--:-- Dale Willman: This message comes from Amazon Business. With smart business buying, get everything you need to grow in one familiar place, from office supplies to IT essentials and maintenance tools. Ready to bring your visions to life? Learn how at AmazonBusiness.com.
--:-- Dale Willman: Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Hamas has begun the release of the last remaining live Israeli hostages. Seven have now been handed over to the Red Cross, including twin brothers. Earlier Monday, Hamas released a list of names for the 20 hostages they say are still alive. Families in Gaza are also waiting for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons.
--:-- Dale Willman: These exchanges, though, do not remove all the obstacles to a final peace, as NPR's Jaina Raft tells us from Amman Jordan. The ceasefire is just the beginning. Israel says it still needs to ensure Hamas won't be a threat, so that has to be worked out. It's still unclear who will govern Gaza and who will pay for reconstruction. And most Arab countries are insistent that this has to be the start of a process that leads to a Palestinian state.
--:-- Dale Willman: But that's unlikely to be hammered out at this summit. That's NPR's Jane Araf reporting.
--:-- Jane Araf: The ceasefire is just the beginning. Israel says it still needs to ensure Hamas won't be a threat, so that has to be worked out. It's still unclear who will govern Gaza and who will pay for reconstruction. And most Arab countries are insistent that this has to be the start of a process that leads to a Palestinian state.
--:-- Dale Willman: France's prime minister, who was renamed to the post on Friday, says he will form a cabinet by Monday NPR Eleanor Beardsley reports the far right and far left are already threatening to bring this latest government down.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: In an unheard of move President Emmanuel Macron reappointed S Lecornu as prime minister just days after Lecornu resigned from the position. Lecornu told the media he has no other ambition but to pull France out of its crisis. But the parliament is fragmented and no party has a majority, though the extremes have the biggest voting blocs.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: Far-right leader Marine Le Pen says Macron must let the French people choose their future. This is a deplorable circus, she said. The only solution that respects democracy is to dissolve the National Assembly and hold new elections.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: But analysts say doing so might increase fragmentation and the representation of the extremes in the French Parliament.
--:-- Dale Willman: The investigation into the cause of a deadly blast to the military munitions plant in rural Tennessee last week continues. The local church community, meanwhile, is working to support the families and first responders who've been affected by the explosion.
--:-- Dale Willman: Justin Barney from member station WPLN has more.
--:-- Justin Barney: Churches will play a big role in the recovery from the deadly blast at the Accurate Energetic Systems Plant. The major employer was closely tied to the community. Multiple vigils, fundraisers, and collections of supplies have come together.
--:-- Justin Barney: At Hope Church Hickman Pastor Devin Pickard asked his congregation to help with meal prep after their weekly service. You got a lot of these folks who are working this site. It's going to be traumatic for them. I can't begin to imagine what the things they've seen, and you cannot unsee those things. And so this is the least that we can do.
--:-- Justin Barney: His church includes congregants who lost loved ones in the blast. After the sermon, one said that it provided her with comfort during this hard time.
--:-- Dale Willman: In Alaska, remnants of Tropical Storm Halong are causing major problems for some coastal communities. In some areas, storm surge is pushing entire homes off their foundations, and at least one person is unaccounted for.
--:-- Dale Willman: This is NPR News.
--:-- Dale Willman: The government shutdown has now entered its 13th day, and thousands of federal employees have begun receiving reduction in force notices. The Senate will reconvene on Tuesday to consider legislation to reopen the government, but House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to refuse to bring the House back into session.
--:-- Dale Willman: NPR's Eva Pukac reports, meanwhile, that the shutdown is affecting one of the world's biggest museum and research institutions. All 21 Smithsonian Institution Museums, its research centers, and the National Zoo are now closed.
--:-- Eva Pukac: The Smithsonian had kept these sites running for the first 11 days of the shutdown using prior year funds. The Institute says animals at the National Zoo and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute will continue to be fed and cared for but the popular live animal cams will be turned off.
--:-- Eva Pukac: About 62 percent of the Smithsonian's budget comes from the federal government. Other popular tourist sites in Washington, D.C., including the open-air Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, remain accessible.
--:-- Dale Willman: Tron Aries struggled at the box office this weekend. The Disney flick came in first in North American theaters with $33.5 million in sales, but expectations for the sequel were much higher. The new release, Roof Man, also had a difficult time. It landed in second with just $8 million in sales. One battle after another brought in $6.7 million. That was good enough for third. While Gabby's dollhouse was in fourth with $3.4 million in ticket sales.
--:-- Dale Willman: I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.
