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President Donald Trump, seated center, joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, from left, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, attends a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from left, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as Vice President JD Vance speaks during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
Vice President JD Vance speaks as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, foreground left, and President Donald Trump, background left, listen during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from left, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
Hamas said Friday that it reached an agreement to disarm, a significant move that could help end the war in Gaza \u2014 but one that will face many hurdles and could take a long time to achieve, if at all. Israel has not commented on the deal, which President Donald Trump announced hours earlier. It comes nine months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end the fighting between Israel and the group was signed.<\/p>\n
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Trump is taking Friday\u2019s Cabinet meeting on the road \u2014 to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. It’s the first Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Trump\u2019s second term after an earlier attempt in May was scuttled because of bad weather.<\/p>\n
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The president said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche\u2019s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans\u2019 demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy wants Trump to help persuade Musk to expand Starlink access<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pitched Trump and other American officials on helping Ukraine win permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia.<\/p>\n
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Zelenskyy is looking for alternate ways to mitigate the need for U.S. Patriot air defense systems to thwart the steady barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory. The interceptors are in shorter supply as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran continues to rage, and Trump on Friday appeared to back away from a recent commitment to give Ukraine a license to produce them.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump in an Oval Office meeting this week during his whirlwind trip to Washington, according to one person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
He also told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink to help with targeting inside Russia, according to a person in the room. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive private discussions. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
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White House signals Trump is weighing carrying out new strikes on Iran<\/p>\n
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration\u2019s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly \u201cbroke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur,\u201d Leavitt added in her Friday evening statement. \u201cIran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leavitt issued the fresh warning after Trump earlier told reporters that \u201cwe just want to win\u201d in Iran and signaled that he expected U.S. military action to continue for some time.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ll be hitting them very hard,\u201d Trump said in an exchange with reporters during a meeting with members of his Cabinet. \u201cYou know, at some point they\u2019re going to say, \u2018We just can\u2019t take it anymore.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
US drops case against man charged with damaging Reflecting Pool<\/p>\n
Government lawyers said information provided since the indictment of former Olympian David Hearn shows that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was by the result of a \u201cflawed installation by the contractor\u201d as well as \u201cthe rush to complete the project.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dr. Oz defends decision to end Medicare prescription drug subsidy<\/p>\n
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz is defending his decision to end a Medicare Part D subsidy that had helped offset premiums for millions of older adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still very affordable,\u201d he told The Associated Press at the National Governors Association summer meeting on Friday. \u201cWhat I didn\u2019t want to do was subsidize a bailout.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oz said the federal subsidy to insurers, which amounted to $3.6 billion this year, would have mostly gone to a single company.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThat\u2019s just not a good thing for the American people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While federal officials have insisted the financial impact to beneficiaries is minimal, the decision has opened the Republican administration to potential political consequences in a midterm year where affordability is a central issue.<\/p>\n
Trump blames Minnesota governor for cyberattacks, cites no evidence<\/p>\n
The president alleged that the recent cyberattacks were the fault of the state, including Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Authorities have not yet publicly named the source of the attacks.<\/p>\n
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During a Cabinet meeting on Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump also repeated myriad false claims that have become part of his regular talking points about topics such as immigration, foreign conflicts and prescription drug prices.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more here about some of the claims.<\/p>\n
UN chief urges Hamas and Israel to follow US road map to peace in Gaza `without any questions\u2019<\/p>\n
