It’s Thursday. Pssst, you can get free guac at Chipotle today for National Avocado Day!
In today’s issue:
- Trump’s Aug. 1 tariffs
- Mexico gets extension
- Tariffs face major legal test
- Expect price increases
- Kamala Harris announces book
- Trudeau spotted at Katy Perry concert
🌎 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
So many Liberation Days in one year:
Tomorrow is President Trump’s latest self-imposed deadline for a slew of major new tariffs to take effect.
What do these tariffs mean for you?: Expect price increases. For example, Procter & Gamble said it will raise prices on some household items. (P&G makes Dawn soap, Charmin toilet paper, Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste, etc.)
Though, ABC News pointed out that Friday’s deadline does give businesses some certainty, which could ease the pain.
Trump does have a last-minute obstacle — the courts: An appeals court is hearing a challenge to the president’s high “reciprocal” tariffs.
The question in court: Congress has the power to decide tariffs, not the president. The court will determine whether Trump can use an emergency law to justify these tariffs. Trump is citing fentanyl as the justification for targeting Canada, Mexico and China. Read the full explainer in the latest issue of ‘The Gavel’ newsletter
This week has been a scramble for last-minute deals:
- Mexico just got an extension: Trump announced today that he would give Mexico 90 more days for trade talks, punting a 30 percent tariff that would have gone into effect tomorrow.
- South Korea: Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea on Wednesday, setting a 15 percent tariff on all South Korean goods imported to the U.S. (Trump had threatened a 25 percent tariff for.)
- Thailand and Cambodia: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that Thailand and Cambodia reached trade agreements with the U.S., just a few days after the two countries agreed a ceasefire.
- Mexico just got an extension: Trump announced today that he would give Mexico 90 more days for trade talks, punting a 30 percent tariff that would have gone into effect tomorrow.
- South Korea: Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea on Wednesday, setting a 15 percent tariff on all South Korean goods imported to the U.S. (Trump had threatened a 25 percent tariff for.)
- Thailand and Cambodia: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that Thailand and Cambodia reached trade agreements with the U.S., just a few days after the two countries agreed a ceasefire.
📘 NEWS THIS MORNING
We get to hear Kamala Harris’s version of the story:
Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is writing a book on her presidential run. It’s titled “107 Days” — that’s the number of days of her abbreviated run — and it will come out Sept. 23.
Timing: Harris announced Wednesday she will not run for California governor in 2026. Sooo, do you think that means she will run for president in 2028…?
A reaction from someone in the same club: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted, “From prosecutor to senator to vice president, Kamala Harris has always been for the people. I know her next chapter will be no different, whatever shape it takes.”
Tidbit: Harris will appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” tonight.
➤ QUICK HITS:
Delta turbulence sent 25 people to the hospital: A Delta Air Lines flight encountered “significant turbulence” Wednesday that injured 25 people. “The flight, DAL56, departed Salt Lake City and was headed for Amsterdam when it was diverted to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for the emergency landing.” Read more
Nadler’s Gen Z challenger: Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) Generation Z primary challenger raised more than $340,000 in his campaign’s first day. Read mor⏱️
The family of an Epstein victim was not pleased with Trump’s comments: “The family of Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, said it was taken aback by President Trump’s comments about her when claiming that Epstein ‘stole’ women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago resort years ago.” Read more
⏱️ CAPITOL HILL
Chuck Grassley is on Trump’s bad side:
“Republican senators were appalled by President Trump’s rough treatment of 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the Senate’s most senior Republican, on social media and are pushing back on Trump’s attempts to squeeze the senator into abolishing an arcane procedure known as the Senate blue slip,” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
How so?: “GOP senators were not pleased that Trump piled so much pressure on Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to get rid of a long-established Senate tradition. Trump piled on by reposting on Truth Social posts accusing Grassley of being a ‘RINO’ and ‘sneaky’ and standing in the way of Trump’s agenda.”
Read Bolton’s reporting: ‘Trump tirade against Grassley irritates Republican senators’
➤ THE VIBE IN THE SENATE — EVERYONE IS BURNT OUT:
NOTUS’s Ursula Perano summed it up well: “the senators are sick of the senators, the senators are sick of reporters, the reporters are sick of reporters, nobody has seen enough daylight the last 6 months, etc.”
Remember, the “big, beautiful bill” scramble cut their last recess short.
🔋 TALK OF SOCIAL MEDIA
They did what now??:
High Noon is recalling some of its vodka seltzer drinks because they were mislabeled as nonalcoholic Celsius energy drinks.
Which drinks?: Two production lots of High Noon Beach Variety packs. Some include mislabeled alcoholic drinks labeled as “CELSIUS® ASTRO VIBE™ Energy Drink, Sparkling Blue Razz Edition” with a silver top.
Where and when they were sold: The cans were shipped July 21-23 and were sent to Florida, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Has anyone been injured?: No illnesses or adverse effects have been reported so far, according to the FDA.
Tidbit: Scripps News spoke with Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) about the recall. “That would make Celsius more attractive to me if it were a vodka soda,” Schmitt said. He then took a Celsius and asks, “is this one of the recalled ones?” 📹 Watch the clip
COMING UP
The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump and Vice President Vance are in Washington. (All times EST)
12:30 p.m.: Trump has lunch with Vance.
1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
4 p.m.: Trump signs an executive order to revitalize “the president’s council on sports, fitness and nutrition,” according to NewsNation.
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🥑 Celebrate: Today is National Avocado Day.
🎆 ‘Cause baby you’re a firework: Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was spotted at Katy Perry’s concert in Montreal. 👀Earlier this week, the two were spotted having dinner together, inviting some speculation. Look at 📹 his smile. And here’s 📸another photo
💎 Can’t wait for another season of Aunt Agnes’s sass: HBO’s “Gilded Age” has been renewed for another season. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s one of my favorites. Actor Morgan Spector (who plays Mr. George Russell) appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon to discuss it. 📹 Watch the clip
🩺 Want to calculate your heart’s age?: Scientists created a free online calculator that may tell you your biological age — and how healthy your heart is. 📱 Try it out
👋 AND FINALLY…
There is just something so funny about dogs being afraid of their cat siblings. Tell me this isn’t hilarious.
