Donald Trump; George Stephanopoulos; Israel-Hamas: NPR

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Today’s top stories

There is renewed hope for a ceasefire agreement with Israel and Hamas, which has been engulfed in war for 14 months. Senior officials in the Biden administration have been in the region pushing for the talks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back from his latest trip to the Middle East and says this is a moment to end the conflict.

Children stare at the destruction after an Israeli attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.

Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

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Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

• There is optimism about a potential deal because Hamas has been degraded to the point where it cannot carry out another attack like the one on October 7NPR’s Michele Kelemen reports First up. Hamas is now more flexible. A source told NPR that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to focus more on Iran, so he is more interested in a deal in Gaza. It would be a long-term ceasefire agreement: up to two months. Hamas would release some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons. This agreement would just be a start, says Kelemen.

ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million for President-elect Donald Trump’s future presidential library to settle a lawsuit over remarks made by anchor George Stephanopoulos during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace d. This week. The television network also issues a statement of regret. Trump sued for defamation after Stephanopoulos said that Trump was “known to be liable for rape,” invalidating convictions in two of E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuits against him.

• Trump was found responsible for sexually assaulting Carrollclarifies NPR’s David Folkenflik. After speaking with six First Amendment media lawyers, Folkenflik says they agreed with his gut instinct that Stephanopoulos had a screw-up. The lawyers said they expected the network and Stephanopoulos to clarify the distinction promptly. They also said this should have been a pretty easy call to defend in court because what Stephanopoulos said was close to what the judge said, but the TV network is happy to be over this lawsuit. The settlement comes at a time when the incoming administration has suggested a strong intent to use government power against the press.

Trump has signaled that he wants to try to withdraw a consumer tax credit for electric cars, which his incoming administration has declared wasteful spending. Drivers can currently get a tax credit worth up to $7,500 for buying or leasing an electric car. This year alone, buyers claimed more than $2 billion in EV credits. Some shoppers are researching whether to shop quickly. NPR’s Camila Domonoske talks to experts to explore what shoppers need to know about the uncertain future of the EV tax credit.

Behind the story

Sarah Abdel Hamid al-Aami is searching for her four brothers who were seized on their way to work by government forces years ago on what she says were false charges of terrorism.

Clare Harbage/NPR

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Clare Harbage/NPR

This essay was written by Morning Edition senior editor and reporter Arezou Rezvani. Rezvani and a team from
Morning Edition is 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 zero tolerance for criticizing the government. Those who spoke up often disappeared into Syria’s notorious prison system, known for soul-crushing torture and killings. The crackdown took an even darker turn in 2011 after Assad’s regime crushed pro-democracy protests and cracked down on any links with emerging opposition groups. During the ensuing 13-year civil war, friends, neighbors and colleagues would avoid political discussions. Even in the privacy of their own homes, Syrians remained taciturn. Parents withheld their true feelings from their own children for fear they would say something at school, where they were closely watched by teachers and staff who would report families if they sensed hints of disloyalty at home. It was commonly said that in Syria “the walls have ears.”

With Bashar al-Assad now gone, Syrians are slowly starting to come out and share their secrets. Long-term friends are revealed details of their lives they had long kept secretlike their prisons, the rebel-held cities their families originally come from, their religions, political views, dreams, aspirations, unfiltered thoughts and ideas. After so many decades of oppression, many Syrians say this newfound freedom to speak does not come naturally, it is almost as if they have to be deprogrammed.

Lurking under the tension of the moment is a great deal of anxiety. There are still many questions about the rebel groups that overthrew Assad. Will they accept criticism? Will they hold free and fair elections? Will all religious and minority groups be protected? Have they really given up all ties with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State? Syrians celebrate the end of Assad’s rule, but they are holding their breath for what is to come.

Life advice

A father teaches his child to swim in a pond in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Drowning is a leading cause of death globally for children, according to the first ever report on drowning as a public health problem issued by the World Health Organization.

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

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

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

• A large part 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 pose a risk to unsupervised young people.
• It is good to have life jackets on board the boats. Efforts are 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 cheap solutions.
• Bystander training and safe rescue and resuscitation are also recommended. It may be the key to teaching CPR to older children and adults who might be around children playing in bodies of water.

3 things you need to know before you go

Caroline Davis said a stranger’s generosity reminded her of her father.

Caroline David

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Caroline David

1. This past summer, Caroline Davis worked on a DIY project that required 1,500 pounds of gravel. As she was loading her car with 50-pound bags, a stranger stepped in and warned her of the damage it could cause to the vehicle. The unsung hero then helped her with the load. The interaction reminded her of her father, who died in 2017.
2. Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain, whose career spanned five decadesdied yesterday at the age of 73. Hussain is revered as a national treasure.
3. Two men were arrested on Saturday for allegedly flying a drone “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport, the Boston Police Department said. The arrests come as drones have been spotted across the East Coast.

This newsletter is edited by Suzanne Nuyen.