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Trump\u2019s announcement on Hamas agreeing to disarm in Gaza the only \u201cgood news\u201d in recent days that have seen a military escalation in the Gulf, including a collapse of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
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Hamas said Friday it will begin disarming as part of a stalled deal announced by Trump that requires Israel to halt attacks in Gaza and withdraw from the territory which the Palestinians insist must be part of a future state. Israel\u2019s prime minister has not responded to what could be a major breakthrough to ending the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Guterres told U.N. reporters Friday he has a message to both Israel and Hamas: There is a road map that must be implemented now \u201cwithout any questions, skepticism, or determination to undermine it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned that the six-month war in Iran \u201cis increasingly becoming a driver of instability,\u201d saying energy markets have been upended, food and fertilizer prices have surged, \u201csupply chains are buckling,: and \u201caround the world families are struggling to put food on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has wrapped up the public portion of his Cabinet meeting<\/p>\n
The president gave a lengthy opening statement, heard from top officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and answered questions on Iran and array of other topics.<\/p>\n
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He has now asked the press and cameras to leave, meaning the rest of the meeting\u2019s proceedings won\u2019t happen in view of the public.<\/p>\n
Trump steps back from pledge to let Ukraine make Patriot interceptors<\/p>\n
Asked about his previous commitment to give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems to counter Russian missiles, Trump said, \u201cWe have not agreed to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about it. But it\u2019s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology,\u201d Trump said at his Cabinet meeting on Friday.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t think this would ever happen, but you know there\u2019s people that, you give that technology, they can someday turn on you,\u201d Trump added. \u201cYou look at war, that\u2019s happened a couple of times over the years, right? So we have to be very careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a contrast to earlier remarks from the sidelines of the NATO summit this month, where Trump said, \u201cWe\u2019ll give them the right to make Patriots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump said he discussed the topic with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when they met in Washington on Tuesday. Zelenskyy also met with senators to make a case for why Ukraine needs the interceptors.<\/p>\n
Trump claims Iran war helped drive Hamas to disarmament agreement<\/p>\n
The president during his Cabinet meeting said the newly-minted agreement aimed at leading to disarmament of the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel\u2019s withdrawal from Gaza and transition of oversight of the territory to a civilian body will have \u201cups and downs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Still, he said this week\u2019s agreement is a \u201cgreat breakthrough\u201d that has been helped along by the U.S. and Israel\u2019s war with Iran, which has served as Hamas\u2019 prime backer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody\u2019s ever thought that would be possible to disarm Hamas,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThat shows you how much success we\u2019re having with Iran, because if you go four months ago or five months ago, a deal like that would have been impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
RFK Jr talks about first visiting Camp David 6-plus decades ago<\/p>\n
Trump health chief Robert Kennedy Jr. said he was visiting the presidential retreat on Friday for the first time in about 62 years.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy father loved this place, my uncle loved this place,\u201d said Kennedy, who is the son of former Attorney General and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy.<\/p>\n
He said that his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was resentful of his predecessor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for naming it Camp David after Eisenhower\u2019s grandson.<\/p>\n
Kennedy said that had his uncle lived to a second term, he planned to rename the retreat Shangri-La, which was its original moniker before Eisenhower changed it.<\/p>\n
Kennedy also cheered Trump for allowing reporters in the compound, saying Trump had opened \u201cinner sanctum\u201d of the presidency.<\/p>\n
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Trump later pointed to a picture of John F. Kennedy on the wall and said he was a \u201chandsome guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump says the anti-weaponization fund is \u2018dead\u2019<\/p>\n
The comments came after the president spent the morning defending the $1.8 billion fund on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is dead,\u201d Trump said. \u201cBut I wish it weren\u2019t, to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Trump continued to defend the people who could potentially benefit from the fund, mainly those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir families have been ruined,\u201d Trump said. Those people \u201cwanted to go to a rally or an event and ended up spending the rest of their lives in horror.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump acknowledged that Blanche, his attorney general pick, has been a \u201cpawn in this whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump says \u2018we just want to win\u2019 in Iran<\/p>\n
