JD Vance in Israel; The White House under construction: NPR

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Today’s best stories

Vice President JD Vance is in Israel, where he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ceasefire in Gaza has been in effect for almost two weeks. Vance says the deal continues to move forward despite fighting between Israel and Hamas this weekend. The vice president, along with several other U.S. officials in Israel, are working to get both sides to take the next steps in the deal.

• 🎧 Next phase of ceasefire poses challenges as Gaza has no governmentand it’s unclear when he’ll get one, said NPR’s Greg Myre First. Vance says other things, like providing food, medicine and security to the people of Gaza, should be prioritized. Other important issues that need to be addressed are the next phase’s calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the presence of international troops in Gaza as a stabilizing force. To work on these priorities, U.S. troops built a civil-military coordination center outside Gaza for U.S. and other country officials, as well as other organizations working in Gaza, so they could synchronize their efforts.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries believes public pressure will intensify on Republicans in the coming days. to expand health insurance subsidies, which are a key sticking point in the fight against lockdowns. The federal government remains paralyzed after the Senate failed to pass a new spending bill on Monday. Congressional leaders continue to avoid negotiating an end to the lockdown. The White House has tried to end the standoff between the two camps by threatening Democrats with further spending and workforce cuts.

• 🎧 President Trump praised Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought for scaling back ‘Democratic priorities’ that the party will not return. The president has repeatedly referred to “Democratic programs,” but NPR’s Stephen Fowler says such things don’t exist because federal employees who process Social Security payments and manage taxes work in a nonpartisan manner. Vought has announced plans to cancel subsidies for energy projects in Democratic-led cities and states as well as other efforts aimed at making Democrats feel the fiscal impact. The off-year election will be held Nov. 4 and could reflect voter dissatisfaction with Republican governance, including the shutdown, Fowler said.

Images of an excavator demolishing the facade of the East Wing of the White House went viral this week. The construction marks the groundbreaking for the $250 million President’s Ballroom project. Trump has wanted to build the ballroom for more than a decade, but not everyone is happy with the developments and historic preservation groups are expressing concerns.

• 🎧 The demolition surprised many people because Trump downplayed its impacts. when he announced the project in July, NPR’s Tamara Keith said. The National Capital Planning Commission would typically have a role in approving a project like this, but it is currently not operating due to the government shutdown. Trump says he is funding part of the ballroom project, and other donors include large corporations with business before the government, Keith says. Google donates more than $20 million to settle civil suit filed by Trump. Watchdogs say this is one of many reasons the project poses an ethical wake-up call.

Listening of the day

Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who served under the Biden administration, released her new book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Across Party Lines. She wrote about how the Democratic Party’s internal dysfunction led to its downfall in the 2024 presidential election. Before her new book hits stores, Morning edition host Michel Martin spoke with Jean-Pierre. During their conversation, Jean-Pierre discussed her decision to leave the party she once represented and the scrutiny she faced in her role as press secretary. Watch their interview here. Listen to Jean-Pierre discuss her decision to identify as independent and read five takeaways from the conversation.

Life advice

From brightly colored leaves to comforting weather, fall is a favorite season for many people. With all the excitement that the season brings, you might be looking forward to making the most of this time of year. Life kit has put together a list of simple ideas to make the run-up to Halloween more festive.

• 🍂 Make simple adjustments as the days get shorter, like switching from a cold breakfast to a hot breakfast or lighting candles, to prepare your nest.
• 🍂 When decorating, consider your commitment to storing decorations. This could be especially important as we approach the holiday season.
• 🍂 Don’t feel like you have to find the perfect Halloween costume. It can be fun to try something unexpected, like dressing up as an inanimate object. Have you ever considered being a piece of fruit or a bottle of Windex?

For tips on how to live a lifestyle of rest and comfort, listen to this episode of NPR Life kit. Subscribe to THE Life kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

3 things to know before you leave

1. A new study in the journal Pediatrics reveals that a reversal of health guidelines on when to feed babies peanuts helped prevent tens of thousands of cases of peanut allergy in children under 3 in the United States.
2. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will honor its founder, Robert Redford, who died in September at the age of 89. The January event will also include a Park City heritage program with screenings of films from previous editions and artist talks. (via KPCW)
3. A federal judge has ordered the Department of Defense to return books on gender and race to five school libraries on military bases, following allegations that the removal violated students’ First Amendment rights.

This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.