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Oct. 13, 2025, 12:31 PM EDT / Updated Oct. 13, 2025, 12:41 PM EDTBy Monica Alba, Courtney Kube, Dan De Luce and Megan LebowitzWASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, according to an administration official, a Western official and a Ukrainian embassy spokesperson.Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Olga Stefanishyna, confirmed that Trump invited Zelenskyy to a meeting this week, Ukrainian Embassy spokesperson Halyna Yusypiuk said.The visit, previously reported by the Financial Times, comes as Trump said the U.S. is considering approving Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, adding that they would be “a new step of aggression” in that country’s war against Russia. If the administration provided the long-range missiles, it would mark a new level of U.S. support for Ukraine in the war. “We may not, but we may do it,” Trump said on Air Force One on Monday. “I think it’s appropriate to bring up — yeah, I want to. I want to see the war settled.”Trump also said he and Zelenskyy discussed the possibility of Ukraine obtaining Tomahawks by phone over the weekend. “We’ll see,” Trump said.The long-range Tomahawk missiles could theoretically be used by Ukraine to strike inside Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned the U.S. against supplying the weapons, saying earlier this month that it would mark a “qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the U.S.”Dmitry Medvedev, a top Russian official and former president and prime minister of the country, also said the delivery of Tomahawk missiles “could end badly for everyone, and first and foremost, for Trump himself.”Zelenskyy’s visit Friday comes on the heels of Trump’s trip to the Middle East, where he was hailed for his role in championing a peace deal that led to Hamas’ release of the remaining living hostages and Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners.Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, said in a post to X on Monday that Ukrainian officials were on their way to Washington for “high-level talks.” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and top national security official Rustem Umerov are part of the delegation, he said. The talks aimed “to strengthen Ukraine’s defense, secure our energy resilience, and intensify sanctions pressure on the aggressor,” Yermak said in the post. Zelenskyy last visited the White House in mid-August, a few days after Trump met with Putin in Alaska. Zelenskyy was joined by a group of prominent European leaders, who acted as diplomatic backup after a tense Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in February.Last week, first lady Melania Trump said that she has an “open channel of communication” with President Vladimir Putin over the “welfare” of Ukrainian children believed to have been kidnapped and brought to Russia. The first lady penned a letter to Putin in August, when the U.S. and Russian presidents met in Alaska. In the letter, she called for Putin to protect “the innocence of these children.”During the 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed he could end the war in Ukraine, quickly, even within 24 hours. But during his first few months in office, he said that while he originally thought the war in Ukraine might be the “easiest” to end, Putin “let me down.”Monica AlbaMonica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Dan De LuceDan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. Megan LebowitzMegan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - October 13, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, according to an administration official, a Western official and a Ukrainian embassy.

