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Democratic doctors’ protest against Trump’s ‘beautiful bill’ derailed by flood of US Capitol tourists

The Democratic Doctors Caucus was interrupted by a barrage of tourists during a press conference outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday.

As Congress rushes to pass President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ before the self-imposed July 4 deadline, House Democrats hosted press conferences throughout the Capitol on Wednesday protesting the $3.3 trillion bill. 

The Democratic Doctors Caucus, comprised of the six Democratic physicians serving in the House of Representatives, planned a press conference in Statuary Hall, a room down the hall from the House speaker’s office. 

Apparently noticing the large gaggle of reporters staking out Johnson’s office amid last-minute member holdout negotiations, the caucus moved their press conference to right outside the speaker’s office. Donning their white coats in the crowded hallway, the Democratic doctors began their prepared remarks. 

But that area is a major tourist corridor, and the press conference was quickly flooded with tourists walking from the Rotunda past Johnson’s office and into Statuary Hall. 

Police officers directed members to stand on one side of the corridor, while the press stood on the other. 

The result was unusable to journalists as tour guides and tourists’ chatter drowned out their remarks. The Democrats’ comments were inaudible. 

Their press conference also created somewhat of a tourist traffic jam between the two areas, as officers struggled to keep the area open. 

Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since Trump was elected in November. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), at least 10 million people will lose health insurance by 2034 due to Trump’s megabill. 

While Trump has maintained that the bill does not cut Medicaid and Republicans claim the bill only cuts waste, fraud and abuse in the program, Democrats have continued to speak out against the projected cuts. 

The Democratic Doctors Caucus planned to highlight the harm Medicaid cuts could have on hospitals during their press conference Wednesday, but their remarks were drowned out by the steady flow and chatter of tourists walking back and forth from the Rotunda to Statuary Hall.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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UK lawmakers vote to ban pro-Palestinian activist group under anti-terror law despite condemnation

UK lawmakers voted Wednesday to ban Palestine Action, a UK-based group that aims to disrupt the operations of weapons manufacturers supplying the Israeli government.

Members of Parliament voted 382 to 26 in favor of the measure against the group after two Palestine Action activists broke into Britain’s largest air base in central England, damaging two military aircraft.

The draft proscription order will reach the House of Lords on Thursday. If approved by the upper house, the ban would go into effect in the following days.

A full ban would mean that it would be illegal under UK law to be a member of – or invite support for – Palestine Action. It would put the group on par with terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al Qaeda and ISIS – sparking condemnation from United Nations experts, human rights groups, and politicians.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the government’s intention to proscribe the group on June 23, after two Palestine Action activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers.

Video from the scene showed activists spraying red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers, which the group said were targeted for their alleged role in carrying military cargo and for their use in refueling Israeli, American and British military aircraft.

Palestine Action announced on Monday that it had started legal proceedings against the government’s decision. The group’s co-founder Huda Ammori said the clampdown mirrored “many authoritarian regimes around the world who have used counter-terrorism to crush dissent.”

If the ban goes into effect, it would likely be the first time in UK history that a direct action protest group has been proscribed under anti-terror legislation, according to several human rights advocates.

Those who defy the ban could face up to 14 years in prison, according to UK counter-terrorism police and the government. Even wearing items of clothing which “arouse reasonable suspicion” that an individual is a member or supporter of the group could result in six months in prison or a fine, police say.

‘Grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers’

Human rights organisations have vehemently criticised the government’s move, saying it is the latest in a series of draconian measures taken by the state to clamp down on legitimate protest in the country.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK chief executive, said on June 23 that proscribing Palestine Action could risk an “unlawful interference” with the fundamental rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

She wrote to parliamentarians on Tuesday to warn that outlawing the group would be a “grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers.”

“Proscribing Palestine Action will mean that by the weekend, millions of people living in the UK will have limitations on their freedom of speech,” she said.

Experts from the United Nations also added to the growing chorus of criticism on Tuesday, saying they were worried about the “unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as ‘terrorist’.”

Others have previously shared messages of solidarity with the group: “We are all Palestine Action,” Labour MP Zarah Sultana posted June 24 on X. Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the government’s proscription plan was “not what the counter terrorism laws were introduced for.”

Palestine Action called the government’s reaction to its air base action “unhinged.”

