Good morning! It’s a brand new week. Before we get out there and tackle it, let’s take a quick look at what the government’s up to. Before we do that, it’s important to know two things:

1. The humongous new lights at a humongous new Buc-ee's in Georgia are baaaasically killing baby sea turtles. Perhaps the little guys just haven’t tried the beaver nuggets yet.

2. Some of our overly online friends are convinced Sydney Sweeney’s new American Eagle ad is one big Nazi dog whistle. What’s the “Ok, Boomer” equivalent for 21-year-olds?

TRADE

🤝 Trump, European Union strike trade deal

What’s the solution for a guy who really wants to play at the golf course he owns in Scotland but can’t because he’s too busy being president? Mix business with pleasure, of course. The Scottish people weren’t thrilled with Trump’s visit, but his meeting with the European Union’s leader seems to have paid off.

• Early Monday morning, Trump met Prime Minister Kier Starmer to “refine” a U.S.-U.K. trade deal. He’ll return to the U.K. (not an EU member) in September for an official state visit with King Charles.

Jafar was busy, so Trump met with Ursula von der Leyen at Trump Turnberry. She's president of the European Commission, which is the European Union's executive branch. The two haven’t always gotten along, but they managed to agree on the framework of a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU.

The situation: Trump had given the EU an August 1 deadline to come to an agreement or get hit with a 30% tariff. Three weeks after nearly landing a deal for 10%, von der Leyen was anxious to get something done on Sunday.

• When combined, the EU’s 27 member countries (and their 450 million people) form the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S.

• They’re all independent, but the EU takes care of trade policy.

The details: Similar to his recent deal with Japan, this hits European Union exports to America with 15% tariffs across the board. Details are still light, but a few key products seem to be exempt, including aircraft parts, critical minerals, key drugs, and semiconductor equipment. Steel and aluminum will remain subject to the 50% global rate announced in June. Critically, the rate on alcohol is TBD.

Additionally, the EU will:

• Buy $750 billion of American energy over the next three years (to replace the Russian natural gas it buys today).

• Invest an extra $600 billion in the U.S.

• Purchase a “vast” amount of U.S. military equipment.

The deal should see the U.S. government collect about $90 billion in taxes per year from imports of European goods.

One-sided? While the US will hit EU goods with a 15% tax, the EU’s rate on US goods will be … zero. So what’s in it for them? Von der Leyen said the deal would “rebalance” trade with the U.S., which she said was previously imbalanced in Europe’s favor (aka: Americans bought more European goods than the other way around).

Elsewhere in the presidency: After slamming the project for going over budget, Trump toured the ongoing $2.5-billion renovation at Federal Reserve headquarters. Afterward, he backed away from his threat to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates.

GOVERNMENT

🏘️ The president signed an executive order and filled in his "Make America ____ Again" catchphrase with "Safe." The order is designed to make it easier for cities to remove homeless people from the streets. First, it directs the Justice Department to end its old legal fights against removal. Next, it asks the Departments of Health, Housing, and Transportation to fast-track federal funding for cities that crack down on homeless encampments and open drug use. The White House said the policy will remove "vagrant criminals from our streets," help people with mental health struggles get treatment, and make people feel safer in their own communities. But opponents called the order "punitive" and said it could actually make homelessness worse.

🛩️ The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has completed its investigation into a 2023 private plane crash in Alaska that killed the husband of then-Rep. Mary Peltola. The NTSB is an independent federal agency that investigates basically any crash (planes, trains, and boats, and more). After compiling thousands of pages of data, the agency concluded that this was a very Alaska tragedy. The pilot overloaded his small plane with more moose meat than it could handle and improperly tied a set of antlers to one of the wings. On a related note, the NTSB will hold a three-day hearing beginning July 30 on the mid-air collision in January between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight.

WORLD

🌍️ Israel responds to anger over Gaza hunger

Who doesn’t love to start the week with some light reading on war and hunger in the Middle East? We'll try to keep this one light, but the gist is this: Everyone's getting mad about the hunger crisis in Gaza, so Israel is changing some policies to hopefully alleviate it.

The situation: Malnutrition in the Gaza Strip has reached "alarming levels," according to the World Health Organization (part of the U.N.). Forty hunger-related deaths have been reported this month alone, including 16 children. Now Israel is being accused of not letting enough food aid into the Gaza Strip, where its military is active in a war against Hamas.

But… The hunger data comes from the health agency of Gaza's government. But Gaza's government is run by Hamas, which is widely recognized as a terrorist group. So the numbers may not be accurate. And Israel has blamed Hamas for taking the food aid, worsening the problem.

So… Israel announced daily pauses in the fighting to allow for the delivery of aid and restored power to a desalination plant for water. Several countries, including Israel, Jordan, and the UAE, airdropped 28 tons of food into the territory. More trucks were let in, too.

Related: In a major shift, French President Emmanuel Macron said France will officially recognize Palestine as a sovereign country. The move will be formalized at the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting in September.

TRIVIA

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has been in the news a lot lately. Accusing Barack Obama of taking part in a "treasonous conspiracy" to tank Trump's incoming presidency after the 2016 elections tends to have that effect. Obviously, not everyone thinks her story is legit.

Today’s question isn’t about Gabbard, but rather the job she holds. The DNI oversees the various intelligence agencies that together comprise the overall U.S. intelligence community, or IC. How many separate agencies are part of the IC?

Hint: It’s more than Ohio has electoral votes. But less than Pennsylvania.

BRIEFS

● The foreign minister of K-Mart Switzerland, often known as Austria, said a changing world may force her country to end its 70-year-old policy of neutrality. She said she’s open to joining NATO but admitted that convincing parliament would be difficult.

● Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was granted limited immunity for answering nine hours of questions from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Maxwell is currently appealing her 20-year prison sentence, but this immunity won’t affect that.

● An Arizona woman will spend eight years in federal prison for a $17 million scheme benefitting North Korea. North Koreans can't legally work in the U.S., so this lady helped them steal Americans' identities to land remote IT jobs at hundreds of U.S. companies.

● The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet in Malaysia today to discuss ending their four-day war. Fighting first erupted on Thursday after a land mine exploded along their contested 500-mile border, wounding five Thai soldiers.

● The 42-year-old man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart in Traverse City, Michigan, is facing terrorism charges. Everyone survived the rampage, though four victims remain in critical condition. Thankfully, this guy sucks at terroring.

QUOTE

ANSWER

The gig Gabbard now holds was created in 2004 and has been kinda weird ever since. The DNI technically oversees all 18 intelligence agencies. How much control she has over those agencies, however, is a matter of debate. Some are big bois with big egos. Others clearly have other bosses to deal with. Regardless, the DNI is preeeetty much in charge.

For the curious, those 18 agencies are:

• 1. The CIA

• 2-7. Intelligence agencies for all six branches of the military

• 8-12. Five other intel agencies in the Department of Defense:

  • National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)

  • Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)

  • National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

  • Central Security Service (CSS)

  • National Security Agency (NSA)

• 13-14. Two for the Justice Department:

  • The FBI’s Intelligence Branch

  • The DEA’s Office of National Security Intelligence

• 15-18. Intel offices for four other federal departments:

  • Treasury's Office of Intelligence and Analysis

  • State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research

  • Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis

  • Energy's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence