• Markets: Stocks climbed like wisteria yesterday after last month’s inflation reading came in cool (more on that below), with AI stocks getting a trellis-like boost from upbeat earnings reports from infrastructure companies Supermicro, CoreWeave, and Nebius Group.

TURNOVER

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photos: Getty Images

One of the most iconic teams in the NBA is changing hands again. A group led by Disney’s ex-CEO and Jared Kushner’s baby bro will buy the controlling majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking $12.5 billion, ESPN reported yesterday.

If the league approves it, the deal would represent the highest valuation in history for any sports team, breaking a record set roughly one year ago by the previous sale of the Lakers:

• Last summer, businessman Mark Walter bought a majority stake from the Lakers’ longtime owners, the Buss family, for ~$10 billion. (The Buss family still owns a minority stake.)
• Now, Walter will sell his stake to a group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, as the recently LeBron James-less team looks to reshape around Luka Dončić, the league’s top offensive scorer last season.

Walter’s decision to flip the Lakers faster than a renovated house…comes as his business empire faces potential legal peril. The 66-year-old insurance magnate-slash-chair of asset-management firm Guggenheim Partners-slash-owner of the LA Dodgers is under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud involving billions of dollars in loans to his companies.

Selling the Lakers should expedite Walter’s current efforts to raise cash to pay down those loans, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

Meet the new owners

You probably know Iger as the CEO of NBA broadcast partner Disney, which he helmed from 2005 to 2020 and again from 2022 until March 2026. And you may know Kushner as a high-profile investor. He’s also the younger brother of President Trump’s son-in-law and unofficial White House advisor, Jared.

Additionally, Iger advises Thrive Capital, the younger Kushner’s VC firm that bets big on AI companies, and the duo was involved in the NBA’s potential Las Vegas expansion before pivoting to buy the Lakers, per ESPN.

The younger Kushner is ramping up his sports investments. Thrive Eternal, an experiences-focused Thrive Capital subsidiary, bought a stake in the San Francisco Giants earlier this year. More recently, Thrive Eternal was on track to buy a piece of the World Cup, until reports of FIFA’s private investment proposal triggered major backlash and led President Gianni Infantino to scrap the plans.—ML

      

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World

Tour de headlines

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📸 White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping down. While leaving a job to spend more time with your family is often code for something salacious in DC, in Leavitt’s case, it appears to be a straightforward statement. The staunch ally of President Trump and youngest person to have the role is departing from her White House position at the end of the month after recently giving birth to her second child, saying that since returning to work, “I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve.” The president said on Truth Social it was a decision he could “totally understand and respect” and that Leavitt would now be one of “my top outside advisors.”

🍔 Billionaire eyes Wendy’s takeover. The pigtailed redhead may soon have something new to smile about: Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is looking to scare up investors to take Wendy’s private, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The news comes as the burger chain has seen same-store sales decline for the last six quarters as consumers hunt for value. Its stock rose nearly 15% yesterday. But Trian and Peltz—who targeted the chain in an activist campaign more than 20 years ago and later served as its chairman—already own a piece of Wendy’s. It’s also not the first time he’s considered taking it private; he previously mulled the idea (but decided against it) in 2022.

📱 Google’s new phone is all in on AI. Google unveiled its Pixel 11 line of smartphones yesterday, and it’s really hoping you’ll be psyched to carry AI in your pocket. The new line, which costs $100 more than the previous generation of phones, features minimal hardware tweaks, and includes a software update that leans on Gemini Intelligence and new AI features. That’s likely to position it as a major competitor to the forthcoming iPhone with AI-powered Siri (which will also be built around Gemini models).—AR

slow news is good news

Nick Iluzada

The Fed is breathing a big sigh of relief about yesterday’s inflation report. Consumer prices rose 0.1% in July, bringing the annual inflation rate down to 3.4% from 3.5% in June. The core inflation rate (which excludes volatile items like energy and food) reflected its lowest level since 2021. These small drops hint that inflation might finally be slowing.

This represents a second consecutive month of tame inflation data, following intense ups and downs, primarily triggered by the war in Iran, which has spiked energy prices. Peace efforts calmed oil prices in July. But don’t celebrate yet—faltering peace talks have sent oil prices back up, and gas prices are still about a dollar higher than they were a year ago, according to AAA.

What else went down last month?

• Grocery prices sank for the first time since March. Analysts mostly chalk that up to the diarrhea-causing parasite driving down lettuce prices, but ground beef prices also fell 1.6%, the most since 2020.
• Hotel and motel prices fell 3.3%. However, rents jumped 0.3%.