“The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide,” the group said in a statement on June 24.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This post appeared first on cnn.com
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Business

As his feud with Trump reignites, Musk’s business with the government is back in the crosshairs

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are fighting again. Now Musk’s business interests — and the billions in government contracts they enjoy — are once again in the crosshairs.

Investors were already punishing Tesla on Tuesday, sending shares in the electric carmaker more than 4% lower in afternoon trading. The stock has experienced a late-spring rally alongside the broader market but remains down some 20% so far this year. The shares have been pummeled by a global backlash to Musk’s alliance with Trump on the campaign trail and in the White House, where the multibillionaire led a sweeping program of government cuts

Musk acknowledged there had been “some blowback” to the actions taken by his Department of Government Efficiency project that may have affected Tesla sales. Yet investors remain largely bullish on the company and its efforts to pivot away from mass-market EVs and toward self-driving taxis and robotics, pushing its market valuation back toward $1 trillion.

Tesla remains Musk’s best-known business, but its fortunes are less directly tied to the government than SpaceX, his rocket-building company. SpaceX’s $350 billion valuation largely rests on the many government contracts that fuel it. SpaceX’s work for NASA has ramped up in recent years in support of the Artemis mission to return to the moon.

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is currently the only active vessel capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX has also become essential to the Department of Defense’s missions taking satellites into orbit and today is responsible for the majority of such missions, according to Ars Technica.

SpaceX is privately held, meaning its shares don’t trade on the open market. It is thus difficult to get a real-time gauge on how worsening relations could affect the company’s fortunes. But the impact could be substantial. Since fiscal year 2000, total revenue for SpaceX and Tesla from federal unclassified contracts sits at $22.5 billion, according to Bloomberg Government data — with most of those going to the former. The Washington Post has put the figure for SpaceX alone at close to $38 billion, with $6.3 billion alone coming in 2024 — the highest annual total to date.

The dispute with Trump has also taken a chunk out of Musk’s personal net worth. After soaring to an all-time high of nearly half a trillion dollars after Trump’s election win, Musk’s publicly available wealth tally now sits at $400 billion, though that still makes him the world’s wealthiest individual by nearly $150 billion ahead of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, another Trump ally.

The Musk-Trump tiff first exploded into public view last month, shortly after Musk formally stepped down from his special government employee role and criticized the massive spending and tax cut bill that Republican senators passed Tuesday. Trump responded at the time by threatening to “terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.”

Musk, in turn, said he would begin “decommissioning” the Dragon, only to reverse course hours later after an X user advised him and Trump to “cool off and take a step back for a couple of days.”

Before their initial flare-up subsided, Musk announced he would be reining in his political spending weeks after a candidate he had backed lost a key Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Some analysts believe the current relapse in tensions between the two men will be short-lived given Musk’s reliance on the government, and vice-versa.

Still, Musk is now discussing launching his own political party to address the U.S.’s fiscal imbalances, which he believes Trump’s bill will exacerbate — a contention supported by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. While the South Africa-born executive is ineligible to run for office, any candidate he backed for national office would likely face immediate conflict-of-interest questions.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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Apple sues former Vision Pro employee for allegedly stealing ‘thousands of documents’ before joining Snap

Apple has accused a former engineer for its Vision Pro headset computer of stealing company trade secrets before starting a new job at Snap, according to a lawsuit filed in California last week.

In the June 24 court filing, Apple accuses Di Liu, a senior design engineer, of downloading thousands of documents in his final days at the Cupertino company last year and saving them to his personal cloud accounts.

This lawsuit is the latest example of Apple publicly going after a former employee for leaking internal information. Apple is an intensely secretive company, and lawsuits like this one highlight how the iPhone maker exercises tight control over its internal information, even if it has to pursue legal action against former staff.

Apple alleges that Liu didn’t inform the company when he resigned late last year that he was headed to Snap, a competitor and maker of smart glasses. As a result, Apple did not shut off his access to accounts and allowed him a customary two-week transition period, which he used to download company files, according to the lawsuit.

“Worse still, the review of Mr. Liu’s Apple-issued work laptop also shows that while maintaining access to Apple’s Proprietary Information under false pretenses, he used his Apple credentials to exfiltrate thousands of documents containing Proprietary Information from Apple’s secure file storage systems,” the iPhone maker’s lawyers said in the filing.

