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Israelis ‘cautiously optimistic’ over Trump’s Gaza plan

admin - Latest News - October 7, 2025
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As Israel marks two years since the October 7 terror attacks, people in Tel Aviv expressed hope that President Trump’s Gaza plan will bring all remaining hostages home. One Israeli resident said they were “cautiously optimistic” about the plan but added that they had “been disappointed” by previous attempts to return the hostages to Israel.



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Oct. 7, 2025, 5:00 AM EDTBy Lawrence HurleyWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday considers a free speech challenge to a Colorado law that bans conversion therapy aimed at young people questioning their sexual orientations or gender identities in a case likely to have national implications.The ruling could affect more than 20 states that have similar bans and raise new questions about other long-standing state health care regulations.The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority that often backs conservative free speech claims, will hear oral argument in a case brought by Kaley Chiles, a Christian therapist, who says the 2019 law violates her free speech rights under the Constitution’s First Amendment.Conversion therapy, favored by some religious conservatives, seeks to encourage gay or lesbian minors to identify as heterosexual and transgender children to identify as the gender identities assigned to them at birth. Colorado bans the practice for licensed therapists, not for religious entities or family members.At issue is whether such bans regulate conduct in the same way as regulations applying to health care providers, as the state argues, or speech, as Chiles contends. Chiles says she does only talk therapy.The Supreme Court has, in major cases, backed LGBTQ rights, legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015 and ruling five years later that a federal law barring employment discrimination applies to both gay and transgender people.But in another line of cases, the court has backed free speech and religious expression rights when they conflict with anti-discrimination laws aimed at protecting LGBTQ people.The court backed a religious rights challenge this year to a Maryland school district’s policy of featuring LGBTQ-themed books in elementary schools. It also handed a major loss to transgender rights advocates by ruling that states could ban gender transition care for minors.Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, said in court papers that a ruling against the state would imperil not just conversion therapy bans but also other health care treatments that experts say are unsafe or ineffective.”For centuries, states have regulated professional healthcare to protect patients from substandard treatment. Throughout that time, the First Amendment has never barred states’ ability to prohibit substandard care, regardless of whether it is carried out through words,” he wrote.Chiles, represented by the conservative Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom, countered in her court papers that therapy is “vital speech that helps young people better understand themselves.”The state is seeking to “control what those kids believe about themselves and who they can become,” the lawyers said.Chiles’ lawyers cite a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in which the conservative majority backed a free speech challenge to a California law that requires anti-abortion pregnancy centers to notify clients about where abortion services can be obtained.The court might not issue a definitive ruling on conversion therapy bans; it could focus more narrowly on whether lower courts that upheld the ban conducted the correct legal analysis.If the law infringes on speech, it must be given a closer look under the First Amendment, a form of review known as “strict scrutiny,” which the justices could ask lower courts to do instead of doing it themselves. Under that approach, judges consider whether a government action that infringes on free speech serves a compelling interest and was “narrowly tailored” to meet that goal.The Trump administration filed a brief urging the court to find that the law does burden speech while also saying a ruling in favor of Chiles would not upend state regulations in other areas.Lawrence HurleyLawrence Hurley is a senior Supreme Court reporter for NBC News.
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Oct. 6, 2025, 11:16 PM EDTBy Sahil KapurWASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., broke with her party Monday evening by calling for action on expiring Obamacare subsidies to avoid premium hikes, adding a prominent MAGA voice to the cause led by Democrats.In a long post on X, Greene, the far-right MAGA firebrand, made it clear she was not in Congress when the 2010 law passed.“Let’s just say as nicely as possible, I’m not a fan,” she wrote. “But I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.”“No I’m not towing the party line on this, or playing loyalty games. I’m a Republican and won’t vote for illegals to have any tax payer funded healthcare or benefits. I’m AMERICA ONLY!!!” Greene added.We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.Extending expiring Obamacare funding is the top demand of Democrats during the government shutdown. The money expires at the end of this year.Dem. House Leader Jeffries Speaks Out on Shutdown, Health Care03:47Republicans are divided over the issue, with more than a dozen swing-district House members and some senators calling for an extension of the funds. But many conservatives in the party want the money to expire on schedule, and party leaders are noncommittal about whether they will extend it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have insisted the issue will not be discussed until Democrats cave in on their present stance and reopen the government first.Greene said GOP leaders have not addressed the issue with the conference.“I’m carving my own lane,” she wrote. “And I’m absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year. Also, I think health insurance and all insurance is a scam, just be clear! Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!”Her post caught the eyes of at least one Democrat in Congress.Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, the chair of the Progressive Caucus, wrote on X: “I don’t quote MTG often, but… ‘Not a single Republican in leadership… has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!’”Sahil KapurSahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.
