DEAL OR NO DEAL: The US and Iran are reported to be closing in on what’s described as a “framework” of understanding that could extend the current cease-fire, lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and to more substantial talks about settling the conflict.

  The “memorandum of understanding” needs approval by President Trump and Iran so far has not confirmed any commitments. What may or may not be a deal emerged after the US and Iran attacked each other this week with both claiming to be the aggrieved party.

  Sticking points for any ultimate deal include the opening and future control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s supply of enriched uranium, and Israel’s war in Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which Iran wants stopped.

  A surprise addition to the discussions on Iran’s part is the establishment of an investment fund for Iran, as much as $300 billion. It appears to be reparations for war damages under another name.

ANOMALY: One of Amazon’s Blue Origin rockets blew up on the launch pad yesterday at Cape Canaveral in a massive fireball, possibly setting back NASA’s plans for moon landings. They were test firing the engines when the whole thing just blew. 

  The rocket was expected to be used to launch satellites next week for Amazon’s internet service. The satellites were not in board, but the launch pad and surrounding installations were badly damaged.

GOLD RUSH: Former CIA officer David Rush is reported to have withdrawn $40 million in gold bars from the agency for what he called “work-related expenses.” He’s under arrest after the stash was found in his home.

  So many questions. How much in gold bars does the CIA keep in the office? Did Rush put in receipts for lunch? And how did America’s spy agency fail to discover that Rush evidently lied about his academic and military record?

  Oh, he’s a spy.

POKE IN THE EYE:  The expected bloodletting began yesterday at CBS’s “60 Minutes,” the most revered show in the history of television news, with the firing of Executive Producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.

  Simon, the daughter of the late correspondent Bob Simon and a 25 year veteran of CBS News, is being replaced by Nick Bilton, 49, a tech journalist and filmmaker with no experience in television news.

  The bombs were dropped by the news division’s editorial chief Bari Weiss, who appears to be a proponent of the “disrupt and break things” school of management. There was nothing evidently wrong or failing about “60 Minutes,” which grew its audience by 9 percent in the past season. But Weiss is bent on somehow launching all of CBS into some kind of technological and storytelling new frontier. She talks about introducing “new voices.”

  Bilton told The NY Times; “I’m not saying that we’re going to change the show completely and drastically. I’m saying that there are all these approaches and ideas that we can do that I couldn’t be more excited to jump into. And I think you need that outside vision to be able to do that.”

  Expect further fallout.

IT’S POLITICAL:  Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is frequently among the names mentioned as a possible candidate for president, told a local journalist on Thursday that she would not run in 2028. “There will be a robust group of people running for president,” Whitmer told a reporter for Detroit’s WJBK-TV. “I will not be one of them in 2028. I can tell you that.”

INFINITE SCROLL:

— A federal judge declined to temporarily block President Trump’s executive order that would restrict voting by mail.

  Trump’s order calls for the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create lists of adult citizens in every state. It also calls for the independent US Postal Service to create lists of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.

— Disney-owned ABC filed renewal applications with the Federal Communications Commission “under protest” after being ordered several years early to apply for license renewal of the network’s eight television stations. New York station WABC called the FCC order “unlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional” and “legally indefensible.”

  The Trump administration through Federal Communications chair Brendan Carr has been threatening the licenses of television networks that have aired unflattering news reports and late night monologues about President Trump.

HOOP DREAMS: The San Diego Spurs crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 last night to send their NBA series into game seven. The winner of tomorrow’s game faces the New York Knicks for the championship.

THE OBIT PAGE: Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and a legend of the National Hockey League, died by suicide at age 60 in Florida. Only a few days ago he appeared to cheers at Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final in Montreal.

  Lemieux was on cup-winning teams with the Montreal Canadiens, the Colorado Avalanche, and twice with the New Jersey Devils.

THE SPIN RACK: A natural gas explosion yesterday destroyed an apartment building in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, killing two women and a child. At least 23 people lived in the building and 12 were accounted for by last night. —  Rescue divers are trying to retrieve five gold miners trapped deep within a flooded mine in Laos. Two others have not been found. Some flooded passages are so narrow a diver can’t turn around and the miners have never used scuba gear.   

BELOW THE FOLD: Shrey Parikh, A 14-year-old eighth grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in a 32-word spell-off that gave him and fellow finalist Ishaan Gupta 90 seconds each to spell as many words as they could off the same list.

  Parikh got a perfect 32, and 12-year-old Gupta, 25. Parikh’s final word was “bromocriptine,” which is “a polypeptide alkaloid that is a derivative of ergot and mimics the activity of dopamine.” 

  Yeah, he knew that.

-30-