Good morning. In this edition:

• 📝 Trump II reaches the six-month mark
• 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Astronomer CEO resigns
• 💵 Middle-class income across America

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.10-minute read (1,091 words).

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“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.”

–Anne Frank (1929-1945)

Yesterday marked exactly six months since President Trump assumed office for his second term, a span Trump referred to as “one of the most consequential periods of any President” in a social media post marking the occasion.

A recap of Trump II to date

Four key topics have been at the forefront of the president’s agenda during his second term in office:

1. Federal spending: Trump created DOGE to target what he calls wasteful government spending, with its cuts now starting to be codified into law. Trump also signed a massive tax-and-spending measure—initially called the “Big Beautiful Bill”—into law this month, after pushing it through Congress despite opposition from Democrats and a handful of Republicans.
2. Immigration: The President has ramped up federal immigration raids and arrests, overseen a dramatic decrease in the number of illegal border crossings—which reached their lowest level in recorded history last month—and signed a travel ban blocking entry to residents from 19 countries.
3. Tariffs: The second Trump admin has implemented a novel and aggressive tariff policy involving rate hikes for nearly all US trading partners, citing a range of economic and national security concerns. Trump’s latest round of “reciprocal” tariffs are set to take effect on August 1, though such deadlines have been fluid in the past.
4. Foreign wars: Trump has been at the forefront of talks with Israel to end the ongoing war in Gaza, and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end their ongoing war. He also teamed up with Israel for a massive US military strike targeting Iran’s three main nuclear sites that caused major damage, though the full extent is still unclear.

What do the polls say? US voters disapprove of Trump by a 6.6-point margin after his first six months in office, according to RealClearPolitics’ polling aggregator (45.5% approve vs. 52.1% disapprove). That’s close to the worst ratings gap of Trump’s second term thus far—but still better than his first term, when White House approval ratings rarely rose above 45%.

Looking ahead…Presidential approval ratings are usually a good indicator of what will happen in the midterms. There's still plenty of time for things to change over the next 15+ months, but if the 2026 midterms were held today, 45.1% of registered voters would support a generic Democrat congressional candidate in their district versus 42.6% for Republicans, per RCP.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job Trump has done as President thus far?

• Approve
• Disapprove
• Unsure/other

Fat and Weird Cookie is turning 7, and instead of cake, they're serving up their biggest sale of the year. Until July 27th, enjoy deep discounts on cookie packs plus free shipping.

• 🏆 Favorites Pack: $50
• 💖 Chocolate Haters & Lovers Pack: $48 (final chance to order these packs)
• 🥳 Party Pack & Best Sellers: $28
• 🫵 Build Your Own: $12 off

Renowned as the “best stuffed gourmet cookies in the world," Fat & Weird Cookie has earned features on ABC, NBC, and Forbes.

The age-old nature vs. nurture debate has entered a new arena: the diamond market.

De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, is starting a marketing campaign to push natural mined diamonds, at a time when they’re being outshined by consumers' new crush: lab grown bling.

• Lab grown diamonds account for over 25% of global diamond jewelry sales so far this year—a huge increase from 2016 when they accounted for just 1%, per industry analyst Paul Zimnisky.
• They’re also cheaper than natural diamonds, which has been eating into the company’s bottom line. De Beers’ parent, mining giant Anglo American, has slashed the book value of its holding in the diamond unit by ~45% ($4.5 billion) over the past two years.

In the face of these challenges…De Beers CEO Al Cook is going all-in on a new campaign to try and convince people that natural diamonds are “Worth the Wait.” He’s also called lab grown gems a “huge con,” and is pushing jewelry stores to buy a $9,500 machine that can tell customers whether their gems are natural or lab grown.

Looking ahead: Things could get even worse for the diamond giant if it can’t convince consumers to pony up for structurally-identical natural diamonds. Younger buyers, who overwhelmingly prefer the cheaper, lab-grown option, are predicted to account for 80% of luxury sales by 2030.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🔭 Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after being captured on Coldplay concert "kiss cam"; Byron, who is married, was shown intimately embracing the company's chief people officer (also reportedly married) on the big screen at the show; the data ops startup previously announced a $93 million funding round in May.
• 🪙 President Trump signs first major US law governing crypto; the GENIUS Act establishes a regulatory framework for the $250 billion stablecoin market.
• 🚫 Drugmaker Sarepta Therapeutics says it won’t comply with an FDA request to halt all shipments of its muscular dystrophy drug, Elevidys, following the death of a third patient; company shares fell 35+% Friday.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Lesley Logan’s Cambodia Pilates Retreat

