The White House announced that President Trump’s Board of Peace has brokered a pathway to a deal between Hamas and the Israeli government for the Palestinian militant group to lay down its arms in Gaza in exchange for an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the territory. Some are saying that such a potential breakthrough might end nearly three years of conflict there. Trump himself called it “historic.”

If implemented, the agreement would represent a dramatic breakthrough in Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan and clear the way for reconstruction of the devastated enclave. But the deal requires Hamas and Israel to complete a complicated series of reciprocal and independently verified steps over roughly seven to eight months.

Apparently, Israeli officials remain deeply skeptical that Hamas will surrender its weapons, while comments from a senior Hamas official suggest the sequencing of disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal could still be contested.

A U.S. official said Hamas had agreed to the framework through Egyptian mediators. The official suggested that the plan didn’t diverge from what Israel agreed to nearly a year ago as part of a deal to free hostages—but acknowledged the possibility that the Israeli position has changed in the meantime. Jonathan Harounoff, who recently stepped down as Israel’s international spokesman at the United Nations, said the complete disarmament of Hamas had been the “primary obstacle” to reconstruction efforts in Gaza, and that Hamas had failed to follow commitments before.

The road map leaves major implementation questions unanswered. U.S. officials characterized it as a step-by-step plan to hand power in Gaza to Palestinian authorities that are not Hamas, which launched the attack on Israel in October 2023 that was ultimately met by an intense Israeli response.

Todd Blanche’s bid to formally become attorney general is on hold, at least temporarily, amid concerns from two key Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee. But Politico says all this back and forth might not matter in the end, since win or lose, the president’s former defense attorney can continue to run the Justice Department.

Still, Trump said Thursday he may pull the acting AG’s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans’ demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.

Experts are saying that the dramatic debacle is all about protecting Trump. One columnist for USA Today said that the president still has options—the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the attorney general succession act of 1977—to keep Blanche on the job, helping him keep the IRS at bay. “But Trump is clearly worried about what happens 900-plus days from now, when someone new is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2029, as America's next president. If a Democrat wins the 2028 presidential election, Trump's gargantuanly profitable second term could draw IRS audits and investigations.”

“Hey Siri … what are you worth?” When I asked my phone this, it responded with “Sorry, I don’t understand.” So apparently, Siri don’t know yet … but Apple hinted Thursday that heavy users of its revamped digital assistant may have to pay for access.

It’s the first time that Apple has confirmed it will charge for the new AI-powered assistant. In a conference call to discuss the company’s most recent quarterly earnings, outgoing CEO Tim Cook said Apple is still developing its plan to address the higher computing costs that will come with the improved voice assistant. Apple has also said that users will need a paid iCloud subscription to take advantage of a new home security feature built into the next version of IOS.

You might recall that Apple unveiled its long-delayed Siri upgrade at its developer conference last month. A public beta began a few weeks ago, with broad availability due in the fall alongside new iPhones.