It’s Thursday, October 9. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Tina Brown on the age of grift. The peace activists who won’t give peace a chance. Why Gen Z loves prenups. Coleman Hughes on how to teach the history of slavery. And more.

But first: Is the war in Gaza really over?

After two grueling years of conflict, the war between Hamas and Israel might finally be coming to an end.

“Israel and Hamas,” President Trump announced on social media Wednesday evening, “have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”

In a phone call with family members of Israeli hostages Wednesday night, Trump offered words of reassurance—and details of what could happen next: “The hostages will come back,” he said in a video posted on X. “They’re all coming back on Monday.”

We asked some of the people we trust to make sense of the conflict for their reaction to the news. Is this really the end of the war that began two years ago this week?

We’ll bring you more on this huge story in the coming days. For now, read what Michael Oren, Haviv Rettig Gur, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster (Retired), Eli Sharabi, and Matthew Continetti have to say about the news.

—The Editors

Former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice on Wednesday. (Dia Dipasupil via Getty Images)

• Former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice on Wednesday. The Justice Department indicted Comey—a longtime Trump critic—two weeks ago, saying that he misled the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020. Legal analysts across the political spectrum have criticized the indictment, and Comey’s lawyers say they will look to have the charges dismissed.

• Authorities claimed Wednesday that January’s devastating Palisades fire in Los Angeles was initially caused by a 29-year-old man named Jonathan Rinderknecht. According to an affidavit, Rinderknecht—who has been arrested—likely used a lighter to spark the blaze, which would eventually become an inferno that destroyed more than 6,800 structures.

• President Trump said that Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois governor JB Pritzker “should be in jail” in a Wednesday post on Truth Social. Trump did not say what laws either Democrat had allegedly broken, but both have sued to stop Trump from deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago.

• Democrats are standing by Virginia attorney general nominee Jay Jones after texts surfaced in which he fantasized about killing a Republican lawmaker in 2022. No prominent Virginia Democratic lawmaker has yet called for Jones to leave the race, and the candidate has apologized for sending the texts.

• HarperCollins UK apologized to Melania Trump on Tuesday and pulled a book that claimed Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump. HarperCollins is the third media group to retract the allegation amid the First Lady’s campaign to combat what her spokesperson called “malicious, defamatory falsehoods.”

• A European spacecraft orbiting Mars captured rare images of 3I/ATLAS, a rare comet that originated from somewhere outside our solar system. The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter’s photos mark a technical milestone and could reveal how interstellar comets differ from those originating closer to Earth.

• Rep. Lauren Boebert is leaning into UFOs as part of her reelection campaign, sending supporters an email questioning whether aliens are real and demanding government transparency on the issue. UFOs, which the government refers to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), have become the focus of increased congressional interest in recent years following the release of military videos showing unknown objects moving in unusual ways.

• While his father was vice president, Hunter Biden sought to sell land around the U.S. Embassy in Romania to a group that included a Chinese firm. The deal collapsed in 2017, but critics say it’s more evidence of how Hunter’s foreign ventures blurred ethical lines and complicated U.S. diplomacy.

We have a packed season of conversations, debates, and live events. Here’s what’s coming up:

• Abigail Shrier, Larissa Phillips, and Suzy Weiss on Love, Marriage, and Mothering
  Livestream • October 9, 4 p.m. • 📅 Add to Calendar

• TGIF Live with Nellie Bowles and Will Rahn
  Livestream • October 10, 1 p.m. • 📅 Add to Calendar

• Reclaiming Childhood in an Online World with Jonathan Haidt
  New York, NY • October 22, 7 p.m. • 🎟️ Tickets on sale here

• Would America Be Safer Without the Second Amendment? Featuring Alan Dershowitz, Dana Loesch, and Bari Weiss
  Chicago • November 5, 7 p.m. • 🎟️ Tickets on sale here

Full Schedule