Many of the files downloaded by Liu had codenames for Apple projects and described the company’s technology, product design and supply chain, according to the lawsuit. Apple says that all employees agree to keep Apple files confidential and that Liu broke confidentiality agreements he made when he joined. Liu worked for Apple between 2017 and 2024, according to the lawsuit.

Liu worked on Apple’s Vision Pro headset as a system product design engineer, per the filing. Liu did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Apple lawyers wrote that Liu could use the trade secrets in his work at Snap. Apple is not suing Snap, and the social media company did not respond to a request for comment.

“The overlap between Apple’s Proprietary Information that Mr. Liu retained and Snap’s AR products (for which Mr. Liu is a ‘product design engineer’) suggests that Mr. Liu intends to use Apple’s Proprietary Information at Snap,” according to the filing.

Apple is seeking damages and for Liu to have his devices inspected by a forensic examiner to make sure all the trade secrets are deleted.

The iPhone maker has sued several former employees in recent years for taking files when they left the company.

Apple settled with former engineer Simon Lancaster in 2022 over providing information to a journalist. Apple also sued a former employee, Andrew Aude, in 2024 over leaking details to the media. That lawsuit was dismissed after Aude apologized.

The Cupertino company sued Rivos, a chip startup staffed by former Apple semiconductor employees, over its intellectual property, and settled in 2024.

Additionally at least three former Apple employees have also been arrested and accused by the government of taking company secrets and giving them to China-linked organizations. One pled guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison, and two are still in proceedings.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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Wisconsin Supreme Court decides abortion case that prompted most expensive judicial election in US history

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s newly elected liberal majority on Wednesday voted to strike down a near-total state abortion ban, voting 4-3 to overturn the stringent, 176-year-old law. 

The decision reflected a deeply partisan split, with all four liberal justices voting to invalidate the 1849 abortion law and the three conservative justices dissenting.

It also crystallized the impact of the state’s Supreme Court election earlier this year that raked in millions of dollars in donations, the highest amount in U.S. history for a judicial race. It included involvement from then-Trump ally Elon Musk, former President Barack Obama and others.

Writing for the majority, Justice Rebecca Dallet said the law had been superseded by more recent precedent, including a 1985 statute that allowed for abortions up to the point of fetal viability, or around the 20-week mark.

‘We conclude that comprehensive legislation enacted over the last 50 years regulating in detail the ‘who, what, where, when, and how’ of abortion so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion,’ Dallet wrote. 

‘Accordingly, we hold that the legislature impliedly repealed [the 1849 ban] to abortion, and that [that law] therefore does not ban abortion in the State of Wisconsin.’

Conservative Justice Annette Ziegler, in a dissent, described the ruling as ‘a jaw-dropping exercise of judicial will’ and charged that the liberal justices ruled on the matter based on their personal preferences.

The 1849 law, and efforts to revive it, came to the fore in Wisconsin in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade — effectively snapping back into place the state law that had been dormant for decades. 

The Wisconsin law made it a felony for individuals in Wisconsin to perform abortions, including when the health of the woman was at risk, and without exceptions in cases of rape or incest. 

Though the law was not enforced by the state in recent years, at least some Republicans had urged the state Supreme Court to keep it in place, prompting opponents to push more urgently for it to be struck down.

The 4-3 decision puts to rest the possibility that it could be revived. 

It’s also the clearest sign to date of the impact that liberals on the bench could have after they regained the court majority in 2023 for the first time in 15 years. 

The closely watched state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin was the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history, attracting more than $100 million in donations and far eclipsing the $56 million spent on the state Supreme Court race just two years earlier, according to figures compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice. 

Susan Crawford ultimately beat out conservative candidate Brad Schimel, who was backed by President Donald Trump and Musk.

Musk personally donated $3 million to the Wisconsin Republican Party earlier this year, while his two super PACs spent more than $17 million on Schimel’s behalf.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers praised the state Supreme Court decision Wednesday, describing it as a win ‘for women and families’ and healthcare professionals in the state.

‘Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upended five decades of precedent and threw reproductive freedom in Wisconsin and across our country into chaos,’ Evers said in a statement. ‘I promised then to fight like hell to ensure every Wisconsinite has the freedom to consult their family, their faith and their doctor and make the reproductive healthcare decision that is right for them, and I’ve never stopped.

