Axios

More than 2.5 billion pounds of meat from beef to pork and poultry are being stockpiled in cold-storage warehouses across the country amid ongoing trade disputes with countries that import U.S. meat, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing federal data set to release as early as Monday.

The details: While domestic consumers' demand for meat has increased, it not enough to keep up with record production of hogs and chickens, forcing industry increasingly reply on exports, the report notes. This would drive-down prices for American consumers, restaurants and retailers. But dwindling foreign exports will threaten profits for meat manufacturers, and the report adds that some hog farmers have already started scaling back their operations.

Not every foreign leader is eager to play hardball with Trump. The Germans, in particular, are much more inclined to compromise. Angela Merkel badly wants a trade deal to prevent Trump from carrying out his threat to put 25% tariffs on car imports into the U.S., according to two senior European officials privy to internal discussions.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker plans to meet Trump at the White House on Wednesday. And European officials tell me they expect him to come armed with proposals including a "plurilateral trade deal" that would involve the trade of cars and car parts — an obsession of Trump's.

In the early evening of July 9th, Donald Trump stood in the gold draped East Room of the White House with a small group of senior advisers to rehearse his announcement of Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee for the Supreme Court.

Trump stepped on and off the podium, riffing with his aides. While this was going on, Bill Shine, the former co-president of Fox News, was meticulously obsessing over the camera shot which looked out upon a red carpet, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The warning is delivered by a non-threatening soybean, but this talking legume is no weakling: If President Trump persists with his trade war against China, it says, he may lose seats in the coming midterms.

What's going on: The talking soybean appears in an animated video produced by CGTN, the English-language branch of China’s state-owned TV broadcaster. In the middle comes a threat: Hike tariffs too high and China will look to South America to satisfy its humongous soybean appetite.

In the mid-to-late-20th century, the American economy and culture were ripe for 30-year-old men, who — more than European and Japanese — typically landed well-paid careers, bought homes, and supported large families. But since then, getting ahead has become much harder.

Photojournalists are the latest to become part of the #MeToo movement after Vox revealed that then-deputy director of photography Patrick Witty quietly left National Geographic following a sexual harassment investigation.

The big picture: The Witty investigation was a breakthrough for many photojournalists who had similar experiences of sexual harassment. Now, there's a #MeToo movement in the industry that has been waiting to break out for years, reports Kristen Chick of the Columbia Journalism Review.

In a self-posted video, Rosanne Barr responded to criticism from being fired and having her show, "Roseanne," cancelled, after targeting former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett in a tweet, explaining she initially told NBC "I thought Valerie Jarrett was white."

The backdrop: Barr initially released a vulgar video saying she thought Jarrett was white before releasing her scripted statement. After being fired, she apologized for her initial tweet saying she was on Ambien at the time she sent it.

Austerity has been the biggest impediment to the advancement of education on all levels in the United States, according to the latest data in a report from the American Federation of Teachers.

Amid a stagnating wages crisis, income volatility continues to be a top concern for workers.

Why it matters: This concern is spreading so rapidly that large employers like Walmart are looking for ways to help their employees better manage inconsistent income and personal finances. Walmart revealed on Thursday that more than 200,000 of its employees are now using Even, a system to help workers access their earned wages in between paychecks if they're short on cash for bills.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin echoed President Trump's sentiment that the U.S. will possibly impose tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of goods imported from China, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The details: Trump said on Friday that he was "ready" to hit China with tariffs, inching the U.S. closer to a massive trade war. Mnuchin also said, while speaking before a meeting with G-20 finance ministers, that Trump "fully" supports independence of the Federal Reserve, after Trump complained about rising interest rates.

As the threat of a full blown trade war gets more realistic, companies are working to counter it, Reuters reports.

The big picture: They don't want any confrontation with President Trump, per CNBC, but "want to exert as much influence as they can" to convince him not to enter into a serious trade battle.

Apple Watches, Fitbits, and Sonos speakers — built in China — are among the plethora of products likely to be hit with 10% tariffs through Trump's additional $200 billion in Chinese tariffs, Reuters reports citing government rulings.

Why it matters: The tech companies that could be hit with tariffs could also raise prices on some of their most popular products, Reuters explains, noting that phones and laptops have so far escaped damage from the proposed tariffs.

Shares at General Electric dropped 4% on Friday after the company's GE Power division saw its value drop by 58% in the second quarter of the year, reports CNN.

The big picture: The trade ware with China and the rise of renewable energy in the U.S. are contributing to GE's struggles. Earnings dropped 30% in the first quarter and the company is expecting its free cash flow in 2018 to be low in its forecast.