US GDP Growth Slows to 1.5% Annualized in Second Quarter

President Trump declared a major breakthrough in the Middle East on Thursday, stating that Hamas has agreed to fully disarm and that Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza under a new arrangement backed by his Board of Peace. The announcement came more than nine months after an earlier U.S.-brokered ceasefire and involved mediators from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar. Trump presented the plan as a significant step toward ending the conflict, though details on the sequence of steps remain unclear.

A senior Hamas official told NPR that the group would only surrender weapons after Israel completes its withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet commented on the proposal. Veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant noted that Trump needs visible progress on Gaza ahead of the midterm elections in three months, warning that prolonged involvement could lead to higher gas prices and political fallout.

The U.S. economy showed signs of slowing in recent data, adding pressure on the administration as it pursues these foreign policy goals. Trump has framed the disarmament deal as a win for American interests by reducing endless entanglements abroad, yet questions persist about whether both sides will follow through without additional U.S. leverage.

In a separate development, a semiannual report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General detailed enforcement actions over a six-month period. It identified billions in alleged healthcare fraud tied primarily to corporate executives rather than small providers or immigrant communities. Cases included a CEO promoting medically unnecessary devices to Medicare patients and an insurance broker running an Affordable Care Act enrollment scheme targeting vulnerable individuals.

The Trump administration has spent more than a year emphasizing immigrant involvement in healthcare fraud as part of its broader immigration enforcement push, including actions in Minnesota. The inspector general findings shift attention to large-scale corporate schemes, though experts note that systemic issues in the healthcare system allow such fraud to persist regardless of administration priorities.

Trump officials have linked fraud concerns to overall border security efforts, arguing that unchecked immigration strains federal resources. The report's focus on corporate actors suggests that enforcement may need to address both high-level executives and smaller-scale violations to restore public trust in government programs. Midterm voters will likely weigh these domestic and foreign policy developments as the election cycle advances.