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Today is Friday, October 18. Want

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to know about the death of Hamas's leader and

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why some officials are now hopeful it could lead

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to a ceasefire deal. Also

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an update from the campaign trail, from

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a charity dinner to the billionaires backing

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each candidate. Plus, why teen tobacco use

0:15

is at a 25-year low. What

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else popular weight loss drugs may be able

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to treat and the newest winter weather predictions

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for the country? Those stories and

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even more news to know today, coming up. Welcome

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to the newsworthy, all the day's news

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in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun

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and on the go. I'm Erica Mandy.

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Thanks so much for being here. You

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ready? Let's do

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this. We start today

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with a major update in the Middle East.

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The leader of Hamas is dead. Yahya Sinwar

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is said to have played a central role

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in planning the October 7 surprise attack on

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Israel last year, the deadliest attack on the

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country in its history and the assault that

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led to the war in Gaza. The New

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York Times reports he was known for his

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brutality and elusiveness. And while he had been

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Israel's number one target since the start of

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the war, it was actually a unit of

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trainee squad commanders that unexpectedly encountered him and

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killed him, not a carefully planned mission based

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on intelligence. Regardless, the death of

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Sinwar is a huge blow to Hamas,

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which has now lost most of its

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military and political leadership. But perhaps this

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also means a ceasefire and hostage release

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deal is on the horizon. Others

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say Sinwar was a big reason there had not

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been negotiations for the last two months. And

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Israeli officials told Axios other Hamas leaders

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might be more ready to surrender as

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part of a deal to end the

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war. The leader's death also gives Israeli

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to

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declare victory. For now, though, Netanyahu says

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the war is not over, as he

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seems to be turning his attention to

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the 101 Israeli hostages still held by

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Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu said once hostages

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are returned, that will bring the end

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of the war closer. Already though, President

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Biden called the killing of the Hamas

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leader a good day for the world.

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Both he and White House National Security

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Advisor Jake Sullivan said the death is

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an opportunity for a ceasefire and hostage

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release deal, though other officials aren't

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so sure. So, to be continued. An

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independent panel investigating the first assassination attempt

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on former President Trump back in July

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is now calling for a complete overhaul

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of the Secret Service. President Biden had

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requested this bipartisan independent panel after the

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rally shooting. And while the report thanked

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agents who risked their lives to protect

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the former president, it also found the

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Secret Service suffers from what it called

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deep flaws that allowed the shooting to

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happen, citing both several mistakes on that

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particular day as well as systemic issues.

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It called on the agency to undergo

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fundamental reform to properly protect top government

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officials around the world, including new leadership.

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While the Secret Service director at the

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time already stepped down, the acting director

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said in a statement he would carefully

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review the report and recommendations, adding that

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the agency has already begun improving security.

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The panel dedicated its work to the

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man who was shot and killed at

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the rally, as well as two others

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who were injured along with all of

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their families. Former

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President Donald Trump spoke at the Al

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Smith charity dinner in New York last

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night, while Vice President Kamala Harris sent

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in a recorded video. The event is

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a white tie, bipartisan dinner to raise

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money for Catholic charities, and presidential candidates

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typically attend every four years and trade

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jokes ahead of election day. Trump was

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there with former First Lady Melania Trump,

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which was notable since she's been absent

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from most public appearances with the former

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president recently. During his speech last

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night, Trump mocked Harris for not being at

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the event in person and made a joke

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that criticized her intelligence. He got a mixed

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reception as some jokes landed and some did

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not. As for Harris in

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her pre-recorded video, she chided Trump for

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election denialism and for attacking the city

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of Detroit while speaking in Detroit. Instead

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of going to the event, Harris focused

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on campaigning in a battleground state. She

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made another trip to Wisconsin. Johnson,

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where she criticized Trump for saying January

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6, 2021, when the Capitol riot happened,

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was a mostly peaceful day of love.

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Also of note, both candidates had billionaires

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backing them yesterday. Harris had Mark

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Cuban's support. He criticized Trump's tariffs proposals,

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saying Trump does not understand his own

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plan and that it would cause prices

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for consumers to go up. Meanwhile, Elon

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Musk, the world's richest person who has

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donated millions of dollars to the Trump

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campaign, held a rally outside of Philadelphia.

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He said he's politically active now because he thinks

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the future of America is at stake. He

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also told the crowd to vote and get their

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friends and family to vote and to vote early.

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Already though, it seems many Americans in battleground states

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are making their voices heard ASAP. Georgia

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had record turnout when their early voting started

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earlier this week, and now the battleground state

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of North Carolina reports strong turnout on day

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one as well. And that

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was even true in mountainous areas that are

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still dealing with Hurricane Helene's devastating impact. The

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Biden administration is wiping out another

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$4.5 billion of student debt for

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people in public service. Firefighters, nurses,

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teachers and social workers are some

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of the 60,000 workers who will

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now see their student loans disappear. Notices will

5:10

go out in the next few weeks to

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those whose loans will be cleared. With these

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loan cancellations and others, more than a million

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people have now gotten student debt relief from

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the Biden administration. Though the program Biden used

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to clear the debt actually started during the

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George W. Bush administration back in 2007. It

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lets certain nonprofit and government employees erase their

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loans after making monthly payments for a decade.

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But before Biden took office, only 7,000 people

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had benefited from it. The Education Department

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said years of mismanagement meant thousands of

5:39

people continued making payments on loans that

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should have been forgiven. So the department

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streamlined the system, and now $73 billion

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in debt has been wiped out because of

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the program. Though President Biden's other

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plans to clear even more student debt

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have been blocked by various courts, including

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the U.S. Supreme Court. All

5:59

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