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Alina Habba, President Donald Trump's pick to be the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, speaks with reporters outside the White House, March 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2025-12-08T19:07:55Z President Donald Trumps former personal attorney, Alina Habba, said Monday she is resigning as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey, giving up her fight to stay in the job after an appeals court said she had been serving in the post unlawfully.In a statement posted on social media, Habba assailed the courts ruling as political, but said she was resigning to protect the stability and integrity of her office.But do not mistake compliance for surrender, she said, adding that the administration would continue its appeal. This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me.Habba said she would remain with the Justice Department as a senior advisor to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.Habba, 41, was appointed in March to serve a temporary term as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a powerful post charged with enforcing federal criminal and civil law. Once a partner in a small New Jersey law firm, Habba was among Trumps most visible legal defenders during the four years he was out of power, representing him in court and frequently appearing on cable TV news as his legal spokesperson. But she had limited federal court experience, and New Jerseys two Democratic senators indicated they would block her confirmation in the U.S. Senate. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on When her term expired in July, a panel of federal judges appointed one of her subordinates to the role instead. But Bondi promptly fired the replacement, blaming Habbas removal on politically minded judges. A lower-court judges finding that Habba was unlawfully serving in the position soon triggered a monthslong legal standoff, prompting confusion and delays within New Jerseys federal court system. Then, earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia disqualified her from serving in the role, writing in their opinion that the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the U.S. Attorneys Office deserve some clarity and stability. Habba is one of several Trump administration prosecutors whose appointments have faced challenges.The Justice Department had vowed to appeal a judges ruling dismissing the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on the grounds that the prosecutor who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.Its unclear whether the administrations decision to abandon the fight to keep Habba in office may impact other U.S. attorneys whose appointments have been challenged by defense lawyers.In a statement posted on X on Monday, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche accused judges of engaging in an unconscionable campaign of bias and hostility against Halligan for questioning why she was still being identified as U.S. attorney on court documents. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, questions the witnesses during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing on "The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud" on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., file)2025-12-08T14:12:07Z Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett launched a campaign Monday for the U.S. Senate in Texas, bringing a national profile to a race that may be critical to Democrats long-shot hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority in next years midterm elections. Crockett, one of Congress most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks, jumped into the race on the final day of qualifying in Texas. She is seeking the Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn, who is running for reelection in the GOP-dominated state. Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to wrest control from Republicans next November, when most of the seats up for reelection are in states like Texas that President Donald Trump won last year. Democrats have long hoped to make Texas more competitive after decades of Republican dominance. Cornyn, first elected to the Senate since 2002, is facing the toughest GOP primary of his career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt. Crocketts announcement came hours after former Rep. Colin Allred ended his own campaign for the Democratic nomination in favor of attempting a House comeback bid. She faces a March 3 primary against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a former teacher with a rising national profile fueled by viral social media posts challenging Republican policies such as private school vouchers and requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Talarico raised almost $6.3 million in the three weeks after he formally organized his primary campaign committee in September, according its first campaign finance report, and he had nearly $5 million in cash on hand at the end of the month. Crockett raised about $2.7 million for her House campaign fund from July through September and ended the month with $4.6 million in cash on hand. Crockett also could test Democratic voters appetite for a blunt communicator who is eager to take on Republicans as their party sets out again in pursuit of a statewide victory in Texas for the first time since 1994. Democrats see their best opportunity to pick up the Texas seat if Paxton wins the Republican nomination because he has been shadowed for much of his career by legal and personal issues. Yet Paxton is popular with Trumps most ardent supporters.Hunt, who has served two terms representing a Houston-area district, defied GOP leaders by entering the GOP race. Crockett, a civil rights attorney serving her second House term, built her national profile with a candid style and viral moments on Capitol Hill. Among those who have taken notice is Trump, who has called her a low IQ person. In response, Crockett said she would agree to take an IQ test against the president. She traded insults with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who announced last month that she would resign in January, and had heated exchanges with Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. She also mocked Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who uses a wheelchair as Gov. Hot Wheels. She later said she was referring to Abbotts policy of using planes, trains and automobiles to send thousands of immigrants in Texas illegally to Democratic-led cities. Democrats came closest in the past 30 years to winning a statewide contest in 2018, when former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke came within 3 points of ousting Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. That was during the midterm election of Trumps first administration, and Democrats believe next years race could be similarly favorable to their party. Allred lost to Cruz by 8.5 points last year. He is running for the House in a newly drawn district in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which he represented in Congress before his Senate bid in 2024. An internal party battle, Allred said, would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers.Allreds new district is part of the new congressional map that Texas lawmakers approved earlier this year as part of Trumps push to redraw House boundaries to Republicans advantage. It includes some areas that Allred represented in Congress from 2019-2025. Most of the district is currently being represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, but he has planned to run in a new, neighboring district. A former professional football player and civil rights attorney, Allred was among Democrats star recruits for the 2018 midterms. That year, the party gained a net of 40 House seats, including multiple suburban and exurban districts in Texas, and won a House majority that redefined Trumps first presidency. Besides avoiding a free-for-all Senate primary, Marshall said Allred is helping Democrats cause by becoming a candidate for another office, and he said thats a key for the party to have any shot at flipping the state. The infrastructure isnt terrible but it clearly needs improvement, he said. Having strong, competitive candidates for every office is part of building that energy and operation. Texas needs strong candidates in House races, for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general every office so that voters are hearing from Democrats everywhere. BILL BARROW Barrow covers U.S. politics for The Associated Press. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto JOHN HANNA Hanna covers politics and state government in Kansas for The Associated Press. Hes worked for the AP in Topeka since 1986. twitter mailto

The water tower at the Warner Bros. Studios lot appears on Aug. 23, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)2025-12-05T17:38:36Z Netflixs deal to acquire Warner Bros., one of Hollywoods oldest movie studios, poses seismic shifts to the entertainment industry and the future of moviegoing.As one of the remaining big five studios, the 102-year-old Warner Bros. is an essential part of movie theater business.The studio currently boasts three of the top five earning films domestically, including A Minecraft Movie, in first place, Superman and Sinners, as well as the Oscar frontrunner, One Battle After Another.There are more questions than answers about how ownership from a streaming giant would change things for Warner Bros. Its not even clear if it will pass antitrust scrutiny, or, if it does, what the details will look like. Here are some things to know, and lingering questions.Paramounts hostile takeover bidParamount on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, going straight to Warner shareholders with a bid worth about $74.4 billion, or $30 per share in cash. Unlike Netflix, Paramount is also offering to buy the cable television assets. Paramount executives said their offer is worth about $18 billion more than the competing bid from Netflix. It is the same bid that Warner Bros. had earlier rejected in favor of Netflixs offer. Donald Trumps responsePresident Donald Trump said Sunday before the Kennedy Center Honors that Netflixs acquisition of Warner Bros. could be a problem because of the size of the combined market share.Netflix is a great company. Theyve done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic man, Trump said of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, noting that they met in the Oval Office last week before the deal was announced Dec. 5. I have