‘Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld that basic freedom.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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US teen influencer detained in Antarctica while attempting solo flight to 7 continents

A teenage pilot, who is attempting to fly all seven continents solo, hit a patch of rough air this weekend when Chilean authorities detained him for changing his flight plan without their permission and landing in Antarctica.

Chilean prosecutors say American influencer Ethan Guo, 19, broke “multiple national and international regulations” by changing his flight plans without prior notice, landing on a part of Antarctica where the South American country maintains a territorial claim.

Guo, whose website states he is trying to raise $1 million for cancer research by becoming “the first person ever to fly to all seven continents solo,” has broadcast his continent-hopping journey since last September to more than a million Instagram followers.

His last post, on June 23, documents a flight over the Philippines.

Chilean authorities say that on Saturday, Guo submitted a false flight plan and took off from Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas as the sole passenger and crew member aboard a Cessna 182Q aircraft, registered as N182WT. At one point during that flight, authorities say he turned off course toward Antarctica.

“The accused provided false information to the aeronautical authority. He submitted a flight plan indicating that he was going to fly over the city of Punta Arenas,” said Cristian Crisosto Rifo, the Regional Prosecutor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

“However, he continued toward Antarctica without informing anyone and without any authorization, landing at the airfield of Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory. With this behavior, the accused seriously endangered the safety of air traffic to Antarctica and the Magallanes region,” the prosecutor added.

Cristoso explained that as soon as Guo landed in Antarctica, he was detained and formally charged. “The accused not only violated the Aeronautical Code but also multiple national and international regulations regarding routes to Antarctica and access to the white continent,” emphasized Crisosto.

On Sunday, his lawyer told reporters at a press conference after Guo was charged that the young pilot experienced “complications” while flying. “While already in the air, he began to experience a series of complications,” Karina Ulloa said, adding that Guo claims “that he was conducting an exploratory flight to see if he could follow this route or not.”

The Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Prosecutor’s Office determined on Sunday that the teen must remain in the Chilean sector of the frozen continent until authorities give him permission to return to the city of Punta Arenas.

The Chilean court decreed a 90-day investigation period for this case, during which time Guo must remain in Chile.

This post appeared first on cnn.com
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Crypto Market Recap: Tech Billionaires Launch Crypto-Focused Bank, Coinbase Acquires Liquifi

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (July 2) as of 9:00 a.m. UTC.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) is priced at US$107,699, up 1.6 percent in the last 24 hours. The day’s range for the cryptocurrency brought a low of US$105,402 and a high of US$107,968 at the opening bell.

Bitcoin price performance, July 2, 2025.

Bitcoin price performance, July 2, 2025.

Chart via TradingView

Bitcoin’s price gain was driven by a calm in Middle East tensions and growing optimism after the Fed signaled a dovish tilt, both factors boosted investor risk appetite. . Additionally, continued inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs and favorable regulation expectations helped sustain the upward momentum.

Ethereum (ETH) is priced at US$2,450.40, up by 2.1 percent over the past 24 hours. Its lowest valuation on Wednesday was US$2,393.31 and its highest was US$2,467.66.

Altcoin price update

  • Solana (SOL) was priced at US$149.40, up by 2.2 percent over 24 hours. Its highest valuation as of Wednesday was US$150.29, and its lowest was US$145.46.
  • XRP was trading for US$2.18, up by 0.7 percent in 24 hours. The cryptocurrency’s lowest valuation was US$2.15 and its highest was US$2.20.
  • Sui (SUI) is trading at US$2.74, showing an increaseof 4.7 percent over the past 24 hours. Its lowest valuation was US$2.67, and its highest valuation was US$2.82.
  • Cardano (ADA) is priced at US$0.5576, up by 4.7 percent in the last 24 hours and its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest valuation as of Wednesday was US$0.538.

Today’s crypto news to know

Tech billionaires launch Erebor, a crypto-focused bank to fill SVB void

A group of prominent tech investors, including Anduril’s Palmer Luckey, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, are backing a new US-based crypto bank called Erebor, according to the Financial Times.

Erebor has applied for a national banking charter and plans to serve technology-driven sectors like AI, defense, and crypto, as well as individuals working in these fields. The digital-only bank will be headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with an additional office in New York.

