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Trump’s Stunning Humiliation Over AG Exposed: Lawyer The rare rebuke of Trump’s political agenda has emerged as one of the strongest pushbacks from Congress in his second term. President Donald Trump’s rare political setback at the hands of his own party exposed the limits of his power, legal expert Andrew Weissman said. The Republican-controlled Senate has stalled on a vote to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the president’s former personal defense attorney, to his role last week, after it became clear that he did not have enough support to be moved out of the committee for a full Senate vote. Several senators, most notably GOP Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, have been opposed to Blanche’s appointment until he can fully disavow the $1.8 billion Justice Department-brokered agreement Trump made with the IRS. Speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast with host Joanna Coles, Weissman said that while he ultimately believes Blanche will be confirmed, it is “useful to have the senators say there is a line, you know, beyond which I will not cross.” “Remember, there are two parts to the bogus settlement,” he elaborated. “And when I use bogus, that is a federal judge found that this whole ten-billion-dollar lawsuit was bogus and not and this was not in fact a ‘settlement.’” Weissman said the agreement consisted of two key provisions. The first was the creation of a fund that, according to reports, would compensate Trump allies. “The Department of Justice has now been doing that,” he said, “but not using the fund. They’ve been using other funds.” The second provision, he argued, is what has become the real sticking point. “There was this general release that only Todd Blanche signed,” Weissman said. “The acting attorney general giving an audit release of tax liability for Donald Trump, his family, and his companies.” Weissman suggested Trump was far more invested in preserving that portion of the agreement than the compensation fund. “The president seemed to be fine saying, ‘Hey, I’ll give up the fund because that’s money that’s not going to me,’” he said. “But when it comes to the tax audit ... ‘I’ll be damned if I’m giving up something for me that I got.’” The White House did not respond to request for comment. Trump has been lashing out at Tillis and Cornyn for not stalling Blanche’s confirmation, saying he will keep Blanche acting attorney general until January, when they are both no longer in office. “That seems to be the sticking point that you know, that’s the thing that Todd Blanche either isn’t willing to give up,” Weissman concluded. “Or isn’t willing to give up because Donald Trump isn’t willing to give it up.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-stunning-humiliation-over-ag-exposed-lawyer/?

Trump Hints at Crackpot Revenge Plot Against Canada The president signaled that a punishment was on the horizon. President Donald Trump hinted that a plan to seek revenge on Canada is in the works, but he won’t reveal it just yet. Trump, 80, affirmed his prior threats to a reporter during a press gaggle on Sunday who asked whether he had decided on a “punishment” for the country’s wildfire smoke. “I have, yeah,” he said. “You’ll find out about it soon.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. Last month, the president threatened to punish Canada after smoke from raging wildfires in Ontario wafted into the U.S., impacting the air quality in a handful of states across the Midwest, Northeast, and mid-Atlantic. Trump claimed that the U.S. was being “invaded” by the smoke and slapped a 50 percent tariff on a variety of Canadian imports, citing the country’s “discriminatory treatment of American products.” Canada bit back, rescinding its invitation for U.S. officials to attend the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Ontario Premier Doug Ford told CBS News last month that Trump’s actions hurt both nations, saying, “It’s unfortunate he took this avenue with his closest friend and ally.” Trump raged at Canada in a Truth Social post at the time. “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” Trump wrote. “I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable!” he continued. “Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result.” “This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying,” Trump concluded. He later told reporters after the FIFA World Cup final that he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the smoke while attending the match in New Jersey. “I told him, I mean, you got to stop these fires from coming in and, you know, poisoning our air,” he said. “Our air has been poisoned.” “I have a good relationship with Mark Carney, but, you know, we got to stop the fires up there,” Trump continued. “If we can help them, we’ll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something or we should do some tariffs.” Carney, 61, laid out his nation’s firefighting plan in a post on X last month, detailing how over 5,300 firefighting personnel had been deployed, and how Canada was using data and advanced thermal imaging for real-time detection and mitigation. About 5.9 million acres of land have burned in this year’s wildfire season in Canada, according to government data. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-sounds-alarm-on-revenge-plot-against-canada-for-wildfire-smoke/? ps:How pathetic!!

