Wednesday morning news: July 2, 2025

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Trump: Israel has agreed to 60-day Gaza ceasefire » President Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

And he is warning Hamas to accept the deal now, saying “it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE."

That came just hours after the president told reporters that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to halt the fighting and bring Israeli hostages home.

TRUMP: He wants to do that. He wants to. I think we'll have, I think we'll have a deal next week, that's what I think.

Netanyahu will meet with the president at the White House next week.

Trump US and Israeli officials held a “long and productive meeting” Tuesday about halting the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu made no mention of a ceasefire deal when he discussed the upcoming visit with his cabinet yesterday.

NETANYAHU: [SPEAKING HEBREW]

He told Israeli leaders that he’s heading to Washington to hash out a new trade agreement among other things.

One Big Beautiful Bill » The fate of what President Trump calls his “One Big Beautiful Bill” is now in the hands of the House.

The Senate narrowly passed it with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

VANCE:  The yays are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being evenly divided. The vice president votes in the affirmative. The bill as amended is passed.

Three Republicans defected, including Sen. Rand Paul.

PAUL:  It's gonna add much more to the debt. And so I think without question, this is not a fiscally conservative bill. And if you're someone who thinks the debt is a problem, I don't see how you could vote for this.

Sen. Thom Tillis shared those concerns. The third Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine objected to, among other things, new work requirements in the bill for Medicaid and food assistance programs.

But GOP Sen. John Thune said:

THUNE:  We're fulfilling the mandate we were entrusted with last November, and setting our country and the American people up to be safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

The bill passed after an all-night marathon of debate and amendments.

USAID overhaul » The Trump administration is officially folding most USAID foreign aid programs into the State Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the agency has burned through billions of dollars with little to show for it. And he remarked earlier this year:

RUBIO: These are taxpayer dollars, and we owe the American people the sure, the, the, the assurances that every dollar we are spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interest.

He announced the government will cut about 80 percent of the agency’s programs. Most of the remaining work will now run directly through the State Department.

Critics blasted the move, including former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios:

NATSIOS: I think we've lost the humanitarian instinct. The humanitarian imperative in the US government by shutting USAID down.

Secretary Rubio says the U.S. is not halting all foreign aid but it is scrapping the heavily charity-based model. He said the administration plans to focus on bolstering trade and private investment with needy nations, rather than what he called endless humanitarian aid that breeds dependence.

Alligator Alcatraz » President Trump toured a large new immigration detention center Tuesday in the Florida Everglades which state officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Trump told reporters:

TRUMP:  Very soon this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants. Some of the most vicious people on the planet. We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swamp land, and the only way out is really deportation.

In addition to illegal immigrants deemed dangerous, officials say it will also house those considered to be higher flight risks, and some with prior deportation orders.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis:

DESANTIS:  What we have here can hold 3000 now. We have 2000 facility up at Camp Blanding that we're gonna be open, which is our National Guard site.

The complex sits on an old airstrip and features hundreds of security cameras, miles of fencing, and heavy patrols.

Protesters gathered outside, raising questions about environmental impacts on the Everglades and the conditions of the facility for the migrants held there.

Jimmy Swaggart obit » Pentecostal televangelist and gospel singer Jimmy Swaggart has died at the age of 90. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Swaggart’s family wrote on Facebook, “Today was the day he has sung about for decades” adding today, he met Jesus.

His family described him as “a worshiper, a warrior, and a witness to the grace and mercy of God.”

In 1988, Jimmy Swaggart was embroiled in a very high-profile scandal involving a prostitute, after which he gave a tearful public confession.

SWAGGART: I have sinned against you, my Lord.

The Assemblies of God ruled that he should take one year away from ministry, but he returned after just three months.

Three years after that, Swaggart was involved in another very similar scandal. This time, he resigned, as the denomination was moving to revoke his credentials.

But he continued a ministry as an independent Pentecostal pastor and later founded the Sonlife Broadcasting Network.

Swaggart authored dozens of books and study guides and sold millions of recordings over six decades.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: more on the Senate’s version of the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Plus, protecting minors from harmful material online.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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