Erebor intends to hold stablecoins on its balance sheet, offering a stable value backed by reserves. The bank is led by Owen Rapaport and Jacob Hirshman, a former Circle adviser.

Erebor’s mission is to address the gap left by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which had been a critical channel for startups and venture investors until its 2023 failure.

Coinbase buys Liquifi in undisclosed deal

Coinbase has acquired Liquifi, a startup that builds token management platforms for crypto projects, continuing its busy M&A streak in 2025.

Liquifi, backed in its 2022 seed round by Dragonfly and investors like Balaji Srinivasan, helps projects track token vesting, manage crypto cap tables, and handle tax requirements.

Coinbase declined to disclose the purchase price but said Liquifi will help streamline token launches and distribution. This puts Coinbase closer to an “end-to-end” model, similar to Binance’s launchpad, which supports crypto creation from early stages.

Liquifi has been locked in a legal fight with competitor Toku over alleged business document theft, claims which it denies, and Coinbase said it will stand by Liquifi’s defense.

The deal follows other Coinbase acquisitions this year, including Spindl, Iron Fish’s team, and the record-breaking US$2.9 billion Deribit buy.

China considers Stablecoins to reinforce cross-border payment strategy

Policy advisers in China are pressing Beijing to explore stablecoins for cross-border payments, even as the country’s broad crypto ban remains in place, Bloomberg reported.

People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng noted that stablecoins could make international finance more resilient to geopolitical disruptions, a view echoed by other senior officials.

Former PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan suggested dollar-linked stablecoins might even accelerate dollarization, while others see a case for yuan-backed coins to support China’s long-term currency goals.

The momentum comes after the US Senate passed a stablecoin bill in June, advancing President Trump’s digital currency agenda.

Stablecoin supply is projected to reach US$3.7 trillion by 2030, driven by cheaper, faster settlement options compared to traditional banking.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com
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Could a ceasefire finally be struck in Gaza? Here’s what to know

Donald Trump has not been shy about his desire for an end to the war in Gaza.

After the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran concluded with a ceasefire, the US president has been pushing hard for a truce between Israel and Hamas, saying he was “looking for it to happen next week,” when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House.

Trump announced Tuesday that Israel had “agreed to the necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire. Netanyahu will convene his full cabinet on Saturday night to discuss it. Hamas, meanwhile, said it was considering the latest proposal, without indicating whether it would accept it.

The two sides have long had conflicting demands that negotiators have been unable to bridge, but there are renewed hopes of a deal as the war enters its 21st month. Here’s what to know.

Why now?

Netanyahu’s government has faced mounting international criticism for the suffering its war is inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian deliveries to the enclave in March. It somewhat eased the blockade in May, after a chorus of global experts warned that hundreds of thousands of people could soon starve.

Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli strikes in recent days. And aid distribution has been marred by violence, with hundreds killed on their way to try to obtain food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US-backed aid initiative.

Pressure is also growing on Netanyahu from within Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Wednesday that he would join the coalition government to make a hostage deal possible.

Trump predicted Tuesday that Netanyahu wanted to end the war. “He wants to. I can tell you he wants to. I think we’ll have a deal next week,” Trump told reporters.

What’s in the proposed deal?

The precise details of the new proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal remain murky.

The Qatari prime minister previously said Qatar and Egypt had been working to find a “middle ground” to move forward from the US-conceived truce proposed months ago. That proposal outlined a 60-day ceasefire during which Hamas would release 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of a further 18 hostages taken by Hamas during its attacks on October 7, 2023.

Of the 50 hostages still in Gaza, at least 20 of them are believed to be alive, according to the Israeli government.

As part of the latest proposal, Israel has also agreed to allow a surge of humanitarian aid through traditional UN-run humanitarian channels rather than through the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli official said.

What are Israel’s demands?

In addition to the aim of bringing the hostages home, Netanyahu has not wavered from his more maximalist aims: disarmament of Gaza and the destruction of Hamas’ military capabilities and governance abilities.

“I’m telling you — there will be no Hamas. No ‘Hamastan.’ We are not going back to that. It’s over,” Netanyahu said Wednesday. “We will bring back all our hostages.”

