CNN

The great ongoing American conversation escalated into a great American bar fight this summer, as a long and increasingly unhinged national back-and-forth about race, politics, sexuality, the nature of both the Trump administration and fame itself was triggered by … a jeans ad. What happened? American Eagle released a campaign starring the exceedingly charismatic actress Sydney Sweeney. In one ad, she is seen clad in a revealing version of the Canadian tuxedo, veritably busting out of a not really buttoned jean jacket. But though the mere facts of her physical existence have ignited multiple national debates previously, in this case, the reason people are talking (and talking!) is that the ad’s script had her making puns about genes and jeans. While American Eagle enjoyed a brief $2-a-share surge in its stock price during the controversy, all the rest of us got were a bunch of questions. Here are some answers.

The Internal Revenue Service began sharing sensitive taxpayer data this week with immigration authorities searching for undocumented migrants, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Ahead of next week's Trump-Putin summit, Ukraine's President Zelensky says his people "will not give their land to the occupier".

Famed NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who commanded the harrowing Apollo 13 mission that was forced to abandon a lunar landing attempt in 1970, has died. He was 97. https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/4mzn1az

There is an active shooter on the Emory University campus in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the university. Follow live updates: https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/4oqZAC3

Even though President Donald Trump often argues the US economy is booming under his watch, he has warned of a 1929-style crash if courts strike down his use of emergency powers to justify sweeping tariffs. "If a Radical Left Court ruled against us at this late date, in an attempt to bring down or disturb the largest amount of money, wealth creation and influence the U.S.A. has ever seen, it would be impossible to ever recover, or pay back, these massive sums of money and honor," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "It would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION!" The US Court of International Trade in May ruled that Trump overstepped his legal authority to impose many of his sweeping tariffs on foreign goods. Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard the Trump administration's appeal, and the panel of 11 judges voiced skepticism that the law gave Trump power to impose tariffs in the aggressive manner that his administration has unleashed them. The appeals court judges have yet to issue their ruling on the case, which is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. Read more: https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/45IemNy

This week, President Donald Trump called Operation Warp Speed, a public-private federal program that helped speed up the development and distribution of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines in record time "one of the most incredible things ever done in this country." It was just a day after US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the federal government was canceling a half-billion dollars in investments into the same technology, saying no new mRNA projects will be initiated under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Vaccine and preparedness experts said the decision could be disastrous for the United States, rendering another Operation Warp Speed impossible in case of threat from disease or bioweapons. Kennedy, who has a long history of spreading vaccine misinformation, incorrectly suggested in his announcement that mRNA vaccine technology is ineffective, unsafe and unethical — comments that experts worry will put a chill on development even beyond the projects the government cut. https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/4lhjE7i

Step aside, MAHA. The country's largest heart-health organization has just released its long-awaited guidelines for the consumption of ultraprocessed foods. The new scientific advisory statement from the American Heart Association comes just days before the arrival of the second "Make America Healthy Again" or MAHA Commission report, spearheaded by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The first MAHA report, released in May, described how ultraprocessed foods were contributing to chronic illnesses in children. The second installment is expected to lay out proposed policy changes. The American Heart Association's key message is not surprising: Most ultraprocessed foods are terrible for health, including heart health, and it is high time the food industry stopped producing them and regulators stopped letting them, the nonprofit says. But surprisingly, the AHA also dives nose first into the hotly debated question: Are all ultraprocessed foods unhealthy? Maybe not, according to the new guidelines: https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/45rG4wG

The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, CNN has exclusively learned, marking the latest effort by the White House to shape higher education and extract significant concessions from universities. Last week, the Trump administration began freezing approximately $584 million in funding to UCLA, the school's chancellor Julio Frenk said in a letter to the university community, warning of "devastating" consequences to its research mission. Officials from UCLA have returned to the negotiating table, a source familiar with the matter said, and have made clear they would like to reach a deal to restore that funding. The Trump administration, in turn, is laying its marker for a high-dollar settlement. https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/45rfNi0

Paramount’s new CEO doesn’t seem to think he has a “South Park” problem. Rather, David Ellison sees the animated show as part of the solution for the battered media company. https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.pcnn.it/4mx2OlP