The Latest: Trump says Israel agrees to 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, urges Hamas to accept
By The Associated Press
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed to terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which the U.S. and other parties would work toward an end to the war. Trump pushed Hamas to accept the deal.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump said.
The news comes as Trump prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The U.S. president has shown increased interest in a ceasefire and hostage agreement in the region after the U.S. brokered a peace agreement between Israel and Iran.
Here’s the latest:
Lindsey Graham gets GOP primary challenge from former South Carolina lieutenant governor
André Bauer, a wealthy developer, is mounting the challenge, arguing that Sen. Graham is not conservative enough for the state.
Bauer is a longtime backer of the president. His candidacy sets up a midterm grudge match with the four-term senator, whose relationship with Trump has undulated through the years but who has his endorsement for reelection.
Bauer calls himself “a real, America First conservative” intent on representing South Carolina conservatives’ values.
“I think Graham’s been there too long, and he votes like it,” Bauer told AP. “I’m guaranteed, I’m conservative and I don’t think he is.”
Republicans dominate South Carolina’s statewide elections, so the most intense political competition takes place in GOP primaries.
Graham, who has faced previous challenges from the right, kicked off his reelection campaign in February. At least one other Republican has also announced a primary challenge.
Graham campaign spokesperson Abby Zilch noted Tuesday that he has earned Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” and said Bauer “has spent his career chasing titles to feed his ego.”
20 states sue after Trump administration releases private Medicaid data to deportation officials
The administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged Tuesday, saying he and 19 other states’ attorneys general have sued over the move.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advisers ordered the release of a dataset including the private health information of people in California, Illinois, Washington, and Washington, D.C., to the Department of Homeland Security last month, AP reported. Those jurisdictions let noncitizens enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars.
The unusual sharing of private health information, including addresses, names, social security numbers, immigration status and claims data, came as deportation officials accelerated enforcement efforts.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon has defended the release.
“HHS acted entirely within its legal authority — and in full compliance with all applicable laws — to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,” he said in a statement.
Ex-FBI agent charged in Capitol riot now works on Justice Department’s ‘weaponization’ task force
The former FBI supervisory agent, Jared Lane Wise, was charged with joining a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol and cheering on rioters.
He is now working as an adviser to DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin Jr., who is overseeing its “weaponization working group,” according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss a personnel matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The working group is examining the president’s claims of anti-conservative bias inside the department.
When Trump returned to office, he picked Martin to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. But he pulled the nomination after a key Republican senator said he could not support Martin due to his defense of Capitol rioters.
Martin was a leading figure in Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement and spoke at a rally in Washington on the eve of the Capitol riot. He represented three Jan. 6 defendants and served on the board of the nonprofit Patriot Freedom Project, which reports raising over $2.5 million to support riot defendants.
How Hamas may view Trump’s announcement on potential ceasefire and warning for it to accept
The president’s promise that it was his best and final offer may find a skeptical audience with Hamas.
Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid to Gaza’s civilian populace.
Hamas says it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war in Gaza. Israel rejects that, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something that the group refuses.
Hamas is still capable of landing fatal blows to Israeli forces. But U.S. officials believe that the group’s been significantly diminished as its centralized command and control capabilities have deteriorated over the course of the nearly 21-month conflict.
Judge halts dismantling of US African Development Foundation
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the federal agency, which invests in African small businesses.
Leon ruled Tuesday that Trump violated federal law when he appointed Pete Marocco as the new head of USDAF because Marocco was never confirmed by Congress.
As a result the judge found Marocco’s actions — terminating most of the agency’s employees and effectively ending its grants — were void and must be undone.
Congress created USADF as an independent agency in 1980, and its board members must be confirmed by the Senate.
The judge found in a separate case that Trump had the legal authority to fire the previous members of the USADF board.
Pirro wrote in court documents in that case that the president also has the legal authority to appoint someone to run USADF until the Senate can confirm his nominees.
Takeaways from AP’s report on attorney general’s comments about evidence in Epstein case
Pam Bondi’s recent comments about evidence the Justice Department is reviewing from its Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation has fueled anticipation about the expected release of more files related to the wealthy financier.
But weeks after Bondi’s claim about “tens of thousands” of Epstein videos in the government’s possession, it remains unclear what she was referring to.