Putin’s Desperate Plot to Fix His Humiliating Troop Crisis Exposed The strongman has a new plan for Russians who don’t want to join the war effort. Vladimir Putin’s army recruitment drive has taken a dark turn, according to watchdogs. Russian losses on the front line have been intensifying, with an estimated 30,000-40,000 troops dying every month. The tide of the Ukraine war appeared to turn in May, with Ukraine’s Defense Forces carrying out more offensive and counterattacking actions than Russian troops during a 24-hour period. Russian forces suffered 42,860 casualties in July alone, the highest monthly toll reported so far this year, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. As a result, Russian men have been even more reluctant to join the military. A panicked Putin has overseen a plan to force them to go. “Authorities have switched to a method of violence, when they catch men and send them off,” Artyom Klyga, a lawyer for the victims, told The Wall Street Journal. Authorities are using dirty tricks to get military-aged men to sign up. One method is detaining people on the streets, taking them to recruitment offices, and strong-arming them into signing up. Watchdogs and witnesses said some men are even beaten until they agree. “Just as many people have to somehow be brought into service, and the fewer there are who are ready to sign a contract, the more pressure they have to use,” Grigory Sverdlin, the founder of the antiwar nongovernmental organization Get Lost, told the Journal. Authorities had already tried throwing money at the recruitment problem, offering large windfalls to men willing to go to the front. But Ukraine’s rally, as well as dark tales of abuse within the Russian ranks, has dissuaded potential fighters. In some places, law-enforcement officials are working with recruitment officers to entrap their victims, insiders told the Journal. Vladislav Leonidov, from the southwestern region of Penza, said he witnessed one such trap. He was at a police station when he saw a man he knew who had gone missing. The man was scooped up by cops and told they needed to check his details at the office. When he got there, he was met by military recruiters who beat him then ferried him away to a recruitment office, Leonidov told the Journal. He was able to intervene during the man’s medical exam and get him released, he told the newspaper. “If we had come two hours later, he would have already been taken away,” Leonidov said. “They move very quickly.” Locals in Penza have revolted against the recruitment drive. “They beat you, they forced you!” a woman is seen shouting in one video of a forced recruitment exercise that went viral on social media. However, the Penza branch of the Interior Ministry denied anything fishy was taking place. It also threatened “legal consequences” against “those spreading false information.” “They haven’t forbidden me from continuing, but they’ve made it clear it’s in my best interests not to,” blogger Stanislav Morozov, who made a documentary about the forced conscription, told the Journal of an investigation into him by the Federal Security Service. He claimed that officers have another grim technique to get more sign-ups. They threaten to arrest people and plant drugs on them if they refuse to put pen to paper, he said. Another campaign has been spotted around Penza and other regions. Posters have been scattered around residential buildings offering residents around $1,300 to “bring a friend” to registration centers. Experts suggest these methods have been signed off by the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry. However, the strong-handed approach has not resulted in a noticeable bump in numbers on the front. U.S. officials have suggested that the Kremlin could still roll out another round of forced mobilization. This could spell trouble for Putin, too. “As soon as I’m given a weapon, I will shoot those who mobilized me,” Russian reserve officer Dmitry Rogin told the Journal. Russians are already unhappy, with a financial crisis growing as a result of Ukraine’s counter-offensive. A Financial Times analysis highlighted the growing impact of the punishing months-long Ukrainian drone campaign targeting critical Russian oil infrastructure and logistics hubs, reporting that oil and natural gas production capacity has been hit by 35 to 40 percent, pushing Russia toward its worst energy crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Residents of the Siberian city of Tyumen told independent outlet Meduza that they are being ignored as their city faced an “apocalypse” of polluted water, with residents falling ill and too afraid to bathe, shower, or wash food. “All the financing is going towards those three famous letters,” one resident told the outlet, referring to the Kremlin’s term for the war in Ukraine: the SVO, or “special military operation.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-desperate-plot-to-fix-his-humiliating-troop-crisis-exposed/?

Trump’s Goons Reduced to Begging for Help as War Crisis Spirals The Department of Defense is running out of ideas as the war with Iran exhausts its stockpiles. The Pentagon just admitted—with about as much subtlety as a bomb going off—that it’s fast running out of ideas for Donald Trump’s war on Iran. “We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” a member of the intelligence branch of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) pleaded in an email blast to military analysts last Wednesday, according to CNN. The network notes that the “crowdsourcing-style” query speaks to just how badly the Trump administration is scrambling to put an end to the conflict Trump promised would last “a few weeks,” and which has now entered its sixth month. The 80-year-old president signed a memorandum of understanding for a stay of hostilities on June 17 while negotiators worked out terms for a lasting peace. The temporary arrangement saw Iran promise to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway in the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of global oil supply passes. The U.S. pledged in exchange to lift sanctions, unfreeze assets, and underwrite billions of dollars in reconstruction. Even Republicans balked at the terms of the deal, which lasted just 21 days before negotiations collapsed and Iran resumed attacks on vessels in the waterway. The president declared his ceasefire “over” at a NATO summit on July 8. Things have only escalated in the weeks since, with Tehran firing its latest barrage of strikes against U.S. military assets in Jordan last Monday. American forces stationed in the region responded by Wednesday night, launching what CENTCOM has described as a “heavy wave” of attacks against targets in Iran. The country’s state media reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and on the islands of Kish and Qeshm in the Persian Gulf. A couple and their 2-year-old child are thought to have been killed. CENTCOM’s frantic email plea went out that morning. Trump eventually called off any further strikes after an intervention from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, who called the president personally and asked him to scale down the hostilities. The Pentagon’s effort to workshop ideas for how to bring Trump’s war to an end comes after signs the department is fast running out of the munitions stockpiles it would need to continue the conflict at its current rate. Current and former officials at the Department of Defense told the Washington Post last month that training and maintenance are now being scaled down to save cash as the administration begs Congress to fork over $67 billion to make up the shortfall caused by the war. The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for comment on this story. “U.S. Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways,” a spokesperson for CENTCOM told CNN in a statement. https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentagon-pleads-for-help-with-trumps-iran-war-crisis-by-asking-troops-for-input-on-decision-making/?

Cypriot Coin found at Ashdod A silver-plated Cypriot coin dating to the mid-fifth century BCE has been discovered on Ashdod Beach. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) reported that the coin was minted in the ancient city of Salamis on Cyprus and is the first example of this type to be found in Israel. The artifacts was found by the Director of the Ashdod Beaches Department while searching for a patron’s lost property. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/cypriot-coin-found-at-ashdod/? High Places, Altars and the Bamah The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canon—but none more so than the Book of Kings, where they play a prominent role in assessing the performance of a king. Often referred to as “high places” in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar. A general understanding about the bamah and how it functioned can be gained by using evidence from the Biblical text as well as archaeology. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/high-places-altars-and-the-bamah/?

Parting shot: Bavarian Alps bliss Photo: Nancy Russo Our kinda recess: Reader Nancy Russo of Neenah, Wis., sent us this sunset over Mount Watzmann, seen from the picturesque village of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps.

