The Latest: Trump announces deal for Hamas to disarm in Gaza, but hurdles and uncertainty remain

Hamas said Friday that it reached an agreement to disarm, a significant move that could help end the war in Gaza — but one that will face many hurdles and could take a long time to achieve, if at all. Israel has not commented on the deal, which President Donald Trump announced hours earlier. It comes nine months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end the fighting between Israel and the group was signed.Trump is taking Friday’s Cabinet meeting on the road — to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. It's the first Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Trump’s second term after an earlier attempt in May was scuttled because of bad weather.Trump said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans’ demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.Here's the Latest: Trump starts Cabinet meeting at Camp David The president began his Cabinet meeting Friday by saying his team was meeting in a “very special room.”The White House has tried to highlight that this was the first televised Cabinet meeting at the presidential retreat.Trump said he invited the news media to watch because he believes in “transparency,” before turning to his standard talking points about the economy and border security, among other issues. CEO defends Exxon’s performance at a time of global supply shortages American refineries are running at near-full capacity and poised to benefit because some refineries in the Middle East and Russia were damaged. And Asia can’t get the amount of Middle East oil needed for refining.“Penalizing the businesses who stood by those countries and provided that product going forward is very short-sighted,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in a call with investors Friday. “We canceled investments that we had planned for Europe based on the last time they passed a windfall profits tax.” Lawmakers propose taxing the war profits of major oil producers Exxon and Chevron don’t set the price of American oil, which has ricocheted between $68 and $115 a barrel, driven by supply and demand, and what traders, refiners and other buyers are willing to pay.Democrats nevertheless hope to tax major oil producers for profits from 2026 onward and redistribute that revenue to consumers.“It’s fair to put a windfall profits tax on inordinate windfall profits rather than cut off children’s food programs,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. His measure and a companion bill by Rep. Ro Khanna of California would impose a per-barrel tax on companies that produced or imported at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day in 2025.The UK and other European countries have extended temporary windfall profits taxes on fossil fuel companies to 2030, according to Tax Foundation Europe. Critics say the energy company windfalls are unjustified “There are constituencies around the world who are having a very good crisis, and the oil producers are one of them,” said Patrick Galey, fossil fuels lead at Global Witness, a nonprofit organization that investigates environmental issues.“When you compare that to the hundreds of millions of people who are struggling with rolling blackouts, with electricity curbs, rationing, waiting in line for food queues, or the disruption to fertilizers and the potential impact that that has on food prices, we don’t think that it’s a justifiable price for the rest of the world to be paying.” Major oil companies reap massive profits as US and Iran fighting drives energy prices higher American oil and gas giants are announcing huge spring windfalls thanks to the fighting between Iran and the U.S. that made consumers around the world pay more for fuel.Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116.02 billion in revenue, up 42%. Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion and revenue jumped 56% to $70.06 billion.Six of Europe’s largest oil companies posted combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40% higher than last year. Saudi Arabia announces Red Sea defense alliance plan The kingdom said the alliance includes 14 countries to strengthen maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation and secure international trade routes and energy supply corridors in the Red Sea region.The Iran war has severely disrupted global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia over a separate but related conflict, putting at risk another major trade corridor.Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that the coalition is “defensive in nature,” and that access “remains open to all willing countries.” Oman and the United Arab Emirates were the only two Gulf countries that did not back Saudi Arabia’s statement. Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan were among those that joined the proposed alliance. Latest developments in the Iran conflict No U.S. strikes were reported in Iran on Friday.Iran fired drones at Kuwait, a Gulf country hosting U.S. forces, and said it had also fired at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas shipments, which has been largely closed by the fighting.Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said Friday its armed forces had shot down drones inside Kuwaiti airspace. It said the Iranian attacks had targeted several vital military facilities, causing material damage from falling shrapnel but no casualties. It did not specify how many drones were intercepted. Iranian state media said Iran had targeted an air base in Kuwait with drones, in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Thursday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have hit two oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media said four other tankers had turned around. The report did not provide further details on which flags or ownership the tankers were sailing under, or say whether there were any casualties. FIFA chief operating officer tells AP that staff was ‘deceived’ by World Cup sell-off plan that ‘must not go ahead’ FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said in a statement to The Associated Press that the staff was “deceived” by Gianni Infantino’s lack of openness while planning the scheme to sell a World Cup stake to private investors linked to Trump’s family.“It is the project of one person,” wrote Lamour, a long-time colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”Lamour did not resign the post he held since 2024 but said he had a duty to his colleagues to speak out about the “contempt and intimidation” FIFA staff has faced.“And if that means I lose my job, then so be it” the French official said. “I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”▶ Read more Wisconsin Democrats shaken by Mandela Barnes’ exit from governor’s race The former lieutenant governor’s announcement came Thursday amid news that the state party had reviewed past allegations of inappropriate behavior, further shaking up the race less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 primary in Wisconsin, where independents and moderates are key voters and where Trump won two razor-thin elections.That leaves four Democrats, including most prominently Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who rejoined the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her run amid a campaign finance scandal two weeks ago, and insurgent democratic socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong, running far to the left.The single mother and former line cook has captured the imaginations of liberal Democrats upset with the party establishment, but she’s raised concerns that her past calls for defunding the police will hurt her chances against Trump-backed Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.