Trump Warns Of "Severe Consequences" For Putin Ahead Of Summit
Plus: U.S. Alcohol Consumption Hits 90-Year Low & Return-To-Office Is Back, Except In A Few U.S. Cities
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Good afternoon,
This August is particularly scary, at least, at the movies. Horror is thriving on both the big and small screen.
Zach Cregger’s Weapons, an original film about a group of third-graders that mysteriously disappear overnight, debuted to over $70 million at the box office this weekend.
The film beat out Disney’s Freakier Friday and already recouped its $38 million budget.
Warner Bros., which produced the film, struck gold with another original horror film, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, earlier this year. Sinners earned over $278 million in North American box offices and nearly $366 million worldwide.
Horror films are consistently reliable for Hollywood studios, as they are often cheaper to make than other genres and lend themselves to communal viewing. But both Sinners and Weapons are original films by auteur directors, not installments in franchises, making their successes all the more impressive.
And in the realm of TV, FX’s Alien: Earth premiered last night to critical acclaim. The series is a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, Alien, which is often considered the best horror film of all time.
I’ll share my thoughts on the horror boom after I “see” Weapons tonight — using air quotes here because I can’t promise my eyes will be open the whole time. 🫣
Sam,
Associate Producer
🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
Trump Warns Of “Severe Consequences” For Russia If Talks Fail To Reach Ceasefire
President Trump warned Wednesday there would be "very severe" consequences for Russia if a ceasefire deal is not agreed upon during the upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. However, he admitted that preventing Putin from targeting civilians is unlikely, based on their past conversations.
The comments came about an hour after Trump spoke virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, who urged him not to unilaterally strike a deal with Russia. Trump characterized it as a “good call” that he would rate as a “10.”
CEASEFIRE, NOT PEACE DEAL
Zelensky said that President Trump “expressed his support” for “a ceasefire first, then security guarantees" ahead of the Friday summit at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
"I told the U.S. president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing," Zelensky said after the meeting. "He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine."
Zelensky has not been invited to Friday’s talks, but Trump said he needs a 1:1 with Putin first to ensure he is in the right place to hold serious ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine directly. Trump said Wednesday afternoon that he expects his upcoming meeting with Russia will be “setting the table” for a second meeting to follow shortly after with Putin and Zelensky, and possibly himself.
UP NEXT
While Trump said there would be “very serious consequences” if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire after the meeting on Friday, he did not specify what the consequences would be.
Trump and others have previously suggested territorial swaps between the warring nations as a way to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. But it will likely be extremely difficult to find some type of “land swap” that both Ukraine and Russia would agree to. Russia has been making battlefield gains in recent days.
🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING
Return To Office Hits 5-Year High In U.S. — NYC Leads Major Cities
Speaking of offices (see ad above for ⬆️ Industrious with our deal), July 2025 saw the greatest number of U.S. employees returning to the office since the pandemic began. Still office visits nationally have not yet reached pre-pandemic rates, according to a new monthly report from the Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index.
Office visits in New York City are now officially more than 1% higher than their pre-pandemic rate in July 2019, but office visits in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Denver are still about 30% below what they were at that time.
Nationwide, office visits remain over 20% below pre-pandemic levels, but they are nearly 50% higher than they were in June 2021.
This pattern of returning to the office comes as more U.S. workforces mandate in-person work. Full-time in-office requirements among Fortune 500 companies jumped to 24% in Q2 2025 from 13% in 2024, and President Trump also ordered federal employees back to the office five days a week in January, despite many federal workers having agreed to remote work contracts.
In-person is also extending to the job interview: Artificial intelligence is prompting more companies to request in-person interviews, as some candidates have used the technology to cheat on interview questions.
In-person interview requests among recruitment firm Coda Search/Staffing in Dallas have increased from 5% in 2024 to 30% this year.
🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING
U.S. Alcohol Consumption Hits 90-Year Low, With Majority Saying It’s Unhealthy
The share of U.S. adults who say they consume alcohol has dropped to 54% — the lowest Gallup has ever recorded since it's gathered data on drinking habits over 90 years. The previous low was 55% in 1958.
Drinking is down across demographics, but the biggest drop has been among Republicans — falling 19 points in two years to 46%.
The new poll, released Wednesday, found that for the first time, a majority (53%) of Americans now say alcohol is bad for health regardless of the amount, up from 28% in 2015. At the same time, use of marijuana is up.
WHAT’S CHANGING?
Falling U.S. drinking rates appear to be driven by a mix of factors — shifting health views that no amount of alcohol is safe, the popularity of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic (which can reduce appetite and alcohol cravings), economic pressures like tariffs raising drink prices, and broader lifestyle trends toward wellness and “sober-curious” socializing.
The shift comes amid growing medical consensus that no amount of alcohol consumption is risk-free.
Two-term U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served under former Presidents Obama and Biden, warned before leaving the office about links between alcohol and cancer, calling for cigarette-style warning labels.
The three-year slide in drinking rates coincides with research disproving earlier reports that moderate drinking could be heart-healthy.
Younger Americans are driving the uptick in viewing drinking as harmful, with Gallup noting they weren’t steeped in earlier advice promoting moderate wine consumption.
FINDING OTHER VICES
Meanwhile, marijuana use among Americans has risen from 7% in 2011 to 15% between 2023 and 2024, as nearly half of U.S. states have legalized it for recreational use. President Trump said Monday his administration is looking at reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug (with Heroin and LSD) to Schedule III (with steroids, ketamine, and Tylenol w/ Codeine).
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
Trump floats circumventing Congress to maintain control of DC police (POLITICO)
Glacier lake outburst at Alaska's Mendenhall Glacier causes record-breaking flooding (ABC)
3 dead, 1 missing as flooding in southern Tennessee prompts Chattanooga to declare state of emergency (FOX)
White House orders review of Smithsonian museums and exhibits to ensure alignment with Trump directive (CNN)
State Department scales back its annual reports on human rights (NPR)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
Wildfires kill at least 3 and displace thousands across southern Europe (AP)
Israel in talks with South Sudan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, sources say (EURO NEWS)
Far-right populists top polls in Germany, France and Britain for the first time (NBC)
US warships patrol South China Sea after two Chinese ships collide (GUARDIAN)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
US debt reaches $37 trillion years before expected (NEWSWEEK)
Amazon expands perishable delivery service, putting pressure on traditional grocers (AP)
New York sues Zelle, alleging lack of safeguards against fraud (THE HILL)
Wild rabbits spotted with strange 'horn-like' growths sprouting from their heads (FOX)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Trump to host Kennedy Center honors, awardees to include Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, Kiss (MO NEWS)
4 arrests after home reportedly owned by Brad Pitt was ransacked by burglars, police say (AP)
Billy Joel closing Long Island motorcycle shop 20th Century Cycles amid brain condition diagnosis (CBS)
James Cook, Buffalo Bills reach 4-year, $48M extension (ESPN)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… Apple will announce its iPhone 17 series in September, but details about the new phones have already leaked. Rumored to be just 0.2 inches thick, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be Apple’s thinnest phone ever.
Apple’s ultra-thin phone is its way of competing with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge (0.23 inches), but its slick size is expected to come with a catch: a low battery and weaker chips. Besides, who wants a phone that disappears when you turn it sideways? 😉