This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.As the Israel-Hamas war continues, breathless headlines sometimes conceal more than they reveal.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic. David A. Graham: “The Stormy Daniels testimony spotlights Trump’s misogyny.” The politics of fear itself When conservative parents revolt Waiting for DetailsIn March, CNN reported that “the Israelis have ‘basically accepted’ a six-week ceasefire proposal in Gaza,” per a U.S. official. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Hamas said it had “accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.” Each of these claims quickly spread across the internet, fueling arguments among partisans around the world and raising hopes among both Palestinians and Israelis. Of course, as anyone following the conflict in Gaza knows, the fighting has not ended. These pseudo-cease-fires are far from the only instance of such whiplash between the headlines and reality in recent months—just recall the breathless news coverage surrounding Iran’s strike on Israel and the Israeli response, both of which were cast as a prelude to regional and possibly world war before fizzling into nothing of the kind.Confused? Trying to figure out how to tell what’s true and what’s not? You’re not alone. I struggle with the challenge too. Here are four points about the cease-fire talks that guide my own reporting, and help me untangle where things stand.1. As they negotiate, both parties are attempting to shape international media coverage—and their statements should be read with this in mind. In professional sports leagues, before consequential trades or player signings, there are often a flurry of leaks to media outlets about potential contract terms or trade packages. Most of these turn out to be false. This is how Aaron Judge, the superstar captain of the New York Yankees, was momentarily reported to have signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2022. Why are so many of these reports wrong? Sometimes, they reflect genuine offers from the midst of a fluid negotiation; other times they are an attempt by one side to increase their leverage.International reporting is not sports reporting, but it is subject to similar dynamics. In the case of Israel and Hamas, both sides are selectively sharing information in order to shape press coverage, attempting to present themselves as reasonable and their opponent as recalcitrant. In some cases, this can lead to certain media outlets getting ahead of the story or being spun by those advancing an agenda. That appears to be what happened yesterday, when Hamas unilaterally announced that it had “agreed to” a cease-fire, and several outlets repeated the claim without sufficient scrutiny as to what the group had actually agreed to. As The New York Times reported, it later turned out that “Hamas did not ‘accept’ a cease-fire deal so much as make a counteroffer to the proposal on the table previously blessed by the United States and Israel.” Moreover, Hamas refused to commit to releasing only living Israeli hostages, as opposed to dead ones, in the first stage of a proposed multiphase deal. Here, as elsewhere, when confronted with a sensational headline, it pays to wait for more details before assuming the initial report provides the full picture.2. Israel and Hamas aren’t the only ones negotiating—and this makes things very complicated. Israel and Hamas did not have formal relations even before they went to war in October. As a result, they have long communicated through intermediaries. Right now, cease-fire negotiations are being conducted in Cairo with the assistance of multiple outside mediators, including the United States, Egypt (which borders both Israel and Gaza), and Qatar (which hosts the Hamas political leadership). Each of these actors is providing their own proposals and compromise suggestions, which can help the parties progress but also allow them to posture by accepting a friendlier proposal from one of the external mediators than they would get from the other side. Understanding this dynamic can help you decode the headlines: There will be a deal when the story is not “Israel accepts U.S. cease-fire proposal” or “Hamas accepts Egyptian-Qatari proposal” but rather “Israel and Hamas agree to mutual cease-fire proposal.”3. Several core sticking points still need to be resolved. To know whether the parties are actually close to a deal, it helps to know why they haven’t gotten to one yet. In addition to Hamas’s caginess about releasing living hostages—it has yet to provide a list of those Israelis it currently holds, and appears to want to use the live ones as bargaining chips for later stages—both parties have a fundamental disagreement about whether a deal would officially end the war. Hamas insists that it must, while Israel wants to reserve the right to return to Gaza and continue pursuing Hamas’s leadership, even after a long lull in hostilities.This split over a “permanent cease-fire” might seem largely symbolic: Israel and Hamas have been at war with each other on and off for more than a decade, and that won’t change based on what a piece of paper says. But symbolism matters. Both parties—and in particular, their political leadership—want to be able to declare victory when a deal is signed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in thrall to far-right coalition partners and dead in the polls, doesn’t want to look like he conceded to Hamas. Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, desperately wants to appear to have achieved something after all the devastation that Hamas and its October 7 massacre brought upon the people of Gaza. Being able to emerge from hiding and declare that he’d outlasted the vaunted Israeli military would accomplish that.More substantively, Israelis are divided over whether the overriding goal of the current war should be destroying Hamas (in which case Israel cannot disengage until the group’s final battalions are defeated) or returning the hostages (in which case Israel could end this war now and fight Hamas another day). Israel’s leadership has so far refused to choose between these two goals, but the moment of decision seems to be arriving.4. There is no agreement, but there are negotiations and they are at a pivotal point. Yesterday, Hamas made a negotiating counteroffer, then accepted its own counteroffer. That is obviously not how a bilateral agreement works, but it is evidence that negotiations are advancing. In response, Israel announced yesterday that it would send a new delegation to Cairo to continue talks. CIA director William Burns is reportedly personally on site to help facilitate a deal. At the same time, Israel has begun an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where it says Hamas’s leadership is hiding among more than 1 million sheltering Palestinians.President Joe Biden has warned the Israelis against a full-scale operation in Rafah, which is partly why the current one is limited in scope—it began with an evacuation order for 100,000 civilians, leaving the rest in place while Israel maneuvers in a smaller geographic area. This move undoubtedly puts further pressure on Hamas, but it also hastens the moment when Israel will have to decide whether to press forward into the rest of Rafah, potentially breaking with the Biden administration. This prospect in turn increases the pressure on Israel itself to reach some sort of agreement. Although the outcome of these precipitous events is uncertain, an inflection point is fast approaching—and the time may come once again to practice patience as the incomplete headlines roll in.Related: The right-wing Israeli campaign to resettle Gaza (From 2023) What did top Israeli war officials really say about Gaza? Today’s News The judge in Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial denied his lawyers’ request for a mistrial during Stormy Daniels’s testimony about her alleged sexual encounter with the former president and a hush-money payment. TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, sued the U.S. federal government over recent legislation that mandates the sale of TikTok, claiming that the law violates the company’s First Amendment rights. Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for his fifth term as the president of Russia in a ceremony that the U.S. and many European nations boycotted. Evening Read Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Source: Getty. Enough With Saving the HoneybeesBy Ellen Cushing In 2022, at least 18 states enacted bee-related legislation. Last year, a cryptocurrency launched with the intention of raising “awareness and support for bee conservation.” If you search Etsy right now for “save the bees,” you’ll be rewarded with thousands of things to buy. Bees and Thank You, a food truck in suburban Boston, funds bee sanctuaries and gives out a packet of wildflower seeds—good for the bees!—with every grilled cheese sandwich it sells. A company in the United Kingdom offers a key ring containing a little bottle of chemicals that can purportedly “revive” an “exhausted bee” should you encounter one, “so it can continue its mission pollinating planet Earth.” All of the above is surprising for maybe a few different reasons, but here’s a good place to start: Though their numbers have fluctuated, honeybees are not in trouble. Other bees are. But the movement’s poster child, biggest star, and attention hound is not at risk of imminent extinction, and never has been. Read the full article.More From The Atlantic The conjoined twins who refused to be “fixed” “Ukraine has changed too much to compromise with Russia,” Illia Ponomarenko argues. Being an ambassador in Washington keeps getting harder. James Parker: “Some late-breaking adjustments to my new autobiography” Culture Break Max Watch (or skip). Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (out now on Max) is a new unscripted show about the comedian’s life that may lean too much into voyeurism, Hannah Giorgis writes.Read. A Body Made of Glass: A Cultural History of Hypochondria, by Caroline Crampton, explores the pervasiveness of health anxiety.Play our daily crossword.Stephanie Bai contributed to this newsletter.Explore all of our newsletters here.When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

