Welcome! A massive fireworks show in Utah went off the rails.
DATA: The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% as paychecks grew at the slowest pace in two years.
HEADLINE: Judge denies release of Covenant school shooter's writings to the public - NBC
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It’s time for President Biden to undergo detailed cognitive and neurological testing and share his results - CNN
OUCH: Biden staff "miserable," alarmed as pressure builds - Axios
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What Biden Is Saying
In an attempt to quell calls for Biden to step aside, the President told a group of 20 Democratic governors that he intends to quit scheduling events after 8 PM so he can get more sleep. He later said, “I’m fine - I don’t know about my brain, though.”
But that’s not all: In a radio in Philadelphia, Biden made another egregious gaffe where he claimed, “I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first Black woman, to serve with a Black president.” Biden went on to assert that he was the first President to get elected statewide in Deleware before abruptly ending a story he began telling about Donald Trump.
ABC: The post-debate spat of painful public interactions comes one day before the biggest interview of Joe Biden’s political career. Former Clinton comms director and current ABC host, George Stephanopoulos, is set to record a pre-taped interview with Biden airing tonight at 8 PM that will likely dictate the future of his campaign.
What Others Are Saying
The sole heiress to the Disney fortune informed Democrats that she would “stop any contributions to the party” until Biden steps down from the ticket. Multiple Democratic megadonors have joined Abigail Disney’s lead potentially withholding hundreds of millions of dollars from the flailing Biden campaign.
CNN reports that talk among top Democrats has already shifted to who Kamala Harris’ running mate will be. According to more than two dozen anonymous Democratic politicians and operatives, Biden’s slow response to last week’s debate has ensured that his campaign cannot go on despite his rhetoric.
Olivia Nuzzi published an unbelievable story in New York Magazine detailing a six-month cognitive decline of Joe Biden that has alarmed everyone in his immediate circles.
Those who encountered the president in social settings sometimes left their interactions disturbed. Longtime friends of the Biden family, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity, were shocked to find that the president did not remember their names. At a White House event last year, a guest recalled, with horror, realizing that the president would not be able to stay for the reception because, it was clear, he would not be able to make it through the reception. The guest wasn’t sure they could vote for Biden, since the guest was now open to an idea that they had previously dismissed as right-wing propaganda: The president may not really be the acting president after all.
Alex Thompson from Axios points out on CNN that if Kamala Harris gets the nomination, she will be forced to answer why she lied about Biden’s health for years.
The Actual Cover of The Economist
Presented Without Comment
Trending news:
Keir Starmer becomes UK PM as conservatives suffer record defeat in huge Labour landslide - ABC
Behind the Curtain: Trump's Kamala Harris plan - Axios
France braces for potential political earthquake: a far-right surge. What to know about the election - LA Times
Biden campaign launches $50M July media blitz in battleground states - Axios
Some Democrats say Biden's debate performance wasn't an anomaly - NBC
Justice Department opens a criminal probe of the Chinese Olympic doping scandal - NPR
In deep-blue L.A., Democrats feel worried, betrayed, stoic about Biden's future - LA Times
These Voters Supported Biden in 2020. But Now … - NYT (free)
What Biden might say, should he choose to end his reelection bid - The Washington Post (paywall)
The IRS Has a High-Earner Delusion - WSJ (paywall)
Market snapshot:
How can any democrat say that Ruth Bader Biden’s mental health only deteriorated recently. It was obvious three years ago. Harris can duck the question with her usual word salad of nonsense.
As Kellyanne Conway said some time ago, Kamala…”is not ready for prime time. Or daytime…”