On today's podcast:
1) Hamas freed seven living Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, following a US-led deal reached late last week. The Palestinian militant group released them to the International Committee of the Red Cross and they were then passed over to the Israeli military. The rest of the living hostages, 13 in total, are expected to be freed later in the day. Around 10 a.m. Israel time, the Israeli military said the Red Cross is on its way to an additional meeting point in the southern Gaza Strip, where several more hostages will be handed over. The release of the first hostages came just before President Trump’s arrival in Israel for a Middle East trip to celebrate the ceasefire deal clinched last week, also with Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish mediation. Trump has said the agreement should end the devastating two-year conflict in Gaza.
2) President Trump’s administration signaled openness Sunday to a deal with China to quell fresh trade tensions while also warning that recent export controls announced by Beijing were a major barrier to talks. Vice President JD Vance called on Beijing to “choose the path of reason” in the latest spiraling trade fight between the world’s two leading economies, claiming that Trump has more leverage if the fight drags on. Trump later posted a statement that hinted at a possible off-ramp for Chinese President Xi Jinping while issuing a veiled threat that a full trade war would wound China.
3) President Trump said he is directing the Defense Department to use funds his administration has identified to deliver paychecks to US troops on Oct. 15 despite the ongoing government shutdown. More than a quarter of a million federal employees missed scheduled paychecks this week, with another 2 million expected to go without pay by next week, which would be the third week of the shutdown. Under current law, US troops aren’t guaranteed backpay during a shutdown, unlike civilian employees. The Pentagon’s next military payday, Oct. 15, was shaping up as a key pressure point in the ongoing standoff between Republicans and Democrats over a stopgap spending measure.

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