August 7, 2026

Congress shut a loophole allowing intoxicating hemp products last year. Now Trump and Senate leaders are attempting to reopen it before the rule takes effect. The marijuana industry spent millions lobbying the other direction.

Trump's reversal exposes his selective populism: he'll override the legislative branch when the donor class objects, but frame it as helping the little guy. The hemp lobby won. Congress lost.

Senators are pushing crypto, college sports, and hemp through before the break. The White House wants them caught trying, even if they don't finish.

When the goal is performative effort rather than legislative completion, you know the substance didn't survive negotiations. Expect failure theater and a press release claiming victory.

The federal government agreed to buy out the German utility's leases off California, Louisiana, and New York. RWE will relinquish the permits.

This is subsidy-by-buyback: instead of letting the project proceed, the administration pays to kill it. Cheaper than litigation, more expensive than neutral policy, and it signals that opposition can be monetized.

Labor market figures arriving Friday could shift expectations on whether the Federal Reserve raises rates at its September meeting.

Markets are pricing in a hike. A weak jobs report is the only thing that keeps the Fed from moving. The data lands this afternoon.

Rep. Andy Ogles fell to Charlie Hatcher, who took 53.2% in the redrawn 5th District. A rare primary loss for a Trump-endorsed incumbent.

Redistricting can unmake a seat faster than any primary challenger. Ogles' loss suggests Trump's endorsement doesn't paper over arithmetic.

The new executive order arrived two months after SCOTUS struck down the first one as unconstitutional. Same issue, different ink.

Twice-struck claims don't gain legal strength through repetition. Expect an identical court challenge and an identical outcome.

Washington's intervention in currency markets to prop up the yen was not coordinated with European Central Bank leadership beforehand.

Central bank coordination is supposed to prevent this. Scott Bessent moving unilaterally signals either that coordination is dead or that the Treasury no longer cares to pretend it isn't.

A teenager killed his grandparents before opening fire at a school near Bangkok, shooting five people dead and taking his own life. Twenty-three others were wounded.

School shootings in Southeast Asia remain uncommon enough that this will dominate Thai media for weeks. The profile—family conflict preceding an attack—mirrors patterns elsewhere.