A report on Special Counsel Jack Smith's doomed investigation into Donald Trump's election interference is now in the hands of Congress. Many people affected by L.A.'s wildfires will need long-term emotional support, a health provider says. Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, gets a public job interview on Capitol Hill this week. For more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Emily Kopp, Diane Webber, Eric Whitney, Anna Yukhananov, Ally Schweitzer and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, Iman Ma'ani and Lilly Quiroz. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Hey, this is Steve Inskeep.
We have some news for you.
As it looks at 6:17 in the morning Eastern time, we have news, not quite final, of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
A senior official speaking anonymously to our colleague Kat Lasdorf in Tel Aviv says that Israel and Hamas and other negotiators are very, very close to a ceasefire agreement that could unroll over the next few weeks.
This involves ceased shooting in Gaza for six weeks, the release of some, but not all Israeli hostages, as well as the release of some Palestinians.
That's our understanding a little bit after 6:00 Eastern Time.
You can stay tuned to NPR News for the latest on this.
And now here's the rest of today's news.
The final report from a special counsel investigating President Elect Trump does not back down.
Jack Smith's report is now public.
He writes that only the election prevented him from holding a trial on a case he would have won.
I'm a Martinez.
That is Steve Inskeep and this is up first from NPR News.
Amid the other losses of the LA wildfires is the scar on a landscape that people depended on for their mental health.
We really felt the loss of the.
Forest beyond the physical losses of the fire is the toll on some people's spirits.
How do you address that?
And Pete Hegseth has President Elect Trump's stamp of approval to lead the Pentagon, but does not yet have that of the Senate.
How do lawmakers weigh his qualifications and the criticisms of his conduct?
Stay with us.