Recess makes a comeback Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images After decades of schools squeezing playtime out of the day, recess is back in play, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum writes. 🎒 Why it matters: Recess may look like a break from learning. But researchers say free play helps kids return to class healthier, calmer and more ready to focus. "Recess refreshes you. Recess helps you feel a little bit less cynical about what's going on," says psychologist Peter Gray, author of the forthcoming book "Restoring Childhood." 🧩 By the numbers: As of December, 12 states and Washington, D.C., had mandated school recess, while another 12 states required some form of physical activity, according to Johns Hopkins research. And recently, a new Oklahoma law requiring 40 minutes of recess each school day took effect in July. 🧠 The big picture: Unstructured play helps children practice social skills, manage stress and build stronger connections to school. Research has also linked recess to better behavior, attendance, classroom motivation and academic performance. 🤸 Reality check: Not all movement is recess. Broader "physical activity" laws can include after-school sports and gym class. Advocates say children also need time to play without being told how to do it. "Anyone who's ever spent even a day with a kid can recognize that if you kept them sitting all day, they'd go insane — they'd drive everybody else insane," says Hannah Thompson, a physical activity epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley. Zoom out: The decline in recess since the early 2000s is often tied to the testing-focused era that followed the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, when schools devoted more time to reading and math rather than play. Weekly recess time in U.S. schools fell by an hour between 2001 and 2019, according to education consulting firm EAB. 🔔 But the pendulum is swinging back. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently expanded its recess recommendation beyond elementary schools, calling for middle and high school students to get at least 20 minutes, too. Parent-led group Say Yes to Recess has become a national nonprofit, while support for the cause now stretches across the political spectrum. The bottom line: "More recess" isn't just a student council campaign promise. It's increasingly an essential part of the school day.

🚨 Johnson's latest September problem Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) is heading toward what Republicans see as an almost inevitable censure after the House Ethics Committee concluded he violated House rules over sexual harassment toward staffers. ⚡️ Why it matters: Unlike past censure fights that devolved into partisan warfare, Republicans see little path for Edwards to avoid punishment. House GOP leadership has not formally weighed in on the Ethics report released today, but in May, Speaker Mike Johnson called the allegations "serious" and "concerning." 💬 "Whether you're talking about a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is due due process. If an allegation is made against someone, that is not reason for expulsion or disciplinary action, people get a chance to present their case." "That's what the House Ethics Committee is all about," Johnson told reporters at the time. 🚗 Driving the news: The House Ethics Committee found Edwards violated House rules by "failing to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers," according to its 25-page report. The findings follow our reporting that Edwards singled out two young female staffers in their 20s for special attention that multiple sources described as inappropriate. The bipartisan committee recommended that Edwards be censured after concluding he "violated the Code of Official Conduct by failing to act in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House." That vote is likely to happen after the House returns from recess on Aug. 31. What they're saying: Republicans are signaling the outcome may not be in much doubt. One House Republican, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), told us she will vote to censure Edwards. "Sexual harassment is completely unacceptable," Luna said. A House GOP leadership aide told us they don't see a path in which Edwards isn't censured. Zoom out: Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted Edwards' reelection race in North Carolina's 11th District from "lean Republican" to "toss-up" Thursday. House GOP leaders are closely watching the race, a source told us, and Democrats view it as a prime pickup opportunity. "If a bipartisan ethics committee has acknowledged that there was some wrongdoing, I think it's going to be problematic for his campaign," retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters. 🗳️ Democratic challenger Jamie Ager has significantly outraised Edwards, and a censure on Edwards' record could further complicate his reelection prospects. ⏰ Flashback: The last time the House Ethics Committee recommended censure was in 2010 for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). The bottom line: House censures have become increasingly common in recent years, and they're typically partisan exercises. Edwards' case could be different, with bipartisan support appearing likely after the Ethics Committee's findings. — Kate Santaliz

🔥 Senate's SAVE snub Senate Majority Leader John Thune is trying to pack the Senate's final week before the August recess with votes. One item missing from his agenda: President Trump's top legislative priority, the SAVE America Act. Why it matters: Schedules reveal priorities. Thune and Trump's are misaligned. "I don't think my leadership wants to do it," Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said of a third reconciliation package, which would include parts of the SAVE Act. "I think they're making a huge mistake." Thune, for the most part, is deferring to new Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who will meet with committee Republicans tomorrow morning. Johnson is also keeping his options open, telling us it's "possible" a vote on a budget resolution could happen this week. Some of his committee members are prepared to go further. "I will do everything possible to have a vote on the budget resolution," Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told us. "I think we need to stay here until we vote on it and figure out a way to get it across the finish line." Driving the news: Thune told reporters today that his immediate focus is avoiding a shutdown. First up: A short-term funding bill through Dec. 11. Then: A package of 74 nominees, a bipartisan Russia sanctions package and the crypto market structure CLARITY Act. "And then we'll see from there," he said. 👀 What to watch: The question is whether pressure builds to add a vote on a budget resolution, which would kick off another reconciliation process and include elements of SAVE. The resolution also includes farm aid and defense funds for the Iran conflict. The White House has been pushing the Senate to get it done. ⚖️ Leaders will have to weigh whether demands from the White House and the base are enough to force a vote, even if it fails. 🌎 Zoom out: In March, Trump called for the SAVE Act to "go to the front of the line." Last week, he demanded that Thune cancel the August recess unless the act passed, openly wondering whether Thune was the right majority leader if he couldn't deliver the bill. "Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!" Trump said on Truth Social. 🔎 Zoom in: Thune says his August agenda is dictated by Senate reality, not White House urgency, deferring to Johnson on the likelihood of a budget resolution moving this week. And he is strongly hinting at keeping senators in D.C. to vote into the weekend — or even next week — if Democrats and Republicans don't come together on agreements to expedite their priorities. If they run out of time, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination to officially take the position could slide until September — as could other priorities like a bipartisan college sports package. The bottom line: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has been threatening to put GOP senators on the record about whether they want to leave town without moving on a third budget reconciliation bill. But Thune is keeping his options open. Asked if he'll face such a vote, he demurred. "That's a good question. We'll find out," he said. — Hans Nichols and Sted W. Kight

