--:-- Traci Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Traci Mumford. Today's Monday, September 29th.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Here's what we're covering. President Trump and top congressional leaders from both parties will meet at the White House today as the government teeters on the edge of a shutdown.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Funding is set to run out in less than 48 hours, at which point many federal operations will come to a halt and thousands of workers could be furloughed if Democrats and Republicans don't reach a deal.
--:-- Traci Mumford: We don't want to shut down the government, but if Democrats refuse to just pass this clean, continuing resolution, that's exactly what's going to happen, and I think the Democrats are going to bear the responsibility for it.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Republicans hold a narrow majority in the Senate, but will need some Democratic support in order to pass a temporary spending bill.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Democrats, however, are demanding that any deal must include additional money for health care programs to protect Americans from losing coverage.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Senate Majority Leader John Thune has dismissed that, calling it political posturing.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Now, if the president at this meeting is going to rant and just yell at Democrats and talk about all his alleged grievances and say this, that and the other thing, we won't get anything done.
--:-- Traci Mumford: But my hope is it'll be a serious negotiation. Today will mark the first time that Trump has invited Democrats to the White House this term.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will both be in attendance after Trump canceled a meeting with them last week.
--:-- Traci Mumford: In another major meeting at the White House today, President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza.
--:-- Traci Mumford: I think we have maybe a deal on Gaza, very close to a deal on Gaza.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Trump said Friday that a deal to end the fighting was close.
--:-- Traci Mumford: I think it's a deal that will get the hostages back.
--:-- Traci Mumford: It's going to be a deal that will end the war.
--:-- Traci Mumford: It's not been finalized yet, but we're working with President Trump's team, actually, as we speak.
--:-- Traci Mumford: And I hope we can make it a go because we want to free our hostages.
--:-- Traci Mumford: We want to get rid of Hamas rule.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Netanyahu shared similar comments yesterday on Fox News.
--:-- Traci Mumford: This will be the fourth time the leaders have met in Washington since Trump returned to office.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Each time has raised hopes of a ceasefire though wider negotiations have repeatedly fallen apart.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Next month the war will enter its third year.
--:-- Traci Mumford: It began with the October 7th attacks by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people in Israel.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Israel's counterattack in Gaza has now killed over 65,000 people, including thousands of children, according to Gaza health officials, and it's leveled much of the territory.
--:-- Traci Mumford: As the wars continued, Israel's become more isolated diplomatically.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes.
--:-- Traci Mumford: And several of Israel's allies, like France and the UK, have recently recognized a Palestinian state over Israeli objections.
--:-- Traci Mumford: The Trump administration's most recent proposal to end the fighting calls for Hamas to return all living hostages and the remains of those who've been killed within 48 hours of any deal.
--:-- Traci Mumford: And Hamas members who agree to peaceful coexistence with Israel will be granted amnesty.
--:-- Traci Mumford: It's unclear if Netanyahu, who has repeatedly vowed to completely eradicate Hamas, would accept those terms.
--:-- Traci Mumford: And last update on the Trump administration.
--:-- Traci Mumford: This weekend, the president announced that he's directed troops to Portland, Oregon, which he called war ravaged.
--:-- Traci Mumford: It's the latest instance of his use of the U.S. military on city streets.
--:-- Traci Mumford: He said he'd authorized troops to use what he called full force to quell protests there directed at ICE facilities.
--:-- Traci Mumford: For several months, a small but persistent group of demonstrators has camped in front of an ICE facility about two miles from downtown Portland.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Some of the protesters have tried to block federal vehicles from leaving the building, and agents in armored gear have pushed them back.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Fox News coverage of that, cut together with images from much larger protests in Portland back in 2020, prompted Trump to say he didn't know that was still going on and threaten action.
--:-- Traci Mumford: State and local leaders sued yesterday to try and stop the planned deployment.
--:-- Traci Mumford: near flint michigan yesterday a gunman crashed his car into a church and began shooting before lighting the building on fire at least four people were killed in the attack
--:-- Traci Mumford: well i don know how many people are unaccounted for at this time
--:-- Traci Mumford: We do know that there are some that are unaccounted for
--:-- Traci Mumford: Authorities are still working through the wreckage of the burned building, which was part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church.