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Oct. 13, 2025, 10:32 AM EDTBy Rob WileSix months into President Donald Trump’s unprecedented gambit to impose sizable tariffs on imports, U.S. consumers are already shouldering as much as 55% of their costs, according to a new report from Goldman Sachs analysts.And with new tariffs likely on the way, the cost burden could rise even higher, they said. The findings, released Sunday, suggest U.S. consumers will continue to struggle with high prices — something Trump had promised to address in the run-up to his re-election. While inflation rates have come down from the post-Covid peak, they have remained stuck above levels economists consider healthy, causing consumers and businesses alike to continue to report feeling burdened by price increases. Over the past six months, Trump has imposed tariffs on copper, steel, aluminum, and some automobiles and auto parts. He has also levied country-specific tariff rates of as much as 28% on China and 16% on much of the rest of the world, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Partially as a result, consumer prices tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics have increased every month since April, when Trump made his “Liberation Day” speech announcing the new duties. As of August, the BLS’ benchmark Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 2.93%. September CPI data has been delayed due to the government shutdown, now in its 13th day, and is now slated to be released later this month. A separate inflation measure preferred by the Federal Reserve has likewise continued to climb, rising to 2.7% for August — above the central bank’s 2% target. In August, Trump assailed an initial Goldman Sachs estimate that said consumers could bear as much as 67% of the cost of tariffs. A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Monday. The Goldman analysts arrived at their estimate of the tariffs’ burden on consumers by comparing how much consumer prices for tariffed products have deviated from previous trends. The burden is actually less than the estimated pass-through that occurred during the trade war Trump set off during his first term in 2018. In that period, evidence suggests foreign exporters did not bear any significant share of the tariff costs at the time, meaning consumers were shouldering even more of a burden.This time, exporters are bearing some cost, along with U.S. businesses, who may actually be sparing consumers even worse price increases for the moment. American companies may be waiting to see how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on tariffs, the Goldman analysts said. Businesses also might have accumulated inventory in advance of the tariffs setting in, allowing them to hold off on raising their retail prices more significantly. The nation’s highest court is set to hear opening arguments in the tariff case Nov. 5.Still, the analysts estimate tariffs have added 0.44% to the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. That figure could rise to as much as 0.6% if Trump makes good on recent threats to impose tariffs on products such as furniture and kitchen cabinets. Those were set to take effect Tuesday. In this scenario, the tariffs’ cost burden borne by consumers could rise to 70%. The analysts’ latest estimate does not take into account Trump’s threat Friday to double the tariffs on China. On Monday, Trump administration officials sought to reassure markets that they did not seek to reignite tensions with America’s largest overseas trading partnerIf those tariffs were to take effect, the impact would be significant, the analysts said. “We are not assuming any changes to tariff rates on imports from China, but events in recent days suggest large risks,” they wrote.Rob WileRob Wile is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering breaking business stories for NBCNews.com.

- Latest News - October 13, 2025

Six months into President Donald Trump’s unprecedented gambit to impose sizable tariffs on imports, U.S. consumers are already shouldering as much as 55% of their costs, according to a new.

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Oct. 13, 2025, 10:09 AM EDTBy Chantal Da SilvaAs Israeli hostages are freed and Palestinian prisoners and detainees released — and after President Donald Trump’s lengthy address to Israel’s parliament on Monday — focus is shifting to what comes next. Some of the longest applause for Trump’s speech came when he said that virtually the whole region had endorsed a plan for Gaza to be demilitarized and Hamas to disarm — key elements of his 20-point plan that have yet to actually be agreed upon. Now that phase one of his plan is being executed, negotiators and neighboring countries will watch whether key points of Trump’s proposal will be accepted by both Israel and Hamas in talks on the next phases.International Red Cross vehicles transport the second batch of released Israeli hostages from Deir al Balah in central Gaza on Monday. Bashar Taleb / AFP via Getty ImagesLast few daysA ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on Friday at noon local time, (5 a.m. ET), after the first phase of Trump’s plan was agreed by Israel and Hamas, bringing relative calm to the enclave for the first time in months since the last truce collapsed in March. Under the first phase of Trump’s plan, 20 living hostages were handed over to Israel on Monday. The remains of a further 28 hostages held by Hamas were expected to be released within 72 hours, although only four were initially, much to the disappointment of families.Israel also pledged to release 250 convicted prisoners and 1,700 Palestinians detained since Oct. 7. Over 150 of the freed prisoners were deported to Egypt.More aid has begun to flow into the enclave in recent days, although it falls far short of what aid workers say is necessary. Now what?Palestinians head north along al-Rashid Street towards Gaza City, Gaza, on Sunday.Ahmad Salem / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesHamas has long asserted that it would not release the last of the hostages until Israeli groups leave Gaza entirely, but having agreed to the first phase of Trump’s plan, the militant group is relying on guarantees from Trump that a full withdrawal will eventually happen. When and if Israel withdraws fully remains unclear. Meanwhile, it is also unclear whether Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, will agree to a key stipulation of Trump’s overall plan, as well as a crucial demand from Israel — that it disarm. Hamas has long refused calls to lay down arms, saying it has a right to armed resistance until Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian territories — and that has been a key sticking point in talks to negotiate an end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.In an interview with Al Jazeera on Oct. 9, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that no Palestinian would accept surrendering weapons and that the people of Gaza were in greater need than ever of resistance. President Trump talks to reporters on board Air Force One en route to Israel on Sunday.Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesThe militant group has agreed to step down from leadership over the territory and relinquish governance to a transitional body of Palestinian technocrats, which would be overseen by an international body, dubbed the “Board of Peace.” This body is expected to be headed by Trump, with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair also named as a possible member of the oversight body. Noting the plan aboard the Air Force One on Monday en route to Israel, Trump said he first wanted to find out whether “Tony would be popular with all.””I like Tony, I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody,” he added. The idea of Blair joining the board has already drawn early criticism, with his reputation in the region shadowed by his decision to back the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq — and claims by the U.S. and Britain of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction found to be false. Trump optimistic Speaking aboard Air Force One on his way to Israel on Monday, Trump said he believed “everybody is happy” with his 20-point peace plan. Noting that much of Gaza now resembles a “demolition site” after more than two years of Israel’s offensive in the enclave, Trump said cleanup efforts would begin “pretty much immediately.” During his address to the Knesset, Trump also said Israel has won all it can by force. “Now, it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East,” he said. In Gaza, Palestinians across the enclave balanced their hopes for peace against fears that the ceasefire won’t hold, as many return to the areas where their homes once stood. “Everything is gone; no necessities of life remain,” one man told NBC News. “So, why do you live for? Our money, our homes that we worked hard for years — it’s all gone,” he said. “Nothing is left.”Chantal Da SilvaChantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.The Associated Press contributed.