The president has previously insisted that Iran has been \u201ccompletely defeated\u201d militarily. But in his engagement with reporters at Camp David on Friday, he acknowledged that he expects U.S. military action will likely continue for some time.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ll be hitting them very hard,\u201d Trump said. \u201cYou know, at some point they\u2019re going to say, \u2018We just can\u2019t take it anymore.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump says he doesn\u2019t think International Criminal Court is targeting him but \u2018it could happen\u2019<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio complained that the international court based in the Hague was very arrogant and had unfairly targeted leaders around the world.<\/p>\n
That prompted the president to interject: \u201cThere\u2019s no indication they\u2019re after me. It could happen.\u201d He didn\u2019t elaborate, but his suggestion drew laughter from Cabinet members.<\/p>\n
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Trump said Rubio wasn\u2019t trying to defend him personally, but instead wanted to shield other court targets. He said that could include people like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no indication that I\u2019m one of them, at this moment,\u201d Trump added again for emphasis, drawing still more laughter.<\/p>\n
US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries<\/p>\n
The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it\u2019s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000.<\/p>\n
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A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a review \u201cprovided sufficient data\u201d to suggest the bond program effectively enforces compliance, and would be made permanent by the end of August. The notice is to be formally published on Monday. Additional countries may be added to the list, found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The program requires holders of passports from the affected countries to pay the bond when being interviewed for business and tourist visas. The regulation says the bond will be refunded if the application is denied or after the person leaves the United States.<\/p>\n The Trump administration rolled out the program as a way of cracking down on visa overstays.<\/p>\n Trump starts Cabinet meeting at Camp David<\/p>\n The president began his Cabinet meeting Friday by saying his team was meeting in a \u201cvery special room.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The White House has tried to highlight that this was the first televised Cabinet meeting at the presidential retreat.<\/p>\n Trump said he invited the news media to watch because he believes in \u201ctransparency,\u201d before turning to his standard talking points about the economy and border security, among other issues.<\/p>\n CEO defends Exxon\u2019s performance at a time of global supply shortages<\/p>\n American refineries are running at near-full capacity and poised to benefit because some refineries in the Middle East and Russia were damaged. And Asia can\u2019t get the amount of Middle East oil needed for refining.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cPenalizing the businesses who stood by those countries and provided that product going forward is very short-sighted,\u201d Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in a call with investors Friday. \u201cWe canceled investments that we had planned for Europe based on the last time they passed a windfall profits tax.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers propose taxing the war profits of major oil producers<\/p>\n Exxon and Chevron don\u2019t set the price of American oil, which has ricocheted between $68 and $115 a barrel, driven by supply and demand, and what traders, refiners and other buyers are willing to pay.<\/p>\n Democrats nevertheless hope to tax major oil producers for profits from 2026 onward and redistribute that revenue to consumers.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fair to put a windfall profits tax on inordinate windfall profits rather than cut off children\u2019s food programs,\u201d said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. His measure and a companion bill by Rep. Ro Khanna of California would impose a per-barrel tax on companies that produced or imported at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day in 2025.<\/p>\n The UK and other European countries have extended temporary windfall profits taxes on fossil fuel companies to 2030, according to Tax Foundation Europe.<\/p>\n Major oil companies reap massive profits as US and Iran fighting drives energy prices higher<\/p>\n American oil and gas giants are announcing huge spring windfalls thanks to the fighting between Iran and the U.S. that made consumers around the world pay more for fuel.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116.02 billion in revenue, up 42%. Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion and revenue jumped 56% to $70.06 billion.<\/p>\n Six of Europe\u2019s largest oil companies posted combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40% higher than last year.<\/p>\n Latest developments in the Iran conflict<\/p>\n No U.S. strikes were reported in Iran on Friday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Iran fired drones at Kuwait, a Gulf country hosting U.S. forces, and said it had also fired at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas shipments, which has been largely closed by the fighting.<\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s Defense Ministry said Friday its armed forces had shot down drones inside Kuwaiti airspace. It said the Iranian attacks had targeted several vital military facilities, causing material damage from falling shrapnel but no casualties. It did not specify how many drones were intercepted. Iranian state media said Iran had targeted an air base in Kuwait with drones, in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Thursday.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have hit two oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media said four other tankers had turned around. The report did not provide further details on which flags or ownership the tankers were sailing under, or say whether there were any casualties.