Top 5 US news stories
October 9 2025
Hostage and Prisoner Exchange Imminent as Israel, Hamas Agree to Initial Terms
Trump Poised for Political Gain, Whether He Wins Nobel Prize or Not
Former FBI Director James Comey Pleads Not Guilty to Obstruction, False Statements
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Raise Caution as AI-Related Debt Soars Past Benchmarks
German Industrial Production Plummets to 2005 Levels Amid Auto Sector Collapse
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…US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ENTERS 9th DAY…
Hostage and Prisoner Exchange Imminent as Israel, Hamas Agree to Initial Terms
Israel and Hamas on Thursday edged closer to ending their devastating two-year war, agreeing on the initial terms of a deal that could pave the way to an imminent cease-fire and bringing relief to the families of Israeli hostages and to two million Palestinians in Gaza. The two sides were preparing for an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners this weekend after reaching an agreement overnight, the culmination of sustained pressure from President Trump and Arab mediators. Mr. Trump suggested that he would travel to the region over the weekend, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had invited him to address Israel’s Parliament. Though details were scarce, and the text of the agreement had not been made public, it promised at least a cease-fire if not a permanent end to a conflict that has set off a humanitarian catastrophe and widespread hunger in Gaza, battered Hamas militarily and left Israel exhausted and isolated internationally. It has also fueled an alarming rise in antisemitic violence across the world. Mr. Netanyahu was convening his cabinet on Thursday to sign off on the agreement, which an Israeli official briefed on the matter said would mark the start of a formal cease-fire. The deal’s first phase requires Israel to pull back its troops to an agreed-upon line in Gaza. The Israeli military said that it was preparing to lead the operation for the hostages’ return and to “transition to adjusted deployment lines soon.” But some of the most difficult issues between Israel and Hamas appeared to have been left to a future phase of negotiations, including who would rule postwar Gaza and whether, to what degree and how Hamas would lay down its weapons.
NYT
Watch as Donald Trump is handed a note by Marco Rubio during an event at the White House.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 8, 2025
He tells reporters: 'I was just given a note saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East and they're going to need me pretty quickly'https://t.co/n5edP0ayFu
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/iCKA1W5Gdu
Trump Poised for Political Gain, Whether He Wins Nobel Prize or Not
Of all the golden glories that Donald Trump has accumulated — the statues, sneakers, even a golden pager — one gleaming medallion has eluded the 79-year-old president: the Nobel Peace Prize. The annual award, set to be announced Friday, has occupied Trump for months, along with a recurring complaint that he’ll be overlooked despite his global peacemaking efforts. “We settled seven wars. We’re close to settling an eighth. And I think we’ll end up settling the Russia situation, which is horrible,” Trump said Wednesday, when asked whether he expected to claim the prize when the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee steps solemnly up to a microphone in his grand Oslo headquarters. “I don’t think anybody in history settled that many. But perhaps they’ll find a reason not to give it to me.” Trump maintains he is not politicking for the prize, which he has mentioned publicly every few weeks since reclaiming the Oval Office — a habit people familiar with the award warned could hurt his chances. But his naked hunger to win has shifted foreign diplomacy. It may have helped spur Hamas and Israeli officials to strike a bargain this week, one former top Israeli negotiator said, in hopes of being able to announce a buzzer-beating peace after two years of war so that Trump can take home the gold. The “Friday morning deadline is shaping the timeline, the announcement of the Nobel Committee in Oslo,” Col. Doron Hadar, a reservist officer who until last year commanded the Israel Defense Forces’ negotiation unit, said before Trump announced a Gaza ceasefire deal Wednesday. “Everyone understands this timeline, and that’s why I believe that by [Thursday] evening, there will already be a declaration that the sides have reached agreements.”
Editors note: It’s win-win politically. Either he loses, and he can say the system/institutions are rigged - which will gain significant support. Or he wins the Noble Peace Prize.
WaPo
Former FBI Director James Comey Pleads Not Guilty to Obstruction, False Statements
Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of allegedly making false statements and obstruction of a congressional hearing during his first court appearance in Virginia on Wednesday. The former FBI director appeared at 10 a.m. ET in the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Comey's wife, Patrice, and daughter, Maureen, were spotted waiting in line outside the courthouse Wednesday morning. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, presided over the hearing. Comey's lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, told Nachmanoff that representing Comey "is the honor of my life" and that his team would be filing motions alleging a vindictive and retaliatory prosecution, grand jury abuse and outrageous government conduct.
Fox News
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Raise Caution as AI-Related Debt Soars Past Benchmarks
Soaring debt levels at companies funding the artificial intelligence boom have passed notable benchmarks, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase both said this week, marking a note of caution as tech companies increasingly turn to the credit markets to support the costs of developing AI. AI-related companies have issued a record $141 billion of debt this year, more than the entire technology, media and telecommunications industry issued in 2024, according to Goldman Sachs research. That includes $25.8 billion in total debt issued by Oracle, which is rapidly building computing capacity for OpenAI. “While not yet a cause for alarm, given both the high cashflow generation and low leverage among large tech companies, the shifting funding mix of capex beyond cash is worth monitoring,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote. Separately, JPMorgan this week said investment grade debt issued by AI-related companies had risen to $1.2 trillion, making that grouping of companies a bigger component of the broader investment grade index than U.S. banks. JPMorgan analysts said large tech companies are still relatively cash rich, but debt levels at traditional utilities tied to the AI boom are elevated by high-grade credit standards.
The Information
German Industrial Production Plummets to 2005 Levels Amid Auto Sector Collapse
German industrial production fell back to 2005 levels in August as output in the country’s all-important car industry cratered by 18.5 per cent compared with the previous month. The unexpectedly poor data comes as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet the bosses of the country’s carmakers on Thursday in Berlin to discuss the woes of the struggling sector. Merz has promised to reinvigorate the Eurozone’s biggest economy but has so far fallen flat. Overall, industrial production fell 4.3 per cent in August compared with the previous month, seasonally adjusted data showed on Wednesday. Economists had predicted a smaller drop of 1 per cent in a Reuters poll. Excluding short and temporary shocks during the global financial crisis and at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the data indicates industrial production in Germany is at the weakest level since 2005 and is almost 20 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak. Car production outside of those two crises is at the lowest level since 2000.
FT
October 9 1936: Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles
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Sources
- https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/09/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire/heres-the-latest?smid=url-share
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/09/trump-nobel-prize-friday/
- https://www.foxnews.com/politics/comey-arraigned-federal-court-after-being-indicted-alleged-false-statements-obstruction
- The Information
- https://www.ft.com/content/745fff84-2cbf-491c-b70c-e39bc8edaa39
