Happy Monday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1, 304 words…4.9 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Peace 2025, Hostages’ Homecoming, Trump Addresses the Knesset, Explosion in Cairo, Longest Shutdown, Nude Protests in Portland… & much more!
🚨 Watch For:
President Zelensky is expected to visit the White House: Friday, Oct 17th
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Top: (from left to right) Leaders of Qatar, Egypt, United States and Turkey show their respective signed Peace Deal; Bottom: Leaders and representatives of 30+ participating nations stand together for a historic family photo
🕊 Sharm el-Sheikh: The Day the Guns Fell Silent
In a scene straight out of political theater, President Trump, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and over 30 world leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to sign what’s being called the “Peace 2025 Accord” — a sweeping U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire that’s redefining the Middle East’s power map.
The plan offered today is the last chance for peace in this region.
✈ The Arrival:
Trump arrived in Egypt aboard Air Force One, escorted by Egyptian fighter jets, greeted with a red carpet, military salute, and throngs of cheering crowds.
El-Sisi welcomed him and they rode together to the signing ceremony venue.
There they joined a who’s who of world power — Qatar’s Emir, Erdogan, Macron, Abbas, Merz, Starmer, Meloni and Carney — beneath a massive backdrop reading “Peace 2025.”
Notably absent were PM Netanyahu and the Hamas leadership.
✍ The Signing Ceremony:
The ceremony began with formal greetings and El-Sisi awarded Trump the Order of the Nile, Egypt’s highest honor, for his role in securing the historic ceasefire agreement.
The leaders posed for a “Peace 2025” family photo before sitting to sign the document that spelled out various rules, regulations, and commitments for the ceasefire and the roadmap to peace.
The document was signed by the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey
This is the day people across this region and around the world have been hoping and praying for. Those prayers of millions have finally been answered.
🎙️Trump promised “no more endless wars.” Macron pledged European aid, Erdogan demanded “justice for Gaza,” and in what became a viral moment, families of freed hostages and Palestinian detainees clasped hands onstage — a live broadcast moment engineered for history.
💡Why it matters: This summit was a victory lap. The next phase—the “Board of Peace” actually rebuilding and governing a demolished Gaza—is the real test. Whether this becomes a genuine peace or just another Middle East ceasefire with a countdown clock remains to be seen.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Clockwise from top-left: Hamas/Palestinian prisoners waving to the crowds from their bus; A hostage’s mother facetime’s with her son standing next to a Hamas terrorist; Israeli hostages return home as streets lined with thousands waving Israeli flags welcome them; A huge “Thank You” sign (one of many) on the beach in Israel.
🕊 Hostages’ Homecoming: Families Reunited After 738 Days
Israel and Hamas completed a massive hostage–prisoner exchange Monday under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Tears of joy, ecstatic celebrations and deeply emotional reunions defined the day.
20 Israeli hostages freed in return for ~ 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
Red Cross oversaw the transfers as celebrations erupted across Israel and Gaza.
Dramatic scenes emerged as Hamas held up phones allowing hostages to facetime with their families as they were released.
But 28 bodies remain unreturned, with Hamas handing over only 4, drawing accusations of a ceasefire breach from Israeli groups.
All released hostages are men in their 20s–30s; medical checks are ongoing.
Trump arrived in Israel to scenes of huge celebrations, with the country decorated with both Israeli and American flags, and “Thank You Trump” signs everywhere.
💡 Bottom line: The Gaza war’s bloodiest chapter may be closing — but the peace script is still being written.
🗣 President Trump Addresses The Knesset
In a historic first, President Trump addressed Israel’s Knesset, earning multiple standing ovations and Netanyahu’s praise as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had.”
The historic dawn of a new Middle East…
This marks the end of an age characterized by terror and death and the onset of a period filled with faith, hope, and the presence of God
He urged Israel to “pivot to peace,” even extending “a hand of friendship” to Iran — a move that stunned the chamber.
Trump also asked Israeli President Herzog to pardon Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption case, joking, “Cigars and champagne — who the hell cares?” - drawing laughter and a big applause.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Ivanka all snagged front-row seats, with Witkoff and Jared receiving wide praise from the Knesset as well.
💡Bottom line: Red hats, roaring applause, and one message — Trump’s back, and he’s scripting the new new Middle East power map before our eyes.
👀 Explosion Rocks Cairo Hours Before Peace Summit
A massive blast hit a military base in northern Cairo early Monday—just hours before world leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh for the Gaza ceasefire signing.
The explosion shattered windows for miles and sent plumes of smoke over the capital, though officials downplayed it as a “construction accident.”
Eyewitnesses reported flames and tremors, calling it Cairo’s strongest blast in years.
No casualties confirmed; investigation ongoing.
Despite the chaos, Trump, El-Sisi and other world leaders proceeded with the peace summit as planned.
💥 Bottom line: The Middle East’s big peace day started with a bang—literally.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
🫢 Naked and Unafraid in Portland
Hundreds of Portlanders stripped down for an “Emergency World Naked Bike Ride” on Oct. 12, protesting ICE raids and Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard.
The event, normally about car culture, turned political amid rising federal tensions.
Riders pedaled through rain and 50°F weather, staging a “die-in” at the ICE facility before federal agents fired pepper balls and made four arrests.
Despite the chaos, the protest — part political theater, part civic ritual — showed Portland’s signature mix of nudity, defiance, and free-speech flair.
🚲 Bottom line: Nothing says "resistance" like freezing your assets off for civil liberties. Brunch-goers nearly gagged on their avocado toast.
🏛 Johnson’s Shutdown Standoff
Speaker Mike Johnson warned Monday that the U.S. is “barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history” — now 13 days deep — unless Democrats back the GOP’s “clean” stopgap bill.
Democrats are demanding action on expiring ACA tax credits, while Republicans refuse to negotiate “under hostage conditions.”
The House remains on recess as Johnson blames “The Schumer Shutdown.”
Bottom line: Déjà vu — yet another D.C. standoff where no one’s getting paid but everyone’s performing.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🪖 Palmer Luckey’s comeback: EagleEye MR
Anduril unveiled EagleEye, a helmeted mixed‑reality system that stitches AI, sensor feeds and live video into a soldier’s FOV — led by Palmer Luckey, Oculus’ OG.
The rollout follows Anduril taking over parts of the stalled IVAS program and a $159M prototype win
Anduril also teamed up with Meta on XR.
⚡Bottom line: VR bros → war tech: welcome to technomancer warfare.
🪙 Trump’s Crypto Pardon Dilemma: CZ Zhao in the Crosshairs
Trump’s White House is debating a possible pardon for Binance founder CZ Zhao, who served four months last year over Bank Secrecy Act violations.
The move has raised eyebrows as the Trump family deepens crypto ties, with Democrats warning of conflict-of-interest optics.
CZ’s pardon could erase his felony, unlocking deals for Binance US and Zhao personally, but critics say it risks looking like legal favoritism for a $4.2T industry mogul.
⚡Bottom line: Crypto bros, political optics, and pardons collide.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Source: NASA Hubble Space Telescope
Mars Isn’t Exactly Round
Unlike its round rocky siblings (Mercury, Earth, Venus), Mars is a lopsided rugby ball—possibly warped long ago by a vanished ancient moon named Nerio!