Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of a peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners, President Trump said Wednesday in announcing the outlines of the biggest breakthrough in months in the two-year-old war.

Tours at the Capitol have come to a standstill. The House is keeping its doors closed, while the Senate repeated its loop Wednesday of failed votes to reopen the government. President Donald Trump is threatening to mass fire federal workers and refuse back pay for the rest.

Experts, as well as union leaders representing air traffic controllers and security screeners, warn that the impact could grow significantly worse if the government shutdown continues and employees start to miss paychecks.

James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump.

Beneath nearly two hours of oral arguments in the case was the fate of Illinois’ 2015 law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted for up to 14 days after an election.

“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Advocates for the Red Line Extension, discussed for 50 years, describe it as an overdue promise to the people of the city’s Far South Side.

Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who endured a long and troubled marriage marked by family tragedies, her husband’s infidelities and her own struggles with alcoholism and mental health, died on Wednesday. She was 89.