The New Era That Wasn’t View in browser Fundamental realignments in the way Americans vote are rare, but predictions that they have occurred are not. Nearly as soon as Donald Trump was declared the winner of the presidential race in November 2024, people started saying the election represented a new era. “Trump just realigned the entire political map. Democrats have ‘no easy path’ to fix it,” announced NBC News. The election had been very close. Trump won slightly more electoral votes than Joe Biden had in 2020 (312 to 306), but he also won fewer total popular votes and a smaller percentage of the vote. This was still significant because it was the first time in three tries that Trump had captured a plurality of the electorate, but the case for realignment hinged less on raw numbers than on demographic breakdowns. The Republican Party had strengthened its grip on the white working class and had done historically well with young voters—young men in particular—and Hispanic voters. Writing in The Atlantic in May 2025, the pollster Patrick Ruffini argued that a new era of politics had dawned, in which Trump had broken Democrats’ solid grip on minority voters. “The realignment of the working class, which helped Trump win in 2016, would not stop with white voters. In 2020 and 2024, the realignment came for nonwhite voters,” he wrote. “In an era of nationalized politics and growing polarization, the social basis for Democratic majorities is looking more and more tenuous.” The Democratic Party’s problems remain very real, but for the moment, Trump and the GOP have more serious ones. The most glaring one is Trump’s deep personal unpopularity. In the current polarized and dyspeptic political environment, all presidents seem to be unpopular, but Trump is in a different league. A CNN poll released last week measured Trump at 34 percent support, matching the low he reached in that poll following the January 6 insurrection. Still, that was better than his showing in the AP-NORC survey, which found his approval at 33 percent, just one point above a 2017 low. Quinnipiac University found Trump at 32 percent, the lowest ever in that poll. These broad strokes are ugly enough, but digging into polling results shows particular deterioration with the particular groups that were supposed to be at the center of the Trump 2024 realignment. Consider young voters. Kamala Harris won a slim majority of them in 2024, a huge drop from the 25 percent margin that Biden enjoyed four years earlier. The Yale Youth Poll found in May that 68 percent of voters ages 18 to 22 and 72 percent of voters ages 23 to 29 disapproved of Trump. Echelon Insights also found that younger voters disapprove of Trump more than the general population—the number has fallen 37 percent since the start of this administration. Polling from the Harvard Institute of Politics found that young voters are especially skeptical of expanded presidential power and claims of “national emergency”—two staples of Trump’s approach to governance. One reason Trump’s numbers have sunk so much among young people is his poor performance among young men. A popular explanation was that a feminized, woke Democratic Party had driven them away and into the arms of Trump and a growing manosphere of influencers. To the extent that that was true, it was ephemeral. These voters are still wary of the Democrats, but they’ve soured on Trump as well. The Yale Youth Poll found that men under 30 were one of the two groups that had turned the most against Trump since last fall. Trump is also bleeding support among Black and Hispanic voters, and especially men, as Bloomberg Government reports. In 2024, Trump won almost half of Hispanic voters, but polls show Republicans drawing 27 to 35 percent support in the midterms, which would be their worst performance with the group since the Democratic-wave year of 2018. Equis, a pollster focused on the demographic, finds Latino approval of Trump is lower than that of non-Latino voters. A May poll found that a quarter of Hispanics who voted for Trump in 2024 wouldn’t do so again. The decay has even reached Trump’s core supporters. A New York Times review of polling data found in June that white working-class voters’ views of the president’s handling of the economy were tanking. During the first two years of his first term, these voters rated him higher than the overall population; now they rate him much worse. In February 2016, Trump boasted about his backing among the least-educated voters, saying, “I love the poorly educated.” They don’t love him back: Echelon finds his approval down to 41 percent among those with a high-school education or less. Polling from the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism finds a shrinking Trump base and less personal connection to Trump, which is a particular problem for a personalist leader and movement. Republican strategists are now worried that even consistent GOP voters might not turn out in November, according to The Washington Post. As the poll analyst G. Elliott Morris has written, several convincing explanations existed for Trump’s 2024 victory that didn’t involve realignment, including the lingering effects of the pandemic, global anti-incumbent sentiment, and the peculiar dynamics of Biden’s ill-advised decision to run and his late exit from the race. But the foremost was inflation. Americans were angry at the Democratic Party because of persistently higher prices. Now Trump is losing support for the same reason. Not only has Trump not ended inflation, as he promised—in June, it ran at 3.5 percent—but his decisions, especially the Iran war, have driven prices higher. Voters were willing to give Trump a chance because of their disgust with Biden. Now they’re seeing the results, and they don’t like them. This was perhaps foreseeable. Although some observers believed a sea change had occurred, the Brookings Institution scholar (and Atlantic contributor) Jonathan Rauch concluded on November 9, 2024, that the result did not represent “a pro-MAGA realignment or a sweeping repudiation of Democrats. Rather, this was an ordinary election.” He added, prophetically, “While the Republicans undoubtedly scored a clear victory, they may be tempted to claim a stronger mandate than the voters intended to deliver—and they may respond with policies that are more extreme and disruptive than the public wants or expects.” Now the realignment looks nearly as moribund as GOP chances in the midterms. Related: Patrick Ruffini: American realignment Trump crashes into reality

FAA certifies Boeing's new 737 Max 7 jetliner for flight after years of delays The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday approved the smallest model of Boeing's Max jetliners for commercial service nearly a decade after the aircraft manufacturer first unveiled the plane. Read More.

