Supreme Court Clears Path for Federal Work Force Cuts

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• 50% copper tariff

• Grok’s antisemitic posts 

• Gov’t job cuts OK’d 

I’ve got all the details for you, so let’s dive in.

— Josh

MARKETS

💰 Trump Announces 50% Tariff on Copper

The Scoop: President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on imported copper, as part of his America First agenda to rebuild domestic supply chains and drive companies to source materials locally.

• Trump confirmed the tariff rate during a Cabinet meeting, but did not specify a start date.

• Chile, the world’s top copper exporter, could face the tariff despite a U.S. free trade agreement.

• Copper saw futures prices surge 13% post-announcement, the largest single-day jump since 1968.

• The move follows Trump’s February probe into copper tariffs, aimed at reviving U.S. production amid a 42% rise in U.S. copper futures prices this year.

What’s Next: As the copper tariff’s effective date and scope remain unclear, markets and global suppliers, particularly Chile, brace for impact. Trump added that pharmaceutical imports could face tariffs up to 200% within the next year and that new levies on imported chips are planned.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: EU negotiators are nearing a trade deal with Trump that would lock in 10% "reciprocal" tariffs, higher than those for the UK, as part of a temporary framework agreement. (FT)

• Stock futures rose Wednesday morning, with Dow Jones futures climbing 82 points, S&P 500 futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures also up 0.2%. (CNBC)

• White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is emerging as a “serious contender” to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair. (WSJ)

• Trump reaffirmed that the U.S. will "pretty soon" impose a 10% tariff on imports from BRICS nations. (YF)

• China's producer deflation worsened to its lowest level in nearly two years in June, as the economy faced uncertainties from a global trade war and weak domestic demand. (INV)

• American households expressed greater optimism about their finances and credit access in June, according to a report from the New York Federal Reserve. (RTS)

🏢 Industry & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: SpaceX is in talks to raise funds and sell insider shares in a transaction that would value Elon Musk’s rocket company at approximately $400 billion. (BBG)

• Meta acquired a nearly 3% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban, for approximately €3 billion ($3.5 billion), deepening its investment in the smart glasses sector. (BBG)

• Apple COO Jeff Williams will step down later this month, with Sabih Khan, senior vice president of operations, assuming the role as part of a long-planned succession. (CNBC)

• Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to ban synthetic food dyes faces strong opposition from Mars, the maker of M&M’s and Skittles. (NYP)

• Starbucks’ China business has attracted bids valuing it at up to $10 billion from nearly 30 private equity firms, as the company considers retaining a 30% stake. (CNBC)

• Elon Musk told Wedbush analyst Dan Ives to "shut up" after Ives urged Tesla's board to rein in the CEO's political activities and refocus on company priorities. (X)

💵 Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: U.S. buyers are circumventing China's export ban on critical minerals like antimony by sourcing large quantities from Thailand and Mexico, with at least one Chinese-owned company involved. (RTS)

• U.S. natural gas production and demand are projected to hit record highs in 2025 before declining in 2026, according to the EIA. (BOE)

• Gold ETFs recorded their largest semi-annual inflow since the first half of 2020, attracting $38 billion from January to June. (RTS)

• Fermi, co-founded by Rick Perry, is advancing an 11-gigawatt Amarillo "hypergrid" with four nuclear reactors, gas, and renewables near Pantex, nearing leasing deals with data managers. (YF)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Prosecutors charged two men with running a scheme that defrauded investors of $650 million in crypto, promising 300% returns. (CNBC)

• Trump’s Truth Social has filed with the SEC for a “Crypto Blue Chip” ETF, primarily comprising Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and CRO. (CD)

• Venture capital firm Ego Death Capital raised $100 million to fund early-stage Bitcoin companies. (AX)

• OpenSea has acquired web3 app experience startup Rally as it shifts focus toward token trading. (X)

• ReserveOne, a crypto asset manager, plans to raise over $1 billion and list on Nasdaq via a SPAC merger, holding a Bitcoin-anchored digital asset treasury with Ethereum, Solana, and other crypto. (TB)
  

TECH

💻 Elon Musk's AI Company Deletes Grok's Antisemitic Posts

The Scoop: Grok’s chatbot posted antisemitic tirades on X, praising Adolf Hitler, attacking Jewish Hollywood executives, and targeting a Jewish surname in connection to Texas flood deaths, prompting xAI to delete the posts and issue an apology.

The Details:

• Grok lauded Hitler for crushing “Hollywood’s degeneracy” and “rootless cosmopolitans,” while suggesting a fictional “Cindy Steinberg” celebrated “white kids’” deaths in Texas floods.

• The bot called Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk a “traitor” and “ginger whore.”

• xAI removed the inappropriate posts and said it will refine the model with user feedback.

• Elon Musk recently announced Grok would be “retrained” after he expressed displeasure with its responses, stating in late June that Grok relied too heavily on legacy media and other sources he considered leftist.

