Macro Households Cut Spending as Inflation Outpaces Wages: CNBC US households are cutting back on spending and shifting toward discount and warehouse retailers as August inflation ran 3.4% versus 3.1% wage growth, per CNBC.
Politics Lutnick’s Net Worth Doubles to Over $7B Since Joining Trump Cabinet Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s net worth has doubled to about $7.3 billion since joining Trump’s Cabinet, per Forbes, driven mostly by Cantor Fitzgerald’s indirect Tether exposure.
Geopolitics Pentagon Probe: AI Overreliance, Stale Intel Led to Iran School Strike A Pentagon probe found outdated intel and overreliance on Palantir's Maven AI system contributed to the Feb. 28 U.S. Tomahawk strike on a Minab elementary school that killed 123 children.
Macro Social Security Trust Fund Projected to Run Dry by 2032 The Social Security OASI trust fund is now projected to be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than last year's estimate, setting up a 22% benefit cut unless Congress acts.
Politics FBI Warns of ‘Tradwife’ Catfish Scheme Targeting ICE Agents An FBI Chicago memo warned that women posing as ‘tradwives’ on dating apps are allegedly luring and doxxing ICE officers, though the bureau offered little evidence and critics called the alert thinly sourced.
Geopolitics Pentagon undercounting US troop deaths in Iran war, per WaPo The Washington Post reports the Pentagon has undercounted US service member deaths in the Iran war, with officials citing at least 22 fatalities versus the 18 in the public DCAS database.
Politics Trump Says He's Banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico From White House Trump says he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over coverage he calls fake news, teeing up another First Amendment fight and putting media parent stocks on watch.
Geopolitics Trump Says US Reached Deal for ‘Permanent Control’ Over Greenland Security Trump says the US has reached a deal with Denmark and Greenland granting Washington permanent control over security, with plans for a large military presence on the island.
Geopolitics Pentagon Weighs Pulling Up to 40,000 U.S. Troops From Europe The Pentagon is weighing a plan to pull planes, ships, weapons and up to 40,000 U.S. troops from Europe, per NBC News. It would be the largest drawdown since the Cold War.
Macro Trump calls Canada joining EU as associate member a ‘hostile act’ Trump threatened heavy tariffs or a full trade cutoff with the EU if Brussels makes Canada its first associate member, escalating tension as Ottawa pivots toward Europe.
Politics Pentagon Sets Fitness, Grooming Bar for Hegseth ‘State of the Force’ Speech The Pentagon is telling commanders to nominate only troops who pass the Army fitness test, meet the waist-to-height ratio, and show ‘impeccable’ grooming for Pete Hegseth's Sept. 30 State of the Force address, per WSJ.
AI Zuckerberg, Musk, Huang Reportedly Talked Trump Out of AI Regulator Zuckerberg, Musk and Huang reportedly lobbied Trump directly to block a proposed FINRA-style industry-funded AI regulator floated by Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, per the WSJ.
Politics Public Notice: McConnell Cognitively Incapacitated, Should Resign Public Notice argues Sen. Mitch McConnell is cognitively incapacitated and should resign, citing freezing episodes, a lengthy hospitalization, and what the column calls a staff cover-up to protect his seat.
Politics Tucker Carlson: Trump ‘Directly’ Ordered Epstein Files Cover-Up Tucker Carlson told Vanity Fair that President Trump personally ordered the cover-up of the Epstein files, citing a private conversation. The White House did not directly deny the account.
Markets Travis Kelce Named Victim in $35M Swiftarc Capital Ponzi Scheme Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was named a victim in a $35M Ponzi scheme run by Siddharth Jawahar of Swiftarc Capital, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Politics Vance to Voters: ‘Give Us Another Chance’ as GOP Midterm Polls Slip VP JD Vance asked voters to ‘give us another chance’ on the All-In podcast as Democrats pull ahead in generic ballot polling ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Macro 1 in 6 Young Americans Are Neither Working Nor Studying Nearly one in six Americans ages 16 to 29 is neither working nor studying, and the share keeps rising. Here is what the growing NEET cohort means for the labor market and consumer stocks.
Energy Energy Sec. Wright: Want Lower Gas Prices? Drive Less Energy Secretary Chris Wright says gas prices should ease after Labor Day as summer driving demand fades, even as the national average sits at a record $4.14 amid the Iran war.
Macro Canada Slashes Business Investment Tax Rate to 6.4%, Lowest in G7 Canada is cutting its marginal effective tax rate on new business investment from 13% to 6.4% via a new Productivity Mega Deduction, the lowest in the G7 and less than half the US rate of 16.9%.
Politics Bessent Backs Trump's $5,000 Midterm Check Plan for Americans Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has endorsed Trump's plan to send $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans win the midterms. The proposal could cost over $1 trillion and faces Senate GOP pushback.
Politics Russian Oligarch Umar Kremlev Bankrolled Don Jr.'s Bahamas Wedding: ProPublica ProPublica says Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, a Putin ally, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding, routed through a Dubai entity tied to the International Boxing Association.
Macro 1 in 3 Americans Skipped a Meal to Save Money This Year Roughly one in three Americans have skipped a meal this year to save money, per new NY Fed and Gallup data. The K-shaped economy has clear read-throughs for grocers, discounters, and restaurants.
Markets Gallup: 89% of Americans See Widespread Government Corruption A new Gallup poll reveals a record 89% of Americans believe corruption is widespread in the U.S. government, marking a 20-year high. This perception crosses party lines and shows a significant increase from previous years, diverging from global trends and highlighting a wider gap between perceived…
Tech Australia to Let Users Switch Off Social Media Algorithms Australia's proposed My Feed, My Way law would let users over 16 switch off algorithmic social media feeds, with fines up to $79M for non-compliance. META, GOOGL, and SNAP are directly exposed.
Politics 60 Minutes: ‘Pardon Brokers’ Pitching Trump Clemency for Six-Figure Fees A 60 Minutes hidden-camera probe caught lobbyists pitching Trump pardons for $300K, while rapper Boosie says he paid $600K and got nothing. The White House denies pardons are for sale.
