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By
Brittney Melton
Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
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.
President Trump speaks at a podium at the White House. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption
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 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.
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, Calif, June 20, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027. Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND hide caption
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.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man, with Boomerang in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Marvel/Sony Pictures hide caption
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.
A 'for sale' sign is seen on a house in Monterey Park, California, on September 17, 2025. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP hide caption
This newsletter was edited by Olivia Hampton.
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