a lot of respect for him but its a lot of market share, so well have to see what happens. Will Warner Bros. continue releasing movies in theaters?Yes, but it might change as well. For starters, itll be at least 12 to 18 months before the deal officially goes through and moviegoers can expect essentially business as usual until then. Sarandos said Friday that they will continue to support a life cycle that starts in the movie theater for Warner Bros. movies. But he also commented that he doesnt think that long exclusive windows are consumer friendly.With the rise of streaming, and especially in the pandemic era, studios experimented with different theatrical windows. For many years, a 90-day theatrical window was standard, but now its closer to 45 days and often a film-by-film decision. Netflix and movie theatersNetflix does release some films theatrically, but not usually more than a few weeks before they hit streaming. Sometimes thats to qualify for awards eligibility, sometimes its a gesture to top filmmakers. This year those releases included Guillermo del Toros Frankenstein, Kathryn Bigelows A House of Dynamite and Noah Baumbachs Jay Kelly.Major chains like AMC and Regal had refused to program Netflix releases until 2022, when enthusiasm for the Knives Out movie Glass Onion helped break the stalemate.Earlier this year, KPop Demon Hunters unofficially topped the box office charts, earning nearly $20 million from a one-weekend run in theaters two full months after it debuted on the streamer.Netflix also owns and operates several movie theaters, including the Paris Theater in New York and the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Upcoming Warner Bros. moviesThe studio has a diverse slate of films expected in 2026, with high profile titles including the Margot Robbie-led Wuthering Heights in February, Supergirl in June, Practical Magic 2 in September, Alejandro Irritus untitled Tom Cruise movie in October and Denis Villeneuves Dune: Part Three in December.Movies planned for 2027 include sequels to Superman, A Minecraft Movie and The Batman.Earlier this year the company said its target was 12 to 14 releases annually across its four main labels, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. animation. What does it mean for movie theaters?So much of this depends on the details, but Cinema United president and CEO Michael OLeary said hours before the news broke that it posed an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business.He added: Regulators must look closely at the specifics of this proposed transaction and understand the negative impact it will have on consumers, exhibition and the entertainment industry.Theatrical exhibition has not fully recovered since the pandemic. Before 2020, the annual domestic box office regularly surpassed $11 billion. Since then it has only surpassed $9 billion once, in 2023, driven largely by Barbie, a Warner Bros. release. How will top filmmakers react?Its too early to tell, but Warner Bros. has always prided itself on being one of the premier homes for top filmmakers, this year releasing films from Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler and James Gunn. Other longstanding relationships include Villeneuve, who has Dune: Part Three coming next year, Clint Eastwood and Todd Phillips. Much likely depends on whether robust theatrical releases will be honored many of these filmmakers are vocal champions of the theatrical experience and may not stick around if it shifts.Sentimental Value director Joachim Trier on Monday told The Associated Press, I make films for the big screen and believe in the theatrical experience and I just want to make sure the experience is maintained.Director Park Chan-wook, also speaking to AP Monday, said that he didnt want to speak about it specifically because nothing has been confirmed, but that, regardless, I still believe that movies should be watched in theaters.The studios controversial decision to release films simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021 during the pandemic led to a rift with Christopher Nolan, who after making eight major films with the company, including the Dark Knight trilogy, partnered with Universal to make his next two films, Oppenheimer and next years The Odyssey.Will HBO Max and Netflix become one service?Thats also unclear. If the two platforms remain separate subscriptions, there may be bundling options, as with Disney and Hulu. Netflix on Friday said that the addition of HBO and HBO Max programming will give its members even more high-quality titles from which to choose and optimize its plans for consumers.The Warner Bros. library of films includes classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane as well as the Harry Potter movies.___Associated Press writers John Carucci , Sian Watson,and Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report.___This story first moved on Dec. 5, 2025, and was updated on Dec. 8, 2025, to include comments from President Donald Trump, Paramounts hostile takeover effort and comments from prominent directors about the deal. LINDSEY BAHR Bahr has been a film writer and critic for The Associated Press since 2014. twitter instagram mailto

Though its stars are up for acting prizes, the film is not in the running for best musical or comedy, only for box office achievement.

