Hamas has agreed to release 10 hostages as part of ongoing ceasefire talks, the terror group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement did not say when the release would take place or which hostages may be freed as negotiations over a possible ceasefire continue. The terror group said that it continues to act “seriously and in a positive spirit with the mediators in order to overcome the obstacles,” according to <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-we-agreed-to-release-10-hostages-as-part-of-talks-other-points-remain-under-discussion/">The Times of Israel</a>.
The statement from Hamas identified several points of disagreement between the terror group and Israeli negotiators, including the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and “genuine guarantees for a permanent ceasefire,” according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-agrees-release-10-hostages-part-gaza-ceasefire-talks-says-negotiations-are-2025-07-09/">Reuters</a>.
The list of unresolved issues has apparently grown since U.S. foreign envoy Steve Witkoff said earlier this week that the number of sticking points between the two sides had shrunk to just one.
“We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks. So, we are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire,” Witkoff said Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington this week in part to discuss the situation in Gaza with President Donald Trump. Trump hinted Wednesday that ceasefire negotiations are “close.”
“We want to have a ceasefire,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-09/trump-touts-push-toward-gaza-deal-as-netanyahu-visits-pentagon?embedded-checkout=true">said</a> the president. “We want to have peace. We want to get the hostages back. And I think we’re close to doing it.”
Netanyahu told reporters that while both he and Trump want a ceasefire, there are some non-negotiable items that must be a part of any deal.
“President Trump wants a deal, but not at any price. I want a deal, but not at any price,” <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3newwl1zeo">said</a> the prime minister. “Israel has security requirements and other requirements, and we’re working together to try to achieve it.”
Israel has repeatedly said that no ceasefire deal can be agreed to that leaves Hamas in place in the Gaza Strip. That war aim has remained unchanged since Israeli forces invaded Gaza following the terror group’s October 7 terror attack that killed roughly 1,200 people. Hamas militants and Gazans who joined the attack abducted about 250 others as hostages.

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Hamas Says It Will Release 10 Hostages As Ceasefire Negotiations Continue

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A conservative policy powerhouse is calling for changes to financial rules that allow the government to pressure banks into cutting ties with groups they find ideologically objectionable.
The America First Policy Institute&#8217;s Center For American Prosperity on Thursday <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/debanked-when-political-bias-trumps-financial-judgment">released</a> &#8220;Debanked: When Political Bias Trumps Financial Judgment.&#8221; The white paper outlines five proposals that the authors say would stop government regulators from weaponizing their influence over banks to further their political agendas.
Debanking &#8220;creates a de facto blacklist of people and organizations that have lost access to banking services and have significant difficulty regaining access to banking,&#8221; Jill Homan, Deputy Director of Trade and Economic Policy, and David Vasquez, Senior Policy Analyst for Energy &amp; Environment at AFPI, write in the report.
&#8220;Debanking creates uncertainty and hardship. In a nation governed by laws, the practice of legal coercion through regulatory discretion is antithetical to the American system of justice,&#8221; the authors add.
&#8220;Ultimately, debanking is not just an economic problem, but a constitutional one. When federal officials use unofficial “guidance” to achieve what Congress never authorized, they violate both the spirit and letter of the law. The solution is to excise power from the regulators, and that begins with narrowing their discretion.&#8221;
President Donald Trump made a similar point earlier this year.
“The regulators control the banks,&#8221; Trump said in June. &#8220;It’s not the president of the bank. The president of the bank is far less important to a bank than a regulator, and a regulator can put that bank out of business.”
Debanking reached a fever pitch in 2013, when the Obama Justice Department launched “Operation Choke Point.&#8221; Under the operation, the Justice Department targeted “companies believed to be at a high risk for fraud and money laundering.&#8221; In reality, Choke Point involved government officials pressuring banks to cut ties with firearms dealers and other businesses the Obama administration deemed intolerable. The Biden administration continued its debanking efforts with <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409457">Operation Choke Point 2.0</a>, an effort to target the cryptocurrency industry.
In addition to the firearms and crypto industries, religious groups and conservative organizations have also been frequent targets of government-run debanking.
The authors suggest a number of policy tweaks that could prevent future debanking efforts. They urge Congress to pass the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act, which would “remove the subjective criteria of &#8216;reputational risk&#8217; which bank regulators use to evaluate a financial institution. … Instead, financial regulators would rely entirely on objective criteria to assess financial soundness.”
The law would also restrict the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from judging a financial institution’s trustworthiness on the “competency of bank management,” which is evaluated based on the risk regulators believe the institution is exposed to, based on the businesses it serves.
The authors also call for a uniform “Federal Fair Access” standard that would “end the need for states to develop separate debanking legislation that further complicates banking operations with a patchwork of inconsistent and conflicting state laws.”
A requirement to notify customers and explain the reasoning ahead of a decision by a financial institution to end its relationship with someone would increase transparency. Modernizing old regulations would also mitigate problems brought about by using a 1970s legal framework in the present-day financial environment.
&#8220;Whether the result of politically driven regulators abusing their authority or bad policies, this administration and Congress have an opportunity to dramatically curb the practice of government-driven debanking across the country through federal action,&#8221; the authors conclude. &#8220;Doing so involves reducing subjectivity and instituting these changes into law.&#8221;

