--:-- Yasmin Khan: Good morning. It's Friday, October 10th. I'm Yasmin Khan, in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: On today's show, what the record-breaking price of gold tells us about the economy, the questions surrounding Trump's borders are, and the surprising reason NFL fans might be seeing longer field goals. But first, to the historic scenes following the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza.
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--:-- Yasmin Khan: Yesterday, Israel's cabinet formally agreed to the deal, and Hamas's chief negotiator declared an end to the war. The agreement paves the way for the release of the remaining hostages in the coming days, and it raises hopes that the suffering for Palestinians might finally come to an end.
--:-- Benjamin Netanyahu: We're at a momentous development in the last two years. We've fought during these two years to achieve our war aims. And a central one of these war aims is to return the hostages, all of the hostages, the living and the dead. And we're about to achieve that goal.
--:-- Steve Witkoff: I want to just give a very, very special thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who really did an incredible job with this and did a great job in negotiations. You held your lines firm, and I think that between you and President Trump, you had a lot of alignment on what the end state should be.
--:-- Jared Kushner: And for the first time in a long time, much of the international community spoke largely as one. Countries in the region like Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar all backed the deal, and many European allies expressed hope that it would mark the beginning of lasting peace.
--:-- Antonio Guterres: We must never forget the unbearable human costs of this conflict. I mourn all of the lives lost. We have all waited far too long for this moment. Now we must make it truly count. I urge all parties to fully abide by the terms of the agreement and to fully embrace the opportunities it presents.
--:-- Haley Ott: This is what we've been striving for. These two years when we were out rallying, protesting, when we went all over the world, when we went to the Israeli parliament, And this was the moment that we were waiting for.
--:-- Hada Al-Kurd: I'm optimistic, hopeful, happy, feel lots of joy and relief. It been two years of fighting of killing of destruction of airstrikes And now this come to end finally Israel will now commence a partial withdrawal from Gaza, and the IDF will redeploy to a new line, meaning it will control about 53% of the Gaza Strip.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: After that, there is a 72-hour window for Hamas to get the remaining 48 hostages back to families, around 20 of whom are thought to be alive. Hamas is working with nearby countries to retrieve those individuals, but during negotiations, Hamas officials indicated they're not optimistic they'll be able to retrieve all bodies of the deceased.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Once Hamas returns the hostages, Israel will release 2,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails. If the deal goes through, Palestinians will finally secure access to food and supplies in the coming days, as the deal allows for U.N.-administered aid to reenter the country.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: In August, U.N.-backed experts declared a famine in Gaza. Meanwhile, we learned more about the U.S. military's role in the days ahead. The U.S. will send 200 troops to ensure stability in the region, overseen by U.S. Central Command.
--:-- Donald Trump: We reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done. We ended the war in Gaza and really, on a much bigger basis, created peace. And I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Trump has said he may travel to Egypt in the coming days for a signing ceremony. In recent weeks, President Trump's border czar Tom Homan has been the subject of intense scrutiny and investigations from congressional Democrats.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Democrats. That follows reporting from MSNBC, and then matched by other outlets, alleging Homan was recorded accepting a $50,000 cash bribe from federal agents posing as prospective government contractors.
--:-- Pam Bondi: Are you saying that they did not deliver $50,000 in cash to Mr. Holman?
--:-- Sheldon Whitehouse: Senator, as recently stated, the investigation of Mr. Holman was subjected to a full review by the FBI agents, by Department of Justice prosecutors. They found no evidence of wrongdoing.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Current federal officials dismissed the investigation into Holman, saying, without providing detail, that they found no credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing, and the former administration was motivated by politics to start the probe.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: A White House spokesperson said that Holman had not been involved in any contract award decisions. But a recent investigative report from ProPublica suggests that Holman's time in the private sector between the first Trump term and this current one led to lucrative business relationships that threaten the line between private contract and government work today.
