This message comes from Wondery. At 24 years old, Monica Lewinsky was in a scandal that defined

who she was for the entire world, and now she's ready to draw from her own experience on what it

means to redefine yourself on her new podcast, reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky. Listen wherever you

get your podcasts.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. In a major policy shift, a Hamas official tells NPR the U.S. has held direct talks with the Palestinian militant group in recent months.

The White House has confirmed the talks saying they are ongoing.

MPR. Kat-Lonstorf reports it is the first known time the U.S. has engaged directly with a group

since designated as a terrorist organization. The talks began as early as January and were over

the release of several American-Israeli dual citizens, taken hostage in the October 7th,

2023 attacks on southern Israel.

According to a Hamas official who spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity, as he's not authorized to speak to the media.

The official did not specify if the talks, which were originally reported by Axios, were with members from the Biden administration or President Trump's administration.

Both were present at talks for a ceasefire that took effect in January before Trump took office.

The U.S. designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997.

It has been longstanding U.S. policy to not negotiate with groups it designates as terrorists.

Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

For laid off federal workers facing uncertainty, volunteers in Philadelphia put together a job

hunting workshop. Andrew Stalzer has more.

LinkedIn basics and resume tips, AI assisted cover letters. It was a crash course for two dozen laid-off federal

workers in the basement of a South Philly library. There's a lot of competition. Rahi Patel was one day

away from finishing her probationary period at the Food and Drug Administration when she received

a termination notice. We're competing with like recent graduates. It's going to definitely be, you know, that new ratination notice. We're competing with, like, recent graduates.

...