"After two years of war prompted by its Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas freed all remaining living hostages on Monday as President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to celebrate the peace deal he brokered that could reshape the Middle East.

"Israel confirmed the safe return of 20 hostages and reciprocated by freeing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in an exchange that was a key benchmark of the deal brokered by Trump and his team last week.

"Trump arrived in Israel and was greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and headed immediately to the Knesset to address Israel's political leadership. He also met with families of the hostages."

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"Democrats and media outlets were quick to blame climate change and oil companies for the devastating Palisades Fire that ravaged Los Angeles earlier this year. But that narrative crumbled on Wednesday when federal law enforcement officials charged a man for deliberately starting the fire.

"Federal prosecutors in California charged Jonathan Rinderknecht with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, a charge that carries a maximum time of 20 years in federal prison. 'While we cannot bring back what victims lost, we hope this criminal case brings some measure of justice to those affected by this horrific tragedy,' said acting U.S. attorney Bill Essayli.

"The charge -- which Essayli said was informed by witness statements, video surveillance, cell phone data, and an analysis of fire dynamics conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- cuts against the narrative prominent Democratic lawmakers and media outlets pushed following the tragic event."

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"Gold crossed the $4,000-per-ounce line this week; with nearly three months to go, the price is up 51% this year -- the biggest jump since it soared 126% in 1979, deep in the depths of Jimmy Carter's stagflation, gas lines and foreign-policy disasters.

In other words, gold spikes historically indicate investor panic; the metal's seen as the safest place to put money when everything else is going south.

Yet the nation's just seen two straight quarters of nearly 4% economic growth; the stock market's hitting record highs.

And whatever hit the economy's taken from tariffs, the boost from President Donald Trump's energy policies, deregulation and tax cuts is clearly far stronger."

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"President Trump wanted an excuse to send National Guard troops to Chicago, and now he's got one.

"The Windy City in recent days has done its best imitation of Los Angeles, where resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations created the justification for a Guard deployment a couple months ago.

"Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson hate the notion of the National Guard in the streets of the city, but have failed to rally Chicago residents to do the one thing necessary to avoid the deployment -- let federal officers do their job.

"The word should have gone out long ago: Don't riot outside ICE facilities."

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"The revelation that the FBI snooped on the phone records of Republican members of Congress during its January 6 investigation is bringing greater scrutiny to then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, during whose tenure the bureau effort occurred, and to then-Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was leading the Biden Justice Department's investigation into Donald Trump.

"Smith and the FBI reportedly collected the private phone records of eight Republican senators and one GOP House member as part of his investigation into the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021."

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"In July, National Public Radio's CEO cried and hollered, claiming her organization could not possibly survive without government funding.

This week, however, the same news organization claimed that on its first day functioning without taxpayer dollars, it was performing as well as ever -- possibly even better.

In other words, NPR's critics were right all along about defunding. NPR never needed those dollars. It just wanted them."

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"Americans' confidence in the mass media has edged down to a new low, with just 28% expressing a 'great deal' or 'fair amount' of trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news fully, accurately and fairly. This is down from 31% last year and 40% five years ago.

"Meanwhile, seven in 10 U.S. adults now say they have 'not very much' confidence (36%) or 'none at all' (34%).

"When Gallup began measuring trust in the news media in the 1970s, between 68% and 72% of Americans expressed confidence in reporting. However, by the next reading in 1997, public confidence had fallen to 53%. Media trust remained just above 50% until it dropped to 44% in 2004, and it has not risen to the majority level since. The highest reading in the past decade was 45% in 2018, which came just two years after confidence had collapsed amid the divisive 2016 presidential campaign.

"The latest 28% confidence reading, from a Sept. 2-16 poll, marks the first time the measure has fallen below 30%."

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"Democrats have decided to enter their fight era.

"As they try to refurbish their reputation and lagging poll numbers, party leaders have decided that causing a government shutdown is the way to go.

"Good luck with that.

"House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have refused to back down on costly demands they want included in a continuing resolution backed by Republicans to keep the government funded for the next few weeks. Democrats want to extend Obamacare subsidies, among other unlikely wishes.

"Democrats may think their tough talk will earn them points come the 2026 midterm elections, but I don't think it's going to work out the way they envision."

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"The intense partisan politics that drove Washington into a shutdown are making the path out of it hard to see.

"It's a stare-down, and one side has to blink -- with Republicans and Democrats each vowing it won't be them."

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"On Thursday, James Comey became the first former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be indicted for a federal crime.

"That is likely the only fact upon which you will receive anything close to agreement in the country.

"For some, the two-count indictment is long-overdue accountability for a man who pushed through the now-debunked Russia collusion investigation.

"For others, it is another abuse on President Trump's revenge tour.

"There are legitimate concerns about the targeting of a political critic of the president, who publicly complained just days ago that Attorney General Pam Bondi was not indicting Comey and others.

"However, Comey is hardly the pristine model of 'ethical leadership' that he described in his book. Putting aside his critical role in the Russia collusion investigation, Comey tossed aside even the pretense of ethics after Trump fired him."

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