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Conservative Group Calls For Lawmakers To Fight Government-Driven ‘Debanking’

Brown University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding for research.
University President Christina Paxson announced the deal on Wednesday, saying Brown had agreed to pay $50 million over 10 years to workforce development groups. The university will also enact a number of policies to prevent discrimination, as well as make other adjustments at the behest of the Trump administration.
“At its core, the agreement preserves the integrity of Brown&#8217;s academic foundation, and it enables us as a community to move forward after a period of considerable uncertainty in a way that ensures Brown will continue to be the Brown that our students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends have known for generations,” said Paxson in an open <a href="https://www.brown.edu/news/2025-07-30/brown-united-states-resolution-agreement">letter</a> announcing the deal.
Brown University struck an agreement as the Trump administration puts pressure on elite institutions to reform their campus policies. The Trump administration has targeted universities over free speech concerns, antisemitism, the inclusion of males in female sports, and other issues.
In April, the Trump administration froze $510 million in taxpayer funding to Brown University over concerns of rampant antisemitism on its campus. The university had been one of a number of schools rocked by anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protesters. The university had initially chosen to engage with the protesters before rejecting their terms instead of cracking down on violations.
Paxson in her letter said the university underwent significant strains during its struggle with the Trump administration over half a billion dollars in funding. The university took a $300 million loan in April after the funding freeze went into effect, and then in a filing last week, the university revealed it had taken another loan with $500 million. 

“[F]or the last few months, many of these aspects of our mission and our community have been under threat,” the university president wrote. “Beyond the financial stresses of terminated and unpaid research grants and contracts, we have observed a growing push for government intrusion into the fundamental academic operations of colleges and universities, and with the stated purpose of compelling a commitment to comply with laws focused on prohibitions against antisemitism and discrimination.”
As part of the agreement, the university has promised to codify definitions for “male” and “female” and develop policies around athletics and housing to align with federal standards. The university will also promise to not perform sex mutilation surgeries.
&#8220;The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child’s appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex,” the agreement states.
The university has also agreed to revamping commitments to protect Jewish students on campus, as well as end discriminatory policies in its admissions process and elsewhere in the university.

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Brown University Cuts Deal With Trump To Restore Half Billion Dollars In Taxpayer Funds

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States has struck a trade agreement with South Korea just days ahead of his August 1 deadline.
As part of the deal, South Korea will “give to the United States $350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as President,” said Trump in a post on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114944494894008041">Truth Social</a>.
“Additionally, South Korea will purchase $100 Billion Dollars of LNG, or other Energy products and, further, South Korea has agreed to invest a large sum of money for their Investment purposes,” he added.
Trump said goods from the United States to South Korea would not be subject to tariffs, while South Korean goods sold in the United States would be subject to a 15% tariff. 
South Korea will be “completely OPEN TO TRADE” with the United States, Trump declared.
The 15% tariff is a reduction from the 25% tariff the president had placed on goods from South Korea previously, though both are significantly higher than the tariffs on South Korean goods prior to Trump’s negotiations. The United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement ratified in 2011 <a href="https://kagc.us/biden-vs-trump-where-do-they-stand-on-u-s-korea-trade/">removed</a> tariffs from 95% of goods over its first five years.
The deal came just hours after the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/other-countries-are-making-offers-trump-announces-oil-reserve-deal-with-pakistan">announced</a> an agreement with Pakistan for a joint United States-Pakistan agreement to develop the latter’s oil resources.
“We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves,” said Trump in another social media post. “We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!”
Trump, who recently scored <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-secures-biggest-of-all-trade-deals-with-eu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">breakthroughs</a> in talks with the European Union and Japan, suggested that other deals may come soon as negotiators rush to strike agreements ahead of his August 1 deadline to raise tariffs again. 
“Likewise, other Countries are making offers for a Tariff reduction,” Trump said. “All of this will help reduce our Trade Deficit in a very major way. A full report will be released at the appropriate time. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

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Trump Unveils South Korea Trade Deal, Boasting $350B Investment In U.S.

