August 08, 2026

Meow. Today is International Cat Day, and to celebrate, we’re asdkjqearhesuihsrigubsvksbhd;iwafhlasahf—sorry we let the cat take over the keyboard. We hope your cat also gets exactly what it wants today.

—Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein

In today’s newsletter, we’ll look at:

The US unexpectedly losing jobs last month
Trump trying to fire Lisa Cook again
AI creating new viruses

Markets

Nasdaq

26,690.62

+1.30%

S&P

7,757.64

+0.62%

Dow

54,036.93

+0.28%

10-Year

4.660%

-1.0 bps

Bitcoin

$64,906.59

+0.81%

Airbnb

$178.07

+17.43%

Data is provided by

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

Markets: Sometimes you’ve got to look for the silver lining: Stocks rose yesterday as a disappointing jobs report convinced investors that the Fed might not raise interest rates at its next meeting after all (more on that below).
Stock spotlight: Airbnb checked into its best day in four years as investors gave a good review yesterday to the earnings report and the improved full-year forecast the company released on Thursday evening.

Not doing a great job

America lost its job growth streak last month

Blue Now Hiring sign with a hand-drawn T placed over the

Nick Iluzada

This year’s job creation momentum melted in the July heat like a popsicle thirty seconds after you take it out of the cooler. The US lost 23,000 jobs last month, according to government data released yesterday. This surprised analysts, who expected a gain of 100,000 positions.

So, where did hiring happen (or not) last month?

Restaurants and bars had 26,000 fewer employees, despite the boost they got from the World Cup. Fewer staff members at big-box stores led to a loss of 19,000 retail jobs. Finance shed 14,000 jobs. And public school headcount dropped by 50,000, which some economists said is typical when school is out.
On the plus side: Healthcare continued to be the hiring headliner, adding 22,000 jobs. Construction and manufacturing sectors together gained 27,000 positions, likely thanks to the data center buildout.

Meanwhile…unemployment dropped to its lowest level since 2025—but clearly not because of an offer-letter boom. Over 260,000 people ditched the labor market last month, driving down the unemployment rate, which doesn’t count anyone who isn’t looking for work. The share of employment-eligible Americans working or job hunting is now at its lowest level since the pandemic.

Uncle Sam’s statisticians also delivered another downer, revising the number of jobs created in the previous two months downward by 103,000.

Warsh watch

If you’re keeping score at home: The trading odds of the Fed hiking rates at its next meeting in September plummeted in the wake of the lackluster jobs report—which also showed yearly wage growth slowing to 3.2%, which is a five-year low.

But…if next week’s inflation report shows consumer price increases outpacing wage growth, that would complicate the Fed’s balancing act of fighting inflation and keeping the economy chugging along.

Big picture: Many economists see the latest jobs stats as a sign of a slowing economy amid the Iran war, which is pushing up energy prices. However, there’s some reason for optimism, like the recent private sector data showing strong small business hiring plans and bigger pay gains for those switching jobs.—SK

From The Crew

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World

Tour de headlines

Split photo collage showing Lisa Cook on the left and Donald Trump on the right.

Luke Johnson/Getty Images, Washington Post/Getty Images

🏦 Trump is still trying to fire Lisa Cook from the Fed. The Supreme Court ended President Trump’s last attempt to ax Fed Governor Lisa Cook, but this week, the White House revived its effort to oust her. A letter signed by a top Trump aide informed Cook that the president was “considering” firing her, saying there’s “sufficient reason to believe that you made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.” This was the same reason Trump gave before, which Cook has denied. “These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago,” Cook’s lawyer said, vowing to challenge “this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed.”

⚖️ Path cleared for Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general. It appears that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will soon be able to drop the “acting” from his title. Blanche, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, faced opposition from some in the president’s own party, who raised concerns about a controversial settlement that gave Trump immunity from IRS audits for past returns and created a (now defunct) $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. But Blanche now appears to have the votes necessary to be confirmed after Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana voiced his support, which would mean there are enough votes to confirm Blanche despite the opposition of Democrats and two of his fellow Republican colleagues. A date for the vote has not yet been set.