So, what about Warsh? We’re still far from the Fed’s 2% inflation goal, so an interest rate hike remains possible in September. But with last Friday’s lackluster jobs report, the Fed could choose to take its favorite course of action: not changing rates—especially if this month’s inflation numbers are also tame.—MM

      

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RUBBISH POLITICS

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Count Binface, an “intergalactic space warrior” with a trash can over his head, is a top contender to become a member of the UK’s Parliament. The satirical candidate is the most prominent challenger to the right-wing populist Reform Party leader, Nigel Farage, in today’s special election for a seat representing Clacton-on-Sea, a struggling seaside town about 70 miles from London.

Under the bin is the Oxford-educated comedian Jon Harvey, who’s known for challenging high-profile politicians in elections—which any UK citizen can do by paying a $675 deposit and getting 10 signatures from locals.

But this time, he’s a major opposition candidate:

• Today’s election was triggered by Farage resigning as Clacton’s MP last month amid a parliamentary investigation into an undisclosed donation from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire. He claims voters reelecting him would be a rebuke to the establishment.
• Major political parties have called Farage’s resignation a political stunt and are boycotting the election—leaving Count Binface as his main foil.

Count Binface’s platform includes promises to “cut your taxes and raise everyone else’s” and to “not accept £5 million gifts from crypto billionaires (on Earth).” He also wants to move a hand dryer away from the urinal in a local restaurant.

Does Binface stand a chance? Farage is still projected to get the vast majority of Clacton votes, though a new poll from More in Common suggests Binface would beat him in a national election.—SK

      

MOLLY EXPLAINS THE INTERNET

Tate McRae barely touched her face in skincare ad

Screenshot via @tatemcrae/TikTok

The online world can be a beautiful yet confusing series of tubes. On Thursdays, the Brew’s Molly Liebergall untangles them for you.

The internet wants to know how Neutrogena signed off on this. In a sponsored post earlier this month, Tate McRae showed off her “post-show routine” on a plane using Neutrogena’s products. But there’s one glaring issue: The singer looks like she’s pretending.

• The clip, which has ~19 million views on TikTok, shows McRae lightly swipe her face with a makeup wipe, apply an invisible amount of moisturizer, and stick on some under-eye patches, all with her makeup still appearing intact.
• A top comment on the video reads, “girl be careful, it almost touched ur skin.”

So far, Neutrogena and McRae have not commented on the situation.

McRae became a Neutrogena brand ambassador last year…so, in addition to inspiring countless parodies, her video also bothered viewers who may feel jaded by what they see as dishonest celebrity product endorsements. In recent years, Millie Bobby Brown and Shay Mitchell similarly got flak for posting promotional skincare videos in which they appeared to ghost-apply the products.—ML

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News

What else is brewing

• The US budget deficit hit $432.3 billion in July, the highest it’s been since March 2021, as Medicare costs soared.
• Kalshi and Polymarket are being investigated by New York City over allegedly deceptive marketing.
• President Trump was sued by a media outlet and a media nonprofit group over the sale of early access to his posts on Truth Social.
• A top editor at Forbes was let go after the publication discovered that he’d been paid $6 million by the head of a company that had teamed with the magazine to publish rankings of wealth advisors, the New York Times reported yesterday.
• Alex Cooper’s podcast company Unwell received an investment at a $500 million valuation.
• Cristiano Ronaldo and his longtime partner, Georgina Rodríguez, got married in Portugal.

recs

• This 3-minute daily activity could reduce your risk for 13 types of cancer.
• The most dangerous bathing suit colors to wear (for your safety, not your fashion sense).
• A map of every US state’s favorite nostalgic summer blockbuster.
• We’re hosting a live performance with all of your favorite Morning Brew creators. Grab tickets today.

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Play

Brew Mini: Today’s little puzzle has a lot going on, in the best way. Play the Mini here.

Three Headlines and a Lie

Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than doing the dishes when you wake up. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Tyga’s $TARFACE album receives Pitchfork’s first 0/10 score in 19 years
2. The hottest tourist attraction in Tonopah, NV, is this 74-year-old woman’s living room
3. High school football player in Arkansas practices with a venomous snake in his helmet
4. Beth, the beloved vacuum of a 92-year-old Iowa senator, has died

Answer

We made up the one about the popular living room.

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: salacious, meaning “full of juicy details (often inappropriately sexual).” Thanks to Daniel Schmidt from Island Lake, IL, and several other gossip fiends for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.