- Latest News - October 13, 2025

As Israeli hostages are freed and Palestinian prisoners and detainees released — and after President Donald Trump’s lengthy address to Israel’s parliament on Monday — focus is shifting to what.

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Oct. 13, 2025, 9:46 AM EDTBy Jay GanglaniMore than two years after they were abducted during the terrorist attack that launched the Israel-Hamas war, all living hostages have been returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip.The 20 surviving hostages were released “after 738 agonizing days in captivity,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.As part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered peace deal, Hamas has also agreed to return to Israel the remains of more than two dozen hostages who did not survive. “Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial,” the hostage advocacy group said. “This is our moral obligation. Only then will the people of Israel be whole.”Here are the 20 living hostages who were released Monday with details provided by the Missing Families Forum:Alon Ohel.Hostages and Missing Families ForumAlon Ohel, 24, loves music and began playing the piano at the age of 9. He planned to begin his studies at Israel’s Rimon School of Music in October 2023, but was kidnapped at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7 along with Eliya Cohen, Or Levy and the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin.Ariel Cunio.Hostages and Missing Families ForumAriel Cunio, 28, was working as a software tester and shares a love of astronomy with his partner, Arbel Yehud, who grew up with him in kibbutz Nir Oz. He and Yehud were kidnapped together, but she was released in January under a previous ceasefire deal. His brother David Cunio was also kidnapped Oct. 7 and released Monday.David Cunio.Hostages and Missing Families ForumDavid Cunio, 35, is the older brother of Ariel Cunio and worked as an electrical technician. On Oct. 7, he held the safe room door in the family home for five hours while attackers tried to open it. His wife, Sharon Cunio, and their two daughters were also kidnapped but were released after 52 days in captivity.Avinatan Or.Hostages and Missing Families ForumAvinatan Or, 32, was born and raised in Shiloh before moving to Tel Aviv, where he worked for Nvidia. He was kidnapped from the Nova music festival along with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, who was rescued in a military operation in June 2024. Bar Kupershtein.Hostages and Missing Families ForumBar Kupershtein, 23, was a staff member at the Nova music festival. A combat medic, he was helping victims of the Oct. 7 attack before being abducted himself. Kupershtein had taken on a greater role in his family after a 2019 accident left his father, Tal Kupershtein, unable to move or speak. Since his son’s abduction, Tal Kupershtein has been undergoing speech therapy and regained some ability to speak to aid the fight for his return.Eitan Avraham Mor.Hostages and Missing Families ForumEitan Avraham Mor, 25, worked at a coffee shop in Jerusalem and was also on the security team at the Nova music festival, where he was said to have helped evacuate wounded people before he was abducted. He is the oldest of seven siblings. Eitan Horn.Hostages and Missing Families ForumEitan Horn, 39, immigrated to Israel from Argentina as a teenager and worked in education. On Oct. 7, Horn was visiting his brother Yair Horn in kibbutz Nir Oz, where they were both kidnapped from his home. They were held together until Yair Horn’s release in February.Elkana Bohbot.Hostages and Missing Families ForumElkana Bohbot, 36, was one of the organizers of the Nova music festival, and was helping to evacuate the wounded when he was abducted. His family expressed concern for his health in May after he appeared in a video circulated by Hamas. “Everything is fine, relax,” he told his cheering family in a call ahead of his release Monday.Evyatar David.Hostages and Missing Families ForumEvyatar David, 24, was abducted from the Nova music festival along with his friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was also released Monday. His brother, Ilay David, described him to NBC News as a “brilliant guitar player” with the “kindest soul I know.” Video of an emaciated David drew an international outcry when it was released by Hamas during the summer.Gali Berman.Hostages and Missing Families ForumZiv Berman.Hostages and Missing Families ForumGali and Ziv Berman, 28, are twins and avid soccer fans who worked together in kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they grew up. They were kidnapped from the kibbutz along with their friend Emily Damari, who was released in January. Guy Gilboa-Dalal.Hostages and Missing Families ForumGuy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, was seen with Alon Ohel in a video released last month by Hamas. From a young age, Gilboa-Dalal has admired Japanese culture and anime, even studying the language. Outside of Japanese culture, he enjoys music and attended the Nova festival, where he was kidnapped along with his friend Evyatar David. His brother Gal Gilboa-Dalal, was also at the festival and survived. Maksym Harkin.Hostages and Missing Families ForumMaksym Harkin, 37, immigrated to Israel from Ukraine with his family. He is the son of a single mother who describes him as the anchor of the family. Although he doesn’t often go to parties, Harkin attended the Nova music festival with friends, two of whom were killed, and he was kidnapped to Gaza. Matan Angrest.Hostages and Missing Families ForumMatan Angrest, 22, an Israel Defense Forces soldier, was kidnapped from his tank while defending the Nahal Oz base. Earlier this year, his family released video of his capture in an effort to draw attention to his case amid concerns about his health.Matan Zangauker.Hostages and Missing Families ForumMatan Zangauker, 25, was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz along with his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky. She was freed during the first ceasefire in November 2023 and has since been fighting for his release.Nimrod Cohen.Hostages and Missing Families ForumNimrod Cohen, 21, an IDF soldier, was abducted while defending kibbutz Nirim. The three other soldiers in his tank crew were killed. Cohen is known to love solving Rubik’s cubes, and after his abduction his burned Rubik’s cube was found in the tank.Omri Miran.Hostages and Missing Families ForumOmri Miran, 47, a shiatsu therapist and gardener, was kidnapped from the safe room of his home in kibbutz Nahal Oz in front of his wife, Lishay Miran, and two young daughters, one of whom was only 6 months old at the time. Rom Braslavski.Hostages and Missing Families ForumRom Braslavski, 21, is from Jerusalem and was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival. In a video released in August by Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, he appeared weak and thin. “The faith and strength I saw in his eyes back then have been replaced by sadness, depression and helplessness,” said former hostage Sasha Troufanov, who was held with Braslavski before being released in February.Segev Kalfon.Hostages and Missing Families ForumSegev Kalfon, 27, was abducted while trying to flee the attack on the Nova music festival. According to The Jerusalem Post, his family only learned he was still alive in February.Yosef-Chaim Ohana.Hostages and Missing Families ForumYosef-Chaim Ohana, 25, was abducted while trying to flee the attack on the Nova music festival with a friend. In May, he appeared in a video published by Hamas with fellow hostage Elkana Bohbot.Jay GanglaniJay Ganglani is NBC News’s 2025-26 Asia Desk Fellow. Previously he was an NBC News Asia Desk intern and a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist who has contributed to news publications such as CNN, Fortune and the South China Morning Post.

- Latest News - October 13, 2025

More than two years after they were abducted during the terrorist attack that launched the Israel-Hamas war, all remaining living hostages have been returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip.

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