What’s Next: Poland plans to report xAI to the European Commission over Grok’s offensive remarks about Polish politicians, raising questions about balancing free speech with curbing hate speech on the platform.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: An investigation reveals China is building massive data centers in Xinjiang’s deserts to drive its AI ambitions, seeking 115,000 Nvidia chips to power them. (BBG)

• NVIDIA introduced Helix Parallelism, a groundbreaking technique co-designed for its Blackwell GPU system, enabling AI models to process millions of words instantly and serve up to 32 times more users in real time. (IE)

• OpenAI hired away four prominent engineers from rivals, including David Lau, former vice president of software engineering at Tesla, the former head of infrastructure engineering at xAI, an infrastructure engineer from xAI, and an AI researcher from Meta. (WIR)

• The American Federation of Teachers, alongside Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic, will provide free AI training to 1.8 million members, starting with K-12 educators. (ED)

• AI can improve cancer treatment by predicting genetic mutations from pathology slides, potentially reducing rapid genetic testing, according to researchers. (MDX)

• Australian scientists have pioneered the use of AI to create a biological protein that kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria like E. coli. (PHYS)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Hugging Face has launched orders for its open-source Reachy Mini desktop robots, allowing developers to program robots at home with access to over 1.7 million AI models. (TC)

• Aescape’s robotic massage table, equipped with sensor-driven arms, delivers a highly customizable, human-like massage experience. (DN)

• The FDA granted clearance to Mendaera’s Focalist, a handheld robotic system designed to enhance precision in ultrasound-guided needle placement. (GD)

• Chinese robotics firm AgiBot unveiled the Lingxi X2-N, a humanoid robot that switches between bipedal walking and wheeled movement, enabling it to navigate complex terrains and climb stairs. (IE)

• Stanford researchers are developing a remote-controlled humanoid robot for ocean exploration that transmits tactile feedback to operators far away. (RTS)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Evidence suggests China is significantly enabling Russia’s drone warfare in Ukraine by supplying critical components like engines, chips, and optics, despite Beijing’s denials. (FP)

• China has taken a lead against the U.S. in orbital refueling technology, with its SJ-21 and SJ-25 satellites docking in geosynchronous orbit. (ARS)

• Northrop Grumman is positioning itself as a lead contractor for the Golden Dome missile defense program. (SN)

• The U.S. Army is testing robotic Coyotes, small drones designed to protect fighter jets by intercepting threats. (AT)

• Raytheon successfully tested its autonomous Barracuda mine neutralization vehicle in untethered operations for the first time in Narragansett Bay. (WUN)

• The U.S. Army is enhancing its Synthetic Training Environment with haptics technology, integrating wearable devices to simulate gun recoil and bullet impacts for more immersive virtual combat training. (NGD)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Mistral AI is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in equity funding from investors including Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund. (BBG)

• SiPearl, a French startup developing energy-efficient processors for AI and supercomputing, raised €130 million ($152 million) in a Series A round led by Cathay Venture Inc. (BBG)

• Dubai-based Xpanceo, a startup developing smart contact lenses with night vision and health monitoring, raised $250 million in a Series A round led by Opportunity Venture, valuing the company at $1.35 billion. (ARAG)

• Deep Robotics, a Chinese startup, raised CNY500 million ($69.7 million) in a funding round led by Fortune Venture Capital to scale its quadruped robotics and accelerate R&D for humanoids. (YI)

• AirGarage, a startup that optimizes parking facility efficiency through data analysis, raised $23 million in a Series B round led by Headline Growth. (AX)

• OneText, a startup aiming to reinvent shopping via text, raised $4.5 million from Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures. (TC)

FREEDOM

🪚 Supreme Court Lets Trump Proceed With Deep Workforce Cuts

The Scoop: The Supreme Court, in a 6–3 ruling on Tuesday, overturned a lower court’s injunction, allowing the Trump administration to proceed with significant workforce reductions and reorganizations to streamline government operations—a key component of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) mission.

The Details:

• The decision grants a White House emergency request, enabling cuts while legal challenges continue in the Ninth Circuit.

• Issued in February, Executive Order No. 14210 orders agencies to eliminate “non-critical” roles and reorganize to reduce waste, aligning with administration efficiency goals.

• A California district court blocked the order in May, but the Supreme Court deemed the government likely to succeed in defending its legality.

• Labor unions and state officials argue the order oversteps Congress, threatening services with proposed cuts like 50% at the Department of Energy and 90% at NIOSH.

• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, claiming that the order undermines Congress and criticizing the majority for endorsing “legally dubious actions” prematurely.

What’s Next: With the injunction lifted, the Trump administration can move forward with workforce reductions as legal battles persist, potentially reshaping federal agencies, though future Ninth Circuit or Supreme Court decisions could pause implementation if constitutional objections hold.

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Economic Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The USDA unveiled its National Farm Security Action Plan, targeting threats from foreign governments like China by proposing reforms, including a ban on Chinese nationals acquiring U.S. farmland. (FOX)

• The IRS announced that churches can endorse political candidates to their congregations without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. (FBN)

• Trump expressed confidence that Elon Musk’s pledge to form a new political party would benefit him, saying, "Third parties have always been good for me. I don't know about Republicans, but for me." (X)

💻 Business & Tech Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump announced that the U.S. would support defense contractors to accelerate military equipment production, urging faster output to meet demand. (RTS)

• Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared that there will be "no amnesty" for migrant agricultural workers. (NYP)

• Trump administration greenlit a coal mine proposal in Claiborne County, Tennessee, using an expedited process to accelerate federal environmental reviews for energy projects. (EN)

• The U.S. Space Force launched its inaugural International Partnership Strategy, detailing a framework to move from intermittent global collaboration to a more strategic and cohesive space alliance with key allies. (SF)

💬 Free Speech & Woke Overreach

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: James Gunn’s "Superman" reboot has been slammed in early reviews as a “convoluted mess” for its woke narrative, with critics panning the immigrant-focused storyline. (BP)

• A Turkish court blocked access to certain content from xAI's Grok chatbot, citing responses that authorities claimed insulted President Tayyip Erdogan.(RTS)

• Azoria launched the Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF (SPXM), excluding 37 S&P 500 companies with DEI hiring targets like Nike, Intel, and Airbnb. (SEM)

• Hamilton College is quietly advancing DEI initiatives through academic programs and hiring practices, circumventing potential scrutiny under the Trump administration, according to a report. (CF)

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