President Donald Trump pushed Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Tuesday to toss a Senate tradition that has empowered Democratic senators to unilaterally block the president’s judicial nominees.
Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees judicial nominations. The “blue slip” custom on the committee is not required, but was adopted as an internal vetting procedure to encourage communication between the White House and the senators of the state in which the nominee will serve, giving senators influence over appointments in their states.
Democrats have stalled Trump’s nominees by refusing to give their assent with “blue slips,” a blue-colored form given to senators where a federal judicial nominee would serve. If the senator withholds or returns a negative blue slip expressing disapproval, they can use the custom as a tool for obstruction. The tradition&#8217;s enforcement is controlled by the chair&#8217;s discretion.
“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the ‘Blue Slip’ problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen,” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114938820270436889">said</a> Trump. “Democrats like Schumer, Warner, Kaine, Booker, Schiff, and others, SLEAZEBAGS ALL, have an ironclad stoppage of Great Republican Candidates.”
“Put simply, the President of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably Unconstitutional, ‘CUSTOM,’ that if you have, even one person in the opposite Party serving in the U.S. Senate, he/she must give consent, thereby completely stopping the opposite Party’s Nomination,” he added.
The president said that in states with Democratic senators, his own judicial nominees would have to either be a Democrat or “a weak and ineffective Republican” to receive blue slip approvals.
“I would never be able to appoint Great Judges or U.S. Attorneys in California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, and other places, where there is, coincidentally, the highest level of crime and corruption — The places where fantastic people are most needed!” the president said.
Trump said that former President Joe Biden broke the blue slip custom at least twice during his term, and that previous presidents have also worked around the Senate tradition.
A Grassley spokesman suggested in a statement on Tuesday that, despite the president’s pressure, the Judiciary Committee chair would retain the blue slip custom.
“Chairman Grassley has already successfully moved U.S. Attorneys through committee who have received blue slips from Democrats, including Senators Warner and Kaine of Virginia and Klobuchar and Smith of Minnesota,” the spokesman said, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/29/congress/trump-hits-grassley-00483005">Politico</a>. “When a nominee comes out of committee all 100 senators have a say on the nomination and part of their consideration is based on the home state senators’ input.”

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Trump Rips ‘Unconstitutional’ Senate Custom That Allows Democrat ‘SLEAZEBAGS’ To Stall Judicial Noms

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday.
Susan Monarez was the president’s second pick to head the agency after the White House pulled Dave Weldon’s nomination, which Weldon said was due to a lack of Senate support for his nomination. Monarez is the first CDC head to be confirmed by the Senate, a move necessitated under a 2023 law.
The Senate confirmed Monarez, who already heads the agency as acting director, in a 51 to 47 vote. Monarez now stands to head up an agency in the middle of an overhaul led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Trump administration is reportedly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/04/16/hhs-budget-cut-trump/">seeking</a> to slash the CDC’s budget by over 40% after the health agency has received heavy <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/cdc-admission-of-dysfunction-misses-the-big-problems/">criticism</a> in recent years, especially for its handling of the COVID pandemic. During the outbreak of the disease and, at times, for years after, the CDC recommended actions that had little basis in scientific evidence.
For instance, the agency issued its six-feet separation guidance in March 2020 based on no discernible evidence, according to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which issued a <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024.12.04-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT-ANS.pdf">final report</a> on the pandemic in December. Despite the lack of a scientific foundation, the guidance went unrevised until August 2022.
“There were no scientific trials or studies conducted before this policy was implemented, there appeared to be no pushback or internal discussion amongst the highest level of leadership, and more importantly there appears to be no acceptance of responsibility,” the 557-page report states. “That is an unacceptable answer from public health leadership. Decisions of this magnitude must have scientific backing that can be explained to the American public.”
The CDC’s guidance on mask-wearing and school closures was also compromised, according to the House report.
The CDC presented 15 studies on mask-wearing that it said support its guidance to require masks in public spaces, including on public transit and in schools. Each study was significantly flawed, however, and none of them were randomized controlled trials, considered the “gold standard” of such evidence.
“The trajectories of the rate of COVID-19 infections for states with mask mandates and states without is virtually identical,” the House report notes. “It is apparent that the CDC and the Biden Administration cherry-picked observational data to fit their narrative that masks are fully effective.”
The report notes that CDC “caused quantifiable harm” in its recommendation for universal masking inside primary schools. The recommendation remained in place for nearly two years, from April 2020 to late February 2022, with a brief break from May to July 2021.
The CDC’s choice to recommend universal masking was more onerous than the World Health Organization’s guidance. The WHO declined to recommend masking for children ages five and under, and said children ages six to 11 should not routinely wear masks because of “potential adverse impact to psychosocial and learning development,” according to the House report.
Isolation and forced masking appears to have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/01/upshot/pandemic-children-school-performance.html">slowed</a> development for many children.
“Ignoring the science and facts of COVID-19 and the harms of masking young children was profoundly immoral on behalf of the leadership of the country’s public health officials. The future consequences of these types of draconian policies are not yet known, but public health leaders in the future should remember that all policy must be decided in a balanced manner,” the report notes.

