Donald Trump; George Stephanopoulos; Israel-HamasExBulletin

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The hope of a ceasefire agreement with Israel and Hamas, plunged into war for 14 months, is reborn. Senior Biden administration officials have traveled to the region to push for negotiations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has returned from his latest trip to the Middle East and says now is the time to end the conflict.

Children watch the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday. Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images .

. Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images There is optimism around a potential deal because Hamas has been degraded to the point it cannot carry out another attack like October 7, Michele Kelemen said from NPR to Up First. Hamas is now showing itself to be more flexible. A source informed NPR that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to focus more on Iran and is therefore more interested in a Gaza deal. This would be a long-term ceasefire agreement: up to two months. Hamas reportedly releases some hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons. This agreement would only be the beginning, believes Kelemen.

ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million for President-elect Donald Trump's future presidential library to settle a lawsuit over remarks by anchor George Stephanopoulos during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace on This Week. The television station also issues a statement of regret. Trump was sued for defamation after Stephanopoulos said Trump had been “found responsible for rape,” which misrepresented the verdicts in two of E. Jean Carroll's lawsuits against him.

Trump was found responsible for sexually assaulting Carroll, says NPR's David Folkenflik. After speaking to six media First Amendment lawyers, Folkenflik said they agreed with his instinct that Stephanopoulos made a mistake. The lawyers said they expected the network and Stephanopoulos to clarify the distinction quickly. They also said it should have been a fairly easy decision to defend in court because what Stephanopoulos said was close to what the judge said, but the TV station is happy to have moved past that trial. The settlement comes at a time when the new administration has indicated it is intent on using government powers against the press.

Trump has indicated he wants to try to eliminate the consumer tax credit for electric vehicles, which his new administration has said is wasteful. Drivers can currently benefit from a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle. This year alone, buyers have claimed more than $2 billion in EV credits. Some buyers wonder if they should act quickly. NPR's Camila Domonoske speaks with experts to determine what buyers need to know about the uncertain future of the electric vehicle tax credit.

Behind the story

Sarah Abdel Hamid al-Aami is searching for her four brothers who were arrested on their way to work by government forces years ago, based on what she says were false accusations of terrorism. Clare Harbage/NPR .

switch captionClare Harbage/NPR

This essay was written by Morning Edition editor and journalist Arezou Rezvani. Rezvani and a Morning Edition team are on the ground in Syria covering the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

For decades, Syrians have lived in a constant state of fear and paranoia. For 54 years, under the rule of dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, there was no tolerance for criticism of the government. Those who spoke out often disappeared into Syria's prison system, known for its harrowing torture and killings. Oppression took an even darker turn in 2011 after Assad's regime crushed pro-democracy protests and suppressed any association with emerging opposition groups. During the 13 years of civil war that followed, friends, neighbors and colleagues avoided political discussions. Even in the privacy of their own homes, Syrians remained discreet. Parents hid their true feelings from their own children for fear they would say something at school, where they were closely monitored by teachers and staff who reported to families if they sensed signs of disloyalty at school. House. It was commonly said that in Syria, “the walls have ears”.

With the departure of Bashar al-Assad, Syrians are gradually starting to come out and share their secrets. Long-time friends reveal details about their lives that they had long kept secret, such as their imprisonments, the rebellious towns their families came from, their religions, their political leanings, their dreams, their aspirations, their thoughts and their unfiltered ideas. After so many decades of repression, many Syrians say this new freedom of expression does not come naturally to them, that they almost need to be deprogrammed.

Behind the thrill of the moment lies great anxiety. Many questions remain about the rebel groups that toppled Assad. Will they accept criticism? Will they hold free and fair elections? Will all religious and minority groups be protected? Have they really abandoned all ties to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State? Syrians are celebrating the end of the Assad regime, but they are holding their breath as they think about what awaits them.

Life advice

A father teaches his child to swim in a pond in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Drowning is a leading cause of child death worldwide, according to the first-ever report on drowning as a public health problem released by the World Health Organization. Md Rafayat Haque Khan/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images .

rock caption Md Rafayat Haque Khan/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images

More than 300,000 people die each year from drowning. A new report from the World Health Organization finds that almost all cases are preventable. The WHO gathered data from 139 countries for its first-ever report on how to prevent drowning. Children are the most at-risk group, with nearly a quarter of all drowning deaths occurring in children under 4 years old. The threat is evolving as climate change makes flooding more frequent and severe. Caroline Lukaszyk, technical lead for injury prevention at WHO, shares some findings with NPR.

Much of the drowning burden is in Southeast Asia and Africa. There are bodies of water everywhere in communities, and people need them for drinking, cooking, washing, and bathing. But they present a risk for unsupervised young people. It's good to have life jackets on boats. Work is underway to use local materials, such as empty two-liter plastic bottles, as flotation devices. Swimming lessons that teach water safety and survival skills can be inexpensive solutions. Bystander training and safe rescue and resuscitation are also recommended. It may be essential to teach CPR to older children and adults who may be around children playing in bodies of water. 3 things to know before you leave

Caroline Davis said the generosity of a stranger reminded her of her father. Caroline David .

. Caroline David Last summer, Caroline Davis was working on a DIY project requiring 1,500 pounds of gravel. As she was loading her car with 50-pound bags, a stranger intervened and warned her of the damage it could cause to the vehicle. The unsung hero then helped her carry the load. The interaction reminded him of his father, who passed away in 2017. Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain, whose career spanned more than five decades, died yesterday at the age of 73. Hussain is revered as a national treasure. Two men were arrested Saturday for allegedly operating a drone. “Dangerously close” to Logan International Airport, Boston police said. The arrests come as drones have been spotted on the East Coast.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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