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The Warner Bros. water tower is seen at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)2025-12-08T21:06:44Z NEW YORK (AP) Warner Bros. Discoverys friendly agreement to sell itself to Netflix just got upended by a hostile actor -- Paramount, which made Warner shareholders a higher offer and touched off what is likely to be a lengthy fight in the latest episode of media industry consolidation.The bid comes after Warner last week agreed to be bought by Netflix for $72 billion.The competing offers set the stage for combining some of the most beloved entertainment properties. Netflixs vast library includes Stranger Things and Squid Game, while the much smaller Paramount owns its Hollywood studio and major TV networks like CBS and MTV. Both covet Warner, which owns Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO and the Harry Potter franchise.Whichever media company, if any, ultimately secures (Warner), controls the calculus of the streaming wars and so much more, said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at research firm Forrester. Both offers will face regulatory scrutiny, an issue President Donald Trump has already weighed in on. Heres what to know about the three players and what the bids mean for the entertainment industry. A look at the offersCEO David Zaslav has been seeking offers for Warner Bros. Discovery since at least October, when he said the company might be open to selling all or parts of its business.Paramount said Monday it had submitted six proposals to Warner over a 12 week period before its offer was rejected in favor of Netflix.So Paramount decided to go straight to Warner shareholders with a bid worth about $74.4 billion, or $30 per share in cash. Paramount, unlike Netflix, is also offering to buy the cable assets of Warner, and asking shareholders of the company to reject the Netflix bid.Paramount CEO Larry Ellison said the offer is worth about $18 billion more in cash than the competing cash-and-stock bid from Netflix. The Paramount deal includes help from investors such as Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and funds controlled by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, according to a regulatory filing. Netflix is offering a combination of cash and stock valued at $27.75 per Warner share. Its offer values Warner at $72 billion, excluding debt, but it is not bidding on Warner-owned networks such as CNN and Discovery.Before Paramounts bid, the Netflix deal was expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations. Competing bids makes an eventual deal more likely Matthew Dolgin, senior equity analyst at research firm Morningstar, said there are still many unknowns, including whether Netflix will now sweeten its bid.But, he said, a competing offer makes it more likely that Warner will eventually be acquired.With Paramount now also being involved formally with an offer to shareholders, its even more likely to us that Warner gets acquired, because its no longer a single decision that may or may not hinge on regulatory approval, he said.Shareholders have until Jan. 8, 2026, to vote on Paramounts tender offer. Donald Trump weighed in earlierAnother wild card could be President Trump. He already weighed in on Sunday, saying the deal struck by Netflix to buy Warner could be a problem because of the size of the combined market share.The Republican president said he will be involved in the decision about whether the federal government should approve the deal.Paramounts CEO is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, an ally of Trump. Federal regulators under Trump approved Paramounts $8 billion merger with Skydance in July.Regulatory scrutiny awaits either dealOn the Netflix offer, state or federal regulators could be most concerned about the massive size of a combined Netflix and Warner subscription service, said Morningstars Dolgin. Netflix is already the worlds largest streaming service.Thats less of a concern with the Paramount deal, because its streaming service is smaller and has less of an international footprint than Netflix. But regulators may raise red flags over the combination of the Paramount and Warner film and television studios, because relatively few of those remain, Dolgin said. A pattern of media acquisitionsAs the streaming landscape has matured, more media companies are seeking growth through acquisitions. Warner Bros. Discovery itself was created in 2022 when U.S. telecom giant AT&T Inc. spun off and then combined its WarnerMedia operations with Discovery Inc.In 2021, Amazon said it would buy MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, Legally Blonde and Shark Tank. Disney bought Foxs entertainment service in 2019.Technology always faces this pattern of startups, lots of different players, legacy companies getting in on the action, and then ultimately lots of consolidation, said Forresters Proulx. And this is the state that were in right now in the streaming wars saga, and in 2026 well see continued consolidation. MAE ANDERSON Anderson reports for The Associated Press on a wide range of issues that small businesses face. She is based in New York. twitter mailto

In a sign of bipartisan frustration with the Defense Department, the final defense policy bill aims to compel the Pentagon to share execute orders and video documentation.

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Several European broadcasters including Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands announced a boycott of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after Israel was allowed to participate, arguing its inappropriate given the humanitarian suffering in Gaza. What do you think?What if Israel is planning to sing an apology song?Rhiannon Salkin, Systems AnalystBig deal, Ive been accidentally boycotting Eurovision my whole life.Vikram Joshi, Cupcake FrosterI cant in good conscience watch Eurovision regardless of whos performing.Abe Ellsworth, Sandwich ModifierThe post Multiple Countries Boycott Eurovision Over Israels Participation appeared first on The Onion.