A New York financier with ties to politicians and other famous and powerful people, Epstein was arrested in 2019 as he arrived in the U.S. from Paris aboard his private jet and charged with sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls during the early 2000s.
The case was brought more than a decade after a secret plea deal with federal prosecutors in Florida disposed of nearly identical allegations.
▶ Read more about takeaways from AP’s report about the case and Bondi’s remarks
As Trump ramps up attacks on the Federal Reserve, Chair Jerome Powell refuses to change course
Powell stuck Tuesday to his position that the central bank will keep its key rate on hold while it waits to see how the president’s tariffs affect the economy, despite the steady stream of criticism from the White House, which wants lower borrowing costs.
Powell, speaking in Portugal at a conference hosted by the European Central Bank, also said U.S. inflation is likely to pick up later this summer, though he acknowledged that the timing and magnitude is uncertain. He said the Fed will keep rates on hold while it evaluates the tariffs’ impact.
“As long as the economy is in solid shape, we think the prudent thing to do is to wait and see what those effects might be,” Powell said.
Powell’s comments underscored the divide between him and the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly urged the Fed to cut its key rate, which he says would save taxpayers billions of dollars and boost the economy.
▶ Read more about Powell and the president’s frustrations with him
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismisses $95M overdraft case vs. Navy Federal Credit Union
The dismissal is the latest example of how the Trump-led CFPB is undoing much of the work it did under President Joe Biden, even in instances where bad actors agreed to provide redress and compensation to victims.
The case dates from late 2024 and deals with an issue known as “authorized positive overdraft fees,” which happen when a bank initially approves a debit card transaction but later charges the customer a overdraft fee when that earlier transaction settles and there are insufficient funds in the account.
Navy Federal was found to authorize these types of overdraft fees between 2017 and 2022, later stopping the practice and refunding some customers.
Under the previous settlement, Navy Federal was to pay a $15 million fine and refund $80 million in illegally paid overdraft fees.
In a statement, Navy Federal defended its use of overdraft and supported the CFPB’s decision. It added that it “complied with all applicable laws and regulations at the time and continues to do so.”
What’s in the latest version of Trump’s big bill that passed the Senate
Republicans are getting closer to the finish line in getting their tax and spending cut bill through Congress with a final House vote possible Wednesday.
At some 887 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations.
There could be changes as GOP lawmakers continue to negotiate.
▶ Read more about what’s in the bill
New Trump portrait donated by White House hangs in Colorado Capitol after earlier one drew his ire
The new likeness by artist Vanessa Horabuena of Tempe, Arizona, is a sterner, crisper image than Sarah Boardman’s painting of Trump, which had hung since 2019.
After Trump objected to it this spring, lawmakers announced the next day that they would remove it from a wall of past presidents. By the day after that, it was in museum storage.
The Horabuena portrait went up this week.
“There was a blank on the wall. It seemed inappropriate. We knew that the White House had sent us this replacement, and it simply made sense to put it up,” said Lois Court, a former state lawmaker who chairs the Capitol Building Advisory Committee, which helps select artwork for the statehouse.
On Tuesday the building was sleepy, with lawmakers out of session. A smattering of tourists took photos of the new portrait.
“Thank you to the Highly Talented Artist, Vanessa Horabuena, and the incredible people of Colorado,” Trump said in a social media post.
US will not send some weapons pledged to Ukraine following a Pentagon review of military assistance
The U.S. is halting some shipments of air defense missiles and other munitions amid concerns that its own stockpiles of such supplies have declined too much, officials said.
The munitions were previously promised under the Biden administration for use during Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia. The pause reflects a new set of priorities under Trump.
“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran.”
The Pentagon review determined that stocks were too low on some items previously pledged, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide information that has not yet been made public.
To date the U.S. has provided Ukraine more than $66 billion worth of weapons and military assistance since Russia invaded in February 2022.
— Will Weissert and Matthew Lee
Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urges Hamas to accept deal
The president announced the development as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. Trump has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” the president wrote, adding that the Qataris and Egyptians would deliver the final proposal.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said.
UPenn updates records set by transgender swimmer and says it will apologize to ‘disadvantaged’ athletes
On Tuesday afternoon the University of Pennsylvania’s website showed other athletes as holding the school’s top times in the freestyle events of former women’s team swimmer Lia Thomas, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case.
The site was annotated with a note that read, “Competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-22 season.”
