Think More: Friday, July 31, 2026
Trump announces Hamas disarmament, the ODU terror report, a $2 billion Pressley contract, and legacy admissions.
Lead · The Long War, Abroad and at Home
Trump Announces a Board of Peace Deal for the Complete Disarmament of Hamas
President Trump announced Thursday evening that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. Under the phased terms, Israeli forces withdraw as disarmament proceeds, with an International Stabilization Force and a new Palestinian police force assuming security. A U.S. official told The Hill that Israel remains skeptical Hamas will comply.
The Long War, Abroad and at Home
Federal Officials Never Told Old Dominion Its Student Had an ISIS Conviction
An independent review by the Cooley law firm, released Tuesday, found the March 12 shooting at Old Dominion University was a targeted terror attack on ROTC cadets. Neither law enforcement nor the probation officer supervising Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, convicted in 2016 of attempting to aid ISIS, told the university. Lt. Col. Brandon Shah died fighting back.
Moreno Demands a Federal Review of a Chinese Solar Firm’s Purchase Near a Military Base
The New York Post reports that Senator Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, is demanding a federal probe of a Chinese solar company’s planned purchase of a building near a U.S. military installation. Moreno led the PROTECT Act to widen federal review of foreign investment and co-sponsored the Protect Our Bases Act.
Public Money, Private Gain
A $2 Billion Courthouse Deal Runs Through Ayanna Pressley’s Husband
Conan Harris, husband of Representative Ayanna Pressley, is a partner in CoJo Real Estate, part of the Liberty Junction team awarded a nearly $2 billion, 40-year lease for a Springfield courthouse. Rejected bidders sued over partner John Barros’s concurrent state post. Barros has divested; Harris has not. Pressley is not accused of wrongdoing.
The Smithsonian Secretary Who Championed DEI Collected $4.4 Million Over Five Years
Kevin Killough | Just the News
Lonnie Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, drew $4.4 million in salary and benefits from 2020 through 2024, according to its tax filings. His 2024 pay alone reached $914,496 plus $74,090 in benefits. In 2019 Bunch told Smithsonian magazine he wanted DEI so normalized that “it’s no longer talked about.”
What the Record Shows
Bray Argues the Response to Fauci’s Fifth Amendment Followed a Familiar Script
Writing in The Federalist, Chris Bray argues that Democratic defenses of Anthony Fauci followed a predictable pattern: dismiss the evidence, invoke conspiracy theories, and change the subject. Fauci, subpoenaed over diary entries released by Senator Rand Paul, invoked the Fifth Amendment before Paul’s committee Wednesday rather than answer questions.
Jacob Siegel Traces the Censorship State Back to Woodrow Wilson
Robert Bellafiore | Foundation for American Innovation
Reviewing Jacob Siegel’s The Information State for Modern Age, Robert Bellafiore traces government management of opinion to Woodrow Wilson’s Committee on Public Information and the Espionage Act. Siegel argues that responsibility for censorship dissolves inside a public-private web where no actor can be named. Bellafiore calls it an information regime.
What the Voters Will Bear
Barnes Quits, and a DSA-Backed Socialist Becomes the Favorite in Wisconsin
Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor once seen as the front-runner, withdrew Thursday from Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, leaving DSA-endorsed state Representative Francesca Hong the clear favorite before the August 11 vote. Governor Tony Evers has endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley to block her. Hinderaker doubts the state will elect a socialist.
Support for Local Data Centers Has Collapsed, but Voters Back a Compromise
Sarah Steeby | Napolitan News Service
A Napolitan News Service survey finds 30% of voters favor new data centers in their community, down from 49% in May, while 62% are opposed. Environmental and water concerns drive half the opposition. Yet 81% would require data centers to generate their own power, and 64% prefer that to a ban.
Voters on data centers in their own community: Napolitan News Service, 1,000 registered voters, July 28-29
30%
Favor a data center nearby, down from 49% in May
62%
Oppose one in their community
81%
Favor making them produce their own power
Inheritance and Merit
Six Senators, Three From Each Party, Move to Ban Legacy Admissions
Ira Stoll | Washington Free Beacon
Senators Todd Young, Tim Scott, and John Kennedy joined Tim Kaine, Raphael Warnock, and Andy Kim on Thursday to introduce the Merit Act, which would bar accredited universities from favoring the children of alumni or donors. California, Maryland, and Virginia enacted bans in 2024. The bill carves out an exemption for faith-based institutions.
Ziccarelli Reads 1776 and 1789 as Rival Accounts of What Man Is
Kristen Ziccarelli | The American Mind
In The American Mind, Kristen Ziccarelli sets the American Revolution’s defense of inherited liberties against the French Revolution’s effort to remake authority, religion, and the calendar itself. Citing Russell Kirk, she reads 1776 as a revolution prevented rather than made. The unfinished argument pits ordered liberty against emancipation from every inheritance.
