza. Israel plans to release 2,000 detainees and prisoners. But some major sticking points still need to be worked out beyond this phase. In Gaza, people are relieved at the news of the agreement, but fear getting their hopes up. In Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, where celebrations have been breaking out after the news, Kahn spoke to Dani Miran, the father of Omri, a hostage being held in Gaza. Miran says it is a supreme feeling that he could see his son at any moment now.

The Senate will vote today on funding the government. So far, lawmakers have held six failed votes, and today’s attempt is expected to have the same outcome. The standstill remains as the GOP accuses Democrats of blocking the bill because of pressure from the Democratic base, says NPR’s Deirdre Walsh. Republican leaders say no deal on health care can be reached unless Democrats cooperate to pass a bill that ends the shutdown.

🎧 The end of the shutdown may be influenced by pressure from outside of Washington, Walsh says. Airports are facing delays due to staffing issues with air traffic controllers, and there are concerns from both political parties about military pay. Soldiers are at risk of missing a paycheck on Oct. 15. A bipartisan group of senators has been working to develop a compromise on health care. These factors could play a crucial role in finding a resolution to the shutdown.

Hundreds of National Guard troops are stationed outside of Chicago at Trump’s request. This deployment is in response to recent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city. The president has referred to Chicago as a war zone and has called for the arrest of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson because he says they are not protecting ICE officers.

🎧 Johnson says he is protecting the residents of Chicago and will fight the Trump administration over the deployment of the National Guard. NPR’s Sergio Martinez-Beltran sat down with Johnson yesterday, who said that he is also pushing back on the president’s claim that the city is dangerous. This summer, Chicago saw the lowest number of homicides since the 1960s. According to the Census, around one in five Chicago residents is foreign-born. Now, those residents say they feel unsafe in a city where immigrants have created a community and made huge contributions.
➡️ The conditions to legally justify troop deployments in Chicago don't exist, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul told Morning Edition. The state filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration. Here’s what Raoul had to say on the matter.

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An illustration of three candy jars. The first jar on the left is locked shut and reads “HMO,” the jar in the middle has the lid cracked and reads “PPO,” and the last jar is a candy machine that requires a coin to be inserted to release a piece of candy.

Subin Yang for NPR

Open enrollment season is upon us, and it's time to decide on a health insurance plan for the next calendar year. While this task might feel a bit daunting during this spooky season, there’s good news: Life Kit has consulted with experts to simplify the process for you. Here's a cheat sheet to reference as you make a decision:

➡️ Even if you have had the same plan for years, look over your plan’s latest summary of benefits to see if anything has changed.
➡️ Make sure your preferred primary care doctor and prescription medications remain covered by the insurance. If they are not, find a plan that’s going to cover those things.
➡️ Learn what common health insurance terms like “cost-sharing” and “CHIP” mean. It can empower you to better understand what you are signing up for.
➡️ Even with a bare-bones plan with high deductibles, screening and other preventive services should be included in your coverage.

For tips to get the most out of your health insurance plan, listen to this episode of NPR's Life Kit. Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

People wait in line to take a picture in front of a mural depicting Chappell Roan before her concert in Kansas City, Mo.

Katie Currid for NPR

Singer Chappell Roan stopped in Kansas City, Mo., over the weekend as part of her pop-up tour, “Visions of Damsels and Other Dangerous Things.” The tour included only three cities, making the Midwestern stop especially significant as it was located in Roan's home state of Missouri. To celebrate her arrival, the city went all out by lighting up many downtown buildings in pink, painting a mural of the "Midwest Princess" where she saw her first drag show, and creating special menu items at local bars and restaurants. Photographer Katie Currid captured images of fans attending the tour stop and said that the singer bringing joy to the Midwest's queer community is deeply meaningful for the community.

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New MacArthur Fellows include, clockwise from top left, Tonika Lewis Johnson, Jeremy Frey, Heather Christian, Nabarun Dasgupta, Margaret Wicker Pearce, Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, Hahrie Han and Tommy Orange.

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

The list of 2025 MacArthur Fellows has been announced. Twenty-two recipients, including a cartographer, a composer, a neurobiologist, and a novelist, will each receive a no-strings-attached award of $800,000.

Actors' Equity Association, the union representing Broadway actors and stage managers, resumed negotiations yesterday in an effort to prevent a strike. Health care is the main sticking point in talks.

Dozens of Bob Ross paintings, many of them created live on his PBS series The Joy of Painting, will be auctioned starting in November to support public television.

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This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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