🍿 1 fun thing: Spidey beats Avengers Left to right: Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon at last week's L.A. premiere of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" swung to a record-setting $360 million domestic opening weekend, topping the $357 million mark set by 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" (not adjusted for inflation). The Tom Holland-led flick finds the webslinger protecting New York City with renewed anonymity, new powers and new enemies. 💰 "Brand New Day" looks likely to overtake "Toy Story 5" for the top-grossing movie of the year, with Woody and Buzz's latest adventure sitting at $461.7 million. Go deeper.

🕯️ Former U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the first Republican woman to represent Texas in Congress, has died at 83. N.Y. Times obit (gift link).

🤖 The White House said today that it met its deadline to establish a voluntary framework for evaluating advanced AI models. But it won't say what the framework contains, who's seen it or when companies will start using it. More from Maria Curi. 25 states sue over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them ‘pretext’ to replace his old ones WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February. https://apnews.com/article/tariffs-25-supreme-court-import-taxes-120895adbee7ae06157cd5f4bf5c7583? Trump overhaul could gut Head Start preschool standards, leaving states to set the rules President Donald Trump's administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of Head Start that would gut its quality standards, upending the hallmarks of the early education program for impoverished children, two people familiar with the deliberations said. Read More. Trump accounts were closed in 2021 due to concerns over possible money laundering, Capital One says Bank accounts held by President Donald Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend. Read More.

🦠 Two people in Michigan have died in connection with the multi-state cyclospora outbreak — the first confirmed deaths related to the microscopic parasite. Officials said that both people had underlying health conditions. Get the latest. Michigan reports the first 2 US deaths related to a diarrhea-causing parasite DETROIT (AP) — Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday, the first deaths confirmed in the U.S. related to the microscopic parasite. https://apnews.com/article/michigan-cyclospora-outbreak-deaths-cf058908cdfd1bfd405d15e7079bed14?

⚽️ FIFA drop-kicks private equity plan Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images FIFA has dropped plans to form a commercial subsidiary backed by up to $4.2 billion in private investment, Axios' Dan Primack reports. The deal was subject to ratification by FIFA's 211 national football governing bodies, but it never got to a final vote. Instead, it was preemptively rejected by regional confederations in Europe (UEFA), North/Central America (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC). 💰 The deal would've been led by Joshua Kushner's Thrive Eternal, which believed it would provide more financial resources to smaller and/or poorer countries. But Thrive misread the politics and the psychology involved, including a lack of trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Go deeper.

Mega-swings for mega-caps Data: S&P Capital IQ, Wharton WRDS. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios SpaceX lost $773 billion in market capitalization from June to July, Axios' Emily Peck and Erin Davis report. That's the biggest month-to-month drop for any company dating back to 1970. Reality check: SpaceX's market cap is still relatively high, at $1.4 trillion. 🖼️ The big picture: This isn't simply about CEO Elon Musk. The stock market is in a mega-cap era, and it's dealing with lots of volatility. Thirteen U.S. public companies now have a market cap of $1 trillion or more, mostly in the tech sector: Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, etc. When the numbers are that big, so are the losses and gains. 🌊 What's next: SpaceX faces two big tests this week: reporting its first financials as a public company, and potentially coping with a flood of unlocked stock. Starting Thursday, SpaceX employees and some early investors will be able to sell 911.5 million shares. That's 12% of the total — and more than the 640 million shares currently available for trading. Go deeper.

Full Horror of Trump’s Giant Vanity Project Exposed A federal review names no fewer than 37 landmarks that the president’s vainglorious “triumphal arch” would harm. Donald Trump’s own officials just listed almost 40 landmarks in and around the nation’s capital that his tacky “triumphal arch” would adversely affect. The gilded monument, nicknamed the “Arch de Trump” after France’s Arc de Triomphe, is destined for Memorial Circle, the roundabout leading to Arlington National Cemetery. It’s set to rise to 250 feet, dwarfing the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial across the Potomac River. Trump, 80, is racing to get it built before his term ends in January 2029. The updated roster of sites it will negatively impact, reported by The New York Times on Monday, comes from a review by the National Park Service under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Roger W. Kirchen, Virginia’s state historic preservation officer, wrote to the agency in June that the damage promised by the arch is the whole point of the project. It is “intended to dominate the surrounding landscape,” he said. Officials who reviewed the plans found the structure would obscure what mourners see from the Eternal Flame marking President John F. Kennedy’s grave. It would also sever the planned axis linking Arlington House, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s former home, with the Lincoln Memorial—a corridor laid out to mark national healing after the Civil War. The arch would also push into the frame at the Jefferson Memorial’s steps, on Georgetown’s waterfront and from the top floors of the U.S. Capitol. Ed Stierli, vice president for government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, told the Times that the designs mean “you’re building something that will irreversibly harm the experience in these other locations.” Outside groups have until Thursday to file comments before the review is finalized. Final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which Trump has filled with allies, could come at a meeting scheduled for Sept. 3. The Park Service did not respond to the Times’ questions about how the review has been run. Gary Langston, a retired U.S. Army colonel who has objected at the project’s public hearings, asked officials to picture a veteran at a service member’s grave. “You’re going to see this thing looming over you,” he told the paper. Veterans also warn that building work, forecast by the administration to run 20 hours daily over several years, will intrude on funerals. The White House is standing by the project. “It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery,” spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to the newspaper. The Daily Beast contacted the White House for further comment. Ingle said “the Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world.” The arch is one thread in a wider redecoration of the capital. Trump tore down the White House East Wing to make way for a $600 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom, with taxpayers covering more than half. His $14 million “American flag blue” refit of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool succeeded only in turning its waters a brilliant, algal green that the president has claimed is the work of vandals rather than the contractors he hired for the job. His handpicked Kennedy Center board voted in December to put his name on the building. A judge later ordered it stripped from the facade. He has also put his name on the U.S. Institute of Peace, paved over the Rose Garden lawn, and unveiled a $22.5 billion overhaul of Washington Dulles International Airport—the same airport he had earlier pushed to have renamed for himself. The Daily Beast contacted the Department of the Interior for comment from the National Park Service. “Great nations build beautiful structures and works of art that cultivate national pride and love of country,” a spokesperson said, calling the arch “a project that all Americans can be proud of.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/full-horror-of-trumps-giant-triumphal-arch-laid-bare-in-national-parks-service-review-of-vanity-project/?

