On today's episode:

• Netanyahu says Israel and Hamas will enter ceasefire's second phase soon.
• Qatari leader says the Gaza ceasefire is at a critical moment.
• Judges deal setback to Justice Department effort to seek new indictment against Comey.
• UN aid coordination agency cuts appeal for 2026 to $33B after lowest annual support in a decade.
• The Supreme Court weighs Trump's bid to fire independent agency board members.
• China's trade surplus tops $1 trillion as its exports surge while imports lag behind.
• The Social Security Administration plans to cut field office visits by 50%. What it means for you.
• Trump's security strategy slams European allies and asserts US power in the Western Hemisphere.
• Shops empty in a Hispanic neighborhood as immigration crackdown comes to Louisiana.
• Suspect in DC pipe bomb case said to have confessed in interviews with investigators, AP sources say.
• Florida congressional Republicans tell Trump to keep oil drilling off state's coasts.
• Bullet-pocked marker memorializing 1918 lynching goes on display in Atlanta.
• Young adults are waiting in line to worship at this fast-growing Atlanta church.
• California officials warn against foraging wild mushrooms after deadly poisoning outbreak.
• Released 911 calls reveal desperate pleas and tragic outcomes during Texas Hill Country flood.
• Wall Street rises to the edge of its all-time high.
• Summer Olympians begin torch relay for Milan Cortina Winter Games on 2-month countdown.
• A late pick seals a win for Green Bay, a battle of top quarterbacks in Baltimore, a star QB suffers a likely season-ending injury, Indiana tops the College Football Playoff’s 12-team bracket, a clutch shot from the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a playoff victory in golf and a former infielder is headed to Cooperstown.
• Indiana grabs top seed in College Football Playoff. Alabama and Miami make it, Notre Dame left out.
• Jeff Kent elected to baseball Hall of Fame, which again keeps doors shut for Bonds and Clemens.
• Ex-SEC commissioner Roy Kramer, whose vision paved the way for college football playoffs, dies at 96.
• The United States has its opponent for the opening match of next year’s World Cup hosted in North America.
• A UN team in Lebanon examines options for border area with Israel after peacekeepers leave.
• Thailand launches airstrikes along border with Cambodia as tensions reignite.
• A fire at a popular nightclub in India's Goa state kills 25.
• Benin's interior minister says a coup announced earlier has been foiled.
• Nobel laureates arrive for a week of events and awards in Stockholm and Oslo.
• Man arrested after pepper spray attack in London's Heathrow Airport parking garage.
• Mass shooting at a South African bar leaves 11 dead, including 3 children.
• Philippines says China fired flares toward its patrol plane in the disputed South China Sea.
• Russia unleashes massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine as diplomatic talks continue.
• Sudanese paramilitary drone attack kills 50, including 33 children in Kordofan, doctor group says.
• On this week's AP Religion Roundup, Pope Leo wraps up his first trip abroad, speaking to the people of Lebanon, and turning his focus to global peace efforts.

—The Associated Press

About this program

Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.

Theme music

The News Tonight, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: ZR2MOTROGI4XAHRX