British actor Ian Gelder died Monday after a short battle with bile duct cancer, according to his husband. The storied stage and screen star was 74.

Three senators and three House members in South Carolina rekindled a debate over a bill that would restrict how topics such as race can be taught in K-12 classrooms of public schools.

The McGhee family is suing Davidson County Schools in North Carolina after their 16-year-old son was suspended for using the term “illegal alien" during class.

The prosecutor from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office leading questioning of adult film actress Stormy Daniels in Trump's criminal trial donated to President Biden’s campaign in 2020

The House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at blocking the Biden administration's most restrictive energy appliance standards.

The PGA of America released the official field for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on Tuesday. On the list are past winners Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka.

The newly renamed 'Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop' is the first NCAA football bowl game with an alcohol product as title sponsor.

Ben Affleck skipped out on watching wife Jennifer Lopez co-chair the 2024 Met Gala after his "unhinged" Tom Brady roast rant went viral. The actor is filming in Los Angeles.

The body of the sixth victim killed in the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse has been recovered, authorities said Tuesday.

There is no downplaying what Jalen Brunson has been able to accomplish so far in these playoffs, averaging a league-best 36.6 points.

Alexander Louie, 34, told authorities he was not taking his HIV medication so he could purposely infect his partners.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic are planning to present formal accusations against Rays shortstop Wander Franco.

La competencia en la 68ª edición del Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión comienza el martes en Suecia, en un momento en el que la guerra en Gaza ensombrece el espectáculo pop de lentejuelas.

La decisión del rey Carlos III de hablar abiertamente sobre su diagnóstico de cáncer ha ayudado al nuevo monarca a conectarse con el pueblo de Reino Unido y fortaleció a la monarquía en el año transcurrido desde su deslumbrante coronación en la Abadía de Westminster.

A man who pulled a gun on a pastor at a Pennsylvania church Sunday has been charged with homicide after his cousin was found shot to death, police said.

FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg is also a focus of the report, which claims he treated staff in a "demeaning and inappropriate manner."

El juvenil estadounidense Keyrol Figueroa firmó un contrato profesional con Liverpool, confirmó el martes el club de la Liga Premier inglesa.

Patrick Beverley showed remorse for chucking a basketball at a female fan from close range. The ball wound up hitting the woman in the head.