--:-- Avi Asher-Schapiro: There a whole world of former government officials who sell their services to would government contractors helping them navigate the contracting process. All of that work is above board. When Holman took his current job in the second Trump administration, he pledged to follow a traditional pathway of recusal that happens when people move between the private and government sectors.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: The federal government is seeking to spend tens of billions of dollars on private detention facilities for migrants, which is drawing in proposals from contractors. ProPublica reports that at least half a dozen companies have tried to go through Sol, believing that his connections with Homan would help them land government work.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Tom Homan is claimed to be recused. The understanding among sources I spoke to in this space is that, you know, Tom Homan is not understood to be recused in this industry. He is understood to be a key figure in the shape of this policy.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: So let's talk about the record-breaking value of gold. For the first time, the price surpassed $4,000 per troy ounce. That's the measurement for gold. The jump signals that investors are looking to obtain alternative assets at a time when there's a big question mark hanging over the U.S. economy.
--:-- David Uberti: There's been a rush into gold, and one of the reasons why traders on Wall Street think that's happening is sort of because of lack of trust in the current financial system and the outlook for the global economic order.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: David Uberti with The Wall Street Journal told us that while there have been record-breaking gains for the stock market and positive signals for GDP growth, investors have reason to be wary. The labor market is quite weak, and we're seeing anecdotally in our reporting just a lot of signs of stress and tension and uncertainty from major businesses across the economy.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: The fact that the price of gold has more than doubled in recent years is particularly surprising because gold is often seen as an asset that doesn't fluctuate all that much, except during financial meltdowns.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Today, much of the economic uncertainty is driven by fear that policy decisions made by President Trump will destabilize the dollar. On Wall Street, the uncertainty emanating from Washington is really bleeding into a lot of investors' decisions about this.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: And in order to protect themselves from the potential for uncertainty, they veered toward gold, they veered toward Bitcoin, they veered toward some of the alternatives to things like the dollar.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Trump's reordering of global trade agreements has altered growth forecasts and his pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates threatens the broader financial system's checks and balances. It's distrust. That's what the trade is. It distrust that the government going to care about inflation It distrust that elected officials will care about inflation effects over the course of time And it distrust that the dollar can maintain its value in spite of it all
--:-- Yasmin Khan: So those are those dollars that are in your wallet and my wallet as well. So if we're looking for signs of what's happening in the world from financial markets, gold is flashing that warning signal right now. So it's just a question of whether this continues or whether prices crash back down to earth.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Another of President Trump's targets was charged yesterday. New York Attorney General Letitia James was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Reuters reports James is alleged to have falsified records to receive favorable loan terms on houses she purchased in Virginia and Brooklyn. James has previously denied wrongdoing, saying she made a clerical error but never deceived her loan provider.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: James has been one of Trump's most prominent critics. Last year, her office won a case against Trump's real estate company, which resulted in a $454 million penalty against the president. That penalty was ultimately thrown out, but the case is on appeal from both sides.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Her indictment comes on the heels of charges against former FBI Director James Comey, who pleaded not guilty to allegations that he lied to Congress. A previous DOJ attorney had resigned under pressure from Trump after concluding there was not enough evidence to prosecute either Comey or James.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: His successor, Lindsey Halligan, helped bring the charges. A federal judge has blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard to Illinois after hearing a case brought by the state's governor.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Judge April Perry said that permitting Guard troops in the state would only add fuel to the fire and that she was struggling to figure out where this would ever stop. She said she thought the arrival of the National Guard would in fact likely lead to more civil unrest.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: The White House said it would appeal the order. And finally, if you've noticed your favorite NFL team is making longer field goals, it might be because of a rule change governing the footballs allowed on the field.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: During games, kickers are now permitted to use balls that they've broken in at practice. This is a big change from when ball boys had to furiously try to weather new footballs just before games started.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: One coach in the NFL went so far as to suggest there should be an asterisk next to super long field goals made this year. The Athletic reports the data doesn't quite support the theory that the broken-in footballs lead to longer kicks, and a number of factors, like bigger, stronger kickers, might also be a reason.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: Kickers praise the change, saying they, as specialists, should be able to form the ball as they wish. Earlier this season, the record for the longest outdoor regular season field goal in NFL history, 65 yards, was made by Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around for the latest episode of Apple News and Conversation.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: This week, Shamita Basu sat down with two hosts of Why Should I Trust You? a new podcast that brings together members of the Make America Healthy Again movement and public health experts.
--:-- Yasmin Khan: If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News and Conversation to find that episode. Enjoy the weekend, and we'll be back with the news on Monday.
