U.S. and Iranian negotiators will probably meet this weekend to hammer out a final peace deal, President Trump told Axios' Barak Ravid today.

• Trump said over the phone: "The Iranians want to meet. They want to make a deal. I think a meeting will probably take place over the weekend. I think we will get a deal in the next day or two."

Multiple U.S. officials and other sources briefed on the negotiations have told Axios that significant progress has been made.

• Yet gaps still remain on critical issues.

💸 One proposal under discussion: The U.S. would release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds if Iran gives up its stockpile of enriched uranium. (Axios scoop.)

• The plan also involves a moratorium on Iranian enrichment.

⚓️ Trump told Barak that he's not going to lift his Strait of Hormuz blockade until a deal is reached, and stressed he wants the strait open for everybody.

• Iran announced today that it would open Hormuz for the rest of the ceasefire, which expires next Tuesday.
• It's unclear if ships will brave the narrow waterway, given the uncertain conditions and threat of Iranian mines.

🇮🇱 Trump also said the deal will "make Israel safe" and stressed that "Israel is going to come out great" at the end of the war.

• At the same time, he made clear he wants Israeli strikes on Lebanon to end: "Israel has to stop. They can't continue to blow buildings up. I'm not gonna allow it."

Some in the Israeli government oppose a deal and want to continue the wars in Iran and in Lebanon — though that likely won't be possible without Trump's approval.

• Go deeper.

The country's 10 fastest-growing last names are all predominantly Asian, Alex Fitzpatrick and Erin Davis report from new census data.

• Meanwhile, six predominantly Hispanic last names have joined the top 15 since 2000: Garcia, Gonzalez, Hernandez, Lopez, Martinez and Rodriguez.

📝 The data reflects cases where most people with a particular last name self-identified with a single race or origin on their census forms.

• The Census Bureau explains: "For example, 'Garcia' is a predominantly Hispanic last name because 91% of the people named Garcia chose Hispanic in their response."

🍲 The numbers illustrate the ever-changing makeup of the American melting pot, fueled partially by immigration trends.

There are some constants, though.

• Eight last names were in the top 15 both in 2020 and in the very first census, way back in 1790: Brown, Davis, Johnson, Jones, Miller, Smith, Williams and Wilson.

Go deeper.

1. ⚾️ The San Diego Padres are close to being sold to private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones in a deal valuing the team at a record $3.9 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. Gift link.
2. Justin Fairfax, the former Virginia lieutenant governor who police say killed his wife and then himself this week, was recently ordered by a judge to move out by the end of the month. Get the latest.
3. 📺 The owner of home shopping network pioneer QVC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid consumers' shift to buying items on digital platforms like TikTok. Go deeper.

A federal arts commission approved President Trump's proposed 250-foot "Triumphal Arch" in Washington, D.C., yesterday, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports.

• But the head of the commission, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., wonders: Why not three arches?

In a new Washington Post interview, Cook Jr. said two more arches should be built: one near the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, and another near the John Philip Sousa Bridge.

• "I think the president should do three," Cook said, adding: "He wants to complete the L'Enfant plan. No one has." Gift link.

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