All 20 Surviving Hostages Freed

Good news out of the Middle East: It looks like this ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas may actually be holding.

So far, busloads of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have started being unloaded in Ramallah, in the West Bank, satisfying the terms of the deal that has led Hamas to free all 20 remaining living hostages taken during the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. Hamas is still looking for the dead hostages, and it’s unclear what exactly will happen if they can’t fully satisfy the terms of the deal, which involves returning the remains of all those whom they’ve killed.

President Donald Trump addressed Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Monday morning. This marks “not only the end of a war” but also “the end of the age of terror and death,” the president said. He talked about the importance of stabilizing the Middle East, talked up how he believes Iran is ready to make a deal and come to the negotiating table, as well as his own withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. At times, he veered off track, in characteristic Trump fashion (characterizing his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, as “Henry Kissinger who doesn’t leak” and talking about the false promises made by Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama). “He’s not the easiest guy to deal with,” Trump said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at one point, “but that’s what makes him great.” (He also amusingly told Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, to pardon Netanyahu for his bribery charges. Truly the king of digressions.)

“The state of Israel is strong and it will live and thrive forever,” Trump said. “I’m proud to be the best friend that Israel has ever had in the White House,” added Trump. (“They all say it!” he digressed right after, referring to past American presidents whom he kept routinely dunking on.)

“This city and this nation stand as living proof that a much brighter future for this entire region is truly within our grasp. For thousands of years, Jerusalem has been a home to Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of all ethnicities and creeds. This is the holy center of the world. Three great Abrahamic faiths—I like that! That’s the first time I’ve seen that word in a while!—adorned with their sacred sites and alive with their pilgrims and visitors from every corner of the globe. But here, between the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, and the hill called Calvary, people of every faith and background live, work, pray, serve, and raise their families side by side, and they do it with love. This example is just one of the modern miracles that Israel has given to the world.”

“It has not been [easily won], it has been so tough,” concluded Trump. “I love Israel, I’m with you all the way.”

There are still open questions, of course, about how this all goes down. So far, the plan has been adhered to. But will Hamas agree to Netanyahu’s disarmament terms? That’s been a sticking point in past negotiations. And how will Gaza be governed in the future? Will some Israeli forces remain in the Gaza Strip to monitor the situation? These are the main things that must be sorted out, but the fact that so much progress was made over this critical initial 72-hour period—so much that Trump is before the Knesset declaring the war over—is huge for those who’ve been wishing for peace and stability for the region.

Scenes from New York: Luigi Mangione’s lawyers are trying to make him ineligible for the death penalty by getting him brought up on lesser charges.

• “Bari Weiss’s greatest challenge [with leading CBS News] won’t be any of the other things people are pointing out. As Editor-in-Chief, she’ll need to support the production of a flagship evening newscast that can compete with ‘ABC World News Tonight.’ That’s something many veteran, professional CBS News journalists haven’t been able to do in more than two decades,” writes Michael J. Socolow on Substack. “Why does this matter? It matters because these evening newscasts still generate 100s of millions in advertising revenue annually (big pharma loves them). Even back in the 1960s the evening newscasts were profit-centers for the networks—in 1965-1966, for example, Huntely-Brinkley earned $27 million, and the CBS Evening News made $25.5 million, making them the most-lucrative TV shows (the highest-billing) on U.S. TV.”
• …what?

On one hand: don’t anthropomorphize AI. On the other: LLMs exhibit signs of gambling addiction.

The more autonomy they were given, the more risks the LLMs took. They exhibit gambler’s fallacy, loss-chasing, illusion of control…

A cautionary note for using LLMs for investing. pic.twitter.com/WTnM2T1pAT

— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) October 10, 2025

• Seems illegal (and also unwise, given that Trump will be in his 80s):

Steve Bannon: I think there are many different alternatives we’ll roll out after the midterms to make sure President Trump is on the ballot in 2028. And if he’s on the ballot, he’ll win. pic.twitter.com/fxEyvlS2rf

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 13, 2025

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