Today's five.

The most Trump move possible: threaten to withdraw your own guy's nomination to punish the senators blocking it. Todd Blanche — acting AG, former personal lawyer, described by Trump as a "STAR" — is stuck in Senate Judiciary limbo because Cornyn and Tillis won't vote yes over concerns about a DOJ deal ending Trump's IRS lawsuit. Trump's solution is to pull the nomination, wait for both senators to leave office in January, then resubmit it. Meanwhile, the U.S. also launched a new wave of strikes inside Iran after Trump's promised retaliation. A busy Thursday.

Dropping out two weeks before a primary is less a strategic decision than a public admission that the math stopped working. Barnes, Wisconsin's former lieutenant governor, cited poll numbers — Francesca Hong was pulling 38% to his 16% in a Marquette Law School survey — but the timing got complicated fast. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dropped a story about a separate investigation into allegations involving Barnes and young women shortly after his exit. The Hill framed the departure as a polling story; The Guardian noted the Journal Sentinel development in the same breath. Hong now has a clearer path, and a one-third undecided electorate to close.

Getting fined and suspended by your own league for yelling at teenagers is a special kind of unforced error. A Seattle Storm co-owner berated two teen girls at a Fever-Storm game for wearing XX-XY brand shirts and holding signs supporting Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who's been vocal about fairness in women's sports. The WNBA responded with a fine and suspension. Cunningham responded with a statement that managed to be both a rebuke and a masterclass in not giving the other person an out. "You can disagree and still be kind," she wrote. The co-owner did neither.

Hamas Will Disarm, Says the Guy Whose Own Partners Aren't Convinced

Trump announced a deal for Hamas to disarm in "carefully structured phases," which is a phrase designed to sound like progress without committing to a timeline. The U.S.-led Board of Peace is behind it. Israel is not — a U.S. official described Israel as "skeptical" it'll happen at all. Bloomberg noted the deal wouldn't be implemented immediately. NBC led with Israeli airstrikes that killed at least six Palestinians, including two children, on the same day. The agreement is framed as a step toward a new Palestinian government governing Gaza. The phases, notably, remain unspecified.

DeSantis signs death warrant for 1976 Lee County murder.