“While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules,” university President J. Larry Jameson said in a statement. “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
Thomas last competed for the school in 2022, when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title.
Senate GOP removes tax on solar and wind energy but dismantles climate law passed by Democrats
The sprawling Republican budget bill approved by the Senate removes the proposed tax but quickly phases out tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy.
The Senate approved the bill 51-50 as Trump and GOP lawmakers move to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under former President Joe Biden. The bill now moves to the House for final legislative approval.
The excise tax on solar and wind generation projects was added to the Senate bill over the weekend, prompting bipartisan pushback from lawmakers as well as clean energy developers and advocates.
The final bill removes the tax but mostly sticks with legislative language released late Friday night and would end incentives for clean energy sooner than a draft version unveiled two weeks ago.
Justice Department says 2 Chinese nationals charged with spying in the US
Their activities include allegedly taking photographs of a naval base, coordinating a cash dead-drop and participating in efforts to recruit members of the military who they thought might be open to working for Chinese intelligence.
The case, unsealed Monday, is the latest DOJ prosecution targeting what officials say are active efforts by Beijing to secretly collect intelligence about American military capabilities — a practice laid bare two years ago with China’s launching of a surveillance balloon that the U.S. ultimately shot down.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country.”
The two suspects were arrested. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers, and a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Cuba women’s volleyball team denied US visas to compete at Puerto Rico tournament
The Cuban Volleyball Federation said last week that the team, comprising 12 athletes, a referee and several coaches, had their visa requests denied and will be unable to attend this month’s NORCECA Women’s Final Four in Manati.
The tournament includes Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica and awards ranking points toward qualification for the Volleyball Nations League.
Cuban coach Wilfredo Robinson said the decision means his team is likely to miss out on the Nations League: “The competition grants points for each match, and at the end it all adds up.”
“It’s really disappointing not to be able to participate in the competition, which is what I’ve been preparing myself for,” player Laura Suarez said.
The U.S. added Cuba to a list of 12 countries with entry restrictions, effective from early June.
The U.S. Embassy said it cannot comment on specific cases due to privacy policies but directives are being implemented to secure U.S. borders and protect communities and citizens.
What the Justice Department’s push to bring denaturalization cases means
The Justice Department is ramping up its plans to revoke the citizenship of immigrants who have committed crimes or pose a national security risk, according to a recent memo underscoring the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda.
Efforts to identity and go after those suspected of cheating to get their citizenship are not new to this administration.
But the public push is raising concerns from advocates who have accused the administration of trying to use immigration enforcement for political purposes. It is receiving increased scrutiny after a Republican member of Congress suggested that Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Democratic mayoral candidate, should be subject to denaturalization proceedings.
▶ Read more about the denaturalization process and what the Justice Department’s memo means
Major reports about how climate change affects the US are removed from websites
The legally mandated assessments seem to have disappeared from federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world.
Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere.
Searches on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries.
The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details.
Scientists say the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives.
“It’s critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is,” said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report.
▶ Read more about the climate assessments
Billions in grants for summer school and English instruction delayed during review
The Trump administration is withholding more than $6 billion for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more as part of a review to ensure the grants align with the president’s priorities.
The move leaves states and schools in limbo as they budget for programs this summer and in the upcoming school year, introducing new uncertainty about when — or if — they will receive the money.
Programs that rely on the funding were expecting it to be distributed July 1, but an Education Department notice issued Monday announced that it would not be released while the programs are under review. The department said “decisions have not yet been made” on grants for the school year.
Secretary of state denounces the aid agency that the US just eliminated
Marco Rubio disparaged the U.S. Agency for International Development’s work Tuesday, as the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency took final effect. Rubio ordered the slim wedge of USAID programs that have survived administration cuts absorbed into the State Department.
“Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio said in a Substack post.
The administration’s new, slimmed-down aid system would cut bureaucracy to respond faster to crises, empower diplomats out in the field at a reduced number of regional bureaus and emphasize U.S. trade, not aid, Rubio wrote.
Mayors, doctor groups sue over Trump’s efforts to restrict Obamacare enrollment
The lawsuit filed Tuesday targets new administration rules giving millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act’s health care coverage.
The rules reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the ACA’s health insurance, commonly called Obamacare. The Biden administration expanded the enrollment window, which led to record sign-ups.
