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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Cheers went up in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians heard the news of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. In a speech from the White House, President Biden outlined the first phase of the agreement, which is set to take effect on Sunday.
It includes a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women, and elderly and the wounded. And I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release in phase one as well.
The Israeli government has not signed off on the agreement, saying that it's working to finalize the framework of the deal. In the meantime, the Israeli military continues to carry out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, faced a tough round of questioning during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill today.
Speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bondi laid out her vision for the department.
My overriding objective will be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals.
And PR's Ryan Lucas reports Bondi also told the committee that the DOJ must be independent and that politics will not play a role.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee say Pam Bondi is highly qualified to lead the Justice Department. They are touting her long career as a local prosecutor in Florida, as well as her eight-year stint as the state's attorney general. Democrats, however, have pressed Bondi on whether she will maintain the department's independence from the White House.
Under questioning, Bondi has said the department must act independently, but she argued, echoing committee Republicans, that the department unfairly targeted Donald Trump with two prosecutions, and she pledged that she will end what she called the weaponization of the department if she's confirmed as attorney general. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Consumer prices are up 2.9% from a year ago. NPR's Rafael Nam reports the latest figures mark a third consecutive increase in annual inflation.
Inflation is proving to be pretty stubborn. Yes, it has eased a lot from the very high level of 9.1% over a couple years ago. A big reason for the uptick last month was gas prices. But there was some good news. Factoring out gas and food prices, inflation came below expectations. Overall, though, it means the Federal Reserve may have to keep interest rates higher for a little longer.
President-elect Donald Trump says he wants tariffs and mass deportations, which economists say could make inflation worse. Rafael Nam, NPR News.
This is NPR News in Washington. Extreme red flag warnings are back in effect in Los Angeles as strong winds continue to fuel massive wildfires in the region. LA Fire Department Chief Kristen Crowley is urging people to heed evacuation orders.
significant safety and infrastructure issues remain, including downed power lines, broken gas lines, hazardous materials, and unsafe water.
Two of the largest blazes have scorched roughly 40,000 acres in L.A. County. Ancient DNA has revealed that during the Iron Age, women in an ancient Celtic society were at the center of their social network, unlike previous eras. R.A. Daniel reports.
For much of human history, societies have been centered around kinship, so couples have had to decide whose community they're going to live with. Most of the time, it's been the man's, which is why researchers were surprised when they sequenced the ancient DNA of a burial site of a Celtic tribe dating from 100 BCE to 100 CE in what's now southern England.
The group was related along the female line, meaning that the men had left their families to live with their wives' community. Laura Cassidy is a geneticist at Trinity College Dublin.
The women, they're embedded in a much wider network, so they have a much greater support system.
The same thing was true among hundreds of Iron Age genomes from cemeteries across Britain, suggesting it's a custom dating back centuries. For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel.
I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.