WILL WEISSERT and EVAN VUCCI.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed President Donald Trump a note during a White House event, hinting that a Mideast peace deal was close. An AP photographer in the room zoomed in on the handwriting that read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” It prompted Trump to proclaim, “We’re very close to a deal in the Middle East.” The note’s urgent tone came as Trump’s top Middle East adviser, the prime minister of Qatar and other senior officials joined a third day of peace talks between Israel and Hamas at an Egyptian resort Wednesday. Trump was holding a roundtable event with conservative influencers about antifa.