Sports personality Katie Nolan was concerned with Ben Affleck's appearance at the Tom Brady roast earlier this week, saying he gave off the energy of someone "on coke."

A New York City Department of Correction captain sustained burns and smoke inhalation injuries after her body camera suddenly caught fire.

Authorities in Maryland announced on Tuesday that a sixth body has been recovered from the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The Western Conference semifinal series between Dallas and the top-seeded Thunder tips off Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

The left and its media allies want you to believe the protests roiling college campuses are spontaneous uprisings of morally fervent students worried about Gaza war victims. Don’t fall for that claim.

An American tutor was slapped with a 10-day prison sentence in Russia on charges of "petty hooliganism" -- including allegations that he got drunk and naked in public, according to Russian state media.

Reuters/Marco BelloFederal Judge Aileen Cannon announced Tuesday she was indefinitely postponing Donald Trump’s classified documents trial in Florida, putting the case on ice less than three weeks before it was slated to begin.The announcement likely means the case will not be tried until after the 2024 election. Trump’s camp is sure to view the postponement as a major win, as they’ve tried nearly everything legally possible—through a variety of appeals and motions—to have each trial against the former president pushed back or thrown out entirely, including the classified documents trial in question.Read more at The Daily Beast.

It doesn’t seem like Gov. Kathy Hochul actually cares much about what the Bronx’s Black children get to access.

The Dodgers have won five straight games and look to keep it going on Tuesday night against the Marlins,

The trial start date was originally scheduled for May 20.

Fact check: Mama Cass didn't choke to death on a ham sandwich, her daughter says in a new book. And thus a legendary rumor about a legendary performer falls.

I will be testifying Wednesday in front of Congress about the vile scourge of antisemitism and what we are doing to confront it in New York City public schools, the largest school system in the country.

'Spacey Unmasked,' which premiered Monday on the U.K.'s Channel 4, details allegations of misconduct from 10 men against the actor, all but one of whom have never before spoken publicly.

Forget “when you wish upon a star.” Now, it’s “when you drill upon IP.”

Donald Trump’s trial in Florida on charges of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office has been indefinitely postponed, a judge decided on Tuesday, greatly reducing the odds he will face a jury in either of the two federal criminal cases against him before the Nov. 5 U.S. election. Trump, seeking to regain the presidency, previously had been scheduled to...

Starbucks, once one of America's most cherished brands, is in a rut. Even long-time former CEO Howard Schultz is worried.

U.S. Judge Aileen M. Cannon said there are too many pre-trial issues to address to set a new trial date now.

“It increasingly appears that Biden’s quiet comeback is running out of steam,” grumbles Douglas E. Schoen at The Hill.

Madison Bergmann, the Wisconsin teacher busted for allegedly “making out” with an 11-year-old in her classroom, allegedly moved the victim’s desk next to hers so that she could touch him during class without the other students seeing. “My daughter thought he was a problem kid,” another student’s mom told The Post. “She said that his desk got moved...

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty images/ReutersOne thing is clear from Stormy Daniels’ testimony on Tuesday in Donald Trump’s New York “hush money” trial: she’s not doing this for herself.Between detailing her career in adult films to an entire courtroom of strangers to getting fired from her podcast for not speaking enough about Trump, there’s very little upside in this for Daniels.In fact, I’ve been indignant on her behalf for years that she was only paid $130,000 for keeping her story quiet before the 2016 election. He wastes far larger sums of money all the time (like on Don Jr. and Eric’s college educations, for example).Read more at The Daily Beast.

It turns out that the Giants were not done adding quarterbacks just because the NFL draft passed.

A family has gone viral on Reddit as a parent described the two conditions for weddings for which all expenses will be paid. One daughter, however, will not agree to the conditions.

Legal experts slammed former pornographic actress Stormy Daniels' testimony as "prejudicial" ahead of Trump's team moving for a mistrial.

Chad Kelly, "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2017 NFL Draft, has been suspended by the CFL after a third-party investigation found he violated the league's gender-based violence policy

The judge overseeing former President Trump's classified documents case has now indefinitely postponed the trial pending resolution of outstanding pretrial litigation.

The end of "Blue Bloods" risks Tom Selleck's home, and he's not impressed by the state of the industry today.

Tom Selleck recalled attending the White House state dinner in 1985 in honor of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and getting to dance with the Princess of Wales.

"Outer Banks" actress Madelyn Cline stepped out on the 2024 Met Gala carpet wearing a Tommy Hilfiger gown. The dress was accessorized with jewelry and a clutch found on eBay.

GoFundMeNorth Carolina cops released a statement Tuesday detailing evidence supporting that Mica Miller, the wife of a South Carolina preacher, took her own life last month—tamping rumors suggesting her estranged husband may have been involved. Loved ones of Miller, 30, claimed in court documents this weekend that she was abused by her ex, John-Paul Miller, and that she’d eerily warned previously that if a bullet was found in her head, it was the doing of her former partner.In a news release Tuesday, however, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said that a slew of security footage and a 911 call, in which she told an operator she was about to kill herself, showed that Mica died by suicide and not foul play. Read more at The Daily Beast.