Aid Enters Gaza, American Hostages Freed, Resilient American Economy
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Trucks curing aid interred gaza through the egyptian border. Today.

palestinians there have been rationing food and drinking dirty water.

So will this aid be enough?

I'm scotch.

am a character. O and this is up first from in P. R. news.

Two U. S. Hostages held by hama's are freed.

When this news head IT was like all the emotions that we have been holding while we are fighting for them just erupted.

we speak to a relative who says, is now time for healing back at home.

The federal government keeps raising those .

interest rates, and the economy is plotting along as americans .

keeps spending. But what might that mean for mortgage rates?

Stay with us. We've got the new. You need to .

start a week.

Two U. S. Hostages, a mother and daughter, were released by hamson friday.

and a trickle of desperately needed humAnitarian aid finally crossed over into the gaza strip from egypt today.

And pears, Peter kenyon joins us from jersey m. Peter banks for being with us hi scot, let's begin with the the two hostages were released.

What do we know they are due to run on and her one thousand nine hundred year old daughter daily they held from chicago. They were on a family visit to your boots and hell oz when they were abducted, and Adelaide father said when he hugs her, IT will be the happiest day of his life. Israeli government issued a statement announcing the release, saying they were taken to a military base and we're safe. The statement also said israel would do everything in its power to bring the rest of the hostage is home course.

This is wonderful news for for that family. What do we know about any other efforts for the release of hostages?

Well, this is what has so many other families worried at the israeli goal? Military is to destroy how much as ability to Carry out terror attacks like the one on october seventh. And they're certainly strong support for that goal in israel. I spoke with analyst alisa at televised versy. Here's how he put IT.

You know, usually the israel calculation is will send forces. One of our soldiers might be killed, might be in them, but after what happened, what does IT matter? So I think there is more readiness in israel, too, yes, to whatever is needed.

But I must appear to be using civilians, both palestinians and israeli hostages, as human shield. Ds, and I should add that so far, there's been no official confirmation that a widely expected israeli ground Operation will actually go ahead for sure. That's another thing people here will be watching out for. IT would seem like an incredibly difficult mission to eliminate homosexuality, to Carry out terror attacks without a major loss of civilian life. Meanwhile.

the course there seems to be some movement on efforts to get trucks loaded with humAnitarian aid from egypt in to gaza. What's the latest on that? Peter?

Well, not long ago, we saw the first reports of the aid trucks being made by A U. N. Vehicle are moving not only through the egyptian side of the crossing, but onward told the gaza trip.

Hoa statement said the aid they were bringing to gaza includes food, medicine and medical supplies, crucially, no fuel which israel had questioned, but which gaza hospital's need for emergency generators. And they also needed to run the desAlination plants. Guys, a realized on to provide safe drinking water.

Uh, a palestinian red cresent worker called the aid very disappointing. And another point, in addition to what was left out, and this just isn't nearly enough aid to care for more than two million dollars, there are some two hundred trucks waiting across, haas said. This won't change the catastrophes. Medical conditions in gaza and the lack of field is exacerbating that. There is some hope, maybe the only hope, that they got one delivery across and maybe that we clear the way for more in the future.

And at the same time, violence seems to be escalating beyond gaza, into the west bank and at the northern border, and including reports of rockets and fire from hizbul in lebanon. What do we know about that?

Israel says an idea of service was killed by an I tank missile, knew the israeli lebanese border yesterday, caro and international gatherings taking place to discuss ways of the escalating the conflict, but neither were run nor israel is attending. I spoke with israeli analysts and columns deli, a shenzhen who told me the hesba a attacks are very concerning because of the prospect of this widening into a broader regional war. SHE says at the moment he feels, quote, closer to a regional war, then we have ever been in her lifetime.

in part Peter kenyon and jerusha. Thanks so much.

Scott.

We now have more on the two hostages who were released by hamas on friday.

Judi ran on and her daughter netley Sharon from suburban chicago are reportedly with to be reunited with family.

They were abducted while visiting israel for the high holidays.

Brenon is nedley rennes older brother. He joins us from denver. Thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you for having .

on what do you know about how they happen to be released?

Uh, it's it's an absurd situation. Uh, I first heard from uh national news syndicate that text to me and said, hey, you have an comment that's how quickly at moved we were anticipating today to be another day of very sad interviews, exhAusting interviews, trying to get naturally and due to back home but uh, we went this news hit IT was like all the emotions that we had been holding while we were fighting for them just .

erupted I gather they were israel for your grandmother's birthday. Do you know what happened?

So when they they were in israel for my grandma ther's birthday as well to celebrate the high holidays um at seventy and my american time, my father received a text about thirteen days ago saying, hey, i'm in the house uh just so you know there's gunshots and explosions outside and locking the door, say is quite as possible when the city was liberated about four five hours later, they searched the house, which was md and they found glass on the inside of the house meaning someone had broken in a couple days later we had information from a neighbor that he had watched them be uh a escorted out of the house at .

one point by her mosh what are these days been like for you? Have you been able to talk to them?

