Politics and views in the United States.

Israel agrees to a tentative peace deal for Gaza. Democrats and Republicans brace for a government shutdown and NYC's Dept. of Corrections violated the city's sanctuary laws.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

I believe that today we're taking a critical step towards both ending the war in Gaza and setting the stage for dramatically advancing peace in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is praising President Donald Trump for a plan to end the Gaza war.

Provisions call for Israel and Hamas to release all hostages and prisoners and for Gaza to be governed by a transitional, technocratic, apolitical Palestinian group, which would answer to a committee Trump would chair.

If Hamas doesn't agree to the plan, Trump has pledged to fully support Israel's continued attacks.

Almost two years of conflict has killed nearly 70,000 people, mostly Palestinian women and children.

Republican congressional leaders say the government's headed for a shutdown with hours left to reach a deal to fund the government.

Democrats are demanding Medicaid cuts made in the unpopular budget mega-bill be restored and Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies be extended.

After meeting with them, Vice President J.D. Vance accuses them of using their leverage to make drastic demands. use your policy disagreements as leverage to not bear truth.

Don't say the fact that you disagree about a particular tax provision is an excuse for shutting down the people's government.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the trillion dollar cut from Medicaid and the millions of consumers who would be priced out of Obama health coverage require immediate action.

Schumer says he's not sure the president is aware how serious it is.

Closing of rural hospitals.

In fact, so many clinics are closing.

And I don't know if we knew this before, but the fact that people will pay $400 more per - I'm on close to $5,000 more a year on their healthcare premiums.

While furloughing federal employees would be the usual step in a shutdown, Trump is calling for agencies to consider mass firings in an effort to cut federal spending.

Some Democrats say they also want to protect Congress's power of the purse from executive overreach while the Supreme Court has expanded the president's power to not spend money Congress has appropriated.

And a separate fight is brewing over housing funds.

The administration is trying to reshape a Department of Housing program which funds low-income support programs.

Advocates want lawmakers to include a no-cost provision in either a continuing resolution or the agency's budget, ensuring existing grants are renewed.

As the White House prepares to send National Guard troops to defend ICE actions in Portland and Chicago, immigration agents are being accused of aggressively arresting innocent people in mass raids.

The Trump administration has long touted the sweeps as targeting the worst of the worst, but data show most people detained have little to no criminal record.

Governor JB Pritzker says what President Trump is doing isn't making Illinois any safer.

They're not targeting violent criminals or gang members.

They're arresting tamale vendors, delivery men, and shaking down families.

Meanwhile, New York City's Department of Corrections has been found in violation of the city's sanctuary laws.

A new report alleges a corrections investigator working on a joint task force with Homeland Security gave information to ICE, which is barred by local laws.

Or Ottawa, with the New York Immigration Coalition, calls that inexcusable.

New York City's longstanding sanctuary policies and laws are public safety measures that ensure any New Yorker, regardless of immigration status, can interact with our public institutions and report emergencies to authorities.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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