Trump returns from Mideast promoting US-brokered Gaza deal
President Donald Trump is back in Washington after urging leaders across the Mideast to put "old feuds" aside. He met with more than 20 government leaders in Egypt to celebrate a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and discuss future of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip. His whirlwind trip came at a fragile moment of hope for ending two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown now entering its 14th day may become the longest in history. He said he "won't negotiate" with Democrats until they pause their health care demands and reopen. He also claimed he's unaware of the details of the firings of thousands of federal workers as the Trump administration seizes on the shutdown to reduce government.
Black residents fear they could lose their representation in a newly created Louisiana congressional district if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against them. And Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, the 88-year-old nonvoting delegate representing the District of Columbia in the House, is facing calls to step aside over criticism that she hasn't pushed back enough against the Trump administration's intervention.
Trump now says he's ended eight wars. His numbers are off
As Israel and Hamas traded hostages and prisoners on Monday in a first step toward peace, Trump addressed Israel's parliament, claiming he had ended his eighth war. "Yesterday I was saying seven, but now I can say eight," he told the Knesset.
"After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm. The guns are silent. The sirens are still. And the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace," Trump said.
But Trump's claim is exaggerated.
Gaza ceasefire plan brims with questions about what's next
The coming weeks, months and years will require more than just rebuilding from the devastation that has left much of Gaza in ruins. Key details of the peace plan may remain unsettled.
Granular details will need to be negotiated to keep the plan moving forward and prevent the resumption of fighting. The path to long-term peace, stability and eventual rebuilding will be a long and very precipitous route.
Source: Associated Press
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