"We need to do some serious rethinking," a visibly frustrated Secretary of State Marco Rubio told hostage families yesterday after the latest round of Gaza talks broke down, two people who attended the meeting tell Axios' Barak Ravid.

• Why it matters: Six months into his presidency, President Trump is no closer to ending the war in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis is worse than ever, negotiations are deadlocked, and the U.S. and Israel are increasingly isolated internationally.

The big picture: Trump campaigned on ending the war and bringing the hostages home.

• As the violence drags on — and images of starving Palestinians are shared all over the world — cracks are emerging in the MAGA base over Trump's support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's maximalist war strategy.
• This week's breakdown in talks — which came after Hamas refused to accept the latest ceasefire terms and Israel withdrew its negotiators in protest — could be a turning point for U.S. policy.

Driving the news: Trump signaled yesterday that it's time for Israel to further escalate the war to "get rid" of Hamas and "finish the job."

• Israeli officials weren't sure whether that was a negotiating tactic or a genuine change of course from Trump — a "green light" for Netanyahu to use even more extreme military measures.
• "It's terrible what happened with Hamas. Tapping everybody along. We'll see what happens. We'll see what response Israel has to that. But it is getting to be that time," Trump told reporters.

State of play: The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached its worst point since the start of the war, with at least 122 Palestinians dying of starvation in recent weeks, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

• Nearly all Western leaders have been urging Israel with increasing desperation to stop the fighting and allow in more aid — making Trump's "finish the job" message all the more jarring by contrast.
• "The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now," France, Germany and the U.K. said in a joint statement yesterday. "Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable."

Zoom in: Over the past six months, Trump has essentially given Netanyahu a free hand to do whatever he wants in Gaza — from military operations, to hostage negotiations, to the distribution of humanitarian aid.

• While White House officials say Trump is genuinely disturbed by the killing of Palestinians and wants the war to end, he has applied virtually no pressure on Netanyahu, according to Israeli officials.
• "In most calls and meetings, Trump told Bibi, 'Do what you have to do in Gaza.' In some cases he even encouraged Netanyahu to go harder on Hamas," one Israeli official told Axios.

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The Trump White House is plowing ahead with an extraordinary effort to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms, Axios' Alex Isenstadt and Megan Stringer write.

• Democrats, led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, are trying to fight back.

Why it matters: Redistricting for partisan advantage is nothing new, but it's usually done after the census every 10 years. Trump is aiming to game the system by doing it well before 2030.

• "Why the f**k are we responding and reacting to the other side instead of taking offense on these things?" potential Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke asked Democrats this week.
• But going on offense is easier said than done: Democrats would need a court order or special election in most states where they could try to draw more favorable maps.

🖼️ The big picture: Republicans are hoping to pick off more than a half-dozen Democratic-held seats in the House — more than enough to decide the majority in the narrowly divided chamber.

• In Texas, Trump has encouraged Republicans to embark on a redistricting project that he's said could net the party as many as five seats.
• In Ohio, which is required by law to redraw its House map before 2026, party strategists believe they can gain two or three seats.
• In Missouri, Republicans believe they can pick up another seat.

🔎 Between the lines: The White House has no bigger priority in the midterms than keeping the House.

• Should Democrats seize the lower chamber, it could paralyze Trump's legislative agenda for his final two years in office and potentially lead to him getting impeached.

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Rupert Murdoch's media empire is playing both sides of the Trump-Epstein scandal, breaking bombshell news with one hand and largely ignoring it with the other, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

• Why it matters: The Wall Street Journal's scoop about President Trump's alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein drew massive attention — just not on Fox News.

💰 The divergence underscores how Murdoch's dual media arms serve different audiences, but the same bottom line.

• Shares of News Corp, the Journal's parent company, have more than doubled in value since Trump first took office in 2017.
• Shares of Fox Corp., the Fox News parent company that began trading independently in 2019 after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, have surged 39%.

