Good morning. You are studying the Up First e-newsletter. Subscribe right here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all of the information you could begin your day.
Right now’s prime tales
Israel says it’s going to retaliate if Hamas does not hand over extra our bodies of deceased hostages. Israel closed an important border crossing from Egypt to Gaza on Wednesday, cutting in half the amount of aid allowed to enter in retaliation for what they’re calling a delay in receiving the hostage our bodies. This comes after Hamas and Israel have exchanged surviving hostages and prisoners within the first section of a ceasefire deal for the warfare in Gaza. President Trump has additionally acknowledged there may very well be violence if Hamas does not quit its weapons.
Israeli protesters collect on the Hostage Sq. in Tel Aviv on Oct. 14 to name for the discharge of all of the our bodies of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
disguise caption
toggle caption
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
- 🎧 Hamas has handed over seven hostage our bodies, however there have been 28 in complete in Gaza, NPR’s Daniel Estrin tells Up First. Israel says it hasn’t obtained the hostage our bodies as rapidly because it anticipated. Estrin says Israel doesn’t want to shatter the ceasefire deal earlier than it will get the our bodies again, and it’s unknown what number of our bodies are underneath rubble or lacking. Israel is conducting autopsies on the our bodies which have returned. One household stated their son was killed by Israeli bombardment whereas in captivity. The ceasefire stays shaky on its sixth day. There have been studies of Israeli fireplace killing a minimum of six individuals yesterday and extra fireplace right this moment. Hamas can also be combating a bloody energy battle in Gaza in opposition to rival clans.
It’s day 15 of the federal authorities shutdown, and Republicans and Democrats appear no nearer to an settlement on reopening the federal government. The Trump administration signifies readiness for a chronic stalemate, whereas congressional leaders say there are not any energetic negotiations. Final evening, the Senate didn’t advance a short-term funding invoice for the eighth time.
- 🎧 Throughout previous shutdowns, the potential of the navy not being paid put stress on Congress, however that is off the desk this time as a result of the White Home is ready to repurpose funds for now to pay them, says NPR’s Sam Gringlas. There could also be layoffs, particularly as Trump has pledged to fireside extra federal staff throughout the shutdown. Nevertheless, Democrats say they’re unwavering in their stance to negotiate an extension for expiring well being care subsidies. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland says to not imagine the administration when it says the shutdown is the explanation they’re firing federal workers. Gringlas says even when the impacts of the shutdown do turn into extra extreme, an finish to the stalemate could not arrive quickly.
The Supreme Court docket is anticipated to listen to arguments right this moment in a case that challenges the final important provision of the Voting Rights Act. The case focuses on a decrease court docket ruling that decided that the earlier model of Louisiana’s congressional map unlawfully diluted Black voting energy. This ruling resulted within the state making a second majority-Black district. Nevertheless, critics who argue that race was overly emphasized in this decision at the moment are contesting the brand new map.
- 🎧 The court docket will think about whether or not the state’s creation of a second majority district violates the ensures of the proper to vote outlined within the 14th and fifteenth Amendments and Congress’s authority to enforce that mandate, says NPR’s Nina Totenberg. Louisiana has a 30% Black inhabitants, but there was only one out of 6 congressional districts the place African People had a practical likelihood to elect a candidate of their alternative. So the state drew a second majority-Black district final yr. Louisiana has since modified its place and now argues that the redistricting provisions of the Voting Rights Act are unconstitutionally discriminatory. The important thing provisions within the legislation have been gutted over time, with one exception aimed toward guaranteeing that minority voters should not shut out of the method of drawing new congressional districts.
Deep dive
The web site for the Division of Housing and City Improvement includes a banner and popup message blaming the “Radical Left” for the federal authorities shutdown.
Screenshot/HUD.gov
disguise caption
toggle caption
Screenshot/HUD.gov
The Trump administration is blaming Democrats for the federal government shutdown and has made it recognized publicly by sharing the message by means of inner federal company communications and public company web sites. Firstly of the shutdown, a vibrant pink banner and pop-up message appeared on the Division of Housing and City Improvement’s web site, stating: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the federal government. HUD will use accessible sources to assist People in want.” This is only one instance of the messages federal workers have reported. Specialists have steered that these communications may violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits civil servants within the government department from partaking in most political actions whereas on responsibility or inside federal buildings.
- ➡️ The act prohibits communication that comprises advocacy in opposition to a political social gathering. Whereas a reference to Democrats alone doubtless does not represent a violation of the legislation, the express blaming of their social gathering for the shutdown could, stated Michael Fallings, a companion at Tully Rinckey, an employment legislation agency.
- ➡️ The messages seen didn’t advocate for specific candidates or weigh in on elections, however they violate the spirit of the legislation, stated Donald Sherman, government director and chief counsel at Residents for Duty and Ethics in Washington. In the course of the stress of a shutdown, Sherman says the company management’s function is to supply nonpartisan service to their constituents.
- ➡️ The messages throughout this shutdown differ from these utilized by earlier administrations. In 2013, then-President Barack Obama penned a thank-you letter to federal workers for his or her service and scolded Congress for failing to approve a spending plan, with out inserting blame.
Be taught extra about why some ethics experts are ringing the alarm over the administration utilizing this sort of language to explain the shutdown.
Right now’s hear
Filmmaker M. Evening Shyamalan and novelist Nicholas Sparks have come collectively to work on their new venture, Stay, which is each a novel and a movie based mostly on a narrative they collaborated on. The e-book is out at present, and the film will hit theaters subsequent October. The 2 have been set to work collectively on The Pocket book when Shyamalan was tapped to direct the movie, however he turned it right down to work on what would turn into his breakout movie, The Sixth Sense (1999). The wait has led to their distinctive experiment: Stay. Within the story, profitable architect Tate Donovan arrives on Cape Cod to design a summer time residence for a consumer. Donovan has just lately been launched from remedy for extreme melancholy. He meets a younger girl who challenges his viewpoint. Shyamalan and Sparks say this experiment labored for them as a result of they’re so attuned to at least one one other, they usually have belief in one another’s work. Morning Version‘s Leila Fadel sat down with the 2 to be taught extra concerning the distinctive collaboration. Watch their interview here. Hearken to Shyamalan and Sparks describe the collaboration or read the transcript.
3 issues to know earlier than you go
D’Angelo, seen right here performing a live performance in Chicago in 2000.
Paul Natkin/WireImage/Getty Photographs
disguise caption
toggle caption
Paul Natkin/WireImage/Getty Photographs
- D’Angelo, the R&B singer who helped pioneer the neo-soul subgenre, has died at the age of 51 after a battle with most cancers, in response to an announcement from his household revealed by a number of shops.
- NPR’s Phrase of the Week, “broadcasting,” dates again centuries and has roots in agriculture, not radio or tv. The phrase gained new meaning with the rise of radio within the Nineteen Twenties.
- Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday on the White Home, simply over a month after Kirk was shot and killed throughout an occasion in Orem, Utah.
This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