--:-- Traci Mumford: They found three explosive devices at the scene, and the gunman is believed to have used an accelerant, possibly gasoline, to start the fire.
--:-- Traci Mumford: The gunman was then killed by officers responding to the scene.
--:-- Traci Mumford: That suspect is a 40-year-old male from the city of Burton.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Military records show that the shooter was a Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq from 2007 to 2008.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Authorities did not address any possible motive for the attack, but the FBI said it's investigating it as an act of targeted violence.
--:-- Traci Mumford: In another shooting over the weekend, which authorities called highly premeditated, a gunman opened fire at a crowded Riverside bar in Southport, North Carolina, killing three people.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Police say he pulled up to the dock before he began firing, and he escaped by boat.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Within an hour, authorities detained a suspect.
--:-- Traci Mumford: They've identified him as a 40-year-old Marine Corps veteran who said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
--:-- Traci Mumford: They called it a lone wolf attack and did not cite any possible motive.
--:-- Traci Mumford: In New York City, in a video that opened with Frank Sinatra singing, I did it my way, Mayor Eric Adams announced he was dropping out of the race.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Despite all we've achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Adams had been facing low poll numbers, and there'd been a constant drip of corruption allegations surrounding his administration.
--:-- Traci Mumford: He was personally indicted on corruption and fraud charges earlier this year, though the Justice Department then abandoned the case so Adams could assist with President Trump's deportation efforts.
--:-- Traci Mumford: I hope you will see that despite the headlines and innuendo, I always put you before me, always.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Behind the scenes, Adams had spent the last few weeks exploring potential off-ramps to avoid an embarrassing loss at the polls.
--:-- Traci Mumford: That included talking with the Trump administration about becoming the ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Proponents of the plan felt getting Adams out of the race would help consolidate opposition to Zoran Mamdani the Democratic nominee and frontrunner who Trump has heavily criticized
--:-- Traci Mumford: In his video message Adams did not endorse any other candidate but strongly suggested New Yorkers not vote for Mamdani.
--:-- Traci Mumford: With just five weeks to go until Election Day, it's unclear how much Adams' departure will shake up the race.
--:-- Traci Mumford: His name will still be on the ballot because of the short timeline, and polls consistently put his support in just the single digits, suggesting the shift won't free up that many votes for other candidates.
--:-- Traci Mumford: And finally, the NFL announced last night that Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February.
--:-- Traci Mumford: The Grammy award-winning Latin superstar is one of the most streamed artists on Earth, with more streams on Spotify than anyone else in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
--:-- Traci Mumford: He was dethroned in 2023 by Taylor Swift, who was also rumored to be in the running for next year's halftime show, which will be held at Levi's Stadium near San Francisco.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Traditionally, the halftime show is the most watched TV event in the world, even more popular than the game itself.
--:-- Traci Mumford: The last one, with Kendrick Lamar, pulled in 130 million viewers.
--:-- Traci Mumford: My colleagues at The Athletic recently ranked the best halftime performances of all time.
--:-- Traci Mumford: The top spot went to Prince for his performance in 2007.
--:-- Traci Mumford: He played Purple Rain as it was raining.
--:-- Traci Mumford: When he was asked beforehand if he wanted to cancel because of the weather, he reportedly just asked, can you make it rain harder?
--:-- Traci Mumford: Those are the headlines.
--:-- Traci Mumford: And I want to make sure you don't miss something brand new that is coming to Times Audio.
--:-- Traci Mumford: Subscriber-only episodes from a bunch of different shows.
--:-- Traci Mumford: If you subscribe to The New York Times, you will get two special episodes of The Daily every month, along with early access to the next season of Serial, all kinds of stuff.
--:-- Traci Mumford: You can subscribe at nytimes.com slash podcasts or directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
--:-- Traci Mumford: I'm Traci Mumford.
--:-- Traci Mumford: We'll be back tomorrow.