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October 15, 2025
Oct. 15, 2025, 2:00 PM EDTBy Matt BradleyCAESAREA, Israel — Ten years ago this week, two Palestinian attackers boarded a bus in Jerusalem and shot, beat and stabbed Israeli American educator Richard Lakin to death along with two others before police killed one of the militants and injured and arrested the other.The surviving assailant, Bilal Abu Ghanem, was freed in February from his three consecutive life sentences for murder as part of the last Israeli ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.That’s when his son, Micah Avni, had to watch his father’s murderer go free.“It feels like I’ve been betrayed by my country,” Avni, 56, said the day before Hamas exchanged 24 Israeli hostages for about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences for serious crimes including terrorism. Bilal Abu Ghanem, in 2016.Ahman Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images fileAvni’s anguish and anger have now merged with a larger collective, shared by many Israelis whose loved ones were killed or maimed in terror attacks and who must now watch the perpetrators walk free as part of the latest ceasefire negotiated by the Trump administration.Their torment hasn’t just punctured the euphoria surrounding last week’s agreement — it very nearly halted the deal and could still frustrate its full implementation.Two far-right political parties in Israel’s government cited the release of 250 convicts as their reason for voting against President Donald Trump’s ceasefire and hostage release plan.“Alongside this joy, it is absolutely forbidden to ignore the question of the price: the release of thousands of terrorists,” said Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security and leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, in a statement explaining his party’s opposition. “These are terrorists whose past experience proves that they will return to terrorism and their art of working to murder Jews.”While Ben-Gvir and others refer to thousands of “terrorists” released, 250 of those released were convicted of serious crimes.Most of the rest of the more than 1,700 people let go, among them doctors, nurses and journalists, had been held without charge. These detainees were not involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and were held under a controversial practice called administrative detention, which allows Israel to detain people for an indefinite period of time without ever charging them. More than 20 minors were on the list.For Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the releases were cause for celebrations. Prisoners and detainees who returned to Gaza rode on the tops of buses through crowds of well-wishers.Families wait outside the Ramallah Cultural Palace for the Palestinian prisoners to be released on Monday.Daniele Hamamdjian / NBC NewsIn the West Bank, families waited for the released prisoners outside the Ramallah Cultural Palace in the Palestinians’ provisional capital. Some women and young girls arrived in traditional Palestinian dresses. Many refused to speak to the gathered press: Israel’s military, they said, had called them and warned them not speak to the media.The prisoners’ families said they had seen others being re-arrested in the past and didn’t want to gamble on the convicts’ hard-won freedom.“For Israel, any Palestinian is a terrorist,” said the uncle of one of the released Palestinians, who refused to give his name, “even if they didn’t do anything.”Palestinian relatives mourn at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.Khames Alrefi / Anadolu via Getty ImagesIn addition, there is the collective pain of nearly 2 million in Gaza who have endured Israel’s two-year war against Hamas. There is little hope among Palestinians that anybody will be held responsible for the tens of thousands of innocent civilians killed by Israeli fire, along with those maimed in attacks.Israel has accused Hamas of operating in civilian areas, thus necessitating attacks that endanger noncombatants. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, whom Israel said it had killed, over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.Israel has forcefully rejected the allegations, and Netanyahu’s office branded the decision “antisemitic,” rejecting them as “absurd and false” and condemning the ICC as a “biased and discriminatory political body.”Tinged with sadnessPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged many Israelis’ public pain in comments on Sunday night.“Tomorrow, our sons will return to their borders,” he said. “This is a historic event that is tinged with sadness over the release of murderers — and joy over the return of kidnapped people.”Under President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the fighting, Hamas fighters who lay down their weapons would be spared any punishment — a condition that has also raised grave reservations among many Israelis, including Netanyahu, who had hoped to see Hamas destroyed.Rachel Goldberg-Polin, an American Israeli whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped on Oct. 7 and then killed by Hamas last year, said she’s rejected the feelings of anger that come with grief.Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of Hersh, in Jerusalem in October 2024.Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News“Nothing can bring Hersh back,” she said in an interview last week. “I tend to look at this in a very zoomed-out way. I don’t have this fiery venomous anger that I think wouldn’t serve me in any purpose.”Avni, who opposed this week’s deal, said he worries that the released convicts will simply return to the battlefield or engage in terrorism against Israelis.“Obviously, every single Jewish person wants to get the hostages back,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that strategically trading thousands of terrorists for 20 lives makes sense.”Avni has advocated executing terrorists as a way to remove prisoner exchanges from the negotiating table. Israeli law allows for capital punishment, but only for treason and “crimes against humanity.” The death sentence has been used only twice in Israeli history.In the hours after his father’s murder, Avni admits that he considered taking matters into his own hands. Both Lakin and Abu Ghanem were taken to the same ward in the same Jerusalem hospital after the attack.The scene of the Jerusalem bus attack on Oct. 13, 2015, that resulted in Richard Lakin’s death.Kobi Gideon / Getty Images fileZaka volunteers and security forces inspect the scene after the bus attack that left Lakin and two other civilians dead.Gali Tibbon / AFP via Getty Images fileThe two men were treated only yards apart. Lakin died, but his killer survived.“I think I would have jumped on him and done something but he had police standing there,” Avni said. “I remember thinking to myself, you know, you’ll go to jail for life, and you’ve got responsibilities.”Recounting the cruel irony of his father’s killing still brings tears to Avni’s eyes. His father had been a peace-loving school principal who advocated for racially integrated education, had marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and participated in the anti-segregation “Freedom Riders” movement during the 1960s.The family moved to Israel when Avni was 15 years old.“He was a big believer in coexistence. I wish everybody could be like that, but they’re not,” Avni said of his father. “It was an innocent world view.”Richard Lakin, his grandchild, and his son, Micah Avni.Family handoutMatt Bradley reported from Caesarea, and Daniele Hamamdjian from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Matt BradleyMatt Bradley is an international correspondent for NBC News based in Israel.Daniele Hamamdjian contributed.
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