▶ Read more Details on disarmament from the Hamas statement Hamas said Friday that it’s committed to implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the new roadmap focused on the steps it needs to take to disarm.The group’s statement says it and other Palestinian factions agreed to the framework as part of a national consensus to protect people in Gaza and help meet their humanitarian needs.It said Israel must adhere to the ceasefire deal agreed to in October and halt its attacks in order for implementation to move forward, echoing language in the new roadmap released Friday by the Board of Peace.The agreement calls for Hamas, which ran the government in Gaza, to first turn over all police weapons to a national committee of technocrats responsible for administering the strip. Only later, once the Israeli military withdraws from Gaza, would it be required to decommission and hand over its heavier weapons, according to the text.▶ Read more Democratic candidates grapple with ‘defund the police’ baggage With midterm elections looming, Democrats hope to convince voters that Trump administration lawlessness is the biggest threat to their rights and pocketbooks. The party’s past debates over crime and safety threaten to undermine that pitch.Across the country, Democratic candidates are facing tough questions about their past calls to “defund the police” by reimagining public safety services or redirecting spending to other social programs — a prominent demand during the protests that followed George Floyd’s death.Democratic leaders fear the outlier opinions may sink their chances of gaining ground in Congress, governor’s mansions and statehouses as the party’s rising left flank captivates its base, just as Republicans stoke fears about crime, immigration and democratic socialism in their closing midterm message.▶ Read More Asian soccer joins Europe and North America in opposing World Cup privatization plan The Asian Football Confederation, a key ally in Gianni Infantino’s presidency of global soccer, has joined UEFA and CONCACAF in protesting his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors tied to the Trump family.“Football should never have been placed in such a position,” said the Asian soccer body. Together with Europe and North America, they count 136 of FIFA’s 211 members.“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said in a statement Thursday announcing a boycott of FIFA events.Infantino’s secret proposal revealed Tuesday would spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary 20% owned by private investors, whose core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump swings at Cornyn over Blanche nomination Trump, still frustrated about the status of his attorney general pick, began his Friday morning by going after one of the Republican senators who was holding up Todd Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Justice Department.Continuing a criticism he began earlier this week, Trump said Texas Sen. John Cornyn had no issue with the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund until after he endorsed his primary challenger, Ken Paxton, for the Senate.In the post, Trump also continued to defend the controversial fund, which Blanche said in his Senate testimony was dead. Republican senators want him to put that commitment into writing.“Perhaps there has never been a group of people treated so badly in our Nation’s history,” Trump said. “They are suffering still, many ruined, and I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them.”Blanche met privately with Cornyn and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis over the issue later Thursday and the sides were working collaboratively, although Blanche’s confirmation prospects still remain unclear. FIFA adviser on White House’s World Cup panel resigns to protest Infantino private equity plan Senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro, who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned Friday to protest its private equity plan.“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker, said in a statement resigning as adviser to FIFA President Gianni Infantino that urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.Cordeiro often joined Infantino on working visits to meet Trump at the White House in recent years.“Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” the former U.S. Soccer Federation president said, calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary “a bad deal for football.”“Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking, I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away” he said. “That is why this proposal should be rejected.”▶ Read more The Trump administration is ending a Medicare drug subsidy program. Here’s how it could affect costs Millions of older adults on Medicare prescription drug coverage could face steeper monthly costs in 2027, after the Trump administration concludes a temporary subsidy program that has helped offset premiums for the past two years.The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week announced it would wrap up the program, which was initially implemented by the Biden administration in 2024 to lower patients’ Medicare Part D prescription drug costs in response to the effects of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.While federal officials insist the financial impact on Medicare beneficiaries will be minimal, the decision opens the Republican-led administration to potential political consequences in a high-stakes midterm election year. Voters have identified cost of living as a top concern, and many older adults, who tend to vote in high numbers, are on fixed incomes where every dollar counts. The roughly 25 million Americans with Medicare Part D plans will find out about their 2027 rates in the fall, when they are casting ballots in November’s elections.▶ Read more Trump floats pulling Blanche’s nomination for attorney general to avoid conceding to GOP demands Trump said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans’ demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.After failed negotiations forced the delay of a committee vote to advance Blanche’s nomination, Trump suggested he was holding firm against pressure from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis. They have expressed concerns about the controversial settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, which a judge denounced as an exercise in self-dealing.The senators said the Justice Department seemed interested in reaching an agreement with them, but the White House wouldn’t budge to aid the confirmation of Trump’s loyal former personal attorney, who has aggressively pursued the administration’s priorities as acting attorney general. Instead, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year.▶ Read more Trump is taking his Friday Cabinet meeting on the road to Camp David Trump told his Cabinet members to meet him at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, a rustic backdrop for the Trump administration sessions that have come to be known for being overly long and consumed by endless praise for their boss.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the 13th such meeting of the Republican president’s second term “will be a lot of fun and something different for the Cabinet to experience together.”An earlier attempt in May was scuttled because of bad weather. During his first term, Trump held a Cabinet meeting at the retreat.The public portion of Trump’s Cabinet meetings has lasted as long as three hours, with the president letting everyone at the table update him on their departments or agencies — with added praise for him personally and his leadership thrown in. In a departure from other presidents, he allows the news media to stay for the duration, a move that Leavitt has said proves his commitment to transparency.▶ Read more Trump announces a deal for Hamas to disarm in Gaza, but many hurdles and uncertainty remain A Hamas official said Friday that they did reach an agreement on disarmament, the most crucial part of the ceasefire deal. Israel didn’t give an indication that they had agreed.Trump said Thursday that a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remained to wind down the war in the Palestinian territory.The White House announcement comes nine months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was signed. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas had largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on the militant group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave.▶ Read more