The Department of Health and Human Services rolled out a series of new restrictions last month just as Congress was weighing a major bill that will decrease enrollment in Obamacare, which Trump has scorned for years. As many as 2 million people — nearly 10% — are expected to lose coverage under the new rules.
The mayors of Baltimore, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio filed suit against the health department, saying the rules will result in more uninsured residents and overburden city services.
Penn to ban transgender athletes, feds say, ending civil rights case focused on swimmer Lia Thomas
The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to ban transgender women from its women’s sports teams to resolve the federal civil rights case, which found the school violated the rights of female athletes.
The U.S. Education Department announced the voluntary agreement Tuesday, part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to remove transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.
Thomas last competed for the Ivy League school in Philadelphia in 2022, when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title.
Under the agreement Penn agreed to restore all individual Division I swimming records and titles to female athletes who lost out to Thomas, the Education Department said. It also agreed to send a personalized apology letter to each of those swimmers.
It was not immediately clear whether Thomas would be stripped of her awards and honors.
Penn must also announce that it “will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs” and adopt “biology-based” definitions of male and female, the department said.
North Carolina House member says he will back Lara Trump if she runs for Senate
Rep. Pat Harrigan, a first-term state congressman mentioned often in Republican circles as a potential candidate to succeed the retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, said he would immediately back the president’s daughter-in-law if she enters the race.
Lara Trump said earlier this week that she would consider running. She previously decided to forego Senate opportunities in 2022 in North Carolina, where she grew up, and in 2024 in Florida, where she lives now.
Harrigan said on the social platform X that “there’s lots of excitement around the 2026 Senate race, but let me be crystal clear about something: if @LaraLeaTrump enters this race, I’ll be the first to endorse her and the first to fight for her victory.”
FBI says it’s moving its headquarters to another site in Washington
The FBI says it’s moving its headquarters to another Washington location several blocks away from its current home.
The bureau and the General Services Administration said the FBI’s new home would be at the Ronald Reagan Building complex. The FBI’s current Pennsylvania Avenue headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, was dedicated in 1975.
The decision represents an about-face from plans announced during the Biden administration to move the FBI to Greenbelt, Maryland. Trump administration officials said Tuesday that moving the headquarters to suburban Washington would have taken years and cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
The Reagan building is home to Customs and Border Protection. It had also housed the U.S. Agency for International Development, which on Monday marked its last day as an independent agency. It was not immediately clear when the move will take effect.
Study projects 14 million deaths from USAID cuts in next five years
A study published in the Lancet medical journal points to the impact that the U.S. Agency for International Development has had, calculating the U.S. agency saved 91 million lives in the first two decades of this century alone.
The study by researchers in Spain and elsewhere was published Monday, USAID’s last day as an independent agency. The Trump administration has fired most of 13,000 workers and terminated most of its contracts, as it pulls back on foreign assistance.
The new study says USAID programs between 2001 and 2001 more than halved deaths from HIV-AIDs, malaria and tropical diseases around the world.
Researchers also projected the deaths expected as a result of USAID cuts and USAID’s elimination: More than 14 million more people dying, including 4.5 million children, by 2030, researchers say.
White House wants Senate tax cut-and-spending bill to go back for a House vote
A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity on a call with reporters, said it wouldn’t be productive for the House to review in a conference committee the tax cut-and-spending bill passed Tuesday by the Senate.
The White House as a practice often provides background briefings to reporters on policy issues in which officials talk on the condition of anonymity.
The official said it wouldn’t be a path to success to do so in a measure that is 85% the same as what the House passed earlier.
Congress often forms conference committees to resolve differences in bills passed by the House and Senate, but the Trump administration is pushing the House to vote directly on the Senate bill in hopes of meeting Trump’s deadline of Friday, July 4 to celebrate its passage.
Trump says daughter-in-law is first choice for Tillis seat
The president told reporters on Air Force One that his daughter-in-law Lara Trump would be his first choice to replace Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, but she doesn’t live in the state anymore.
It wasn’t clear if he was ruling out his daughter-in-law, whom he picked last year to serve as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and whether her residency might preclude her from running.
Tillis said Sunday he will not seek reelection next year, an announcement that came after he opposed Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts package.
Trump said he doesn’t know who the candidates will be to run for Tillis’ seat but predicted a member of Congress — without naming which one — might run.