🍔 The burger wars are heating up. Burger King has taken back the crown from Wendy’s for the No. 2 US burger chain by systemwide sales after losing the position six years ago. This week, the Whopper maker reported an 8.5% spike in US same-store sales last quarter—that’s thanks in part to a whopping revamp of its signature burger this year. It marks five quarters of same-store growth for BK, while Wendy’s has seen its same-store sales shrink for the last six quarters, per CNBC. But the real king is still Ronald McDonald: McD’s—which this week replaced its US chief amid slowing same-store sales growth—remains by far the top burger slinger, commanding ~48% of the market.—AR

NEW GENOME DROP

AI made 16 brand-new viruses

Stylized CGI image of virus cells in shades of blue and neon green.

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Allison Saeng / Unsplash

In a study published this week, scientists used an AI program called Evo to design several novel viruses not found in nature. The breakthrough use of AI raises obvious red flags about how the tech could be weaponized, but it could also save lives, researchers said.

How does it work? If your understanding of biology stops at mitochondria being the powerhouse of the cell, just know that Evo was trained on over 9 trillion nucleotides—the building blocks of DNA and RNA—in an attempt to notice patterns that humans have yet to recognize:

After gobbling up nature’s beautiful code, the program spat out about 700,000 potential genome combinations.
Scientists at Stanford University and the Arc Institute tested 285 of those recipes they deemed viable, and 16 of them grew real-life viruses that have never been produced before.

Not all viruses are bad. The rhino, corona, and noro varieties aren’t great, but doctors use engineered viruses to fight drug-resistant bacteria and genetic diseases. Researchers have long manufactured viruses to better understand how they work, and AI could potentially make that work easier.

But…there are fears that a bad actor—or a scientist without adequate guardrails—could use the tech to design a bioweapon. The researchers also warned that this kind of study shouldn’t be used on risky pathogens that can cause infections in humans, like malaria.—MM

Reader Poll

Are you worried about AI making new viruses?

Yes, it seems like a bad idea.
No, you can’t stop progress, and it may help find cures.
Not right now, but I see how it could create problems in the future.

This week’s question

What’s the wildest thing you’ve heard a child say?

Matty’s answer to get the juices flowing: “My friends and I were hosting a garage sale, and this family with a few kids was looking through stuff. One of the sons (probably about 7 years old) was running around being a hilarious menace. His dad finally sternly told him to sit down. Dejected, the boy looked up at all of us and said, ‘I have the saddest life, I just remembered.’”

Submit your response here.

recs

The Phillies contest winner with a perfect radio voice that the internet is obsessed with.
The books F. Scott Fitzgerald called “required reading.”
What happens when you hook up a hamster wheel to Strava.
Unkillable desk plants that double as a conversation starter.**

Karen weighed 374 lbs and was told surgery was her only option. She found a loophole, lost 200 lbs, and joined 20m+ lbs lost with this app. Take the quiz.*

^{*A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

Play

Brew Crossword: Know which TV show uses handwritten cue cards instead of teleprompters? Then you’ve already got one answer for our biggest puzzle of the week. Play it here.

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that’s so close to a full 360-degree view. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.

Zillow

Today’s property overlooks the Tennessee River Gorge in Chattanooga, TN, and boasts 270-degree views of the mountains and rivers. And if you have enough money to buy this home, you probably have the 18 total cars it has room to accommodate. Amenities include:

6 beds, 12 baths
Teeny little waterslide
Main floor banquet hall

How much for the massive mountain mansion?

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Answer

$8.75 million

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: weaponized, meaning “adapted for use as a weapon of war.” Thanks to David from Clyde, NY, for peacefully sending the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

Written by Abigail Rubenstein, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, and Holly Van Leuven

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