Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 📊 An economic snapshot of America
• 🤬 US leaders embrace profanity
• 🏛️ Blanche’s AG nomination in flux

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.49-minute read (1,195 words).

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“Knowledge is different from all other resources. It makes itself constantly obsolete, so that today’s advanced knowledge is tomorrow’s ignorance."

–Peter Drucker (1909-2005)

Recent reports from federal agencies paint a conflicting story of how the US economy is doing.

On one hand: the economy is still growing, consumer spending remains strong despite higher gas prices, and the stock market continues climbing.

On the other hand: hiring has slowed, more Americans are filing for unemployment benefits, mortgage rates hit a recent high, and inflation continues to remain above the Federal Reserve's 2.0% target.

A rundown

GDP: The US economy grew by 1.5% in Q2 2026, below economists’ estimates (+1.8%) and lower than the 2.1% GDP growth seen the previous quarter, per federal data published yesterday. Officials say Q2 GDP calculations were weighed down by strong imports to fuel the AI and data center boom, while consumer spending picked up in Q2 even as gas prices surged (+3.2%, up from +0.5% in Q1).

Jobs: The latest federal jobs report shows employers pulled back slightly on hiring in June, adding 57,000 jobs compared to 129,000 in the previous month, while the unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May.

Meanwhile, US unemployment claims rose by ~9,000 last week, up slightly from 188,000 claims the previous week—which was the lowest such figure in 50+ years.

Inflation: Consumer prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% month-over-month in June compared to a rise of 0.5% in May, bringing the annual inflation rate down to 3.5% according to the June Consumer Price Index.

• It marks the largest one month decrease since April 2020, though inflation still remains above the Fed’s long-term target of 2.0%.
• Core inflation, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, was flat for the month of June at a 3.3% annual rate.
• Overall, June’s inflation report found month-over-month increases for food (0.2%) and shelter (0.1%), and a drop for energy (-5.7%) and commodities (-0.1%).

Stocks: All three major US stock indexes are trading near all-time highs as another strong earnings season reinforces investor optimism, though recent sessions have seen notable swings in either direction.

So far in Q2, 86% of S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results have beaten Wall Street's earnings expectations, putting the index on track for its 10th straight quarter of year-over-year profit growth.

Interest rates: The Federal Reserve held baseline US interest rates steady this week at a range of 3.5%–3.75%, with new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh ending the practice of “forward guidance” and declining to provide details about where rates could go in the future. Meanwhile, average 30-year mortgage rates climbed to 6.66% this week, their highest level since July 2025.

Looking ahead…The July jobs report, which will shed more light on the health of the US economy, is set to be released next Friday.

📊 Flash poll: To all working professionals: would you consider the growth outlook in your industry/sector of the economy to be positive or negative over the next 12 months?

• Positive
• Negative
• Unsure/other

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Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

🍿 Hadestown: The Musical, a live stage recording of the hit Broadway play, earned $10.2 million at the domestic box office last weekend, beating out Hamilton ($10.1 million) to become the highest-ever debut for a live theater show capture.

🤬 Presidents, vice presidents, and presidential hopefuls have used profanity at least 692 times in public since 1919, with 605 of those instances coming in the past 10 years, per data from Cardiff University.

🏟️ America’s favorite pastime is sports gambling: Americans spent $166 billion on sports betting in 2025—more than the revenue generated by the US movie, music, book, and museum industries combined.

⚡ Renewable energy is on track to become the world’s largest source of electricity generation this year (37% share), overtaking coal after reaching near-parity in 2025 thanks to a projected 8% annual growth.

🍿 AMC expects popcorn bucket sales to hit $100 million this year, nearly double 2023 levels, led by The Odyssey’s $50 replica of an IMAX camera and a $70 Trojan horse bucket.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US stocks rise across the board, rebounding from Wednesday’s selloff thanks to strong gains from Microsoft and semiconductor stocks (S&P: +1.7% | Dow: +1.2% | Nasdaq: +2.8%).
• 🏢 Situational Awareness, hedge fund operated by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, was reportedly forced to sell the bulk of its public stock holdings to Ken Griffin’s Citadel hedge fund, after big losses on AI stocks and bad bets against software stocks.
• 📊 Earnings corner: Amazon reports better-than-expected revenue and cloud growth in Q2, with AWS sales rising 37% year-over-year for its fastest growth since 2021; shares rise 10%+ in after-hours trading. | Apple reports stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for its fiscal Q3, driven by a 22% increase in iPhone sales, though it also projects lower revenue growth for next quarter; shares fall ~8% after-hours.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🪩 Lollapalooza 2026 takes place this weekend in Chicago, featuring headliners Charli XCX, Lorde, Olivia Dean, and Tate McRae.
• 🎰⚾ Startup Novig signs multiyear partnership with the New York Mets, becoming the first prediction market to partner with an MLB team.
• 🎥 Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters today. | The Walking Dead franchise license renewed by Netflix in a 5-year, $500 million deal that allows the series to also stream on AMC+ starting next year.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚗 Zoox receives approval from federal regulators to begin charging customers for rides, a first for the Amazon-owned robotaxi company.
• 🦠 US cyclosporiasis cases surpass 18,000 since recent outbreak began in early May, with confirmed cases now spreading to 45 states, per new CDC data.
• 🪐 NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover discovers field of honeycomb-shaped polygons covering a Martian valley; the 1-to-3-inch polygons were previously only discovered in small patches, but “nothing on the scale discovered in Valle Grande.”

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 💥 US Central Command announces new “heavy wave” of airstrikes against Iran in retaliation for Iran's “attempted surprise attack” on US forces based in Jordan on Tuesday; it’s the first US strikes on Iran since President Trump paused attacks last Friday.
• 🏛️ Senate Judiciary Committee postpones vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination for AG after outgoing Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) say they’ll vote “no” unless the DOJ formally abandons its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund; President Trump responds by threatening to temporarily pull Blanche’s nomination and try again in 2027, once both lawmakers have left office.
• 🗳️ Elon Musk is reportedly reviving his dormant super PAC in a bid to boost Republican voter turnout in the November midterm elections; Musk’s America PAC previously spent $260+ million to help elect President Trump in 2024.

☝️ California startup JetZero is developing a blended-wing passenger jet that it says could cut fuel use by ~30% while offering more cabin space for travelers. Backed by orders from the US Air Force and United, the company is aiming to put the aircraft into commercial service in the early 2030s.

🤔 Did you know? Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan are all the same species of plant, just bred to enhance different parts.

📰 Worth a read: Who put candy on a diet?

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Earth is lumpy as hell
• Matt Damon’s biceps in that Odyssey fight scene? They’re hers
• LinkedIn adds an “AI Slop” button

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How well did you pay attention this week? Find out here.

1. A 2-gallon bottle of fabric softener costs $8. What is the price per cup?
2. Use the following function rule to find f(4): f(x) = 10x.
3. A jacket costs $120. Store A offers a 30% discount, and then a 10% loyalty discount on the reduced price. Store B offers a flat 40% discount on the same jacket. Which store is cheaper, and by how much?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

🧩 21-year-old Tommy Cherry just retook his former Guinness World Record title for fastest time to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube while blindfolded, accomplishing the task in just 11.56 seconds.

1. $0.25 per cup
2. f(4) = 40
3. Store B by $3.60 ($75.60 for Store A; $72 for Store B)

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*Disclosures: Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.

Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.

The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.

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