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Senate Confirms Trump’s Pick To Head CDC As Agency Battles Criticism Over Pandemic Response

Just one person contacted emergency responders as dozens of onlookers witnessed a mob of mostly black men pummel a man and a woman in downtown Cincinnati last week, according to law enforcement.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge <a href="https://x.com/RedWave_Press/status/1949953814234050770">proclaimed</a> her disappointment on Monday after roughly 100 people who stood by and either filmed, jeered, or did nothing to aid the outnumbered victims during the brawl. Video of the street brawl went viral online over the weekend. It is unclear what race or ethnicity the two victims are from the footage.
“For us to have 100 or so people down there, involved in, and/or watching this event, recording with their cell phones, and for us to get only one phone call of this incident is unacceptable in this city,” Theetge said during a press conference. “One person did the right thing and called 911.”
The police chief said that five people have been charged in connection with the brawl, with more arrests expected.
“Anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences. I don&#8217;t care which side of the incident or the fight they were on. If they placed their hands on somebody in an attempt to cause harm, that is unacceptable,” said Theetge.
Investigators are looking into the role alcohol might have played in the incident, and whether some of the people involved had been overserved at bars or restaurants, according to the police chief.
“It is clear to us that alcohol played a part, a significant part, in this incident,” she said.
The brawl took place late Friday night or early Saturday morning, according to Theetge. Videos of the incident began to rocket around the internet on Sunday. One of the most shared shows a man and woman mobbed by what appears to be mostly black attackers.
The man is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alarming-video-catches-man-pummeled-woman-cold-cocked-by-cincinnati-street-mob?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Alarming+Video+Catches+Man+Pummeled%2C+Woman+Cold-Cocked+By+Cincinnati+Street+Mob">thrown</a> to the ground and pounded for nearly a minute before he is picked up, bloodied and unsteady, only to fall back to the ground shortly after. After he is picked up again and helped away, a woman appears to try to shield him from further harm when a black man punches her in the face, knocking her unconscious.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running to be the next governor of Ohio, posted on X Monday that he had spoken with the female victim, who he said is named Holly.
“It’s unconscionable that there were no police present in that area of Cincinnati on a Friday night, or even an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Hard-working Americans shouldn’t have to worry for their safety when they have a good time in our cities. Holly said not a single local or state official had yet reached out as of earlier this afternoon, other than one police detective,” Ramaswamy <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1949940829516103758">wrote</a>.
“Leftists like to lecture about ‘systemic injustice’ while thugs turn our turn cities into war zones. I’m done with their excuses. As governor, I’ll make sure they’re behind bars, not running wild,” he added.

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‘Unacceptable’: Cincinnati Police Chief Says Only One Person Called 911 During Brutal Mob Attack

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The Fed holds rates steady as U.S. GDP smashes expectations, the Trump administration moves to ax the EPA endangerment findings, and ICE launches a huge recruitment campaign. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

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Dr. Michael Doran, a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute, joins me for a fascinating conversation about how the Israel-Hamas war has changed American foreign policy for the better.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Is The Israel-Hamas War Good For The United States? | Dr. Michael Doran

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, there’s been a lot of discussion about the brutal assault on white people in Cincinnati over the weekend. I’ve looked into the story even deeper and found that in Cincinnati this is a bigger, more systemic problem, than most people realize. We’ll discuss. Also, Zohran Mamdani, who wants to be the next mayor of New York City, has spent the last several days in a compound in Uganda. And Jasmine Crockett gets her first big front page profile in a major magazine, and it doesn’t go well for her. Plus, a very popular fitness influencer runs afoul of the leftist outrage mob, and responds in exactly the wrong way.

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1632 - The Chilling Backstory Behind The Anti-White Mob Attack In Cincinnati

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, there’s been a lot of discussion about the brutal assault on white people in Cincinnati over the weekend. I’ve looked into the story even deeper and found that in Cincinnati this is a bigger, more systemic problem, than most people realize. We’ll discuss. Also, Zohran Mamdani, who wants to be the next mayor of New York City, has spent the last several days in a compound in Uganda. And Jasmine Crockett gets her first big front page profile in a major magazine, and it doesn’t go well for her. Plus, a very popular fitness influencer runs afoul of the leftist outrage mob, and responds in exactly the wrong way.

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Hamas Says It Will Release 10 Hostages As Ceasefire Negotiations Continue

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