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Denim sales are soaring...

Well, hi there. Today we’ve got some news of our own to share: The weekend Brew is getting a makeover, and it’s not just taking off its glasses and ditching its ponytail. Our special Sunday theme newsletters have been so popular that, as of tomorrow, we’re going to start doing them every week. So, tomorrow we’ll say goodbye to Brew Review, and wave hello to Sunday Special, where the Brew writers will get to nerd out about a topic that fascinates us each week.

Why are we telling you this today? Because you don’t have to worry about missing out on your favorite parts of the erstwhile Sunday issue, since they’re moving to Saturday. Check out our new Have You Heard section below, which will feel familiar to anyone who loved the Classifieds. And we’ve also got Crowd Work, as we, of course, still want to hear from you.

—Sam Klebanov, Brendan Cosgrove, Dave Lozo, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein

MARKETS

Nasdaq

20,585.53

S&P

6,259.75

Dow

44,371.51

10-Year

4.423%

Bitcoin

$117,630.64

AMC

$3.33

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Markets: Like that situationship that’s not quite ready for a “what are we” conversation, stocks took a step back yesterday, retreating from record highs as investors digested President Trump’s recent trade war escalations. Bitcoin, on the other hand, kept its rally going, and AMC reminded everyone they come there for the magic after getting an analyst upgrade.
 

MEDIA

Substack event

The Washington Post/Getty Images

The service that fills your inbox with emails from writers who answer to no one is basking in the spotlight. The indie newsletter platform Substack had a record 73.9 million site visitors last month, beating the traffic on WSJ.com and CBS.com, according to Similarweb data analyzed by Sherwood.

Though it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison since Substack isn’t a single news org but a social platform with newsletters, an X-like feed, and video content, the visitor surge reflects its growing cultural cache.

Substack’s revenue—derived from a 10% fee on writers’ subscription hauls—reached $45 million per year, and it’s reportedly getting a boost from heightened interest in political content during President Trump’s second term. The platform is looking to raise up to $100 million from investors and hoping to attract sponsorships, according to Substacker Eric Newcomer.

Big names galore

Along with your neighbor sending regular updates about her homemade jewelry business, writers who have already made a name for themselves are driving Substack’s popularity. Its 500,000 creators include prominent journalists who left legacy media jobs, like the Atlantic star Derek Thompson, celebrity wonk bloggers, like Matt Yglesias, and best-selling authors craving creative free rein, including Junot Díaz and George Saunders.

And many Substackers have found that the platform can give them direct access to six-figure audiences that they can monetize:

  • The top writers with paying subscribers are rolling in it, with Substack saying over 50 of its creators rake in $1M+ per year.
  • Some journalists have spun out their Substacks into full-fledged publications, like Richard Rushfield’s The Ankler, Bari Weiss’s The Free Press, and Mehdi Hasan’s Zeteo.

Meanwhile, several legacy outlets like the UK’s Telegraph are creating Substack content, while the Washington Post is reportedly considering distributing its journalism on the platform.

But…some creators have ditched Substack for competing newsletter platforms like Beehiiv and Ghost, in protest against what they view as Substack’s lax content moderation. Meanwhile, some observers question whether Substack can continue to grow since readers might tire of paying for subscriptions to newsletters by individual writers, which can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars in monthly bills.—SK

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WORLD

Bottles of Heinz Ketchup on a store shelf

UCG/Getty Images

Kraft Heinz may split up soon. Kraft Heinz’s grocery and sauces businesses may not go together like ketchup and fries for much longer. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is planning to spin off the grocery side, including most Kraft products, into a business worth $20 billion, leaving sauces and spreads, like Heinz Ketchup and Grey Poupon mustard, as a separate company—though it’s also weighing other options. The move would effectively undo the 2015 megamerger that spawned Kraft Heinz, which was orchestrated by Warren Buffett and PE firm 3G Capital Partners. The deal was meant to dominate the packaged goods industry, but the brands struggled to hit the right blend as consumers turned toward less processed food.

Trump escalates US–Canada trade fight with 35% tariff threat. America is playing hardball in trade negotiations with its neighbor that invented poutine. In another tariff letter, President Trump announced late Thursday that he would impose a 35% tariff on Canadian goods as of Aug. 1, and would raise it further if Canada retaliates. Under the president’s current tariffs, there’s already a 25% levy on Canadian products not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada is a major US trading partner, but President Trump criticized both its trade practices and what he views as its failure to stop shipments of fentanyl from entering the US. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would keep negotiating with the US and had made “vital progress” in curbing fentanyl.

State Dept. fires more than 1,300 people. Putting into motion a reorganization plan that the administration says will cut down bureaucracy and bring the agency up-to-date, the State Department began notifying laid-off employees yesterday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hopes to cut about 15% of the department’s workforce, and the layoffs are intended to get rid of duplicative or redundant operations. But current and former diplomats have criticized the reduction in staff, saying it will weaken US influence abroad, per the Associated Press.—AR

RETAIL

Jeans walking up stairs

Anna Kim

Tariffs may be tugging at Levi Strauss’s leg, but the jeans maker had no problem shaking off concerns this past quarter.