Trump Suck-Up Begs White House Goons to Help Save His Job Gianni Infantino is facing an open revolt over his failed bid to sell off World Cup assets to private investors. Donald Trump’s pal, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, is appealing to top administration officials to help him keep his job as he faces a mutiny over his failed plot to sell a stake in the World Cup to a firm connected to the U.S. president’s inner circle.FIFA executives and regional soccer associations alike are calling for Infantino’s removal over his plan to sell a $20 billion minority stake in the World Cup to a group of investors led by Thrive Capital, which is run by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s younger brother Joshua. The deal would have reportedly netted Infantino a commissioner role with a $30 million salary—or five times his current salary of $6 million—but was abandoned after near-universal outrage. Faced with an open revolt against his leadership, Infantino, 56, is now hoping Trump insiders can prevent his ousting, The New York Post reported. He has repeatedly tried and failed to reach Trump, 80, by phone since the deal collapsed on Friday, and has instead scheduled a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio for Monday. “He wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America,” an insider briefed on the matter told the Post. “But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.” Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson denied the report in a post on X. “There are no plans for @SecRubio to speak with Infantino and there is no call this morning,” he wrote. “@nypost should check their sources or they could have just asked us.” Rubio joined Trump and Infantino for this year’s World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Swiss-born soccer administrator has been friends with the president for years and spent much of the lead-up to this year’s World Cup flattering the president. He held press conferences in the Oval Office, allowed Trump to keep last year’s Club World Cup champions trophy, and even invented a fake FIFA “Peace Prize” specifically for Trump. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. All of that courting was intended to guarantee a smoother World Cup, which was held this summer in cities across North America, but has so far failed to stop the fallout from the privatization plan. The powerful Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the governing body for 55 national soccer associations, has called for Infantino to resign, and officials at FIFA have launched a campaign nicknamed “Project Kill the Monster” to force him out, according to the Post. FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour told the AP on Friday that he wasn’t aware of the secret talks to create a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise to manage the privatization plan, and that he felt “deceived” by Infantino. UEFA has also threatened legal action and demanded that Infantino and other FIFA officials “preserve all documents” related to the abandoned deal, the BBC reported. When reached by the Daily Beast for comment, a spokesperson for FIFA said the organization “does not comment on speculation regarding internal relationships.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/fifa-boss-gianni-infantino-begs-white-house-goons-to-help-save-his-job/? ps:Well when you get in bed with a criminal you get what you deserve! And I won't be surprised if he throws him under the bus also!!!!!

Trump once again threatens massive escalation against Tehran only to walk back On Friday, President Donald Trump warned of a strong military response against Iran. But by late Saturday night, he declared on social media that there were signs of progress on negotiations and that he was calling off massive strikes for the time being. Read more. Why this matters: Trump may still come to the conclusion that a massive escalation in the conflict with Iran is necessary. But critics say his hesitation also might reflect an unspoken understanding inside the administration that U.S. military might alone may not be enough to compel Iran to back down and bring an end to a now monthslong war that Trump had earlier downplayed as a weekslong excursion. While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran’s leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces diminished stockpiles of munitions and the difficulty of executing a war that is unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November’s midterm election. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump says talks on Iran war will begin on Monday A timeline of Trump’s threats and olive branches in the Iran war Trump says Gulf leaders’ input weighed heavily in decision to hold off on ordering new Iran strikes

Senate showdown All eyes are on Michigan as voters head to the polls Tuesday for a marquee Democratic Senate primary that could shape the fight for control of the Senate. The contest will also offer a fresh test of the Democratic Party's direction, pitting a rising progressive candidate against a more moderate member of Congress. Democrats must first hold this open seat, vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, and then flip four Republican-held seats if they hope to reclaim the Senate majority they lost in 2025. AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Michigan’s state primary Michigan voters will decide a competitive Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday in a contest that not only has implications for control of the chamber next year but will also test the growing clout of the party’s progressive wing as well as that of a powerful pro-Israel organization. Read More. AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Kansas state primary Kansas Republicans will narrow down a crowded field for governor in a state primary Tuesday as they look to retake the state’s top office after eight years of Democratic rule. Democrats will decide competitive primaries for governor and U.S. Senate, while Kansans across the state will consider whether to amend the state constitution to allow direct election of state Supreme Court justices. Read More. AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Missouri’s state primary A St. Louis-area congressman faces a Democratic primary rematch Tuesday against the former congresswoman he previously ousted, a showdown that has again drawn the attention of a powerful pro-Israel organization. Read More. AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Washington state's primary Nine contenders for one of the nation’s most hotly contested congressional seats will compete in the Washington state primary on Tuesday for two spots on the November general election ballot. Voters across Washington will also choose finalists for the state’s nine other congressional seats, as well as for the state Legislature and state Supreme Court. Read More.

