Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The expected news on tariffs: “President Donald Trump on Thursday formalized the array of high tariff levels and trade deals he has announced in recent weeks, the latest escalation in his attempt to disrupt and reshape the global economic order. In a sweeping executive order, Trump made official his agreements with prominent trading partners such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the Philippines.”
* The expected result from tariffs: “Stocks tumbled on Friday to kick off August trading as investors weighed stark signs of a weakening economy and President Donald Trump’s modified tariff rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 542.40 points, or 1.23%, closing at 43,588.58. The S&P 500 shed 1.60% to end at 6,238.01, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.24% and settled at 20,650.13.”
* In Gaza: “President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made an extremely rare visit to Gaza on Friday amid the spiraling hunger crisis in the enclave under Israel’s deadly offensive and aid restrictions.”
* Trump said he’s ordered the nuclear submarines to be “positioned in the appropriate regions,” but don’t we already have nuclear submarines positioned in the appropriate regions? “President Donald Trump said Friday that he has ordered the deployment of two U.S. nuclear submarines in response to what he called “highly provocative statements” from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about Russia’s nuclear capabilities.”
* We can probably guess where this is headed: “Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator and confidant, was moved to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas, prison officials said Friday. Maxwell … is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in recruiting and trafficking minors for sex.” * Republicans set out to kill the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and they succeeded: “The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Friday that it will begin shutting down, weeks after Congress canceled previously approved funding for the nation’s steward of public media access. The CPB said in a statement that it will begin an ‘orderly wind-down’ of its operations after nearly 60 years with the support of the federal government.” * The White House project is set to begin in September: “One of Donald Trump’s most visible and potentially enduring legacies as president could be the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that he is planning to build, replacing the East Wing edifice traditionally used for the first lady’s offices.” Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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