I have not been able to speak with them since my father briefly was on the phone with natly when he was released and apparently her spirits are high which is wonderful. Um no SHE seemed very composed um but these days have just been a nightmare you know it's thirteen days but IT feels like thirteen years trying to keep composer because you know that getting emotional isn't going to solve anything and IT seems surreal that suddenly I won't say it's over where we're onto the next journey of what this is, which is the their recovery.

May I ask you? We are calling congressional law offices the White house.

the U. N. Yeah we've been in touch with a all authorities. Uh, we spoke with president by in about a week ago and then my father spoke again with present biden today, who made a very deep commitment to all american hostages, but really hostages of every nation and and people on both sides, and letting us know that he was doing everything in his power to help return family members.

Do your motions let me put at this, where are your emotions tempered by the fact that, you know, your sister and stepmother still in the zone of conflict and there are a rather hostages still being held?

I mean, we we're a very peaceful family. And that's what has made this whole situation so absurd that natural and Judith aren't politicians. They aren't soldiers there.

There are people who loves people. And so, uh, our family is grieving in this moment of a relation. We're grieving for all the families that are still being catos ge. We are grieving for innocent israelis and palestinians who who are caught in the middle of this, this ord humAnitarian crisis.

Brenon in denver. And he is the brother of a badly sshh, a ronan, who, along with her mother due as tyron, were released from custody by him as friday night. Mister bernon, thank you so much for being with .

us big for have me.

For a while now, federal reserve has been trying to put the brakes on inflation with higher interest rates.

but the U. S. Economy is still doing okay.

A GDP report out this coming week is expected to show strong economic growth during july, August and september in pr.

Got horsey joins us for more. Thanks so much for being with us.

Good to be with you.

Higher interest rates are supposed to tamp down spending, but I feel like every time I talk to you, you would tell me americans are still spending pretty freely. So what is going on?

Yeah, that's still the story. Tail sales rose more than expected last month of easily outpacing inflation. People are spending a lot of money on restaurants and live entertainment. Retailers had a good back to school season, and I talked about that. If you look around my neber hood right now, that seems like people shell out a lot for halloween decorations. Spending around the Christmas holidays is also projected to be up about five percent from last year, federal serve chain interpal told the economic club of new york this week. The economy is resilient even with the sharp sing interest strates.

If you think back a year, many forecasts called for the was economy to be in recession this year. Not only has that not happened, growth is now running for this year above it's a longer run trend. So that's been a surprise, driven largely by consumer spending, driven by a very strong job market. And we've also had inflation coming down.

So that's all good news. You know, unemptied been under four percent for twenty straights months. Wages are now climbing faster than Prices, so paychecks are stretching further than they used to.

The one potential downside though is if the economy stays this strong, inflation, which has come down a lot, might stop coming down. And plato s somewhere above the final, serves two percent target. If that what to happened, then the central bank might have to push interest rates even higher.

So when casualty of rising interest rates is the housing market, what is happening there?

Yeah, mortgage rates are way up and home sales are down. Friday, max of the average rate on a thirty year six, home one now tops seven point six percent. And those high rates are cutting into both supply and demand for housing.

They are hitting supply because most people who already own a home have a mortgage with a much lower interest rate, so they're reluctant to sell. And then the higher rates are also pricing a lot of would be buyers out of the market who have got fewer buyers. Fewer sellers turn over in the housing market.

Last month was the lowest it's been in more than a dozen years. Even so, there are so few homes on the market. Prices are staying elevated. The average home is selling in about three weeks and more than one out of four cells for more than its asking Price. So if you're one of the people having out to an open house this weekend, and good luck.

oh my. g. So higher interest rates are also contributing to a growing federal deficit. So what can you tell us about that?

Will the treasury department just closed the books on the federal government's fiscal year and the annual deficit soar to nearly one point seven trillion dollars, twenty three percent more than a year. The government actually spent a little bit less this past year, two percent less, but tax collections fell by nine percent. So the budget gap widened.

And at the same time, you've got rising interest rates on a huge thirty three trillion dollar federal debt. So the interest payments jumped to eight hundred and seventy nine billion dollars. That's more than we spend on defense. Uh, chairman pal doesn't like to give its about tax and spending decisions that congress makes, but he did say this .

is not a good look. It's not a secret. We know that we're on an unsustainable path physically. It's not that the level of the dead is unsustainable. It's not. Is that where the path for on is unstained able and we'll have to get off that path sooner, arise later.

Right now though, we are just still running headlong down that path. Uh, this week, the White house asked for another one hundred six billion dollars in spending for ukraine, israeli, gaza and things like border security. Whatever the merits of that spending, IT does add to the growing pressure on the debt.

pr. Scott horsey.

thank you so much .

for joining us.

And that's at first for saturday, october twenty first, twenty twenty three.

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