Washington state fires Hundreds of homes and other structures have been destroyed as firefighters battle three major wildfires in Spokane County, Washington. No injuries or deaths have been confirmed, though officials say it will take time to assess the full extent of the damage. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated, and the fires have scorched over 7,000 acres with zero containment since igniting Saturday. Today, firefighters are expected to get their best weather conditions in days, offering a chance to slow the flames and make progress. Fires in Washington state have burned 600 structures and forced 60,000 evacuations The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles over the weekend. Read more. What to know: These blazes were among dozens of wildfires across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. Meanwhile, crews were fighting a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Spokane mayor says federal resources deployed How to protect yourself from the bad air caused by wildfires WATCH: Washington governor says he talked to Trump about wildfires Photos of wildfires in the US and Europe Water-dropping aircraft take off to tackle major Greek wildfire, after 2 killed in crash

'Anti-weaponization' fund President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee Todd Blanche said Sunday he is rescinding the president's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund after Senate Republicans threatened to block his nomination over the controversial agreement. The fund would have offered taxpayer money to people who claimed they were victims of weaponization by the federal government – including those involved with the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Blanche had already said the fund was dead, but by officially rescinding his previous order, he removes one of the biggest obstacles to his confirmation. ps:What? So he can re-bring it after his conformation?????