But over the weekend, the prime minister made a rhetorical shift in laying out Israel’s goals – for the first time prioritizing the return of hostages ahead of what he once called the “supreme objective” of defeating Hamas.

Netanyahu said “many opportunities have opened up” following Israel’s military operations in Iran, including the possibility of bringing home everyone still held captive by Hamas. “Firstly, to rescue the hostages,” he said. “Of course, we will also need to solve the Gaza issue, defeat Hamas, but I believe we will accomplish both missions.”

It comes as the Israeli military this week recommended pursuing a diplomatic path in Gaza after nearly two years of fighting and the elimination of much of Hamas’ senior leadership.

What about Hamas?

Hamas has three main demands: a permanent end to the fighting, for humanitarian assistance to be carried out by the United Nations, and for Israel to retreat to the positions it held on March 2 this year, before it renewed its offensive and occupied the northern part of the Strip.

In response to the earlier Trump administration-backed ceasefire proposal in May, Hamas requested US assurances that permanent ceasefire negotiations will continue and that fighting will not resume after the 60-day pause.

Whether the ceasefire will be temporary or a pathway to a permanent truce is the biggest sticking point between the warring parties.

Hamas has also shown no willingness to relinquish its political and military power in Gaza.

When were the previous ceasefires?

In the 21 months of war between Israel and Hamas, ceasefires have been in place for a total of only nine weeks.

More than 57,000 people, of which more than 17,000 are children, have been killed in Gaza during the fighting, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The first ceasefire came into effect in November 2023, but lasted only a week. In that time, 105 hostages were released from Gaza, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before Trump’s return to the White House. In just over 8 weeks – the first “phase” of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed.

Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the ceasefire and derailing the talks, saying it did so to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

This post appeared first on cnn.com
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Hamas ‘serious’ about reaching ceasefire agreement but insists on long-standing demands

Hamas confirmed on Wednesday that it is ‘ready to accept’ a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but did not endorse a 60-day pause put forward by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the terrorist organization is ‘ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war.’ Trump has increasingly pressured Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire, but the details of such an agreement still have not been worked out.

A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Trump’s proposal, according to an Egyptian official.

Hamas has previously said it was willing to release the remaining 50 hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement, though it has noted that fewer than half of the hostages are still alive. In return, however, Hamas demands that Israel fully withdraw from Gaza and end the war.

Meanwhile, Israel has said Hamas must surrender, disarm and exile itself from Gaza.

An Israeli official said the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. The mediators and the U.S. would provide assurances about talks to end the war, but Israel is not committing to that as part of the latest proposal, the official said.

Roughly 10 hostages would be released under the agreement.

Trump announced the ceasefire proposal in a Tuesday statement on social media.

‘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,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

‘The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’ he added.

‘Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza,’ Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Iran to suspend work with UN nuclear watchdog, president says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian enacted a law passed by the country’s parliament last week that would end Tehran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

The legislation was approved within days of the U.S. carrying out Operation Midnight Hammer, in which it struck three major nuclear sites in Iran: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.

The law stipulates that any future inspection of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the IAEA must be approved by the country’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Reuters. Iran maintains that the IAEA sided with the U.S. and Israel in the recent conflict. Additionally, Tehran claims that the IAEA’s resolution in early June paved the way for Israel’s strikes.

Pezeshkian’s order reportedly had no timetable or details about what the suspension of cooperation would entail, The Associated Press reported.

IAEA head of Media, Multimedia and Public Outreach Section and spokesperson Fredrik Dahl told Fox News Digital that the agency was still awaiting confirmation from Iran.

Nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have been on pause since Israel launched Operation Rising Lion. Iran then wavered on whether it would continue the talks, claiming that the U.S. was complicit in Israel’s actions. However, President Donald Trump appeared hopeful that the two countries would return to the table, even after the U.S.’ historic strikes. On June 25, the president told reporters that the U.S. would talk with Iran the following week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently told CBS News that ‘the doors for diplomacy will never slam shut.’ However, he also cast doubt on Trump’s timeline for when talks would resume.

‘I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,’ Araghchi told CBS News. ‘In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations.’

While Trump’s critics have argued that the administration has exaggerated the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear sites, parties involved in the conflict seemingly agreed on the status of the facilities. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledged that the sites were ‘badly damaged’ in an interview with Al Jazeera. 

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