<\/p>\n FIFA chief operating officer tells AP that staff was \u2018deceived\u2019 by World Cup sell-off plan that \u2018must not go ahead\u2019<\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said in a statement to The Associated Press that the staff was \u201cdeceived\u201d by Gianni Infantino\u2019s lack of openness while planning the scheme to sell a World Cup stake to private investors linked to Trump\u2019s family.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the project of one person,\u201d wrote Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. \u201cNot only must this project not go ahead \u2026 but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n Lamour did not resign the post he held since 2024 but said he had a duty to his colleagues to speak out about the \u201ccontempt and intimidation\u201d FIFA staff has faced.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if that means I lose my job, then so be it\u201d the French official said. \u201cI will understand and respect that decision. At least I\u2019ll sleep well tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wisconsin Democrats shaken by Mandela Barnes\u2019 exit from governor\u2019s race<\/p>\n The former lieutenant governor\u2019s announcement came Thursday amid news that the state party had reviewed past allegations of inappropriate behavior, further shaking up the race less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 primary in Wisconsin, where independents and moderates are key voters and where Trump won two razor-thin elections.<\/p>\n That leaves four Democrats, including most prominently Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who rejoined the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her run amid a campaign finance scandal two weeks ago, and insurgent democratic socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong, running far to the left.<\/p>\n The single mother and former line cook has captured the imaginations of liberal Democrats upset with the party establishment, but she\u2019s raised concerns that her past calls for defunding the police will hurt her chances against Trump-backed Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Details on disarmament from the Hamas statement<\/p>\n Hamas said Friday that it\u2019s committed to implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the new road map focused on the steps it needs to take to disarm.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s statement says it and other Palestinian factions agreed to the framework as part of a national consensus to protect people in Gaza and help meet their humanitarian needs.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It said Israel must adhere to the ceasefire deal agreed to in October and halt its attacks in order for implementation to move forward, echoing language in the new road map released Friday by the Board of Peace.<\/p>\n The agreement calls for Hamas, which ran the government in Gaza, to first turn over all police weapons to a national committee of technocrats responsible for administering the strip. Only later, once the Israeli military withdraws from Gaza, would it be required to decommission and hand over its heavier weapons, according to the text.<\/p>\n Democratic candidates grapple with \u2018defund the police\u2019 baggage<\/p>\n With midterm elections looming, Democrats hope to convince voters that Trump administration lawlessness is the biggest threat to their rights and pocketbooks. The party\u2019s past debates over crime and safety threaten to undermine that pitch.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Across the country, Democratic candidates are facing tough questions about their past calls to \u201cdefund the police\u201d by reimagining public safety services or redirecting spending to other social programs \u2014 a prominent demand during the protests that followed George Floyd\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Democratic leaders fear the outlier opinions may sink their chances of gaining ground in Congress, governor\u2019s mansions and statehouses as the party\u2019s rising left flank captivates its base, just as Republicans stoke fears about crime, immigration and democratic socialism in their closing midterm message.<\/p>\n Trump swings at Cornyn over Blanche nomination<\/p>\n Trump, still frustrated about the status of his attorney general pick, began his Friday morning by going after one of the Republican senators who was holding up Todd Blanche\u2019s confirmation to lead the Justice Department.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Continuing a criticism he began earlier this week, Trump said Texas Sen. John Cornyn had no issue with the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund until after he endorsed his primary challenger, Ken Paxton, for the Senate.<\/p>\n In the post, Trump also continued to defend the controversial fund, which Blanche said in his Senate testimony was dead. Republican senators want him to put that commitment into writing.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps there has never been a group of people treated so badly in our Nation\u2019s history,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey are suffering still, many ruined, and I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Blanche met privately with Cornyn and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis over the issue later Thursday and the sides were working collaboratively, although Blanche\u2019s confirmation prospects still remain unclear.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Trump administration is ending a Medicare drug subsidy program. Here\u2019s how it could affect costs<\/p>\n Millions of older adults on Medicare prescription drug coverage could face steeper monthly costs in 2027, after the Trump administration concludes a temporary subsidy program that has helped offset premiums for the past two years.<\/p>\n
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