July 31, 2026

Brittney Melton

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Today’s top stories

President Trump speaks at a podium at the White House.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

President Trump is claiming that Hamas will completely disarm and Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza under a new groundbreaking deal. But a senior official from the Palestinian militant group told NPR they would only give up their weapons if Israel withdraws from Gaza first, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond. The president said that his Board of Peace agreed to the plan with the support of mediators from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. The announcement comes more than nine months after a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire was signed.

🎧 The deal faces hurdles over whether the Israeli or Hamas portion of the agreement should take place first, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. Trump needs a win with Gaza, veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant says, with the midterm elections just over three months away. Conant warns of political consequences if the Iran war continues and gas prices keep rising.

Trump is considering withdrawing his nomination of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to officially take over the role. Two Republican senators are withholding their support for Blanche due to the Department of Justice's deal with the president to end his IRS lawsuit. Trump says the withdrawal could be temporary until those two senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, leave office in January.

🎧 The senators are requesting written assurances from the Justice Department that both the settlement and the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund are off the table, NPR's Ryan Lucas says. Cornyn and Tillis also want clarity on the tax immunity deal for Trump, his family and his businesses. Lucas says the bottom line is that Trump would rather withdraw Blanche's nomination than provide senators with guarantees of deals that favor him.

The U.S. economy has largely managed the impact of rising energy costs resulting from the war with Iran, according to a recent Commerce Department report. From April to June, the U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.5%, a slight slowdown from the first quarter of 2026, when GDP grew by 2.1%. Much of the change stems from a decrease in government spending and a surge in imports.

🎧 A growth rate of 1.5% seems more promising than a recession when the economy shrinks, but the growth is slower than last year, NPR’s Scott Horsley says. Consumer spending, the main driver of the economy, remained strong despite soaring gasoline prices. Some analysts say much of the spending growth comes from upper-income families who feel wealthy currently due to a booming stock market and rising home prices. Horsley says a downturn in the stock market could cause them to cut back on spending.

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Picture show

An art installation shows multiple projections of birds on branches, with green, white and yellow hues.

Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of Dataland

The new Dataland museum in downtown Los Angeles offers an experience so special that no two visitors' time there will be exactly alike. In one room, visitors follow a hummingbird’s view as it flies through a vividly colored landscape. In another, shapes leap out of the frame of a massive three-dimensional painting in response to biometric data captured from wearable wristbands. Smell and taste are also part of the museum's multisensory experience. Artist Refik Anadol uses AI algorithms to transform troves of images and sounds from museum archives, labs and even his own travels to create immersive environments he describes as joint collaborations between humans and machines. Step inside the vibrant museum with these photos.

Weekend picks

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Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: Tom Holland is web-swinging his way back into movie theaters this weekend with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Pop Culture Happy Hour says the film presents a more grounded tone than audiences have seen in the franchise.

📺 TV: In the serial killer drama Furious, Emmy Rossum plays a low-level FBI agent searching for a woman who has been targeting prominent men in New York City.

📚 Books: Leïla Slimani's I'll Take the Fire is the final book in a trilogy about a Franco-Moroccan family grappling with their identity. The book is inspired by generations of the author's own family.

🎵 Music: R&B group The Internet's breakout stars, Steve Lacy and Syd, released new solo albums on the same day. Lacy's Oh Yeah? and Syd's Beard both explore what it means to be a star, says NPR Music Editor Sheldon Pearce.

❓ Quiz: Senate drama, airport design, the Grammys and sexy robots not only made headlines this week, but they also inspired this quiz. Answer these questions and see where you land.

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3 things to know before you go

Frederic J. Brown/AFP

1

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached its highest level in a year this week, hitting 6.66%, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

2

Americans are increasingly embracing solo living, traveling and dining as more adults choose to remain single. If that sounds like you, NPR wants to hear about your experience.

3

In this edition of Word of the Week, NPR examines how the word "parasite" originated as a popular character trope in Greek literature and ultimately became a serious concept.

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This newsletter was edited by Olivia Hampton.

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