Washington, DC

1. Labor market cools
2. Trump’s big weekend
3. Russia ups pressure
4. AI stake divide
5. Amazon’s rising emissions
6. Colorado primary postmortem
7. Zimbabwe pressure

Spending on food for July 4 is expected ▲ 6% this year, says the National Retail Federation, outstripping inflation.

We’ll be off tomorrow for the July 4th holiday but back in your inboxes on Monday.

US job growth slows in June

US hiring lost momentum in June, according to the Labor Department, raising questions about the strength of the US job market. Today’s report showed that employers added just 57,000 jobs last month, well below expectations and the weakest monthly gain in months. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% from 4.3%, a decline largely driven by a drop in labor force participation rather than strong hiring. The figures suggest the labor market is cooling gradually, as employers remain cautious amid persistent inflation and uncertainty linked to the Iran conflict. The weaker hiring data also prompted investors to scale back expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the near term. The report makes a strong economy a tougher sell for the White House, which nevertheless said it “reinforces that the American labor market remains solid thanks to President Trump’s economic agenda.”

— Lauren Morganbesser

Trump makes mark on America’s 250th

President Donald Trump is gearing up for his big celebration for America’s 250th birthday, featuring a slate of weekend events centered around the president. He’ll give remarks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial tomorrow as part of an event there that will feature a fireworks display. We’re watching for potential demonstrations: The last time there were July 4th fireworks at the historic site, during Trump’s first term, the event drew protests from Native American-led groups. On Saturday, Trump will deliver remarks in DC on the National Mall at a bash that’s expected to include military flyovers and a whopping 850,000 fireworks amid a DC heat wave. The weekend marks the culmination of Trump’s focus on the country’s birthday: Leading up to July 4, he’s directed his administration to undertake massive renovations of federal sites in the city, which have stoked criticism.

— Shelby Talcott

Russia ups pressure on Ukraine

Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities is pushing the Ukraine war to the forefront as leaders of NATO countries prepare to gather next week. Moscow fired 74 missiles and 496 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Kyiv’s air force, killing and wounding dozens. The attack is a sign of “Russian desperation,” one Eastern European diplomat told Semafor, but they called the number of Russian missiles that got past Ukrainian defenses “concerning.” Russian President Vladimir Putin is feeling the pressure of Ukraine’s attacks in Russia, which have caused widespread fuel shortages. Recent Gallup polling found a dramatic decline in Russians’ economic outlook. Still, Putin isn’t moving to end the war and political pressure is unlikely to force his hand. “The chances that the tide will turn against Putin are there but single-digit percentage wise,” one expert told The New York Times.

— Morgan Chalfant

Tech firms divided over government equity

OpenAI’s pitch for the government to own a portion of AI firms might appeal to Trump — but it’s splitting the industry. CEO Sam Altman, who’s floated funneling returns to Americans via a hybrid of the Alaska Permanent Fund and Trump Accounts, suggested a stake of 5%, the Financial Times reported. Anthropic has also endorsed a similar idea, alluding to equity-seeded capital accounts in a recent policy framework. But Meta’s chief global affairs officer recently told Politico that “it’s just not something … we’ve spent a lot of time on,” while Microsoft President Brad Smith told Axios that “we’re not really interested in selling ourselves to any government.” “We respect and appreciate the leadership” from the administration, Smith said. “But we’d rather applaud than give some of our equity as the price of participating.” A broad swath of lawmakers are similarly cool to the idea.

— Eleanor Mueller

Data centers drive Amazon’s emissions

Amazon’s carbon footprint is rising because of its data center buildout, and it will continue to do so for years to come, the company’s sustainability chief, Kara Hurst, told Semafor’s Tim McDonnell. Amazon’s global greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2025 for the second consecutive year, according to its latest sustainability report. Its operations also became more carbon-intensive for the first time since it started to track this metric in 2019. The increases are a setback in Amazon’s goal of being completely carbon neutral by 2040 — a target that is already more ambitious than those of its Big Tech peers. Amazon is tied with Meta as the world’s top corporate buyer of low-carbon power. But it is also leading the pack in data center construction and power procurement. “This isn’t going to be linear. It’s not going to be a one-year story,” Hurst said.

Dem group’s Colorado primary postmortem

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ political arm is taking a victory lap after its preferred candidate, progressive Manny Rutinel, won a competitive Colorado primary this week. The primary had been a proxy war of sorts among Democratic-aligned groups, with BOLD PAC, which backs Hispanic candidates, backing Rutinel and more centrist groups like the Blue Dogs and New Democrat Coalition backing Shannon Bird. Rutinel’s roughly 30-point victory over Bird was not built on national ideological labels, BOLD PAC is arguing, but instead on identity in the 40% Latino district, which narrowly voted for Trump in 2024. “Latino voters in Colorado’s 8th showed up and made their voices heard,” Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., said in a statement to Semafor. The Republican incumbent, Rep. Gabe Evans, was “fighting against Latino families, and that’s exactly why his days are numbered,” she said.

— Nicholas Wu

GOP chair criticizes Zimbabwe leader’s power grab

Zimbabwe’s leadership is facing fresh scrutiny in Washington as the country moves to finalize a constitutional amendment extending the serving president’s term until 2030. Both chambers of the Zimbabwean Parliament have now approved it, clearing the way for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to sign the bill into law. That’s not sitting well with Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the Republican chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who told Semafor that “Mnangagwa has consistently signaled his intent to hold on to power beyond any legal or constitutional limits.” Risch added: “No one is blind to what is going on here, nor the corruption and abuse taking place in Zimbabwe under his leadership.” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged Mnangagwa not to repeat the mistakes of Robert Mugabe, who clung to power in the country for 37 years.

— Adrian Elimian

White House

• According to internal Park Service documents, fireworks during this year’s July 4th celebration will cause hazardous levels of pollution around the National Mall and “very unhealthy” conditions in central DC. — WaPo
• A US official told AFP that President Trump wants the “senseless killing” to end in Ukraine.

Congress

• House Democrats released a report alleging donors were misled into directing money from the bipartisan America250 celebration into President Trump’s Freedom 250 initiative.

Courts

• A federal judge temporarily blocked a Virginia law banning masked law enforcement officers.
• A former Olympic canoeist has been indicted on a property destruction charge following his arrest last month at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Campaigns

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is endorsing Abdul El-Sayed for Senate in Michigan, her first endorsement in a contested Senate race this election cycle. — NYT
• Conservative media commentator Tucker Carlson said that he plans to help start a new political party after leaving the Republican Party.

World

• US officials believe Israel may have been plotting to kill Iran’s top negotiators while Washington was negotiating with Tehran in the spring, including Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. — NYT
• Syria’s foreign minister said that Damascus was open to meeting with Hezbollah “if interests require it” after President Trump said he spoke to Syria’s leader about Syrian involvement in containing the group.
• India and Japan signed pacts on AI, metals, and energy after their leaders met in New Delhi.

Health

• New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the US death rate in 2025 fell to its lowest point on record, falling 4.6% from 2024.

Technology

• Tesla’s second-quarter vehicle deliveries surged 25% year-over-year, far exceeding Wall Street’s expectations.