Good morning, and a warm welcome to all our new subscribers. In today’s edition:

• 🌎 New US-Canada trade battle
• 🏃 Robot beats Usain Bolt
• ✨ How to rediscover your purpose

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.77-minute read (1,004 words).

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“Build the path of least resistance so it runs toward what you want.”

–Dr. Adrian Laurence

The US and Canada are back to trading blows in addition to goods and services, with a fresh round of tariff disagreements breaking out over the weekend.

New US tariffs of 50% on ~$20 billion worth of Canadian goods, covering 5% of the country’s US-bound exports, took effect Saturday, with Canadian PM Mark Carney responding with new dollar-for-dollar tariffs on US goods starting early next month.

• The US tariffs cover Canadian goods including alcohol, hockey equipment, cement, and dairy.
• It excludes Canadian energy, potash (a key fertilizer ingredient), and critical minerals.

Trade between the US and Canada totaled $376 billion during the first half of this year, twice the amount between the US and China, and ranking behind only Mexico as America’s top trade partner.

How we got here

On July 20, Trump threatened to invoke Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose additional tariffs on Canadian goods.

• He cited Canadian restrictions on American alcohol, dairy, and vehicles, some of which Canada implemented in response to earlier US tariffs.
• Section 338 allows US presidents to impose tariffs of up to 50% on countries found to discriminate against American commerce, though it hasn’t been used since becoming law in 1930.

Trump’s tariffs on Canada were scheduled to take effect last Wednesday. Less than two hours before that deadline, Trump announced a deal was in progress and postponed the duties for three days. But that deal never made it across the finish line, causing tariffs to take effect.

What was on the table?

Before negotiations ended, the two sides had made progress on a potential deal:

• The US would cut tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in half, from 50% to 25%.
• Top-line US tariffs on Canadian autos would fall from 25% to 15%.
• Canada would remove retaliatory tariffs on US autos, steel, and aluminum, while PM Carney would push provincial leaders to lift their bans on American alcohol.

However…Shortly ahead of the deadline, US and Canadian officials accused each other of adding new last-minute terms to the deal that they considered unfair.

• US officials said Canada added late concessions they weren’t prepared to give, including trade in lumber, aluminum, steel, and the automotive sector.
• Carney said the US made additional demands involving Canadian protections for French language and culture, exemptions to US auto tariffs, and Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other nations.

Looking ahead… No further US-Canada trade talks are currently scheduled. The two countries, along with Mexico, are also conducting a scheduled review of the USMCA, their trilateral free trade pact, with the Trump admin saying it will only recommend renewal if outstanding trade issues are resolved.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the Trump admin’s new tariffs on Canada?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏛️ President Trump says he’ll temporarily waive tariffs on up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef imports for 90 days in bid to lower domestic prices. | Trump discloses 1,000+ financial transactions for the month of June, in what appears to be broad reshuffling of his portfolio.
• 🇮🇷 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to hold a press conference later today to explain new US economic sanctions against Iran, which he describes as the “toughest” in history.
• 👚 Walmart to introduce a new store brand of women’s clothing, bags, and other accessories in push to appeal to younger, trendier shoppers; most of the new line, called Scenario, will cost less than $25.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎥 Spider- Man: Brand New Day maintains first-place spot at the box office in its fourth weekend, bringing in $854.9 million domestically.
• 🦿 Chinese humanoid robot beats Usain Bolt’s 2009 100-meter sprint world record, running the distance in 9.39 seconds.
• 🤖🎶 Legendary producer Dr. Dre says he uses AI when producing music and doesn’t see it “as a threat,” in new NYT interview alongside business partner Jimmy Iovine; “I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating,” Dre says.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧓 People aged 100 and older appear to have elevated levels of a rare immune cell that kills cancerous cells, per new small study involving 10 centenarians.
• 🚀 China abruptly delays launch of its robotic Chang’e-7 mission to scour the Moon’s south pole for water ice, which to launch as early as Sunday; China now says launch “cannot take place during the planned window this year” for unspecified reasons.
• 🧠 Major depression stalls the formation of new brain cells in the adult hippocampus, an area of the brain vital for memory and emotional response, new study finds; results could help researchers develop new treatments.

US, WORLD, & POLITICS

• 🔥 Fast-moving Nevada wildfire expands to 13,000+ acres and 0% containment, with authorities now encouraging ~90,000 residents near Reno to evacuate.
• 🏛️ Supreme Court rules President Trump's White House ballroom project can proceed for now, while Justices consider the admin’s appeal of a lower court ruling that halted the project.
• 🇭🇰 Hong Kong's High Court convicts two pro-democracy activists of inciting subversion for organizing annual large-scale memorials for those killed in China’s 1989 suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 2026 Pure Street Photography Awards, which drew nearly 1,600 entries across 50 countries this year.

🤔 Did you know? Chocolate comes from the tropical Theobroma cacao tree, whose name means “food of the gods,” with ancient Mesoamericans once using these cacao beans as money.

📰 Worth a read: Why we like things

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The family feud that helped create Aldi and Trader Joe’s
• How to rediscover your purpose later in life
• One way to level up your life: start a side quest

Starting at just $199… Club Wyndham offers 4-days, 3-nights in white sand Destin. Neon-lit Vegas. The Smoky Mountains. Historic Williamsburg and more. Which destination calls to you? Book your trip today.

On Friday, we covered how America’s national debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time last week, marking another milestone in Uncle Sam’s decades-long borrowing spree.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, how should the US government deal with its rising national debt and associated interest payments?

• Raise taxes: 18%
• Cut spending: 36%
• Print more bonds/money: 2%
• Some combination of the above: 35%
• Nothing needs to be done: 4%
• Unsure/other: 5%

Read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 644 votes and 83 longform responses.

Monday: National Waffle Day

Tuesday: Untold: The Testimony of Vince Young debuts on Netflix; Paranormal Activity play debuts on Broadway

Wednesday: Annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium begins (ends Friday, when Fed Chair Warsh delivers keynote address); Nvidia reports earnings; Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index for July

Thursday: College football season kicks off (FCS; FBS games begin Saturday)

Friday: Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars debuts in theaters; Prince’s estate releases fourth posthumous album, Timeless.

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Basi
2. Decim
3. Gladi
4. Liber
5. Poli

(keep scrolling for the answers)

💻 UCLA professor Daniel Blumstein and his team have launched OnlyMarms, a free, G-rated account featuring marmot photos and videos, after traditional funding for their decades-long research project dried up. The account has since attracted thousands of subscribers and donations for research of the species.

1. Basi = At the bottom (e.g., basic, basis)
2. Decim = Tenth part (decimal)
3. Gladi = Sword (gladiator)
4. Liber = Free (liberation, liberty)
5. Poli = City (metropolis, politics)

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