LOS GATOS, CAIn an attempt to fend off growing competition from Paramount and Netflix, Plex CEO Keith Valory announced Monday that the streaming platform had submitted a $35 bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. We believe the Harry Potter and DC universes will prove excellent additions to our slate of free-to-stream titles including Petticoat Junction and Party Mamas, said Valory in a press release, calling the deal a significant upgrade on their initial offer of $15 and adding that the company was willing to pay the $35 in four installments over the next 10 years, or $6 up front plus $2 in stock options. Plex has become synonymous with free-to-watch, ad-supported entertainment in recent years, reaching over 10 million Google searches in 2023. Where else other than Tubi can you watch reruns of Ruckers Reno alongside films like USS Indianapolis: Men Of Courage? We think Warner Bros. shareholders will be very pleased by our handsome offer. We are unwilling to go beyond this. David Zaslav, the ball is in your court. At press time, executives were hoping to sweeten the deal by throwing in a half-eaten bag of SunChips.The post Plex Submits $35 Bid For Warner Bros. appeared first on The Onion.

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The Supreme Court Building is seen in Washington on March 28, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-12-08T23:18:02Z AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal on a Texas free speech case that allowed local officials to remove books deemed objectionable from public libraries.The case stemmed from a 2022 lawsuit by a group of residents in rural Llano County over the removal from the public library of more than a dozen books dealing with sex, race and gender themes, as well as humorously touching on topics such as flatulence.A lower federal appeals court had ruled that removing the books did not violate Constitutional free speech protections.The case had been closely watched by publishers and librarians across the country. The Supreme Courts decision to not consider the case was criticized by free speech rights groups.The Texas case has already been used to ban books in other areas of the country, said Elly Brinkley, staff attorney for U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America. Leaving the Fifth Circuits ruling in place erodes the most elemental principles of free speech and allows state and local governments to exert ideological control over the people with impunity. The government has no place telling people what they can and cannot read, Brinkley said. Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association, said the Supreme Courts decision not to consider the case threatens to transform government libraries into centers for indoctrination instead of protecting them as centers of open inquiry, undermining the First Amendment right to read unfettered by viewpoint-based censorship. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on The Texas case began when a group of residents asked the county library commission to remove the group of books from circulation. The local commission ordered librarians to comply and a separate group of residents sued to keep the books on the shelves. Llano County, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of the Texas capital of Austin, has a population of about 20,000. It is mostly white and conservative, with deep ties to agriculture and deer hunting. The book titles originally ordered removed included, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson; They Called Themselves the K.K.K: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak; Its Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris; and Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings.Other titles include Larry the Farting Leprechaun by Jane Bexley and My Butt is So Noisy! by Dawn McMillan.A federal judge ordered the county to restore some of the books in 2023, but that decision was reversed earlier this year by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.The county at one point briefly considered closing its public libraries rather than return the books to the shelves after the federal judges initial order.In its order on May 23, the appeals courts majority opinion said the decision to remove a book from the library shelf is not a book ban. No one is banning (or burning books). If a disappointed patron cant find a book in the library, he can order it online, buy it from a bookstore or borrow it from a friend, the appeals court opinion said.Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, the ranking official in the county, did not immediately respond to an email to his office seeking comment.___Hillel Italie contributed from New York City. JIM VERTUNO Vertuno has been covering news, sports and politics from Texas for The AP since 1998. He won a National Headliner Award for sports writing in 2013. twitter mailto

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Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians stand amid the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)2025-12-09T05:34:24Z DOHA, Qatar (AP) With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing.Now, the key players including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East.U.S. President Donald Trumps 20-point plan which was approved by the U.N. Security Council lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas rule of Gaza. If successful, it would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision, normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence.But if the deal stalls, Gaza could be trapped in an unstable limbo for years to come, with Hamas remaining in control of parts of the territory, Israels army enforcing an open-ended occupation and its residents stuck homeless, unemployed, unable to travel abroad and dependent on international aid to stay alive. