U.S. and world news for Oct. 9

Gaza ceasefire plan

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire framework that will allow for the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza. Qatari officials say the deal will also see Israeli forces withdraw to an agreed-upon line and increase the delivery of aid into Gaza. President Trump said the hostages are likely to be released on Monday. Families of Israeli hostages celebrated the news. Palestinians in Gaza also welcomed the deal, cautiously hoping it would bring an end to Israel’s war. A lot more needs to be resolved, including a future government for Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.

Texas National Guard on duty in Illinois

Members of the Texas National Guard have started their mission in the greater Chicago area, an official said last night. This comes as Donald Trump’s efforts to put the military on the streets of Democratic-led cities have prompted a series of legal showdowns. The Trump administration has said the deployments are aimed at fighting lawlessness and to aid ICE agents carrying out the president’s sweeping immigration enforcement agenda. Critics say it’s designed to get people used to seeing the military deployed against U.S. citizens, in preparation for stationing them at polling places for the mid-term election. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have said the National Guard deployment is unnecessary, with Pritzker describing it as “Trump’s invasion.”

Trump’s IRS furloughs half of its workers

The Internal Revenue Service has begun furloughing nearly half its staff because of the ongoing government shutdown, sparking chaos and confusion among employees as the news rippled through agency offices around the country. The agency said it was furloughing more than 34,400 of its 74,300 employees. This represents a change from the agency’s previous position that its entire workforce would remain on the job thanks to funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Quarterly employer tax returns are due this month. Maria Ramos, the National Treasury Employees Union chapter president in Austin, Texas, said, “Tax returns will be arriving but there will be no one there to process them.”

Pope Leo expresses concerns for immigrants

Without naming Donald Trump, Pope Leo XIV, writing in the first major document of his pontificate, has denounced the “dictatorship” of economic inequality while insisting the Catholic Church is committed to supporting “rejected” migrants. Concern for the poor, Leo explains, includes support for migrants, which he says is supported by scripture and includes “refugee reception centers, border missions” and is defined by efforts to “welcome, promote, protect and integrate” new arrivals to a country. Leo met with Labor leaders from Chicago and expressed his appreciation for their “welcome of immigrants and refugees.” The Vatican also released his message to a gathering of the Catholic Charities USA Network in Puerto Rico, where he described migrants as “missionaries of hope.” Pope Leo met with Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, and told him the church “cannot be silent” on the plight of immigrants.

Comey’s lawyers plan to ask that case be thrown out

Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who is leading the defense of former FBI Director James Comey against charges filed by the Trump administration, has told the federal judge hearing the case that the defense will ask that the case be thrown out because it amounts to vindictive prosecution. They also plan to show that the Trump-appointed acting U.S. attorney who brought the case was illegally appointed. Fitzgerald was a federal prosecutor when George W. Bush was president. A Justice Department prosecutor admitted to the judge that he had not yet seen evidence against Comey. President Trump has publicly called for Comey and others he views as enemies to be prosecuted.

Palisades fire arson suspect arrested

Nine months after the Palisades Fire ravaged the Los Angeles area — killing 12 people and destroying thousands of structures — a man has been arrested in Florida on suspicion of arson. The 29-year-old suspect was identified as Jonathan Rinderknecht. He worked as an Uber driver and lived in the LA area at the time. He is accused of maliciously starting the fire on New Year’s Day. Officials said the suspect took iPhone videos of the view before allegedly using a lighter to ignite paper or vegetation. Firefighters suppressed the blaze on Jan. 1, but it “continued to smolder and burn underground” unnoticed before fanning into the Palisades Fire less than a week later. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney for Southern California.