Reuters World News - Shutdown looms, Trump’s Gaza deal, EA Sports and Hollywood tariffs

Episode Date: September 30, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponents appear to make little progress in talks aimed at heading off a government shutdown.  Trump secures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's backing for a Gaza peace proposal. Videogame developer Electronic Arts agrees to sell to a group of private investors in a $55 billion deal. And a 100% tariff has been imposed on all films produced overseas that are then sent into the U.S.  Find today's recommended read here. Listen to On Assignment ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠⁠⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit ⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠⁠ to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, planning begins for a government shutdown as a meeting with Trump and Democrats falls flat. Trump announces a new Gaza peace plan which he says Netanyahu is on board with. EA gets the largest leveraged buyout in history, and 100% film tariffs on movies made outside the US leaves many questions unanswered. It's Tuesday, September 30th. This is Reuters World News. Bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand.

In the US, less than 24 hours out from a deadline to agree a funding bill and avert a government shutdown, it appears little progress has been made. I think we're headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won't do the right thing. US Vice President J.D. Vance speaking after meeting with President Trump and their Democratic opponents. As reporter Bo Erickson explains, both sides emerged from the meeting, blaming the other. So that meeting, that was actually the first time that President Trump met with congressional leaders of both parties at one time this year. So that could be considered a little bit of a breakthrough, a little bit of a negotiation is going on. But when me and my colleagues were running around the Capitol all day and all night, not many people are feeling too positive that a government shutdown could be averted right now.

We are expecting a Senate vote on Tuesday about government funding again. I actually spoke with one Senate Democrat who is breaking with his party because he says that the shutdown is the ultimate risk and he doesn't want to be a part of that. That senator is John Federman from Pennsylvania and this is what he said. I know there's part of the base that really wants some kind of action, whatever the fight, whatever that is. and now I do not believe that is the appropriate response. Beau says key benefits like Social Security for retirees,

Medicare and Medicaid won't be included in any government shutdown. But if a deal isn't done by midnight tonight, for other government services, the fallout will be fast. We're told that they are going to be some impacts felt within a few hours because unlike maybe some of these run-up to shutdowns in the past, This is happening in a middle of the work week. So people at home should be expecting impacts to access to national parks, pay for military service members. And then there also be some key government programs that will not be funded.

One specifically is directed for nutritional assistance for women and children. The health department is slated to furlough more than 40% of its workforce if the shutdown happens. Although the Trump administration has threatened mass firings of federal. staff rather than furloughs. Airlines in the US say if the shutdown goes ahead, flights could be impacted as air traffic controllers and security officers would be forced to work without pay. The Federal Reserve says it could be left flying blind on the economy when it meets at the end of October, with any shutdown impacting the release of several key economic indicators. Financial markets appear to be bracing themselves for the likelihood, with gold continuing its record climb.

President Trump says Israel has agreed to a U.S.-sponsored peace proposal for Gaza. But the plan that we put forward today is focused on ending the war immediately, getting all of our hostages back. Trump speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a meeting at the White House. He now says it's up to Hamas to accept it. But if not, as you know, baby, you'd have Marfa backing to do what you would have to do. Under the plan, Hamas fighters would give up arms and be given amnesty.

The enclave would then be overseen by a so-called Board of Peace, which would include Trump himself and other heads of state, including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The board would also oversee a transitional technocratic government. White House correspondent Trevor Hunnicott has more. The main kind of tenets of this proposal are that Hamas will agree to give up all of the remaining hostages, lay down arms, and no longer be a part of the political process in Gaza.

And in exchange for that, Israel would withdraw to some degree from Gaza, kind of pull back to a security perimeter, and make other steps towards basically allowing for, you know, a day after and some kind of political horizon for the residents of Gaza, including eventually statehood. With Hamas not at the table for this, it's unclear how viable the plan really is. And Trevor says it's not clear that Netanyahu is on board with all of the plan either. A number of the elements of this proposal are things that Israel has repeatedly and publicly said it is not at all prepared to do

from providing amnesty towards certain members of Hamas and towards the issue of Palestinian statehood itself. So it's still very much. open question as to whether there's actually an agreement here, even though both leaders stated that there was. Turkish drones are circling an aid floteller trying to reach Gaza, joining a number of countries in the Mediterranean offering to monitor the group as they travel. Turkish activist on board, Davut, Dasikran, says seeing the drones has boosted the crew's morale, although Reuters was unable to confirm the reason for the drone flights.

A drone attack on the flotilla damaged some boats last week. It's not clear who was behind it, and Israel hasn't commented. Russia is analysing whether the US will supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, long-range weapons that could strike deep into Russian territory. Russia says it would be a serious escalation, and any US personnel involved in targeting Russia could become targets. Washington is weighing the request. President Trump hasn't decided,

but his consideration signals growing frustration with Putin, a shift from last month's Alaska summit where Trump appeared more aligned with Russian demands. Electronic Arts, the maker of Battlefield and Madden NFL, has agreed to a $55 billion leveraged buyout, the largest in history. The buyers include Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's public investment fund,

and Jared Kushner's affinity partners. The deal highlights how deep-pocketed investors are betting on blockbuster game franchises as the industry rebounds from a prolonged slump. YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit that President Trump brought against the company over the suspension of his account following the January 6th riots. Both Meta and X agreed earlier this year to pay to settle the lawsuits. In Michigan, details about a possible motive for beginning. beginning to emerge after the weekend's deadly attack on a church. Officials say evidence suggests

religious hatred drove the ex-Marine and Iraq war veteran to crash his truck into the Mormon church in Grand Blank and Open Fire, Killing Four. The FBI says it's investigating this as an act of targeted violence. President Trump is imposing a 100% tariff on all movies made outside the United States. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, claiming, America's moving-making business has been stolen by other countries. While we've been hearing about tariffs on goods for the last few months, this is the first time a president has tried to levy tariffs on a service. Entertainment reporter Dawn Chimilesky is in Southern California. The folks in the industry who I've been speaking to since he first proposed this idea back in May

said one of the reasons that we produce movies outside of the U.S. is simply we're in a creative field and we're providing escapism. So it seems that this tariff might possibly undermine, you know, the very escapism that Hollywood can deliver to us, you know, the ability to go to far-flung places and experience it. Dawn says industry execs are baffled at how this sort of tariff could actually be collected. When tariffs are taxed on, say, imports from China, the goods arrive at the shores here in California in Long Beach, and that's where the levy is applied. That doesn't happen with a film. It's entirely digital. So it's not clear how the mechanics of it, how it would apply, or would it apply only to those portions of the film that are shot outside of the U.S.? I don't know.

There's no clarity. So I have a hope that the industry can find its way through this and that there will be a way to come to a resolution here. As we've seen with the Trump administration oftentimes the stated tariff is negotiated. That's the beginning of a conversation, not the end. Conviety your passion in a business with Shopify and bathe records of with the form of pay with a better conversion of the world. Has you heard it. The best conversion of the world.

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