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar and a key mediator, said over the weekend that the ceasefire is at a critical point, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to travel to the White House this month to discuss the next steps.Here is a closer look at the next stages of the ceasefire and the potential pitfalls. Troops for GazaTrumps plan calls for the formation of an international force known as International Stabilization Force to maintain security and train Palestinian police to one day to take over. That force has not yet been formed, and a deployment date has not been announced. Some countries including Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan and Indonesia have expressed willingness to participate. But no firm decisions have been made.A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic talks, says partner countries are holding meetings this month to finalize operations. He predicted boots on the ground in early 2026.But there are pitfalls. The forces command structure and authorities remain unknown. Hamas says it will oppose any attempts by the force to disarm it, and contributing nations may not to want to risk clashes to take away its weapons. Israel, meanwhile, is hesitant to trust an international body with its security needs.Board of PeaceTrump has said he will head an international board to supervise a committee of Palestinian technocrats running Gazas day-to-day affairs. The board will oversee reconstruction and an open-ended reform process by the Palestinian Authority, with the goal of one day allowing the internationally recognized authority to govern Gaza.So far, Trump is the only board member officially named, though former British Prime Minister Tony Blairs name has been floated as a possibility. Another U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations, says members of the board will be announced in the coming weeks.The key challenge will be forming a board that can work with Israel, Hamas, the mediators and international aid agencies. ReconstructionTrumps plan calls for an economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza, which suffered widespread destruction during the war and where most of the territorys 2 million people are displaced and unemployed.Still, no such plan has been announced. Egypt is expected to host a conference this month for donor nations to pledge reconstruction aid.The United Nations has estimated the cost of rebuilding Gaza would amount to $70 billion. Raising that money will be difficult. Even more difficult would be finding a plan acceptable to the many governments involved, along with their private sector partners. DisarmamentThe ceasefire deal calls for Hamas to surrender all of its weapons under the supervision of international monitors. Militants who disarm will be granted amnesty and the option to leave Gaza.However, Hamas, whose ideology is based on armed resistance against Israel, says it will not disarm until Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian territories.Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told The Associated Press that the group is open to freezing or storing its weapons while a political process takes place, perhaps over many years. It is unclear whether that is sufficient for Israel. Failure to disarm Hamas could lead to renewed fighting with Israel, clashes with international troops and block progress on the rest of the peace plan.A Palestinian governmentThe Palestinians are to form a technocratic, apolitical committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under the supervision of the Board of Peace.The committees members have not been announced and Israels opposition to having any Palestinians connected to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority on it could make choosing them more difficult. It is also not clear if the committee will give Palestinians any real voice in the government or will exist only to implement decisions by the Board of Peace. If the committee is seen as just a faade, it risks not gaining public support and some figures may balk at joining it. Israeli withdrawalsUnder the ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw from all of Gaza, with the exception of a small buffer zone along the border. At the moment, Israel retains control of just over half of Gaza. The plan says further withdrawals will be based upon standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarization to be negotiated by Israel, the U.S., the international force and other guarantors.There are no firm timelines for further withdrawals, and Israel may refuse to pull back further. Its military chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, called the so-called Yellow Line that divides the Israeli-held part of Gaza from the rest a new border that would serve as a forward defensive line for our communities.Palestinian AuthorityThe plan calls for a reform of the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, and create conditions for a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood.Palestinian officials have met with Blair and U.S. officials, and have said they have begun reforms in key areas such as corruption, the education system and payments to families of prisoners convicted in attacks on Israelis.Israel rejects the creation of a Palestinian state, opposes any role for the authority in postwar Gaza and may oppose attempts to bring it in even if some reforms are made. Without a pathway to statehood, any Palestinian support for the new system could crumble. The plan also offers no clear benchmarks or timelines for the reform process. JOSEF FEDERMAN Federman manages coverage of Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan and has covered the Middle East for The AP for two decades.. twitter mailto