August 3, 2026 By Evan Gorelick Good morning. President Trump said that new talks with Iran would begin today. And Ariana Grande said she’d take a break from public life after her tour ends next month. There’s more news below. But first, we’re sizing up tomorrow’s primary contest in Michigan — and what it means for the future of the Democratic Party. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Haley Stevens. Nick Hagen and Emily Elconin for The New York Times Michigan looks left Democrats are focused on Israel. There are plenty of other big, thorny issues at play this primary season — health care, taxes, immigration. But for many voters, the candidates seem to come in two flavors: Israel supporters and Israel detractors. So far, the supporters are getting crushed. Voters in Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey and New York have rejected them in favor of progressive candidates who have called the Gaza war a genocide and campaigned on stanching U.S. military aid to Israel. Each rebuke seems to deepen the sense that the party is drifting leftward. But these tests have taken place mostly in deep-blue districts. So tomorrow, when Democratic voters in Michigan — a swing state that went for Donald Trump in 2024 — pick their candidate in a do-or-die Senate race, the entire party will be watching. The matchup On the left side of the ring is Representative Haley Stevens, a moderate in a district north of Detroit. On the further-left side of the ring is Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official and professor. They’re competing for the seat held by Senator Gary Peters, a moderate Democrat. (He’s retiring.) The winner will face the Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman. Two years ago, Rogers ran for Michigan’s other Senate seat and lost by 0.3 percent, some 19,000 votes, to Elissa Slotkin, a moderate Democrat. Haley Stevens Stevens does not believe there has been a genocide in Gaza — and has received a record $30 million in advertising help from AIPAC, the nation’s leading pro-Israel lobbying group. (She once said at a Hanukkah celebration that “Israel comes to me in my dreams.”) Yet she has sought to shift the debate away from Israel. In an interview with The Times, she made it clear that she’d prefer to talk about rising costs and the struggles of manufacturing industries under Trump. Haley Stevens Emily Elconin for The New York Times Stevens, 43, has worked in and around politics since she graduated college, and she holds relatively few public campaign events. When she does, she speaks with a thick Midwestern accent that has been shared and memed ad nauseam. She has won over many Black voters with help from an old boss, Barack Obama. AIPAC shelled out more than $6 million on an ad showing Obama praising Stevens, who once served on a task force in his administration. (Obama has not endorsed her.) Stevens says she has the broad appeal needed to beat Rogers in the general election, and she’s backed by a parade of establishment Democrats in Michigan — Peters, Slotkin, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — and beyond, including Senator Chuck Schumer. Read more about Stevens. Abdul El-Sayed El-Sayed is campaigning on a sharply anti-Israel platform that also calls for abolishing ICE, raising taxes on the rich and making Medicare available to all Americans. He’s a charismatic speaker who can draw a crowd. And he’s keenly aware that Democratic voters are in an anti-establishment, Israel-skeptical mood. He has called Israel’s government “evil” and hammered Stevens for her ties to AIPAC, a newly polarizing force in the party. He has refused money from corporate PACs and pulled in nearly $15 million from individual donors. Abdul El-Sayed Nick Hagen for The New York Times A Michigan-born son of Egyptian immigrants, El-Sayed, 41, would be the country’s first Muslim senator. He trained as an epidemiologist, became a professor and then led the Detroit Health Department. He ran for governor in 2018 but lost by more than 20 points. Now buoyed by young, white and college-educated voters, El-Sayed rallies with progressive luminaries like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Bernie Sanders and the leftist streamer Hasan Piker. While many of his boosters label themselves as democratic socialists, El-Sayed does not identify as one, and he hasn’t been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Read more about El-Sayed. The stakes Democrats need to keep the Michigan seat blue and flip at least four Republican-held seats in other states to win control of the Senate. For progressives pushing the party to rethink its relationship with Israel, this race matters far beyond Michigan. Same goes for establishment Democrats feeling queasy about El-Sayed’s electability — and for some Jews fearing where he could take the party. But El-Sayed may be cruising. Polls released this past week showed him with a 10- to 19-point lead over Stevens. The online prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket are bullish; as of last night, they put his odds of winning at around 97 percent. Related: In the video below, Shane Goldmacher, our national political correspondent, explains why Democrats must defend the Michigan seat and why Republicans see an opportunity. Click to watch. The New York Times More races to watch tomorrow: Michigan’s Seventh congressional district, one of the most competitive in the country, will choose between Trump’s former ambassador to Ukraine (who resigned last year, protesting the president’s coziness with Russia); a retired Navy SEAL; and a progressive organizer backed by Bernie Sanders. The winner will face the incumbent, Tom Barrett, one of a handful of Republicans who have voted in favor of checking Trump’s authority to wage war in Iran. Missouri’s First congressional district will be a rematch between former Representative Cori Bush, a democratic socialist “squad” member, and Wesley Bell, a more moderate prosecutor who ousted Bush from her seat two years ago with heavy support from AIPAC. The pro-Israel lobbying group is once again spending millions to block Bush. THE LATEST NEWS Politics Todd Blanche Kenny Holston/The New York Times Todd Blanche confirmed in writing that the Justice Department would abandon elements of the deal it struck with Trump to resolve his I.R.S. lawsuit. Two Republican senators had threatened to block Blanche’s confirmation for attorney general otherwise. U.S. officials confirmed that the Treasury Department intervened last week to prop up the Japanese yen, which had been trading near four-decade lows. The Pentagon is relying on closed-door hearings to kick out transgender service members. Here's how they work. Around the World In Venezuela. Fabiola Ferrero for The New York Times More than a month after twin earthquakes, Venezuela’s coastal region of La Guaira — once a lively beachside escape — is completely disfigured. Record heat waves have given postal workers in France an additional role: checking in on older people. Two people died in Greece when helicopters collided while fighting wildfires. Morocco has been considered a North African success story. But the rush on the Spanish territory of Ceuta raises questions about the Moroccan economy. Other Big Stories The gunman who opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, was slowed by returned fire from an off-duty state trooper and a private citizen, the authorities said. Residents of rural Florida say that a major marijuana producer with ties to Trump is polluting water and spreading smells. OPINIONS The New York Times Ezra Klein says “The Odyssey” is the political movie of the decade. He explains in the video above. Baseball should remain imperfect. Enough with the robot umpires, J.R. Moehringer writes. Daniela J. Lamas, a pulmonary and critical care physician, once delivered dire news to a patient only for the patient to improve. Doctors shouldn’t be afraid to tolerate uncertainty, she writes. Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. MORNING READS We’ve made these links free for you. Kerry Tasker for The New York Times Promise and peril: A unique tidal bore in Alaska can carry a surfer for six miles. It can also kill. Scheming bots: A.I. is being trained to copy almost everything people do. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the machines have started lying and cheating. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a hike planned with Google Maps that took far longer than expected. Metropolitan Diary: A beautiful baritone. Horse whisperer: Monty Roberts rejected 4,200 years of conventional wisdom to embrace humane, nonviolent methods of training untamed horses. That won enthusiastic approval from Queen Elizabeth II, who became a friend. He died at 91. TODAY’S NUMBER OpenAI $70 — That is the price, not including tax and shipping, of an official ChatGPT tie-dyed basketball. Tech companies, once known for nerdy, low-key hoodies and sneakers, are getting fancy with their merch, often creating it in collaboration with hip brands and designers. Fashion critics aren’t impressed. SPORTS M.L.B.: The trade deadline is hours away and teams are making their moves. Yesterday, the Yankees acquired the Nationals infielder Luis García Jr., the Mets dealt the starter Freddy Peralta to the Rays and the Blue Jays sent the longtime starter Kevin Gausman to the Cubs. Soccer: Europe’s governing body for soccer has threatened legal action over FIFA’s failed private investment plan. RECIPE OF THE DAY Armando Rafael for The New York Times For a summertime update on a beloved Chinese dish, Hetty Lui McKinnon freshens up cold sesame noodles with crisp cucumbers, raw corn and aromatic basil. Her minimalist dressing brings together three flavor-dense condiments: chile crisp, sesame oil and sesame paste. No sesame paste? Tahini works, too. Toss with your favorite noodles. THE VOICE OF GOD As a U.S. secretary of state in “Lioness.” Lauren Smith/Paramount+ Morgan Freeman has voiced deities and presidents, and he is the go-to narrator for your favorite documentarian. At almost 90 years old, he still can’t understand the fuss over his voice. More on culture Here’s your recap of the latest episode of “House of the Dragon.” There still be dragons! “Awake Awake,” Fiona Mozley’s confident and unsettling third novel, suggests that childhood friendships may have a greater impact on our adult life than family relationships, our reviewer writes. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area in New Mexico. Bob Wick/Planet Pix, via ZUMA Wire See natural wonders without the crowds of a national park. Our Travel desk’s picks include ice caves, rugged gorges and something called the Alien Egg Hatchery. Read one of these 22 new books that the editors on the Book Review are looking forward to this month. Spend some time with Seurat. “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” is this week’s 10-minute challenge. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were channeled and dancehall. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

💰 Data du jour: Earnings bonanza Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios America's biggest companies are on a hot streak this earnings season: They're reporting double-digit profit growth in spite of high interest rates, higher energy prices and cautious consumer spending, the Financial Times reports ($). Stunning stat: S&P 500 companies are on track to report profits that are 47.4% higher than a year ago, according to FactSet. If that holds, it would mark the strongest quarter for corporate profit growth in five years — since the pandemic rebound. Nearly 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported profits that beat Wall Street's expectations.