• ⛳ Scottie Scheffler wins British Open by four strokes; is now just a US Open victory away from becoming the seventh golfer in history to complete a career grand slam (Masters, US Open, British Open, PGA Championship).
• 🍿 Superman surpasses $400 million at the global box office; Jurassic World Rebirth roars past $600 million.
• 🏀 Team Collier beats Team Clark in WNBA All-Star Game; Napheesa Collier scores record 36 points. | WNBA and WNBA players union meet for collective bargaining talks.

*From our partners: ⛰️ Your Cambodia cultural adventure…Join Lesley Logan for Siem Reap's jungle temples, incredible food, and new friendships from October 12-17. Various packages are available. Pilates newcomers and culture-seekers are equally welcome on this journey! Few spots remain—claim yours now.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 👶 World-first UK trial produces eight human babies who have DNA from three parents; research is intended to reduce babies’ risk of inheriting genetic diseases from their mothers.
• 🫀 Duke University surgeons perform world's first pediatric heart transplant using technique that restarts the heart outside the donor's body; procedure could increase the US organ donor pool by 20% for such transplants.
• 🏥 Research shows popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy can improve symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome, a common hormonal disorder in women.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Senate approves Trump-backed bill to clawback $9 billion in federal funding for PBS, NPR, and foreign aid programs; it marks the first time since 1999 that Congress has approved a president’s efforts to cancel previously authorized discretionary spending.
• 🇯🇵 Japan’s ruling coalition fails to secure a majority in upper house parliamentary elections; marks the first time PM Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party lost a majority in both houses of parliament since 1955.
• 📰 President Trump sues Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion over its Thursday report that he sent a “bawdy” birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.

☝️ You’re looking at the median household income a family needs to be considered middle class in each state, courtesy of Visual Capitalist.

🤔 Did You Know? American men typically slow down or stop buying underwear during recessions, making it a reliable leading indicator for economic downturns in the US.

📰 Worth a Read: Marriage is about learning to braid the bitter with the sweet

🖱️ Clickbait: Examining the Gen Z stare

Monday: Discovery’s “Shark Week” kicks off

Tuesday: National Hammock Day

Wednesday: MLS All-Star Game; sentencing date for Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to murdering four Idaho college students

Thursday: Comic-Con kicks off in San Diego

Friday: The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters; Happy Gilmore 2 hits Netflix

+Over the weekend: The Tour de France concludes in Paris on Sunday

Traditional retirement advice was built for a world that no longer exists. Houses now cost 10x your income, not 3x. You can't park money in treasury bonds at 6% with zero risk.

Travis Chappell's Make More Money Newsletter just tackled this topic with "Why Saving Money in 2025 Is Making Us Poorer," revealing wealth strategies from high-profile entrepreneurs he's interviewed, including Shaq and Jordan Harbinger.

No recycled tips, just what's actually working today.

On Friday, we covered how the UK government announced plans to lower the country’s voting age from 18 to 16 before the next general election in 2029.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, what should be the general legal age of adulthood?

• 14-15: 5%
• 16-17: 11%
• 18: 37%
• 19-20: 15%
• 21+: 32%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 2,516 votes and 275 longform responses.

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

1. Chlor
2. Janu
3. Lat
4. Optim
5. Rot

🧀 The Musée du Fromage, Paris’s first-ever cheese museum, recently opened its doors with the goal of offering "an enchanting journey through France’s rich cheesemaking heritage." The museum offers an educational and interactive space to fully immerse yourself in the history and world of cheese. 

🐾 One Indiana woman is thankful for her rescue dog, Luna; she claims the pooch alerted her to high levels of carbon monoxide in her home, saving her life.

🦌 Two high school students recently received a $15,000 grant to develop an AI program that prevents deer from running into cars.

+Note: These stories previously appeared in a July 2024 edition of Positive DONUT, our weekly newsletter surfacing all the good things you don't hear about in the news.

1. Chlor = Green (e.g., chlorine)
2. Janu = Door (January)
3. Lat = Broad (latitude)
4. Optim = Best (optimal)
5. Rot = Wheel (rotation)

+Clue for the Games newsletter: You may have to visit a zen garden after completing today’s Conjoiner sequence.