⚡ Between the lines: Trump is suing Murdoch and the Journal over the Epstein report, and he's expressed frustration that the conservative media mogul wasn't able to kill the story.

• But there seems to be little the president can do to stop one of the most unique and successful business strategies in media.

The Trump administration still relies heavily on Fox News to message to its conservative base, and there are few regulatory levers the president can pull to retaliate.

• Keep reading ... Get Axios Media Trends.

Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was granted "limited immunity" by the Justice Department to answer questions about the child sex trafficking ring that led to her 20-year prison sentence, ABC News reports.

• Proffer agreements are standard practice for cooperators in criminal cases. Maxwell, who is currently appealing her conviction, spoke to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for about nine hours over two days.

President Trump told reporters before flying to Scotland yesterday that he "hadn't thought" about pardoning Maxwell, but noted that he would be "allowed to do it."

• Trump suggested that the 50th birthday letter he allegedly signed for Epstein was a forgery, and denied reports that Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed him about his name appearing in the Epstein files.

🇪🇺 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet with Trump during his four-day trip to Scotland in a last-ditch effort to secure a trade deal for the EU, with 30% reciprocal tariffs looming on Aug. 1.

Photos, videos and audio — once the gold standard for courtroom evidence — are becoming less reliable as deepfakes grow more realistic and pervasive, Axios' Sam Sabin writes.

• Why it matters: As with financial fraud cases that rely on expert testimony to unpack accounting records, courts will depend on digital forensics analysts to spot the telltale signs of tampered media.

🚨 Right now, there aren't nearly enough experts.

• And as AI tools improve, proving that a photo, video or audio snippet was manipulated will get more challenging, if not impossible.

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Left-wing challengers to sitting Democratic mayors are shaking up at least three major races this year, tapping into exploding anger at the party establishment, Axios' Russell Contreras, Kyle Stokes and Melissa Santos write.

• In New York, 33-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani named a new campaign manager as he looks to consolidate support ahead of November's general election, including from top Democrats who have yet to endorse him.
• In Minneapolis, state Sen. Omar Fateh, another young democratic socialist and the son of Somali immigrants, won the local Democratic Party's endorsement this month in a stunning blow to two-term Mayor Jacob Frey.
• In Seattle, progressive activist Katie Wilson has become the top fundraiser in the crowded race to unseat Mayor Bruce Harrell. She's running on a platform of affordability and "Trump-proofing" the city.

Keep reading ... Get Axios Twin Cities ... Axios Seattle.

Your next sushi delivery could arrive in a bright pink robot on wheels.

• What's happening: Coco Robotics has been testing food delivery bots around L.A. for years — and it plans to grow its AI-powered fleet to about 10,000 in the coming year, the L.A. Times reports.

💰 The delivery bots have been good for local restaurants, as customers are drawn to the novelty, according to a manager at L.A.-based Kreation Organic.

👀 Reality check: Coco is still working out the kinks. One L.A. resident recalled the bots "glitching out in intersections," causing traffic and rolling off curbs, the Times reported.

What once was a quirky giveaway has exploded into one of the hottest trends in sports memorabilia: bobbleheads that are more coveted than the games themselves, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.

• Some people are lining up hours early — not to cheer on the home team, but to snag a collectible they can flip for hundreds on the resale market.

⚾️ Why it matters: In a marketplace that's seen everything from stocks to cryptocurrencies to hideous dolls surge in price, a simple kids' collectible has emerged as a surprisingly valuable asset.

👀 Stunning stats: Resale website StockX told Axios the Travis Scott x Houston Rockets bobblehead, which was given out in 2020, has fetched the highest average resale price of any bobblehead on the platform — $158.

• Just this week, a coveted Pittsburgh Pirates "Mac Miller" bobblehead had multiple sales on the platform around $300.
• The New York Yankees' "George Costanza sleeping under his desk" bobblehead, scheduled for Aug. 21, is already going for around $250 on eBay.

Zoom out: This isn't just about sports. The Pope, Elon Musk, and even viral sanitation workers have become fast-selling bobbleheads.

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