Levi’s shares jumped more than 11% on Friday after the company laid out a closetful of good news:

  • Q2 sales rose 6% from the previous year.
  • Levi’s said it expects sales to increase 1%–2% this fiscal year after it had previously forecast a 1%–2% decline.
  • Revenue for women’s apparel was up 14% during the quarter.

All denim, all the time: Levi’s CEO Michelle Gass says the company is benefiting from denim-heavy fashion trends like ’90s-style jorts and subtle western themes.

And as you may have suspected, Beyoncé is involved. Levi’s first partnered with the superstar last year, and recently began selling limited-edition shirts to coincide with her Cowboy Carter tour.

The moves triangulate three of Levi’s biggest priorities: staying relevant with consumers, attracting more female customers, and expanding offerings beyond jeans to jackets, dresses, sneakers, and anything else that’s just screaming to have a band patch ironed onto it.

What about tariffs? Levi’s makes a lot of its clothes in Southeast Asia, but it has little exposure to the biggest tariff lightning rod: China.

Bottom line: The company expects to absorb a lot of its tariff costs—estimated to be around $25–$35 million through the end of the year. But that also assumes US trade policy doesn’t force the jorts giant into further belt-tightening.—BC

Together With Golf Digest+

ICYMI

Here’s everything that didn’t make it into this week’s newsletters, but we immediately sent to the group chat.

83-year-old Paul McCartney announced his first North American tour in three years will begin in the fall. If he’s still working at 83, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Japan broke the internet speed record by reaching 1.02 petabits per second, which is roughly 3.5 million times faster than the average internet speed in the US. But somehow it will stop working when it’s your turn to talk in a Zoom meeting.

French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was cleared of a doping allegation after successfully arguing that the banned substance she tested positive for had entered her system by kissing her partner over nine days. It’s another successful use of the popular legal maneuver known as the “I was gettin’ some” defense.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he decided against spending $3 million to buy the Batmobile after his home was burglarized last year. He fails to realize that no one is breaking into a house with the Batmobile parked outside.

A Chicago man said a home he owned was listed for sale without his knowledge or permission by a realtor he had never met. When it’s an apartment in England, this is called Flatfishing.—DL

STAT

A Ford sign

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Breaking records is often something a company celebrates with a pizza party rather than a raise, but we’re not sure anyone will be hoisting a lukewarm glass of cola in the conference room to hail Ford’s latest. Within the first six months of 2025, Ford has issued more safety recalls than any other company ever has in a full year, per the Wall Street Journal.

  • By the end of June, Ford had already issued 88 recalls, according to federal data.
  • Ford says nine of those recalls were expansions of earlier ones, and 33 came as the result of an ongoing audit of past software fixes. But recalls have also involved issues like fuel pump failures and EV battery problems.

Ford may be No. 1, but recalls have been rampant throughout the industry. Last year, there were about 1,000 auto recalls compared to 800 a decade ago, per the WSJ. And Ford says it has added more safety personnel and testing, which should bring its recall count down in the future.—AR

Together With eltaMD

NEWS

  • President Trump visited Texas to see the damage caused by flash floods that killed at least 121 people, including many at a girls’ summer camp.
  • The US government posted a surplus in June, in part due to collecting $27 billion in customs duties because of increased tariffs.
  • The Food and Drug Administration will consider granting vouchers that speed up drug approvals for companies that lower US drug prices, its commissioner told news outlets.
  • Jensen Huang sold more than $36 million worth of Nvidia stock, putting the chipmaker’s CEO’s net worth on par with Warren Buffett’s.
  • Justin Bieber blessed Beliebers with a surprise album called Swag.

COMMUNITY

Welcome to the new Saturday Crowd Work. It’s the same as the old Crowd Work section, but on Saturday. Last time, we asked, “What’s the wildest food or drink you’ve sneaked into a movie theater?” Here are our favorite responses:

  • “An entire steak dinner with a bottle of champagne, glasses, and a folding table to set it up on.”—Brian from Southern CA
  • “2% milk in water bottles, bags of Lucky Charms under puffy coat, plastic spoons in pockets.”—Robby from Redmond, OR
  • “Shrimp cocktail.”—Anonymous
  • “One of my coworkers has been testing the limits of what he can sneak into a movie theater. Recently, he’s brought in a full rotisserie chicken and a mini waffle maker, which he plugged into an outlet in the lobby and made waffles.”—Ricky from Los Angeles, CA
  • “The boys and me whip up protein drinks, two or more if it’s a Marvel film. Sometimes we bring workout bands, too, just in case.”—Dino from Las Vegas, NV
  • “Me and my friend snuck a loaf of bread in by cramming it into my baseball hat.”—Jared from Sycamore, IL
  • “Cat food. Yeah, I also snuck a cat into the theater.”—Phillip from the Bronx

This week’s question

What’s a recent interaction you had with a stranger that made you smile?

Holly’s response to get the juices flowing: “I picked up a senior schnauzer foster dog, Gaby, last week and she’s an angel. We were walking past a house and the owner drove into his driveway. When he got out of his car, Gaby got so happy and wanted to go say hi. He waved us over and they had a sweet interaction. ‘You hav