Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson are talking at length about plans for next year — a strong signal that the former president sees Johnson as more than an interim caretaker.

• Why it matters: MAGA hardliners want Johnson gone next year. That would trigger a nasty leadership fight, whether or not House Republicans keep the majority, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke and Sophia Cai report.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has been quietly positioning himself to replace Johnson as party leader.

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Axios: "Everyone that's gonna be voting for President Trump hates Mike Johnson."

🔎 Behind the scenes: Trump and Johnson are aiming to avoid the legislative scramble of Trump's early days in the White House after his win in 2016, sources told Axios.

• The two have discussed budget priorities, and how congressional Republicans could help pass Trump's second-term agenda.
• They've discussed using budget reconciliation to get around the need for 60 Senate votes to pass legislation on their agenda — including energy and tax policy — if Republicans sweep the House, Senate and the White House.

👀 Between the lines: Johnson's style has helped him get away with some policy differences with Trump, people close to the two said.

• The speaker gives Trump ample heads-up when he plans to bring legislation to the floor, and walks Trump through his thinking when the two disagree.

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America is rapidly getting older — and we're completely unprepared.

• Why it matters: Seniors are an increasing share of the population. And with advances in longevity, seniors of the future are likely to require longer care, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes.

🔭 The big picture: Americans 65 and older will make up more than 20% of the population by 2030, up from 17% in 2022, according to census projections,

• Federal spending on Medicare is expected to swell.
• But the change will be felt economy-wide: A smaller share of the population will be working age. And more may drop out of the workforce for caregiving responsibilities.

Reality check: There are already health care worker shortages, which worsened during the pandemic and are particularly acute in long-term care.

• Keep reading.

It's not just the U.S. that's aging: The global fertility rate is falling — and soon will be too low to keep the population constant, The Wall Street Journal reports:

• "Fertility is falling almost everywhere, for women across all levels of income, education and labor-force participation. The falling birthrates come with huge implications for the way people live, how economies grow and the standings of the world's superpowers."

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Barron Trump, 18, receives his high-school diploma during his graduation ceremony yesterday at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Fla.

• More pics.

Fast-food sales are suffering as prices rise, and consumers trade down and eat at home, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.

• Red Lobster has closed 90 locations nationwide, and is considering filing for bankruptcy.

🔭 What's next: Chains are adding cheaper options to lure customers back.

• Beginning June 25, McDonald's will offer a monthlong promotion with a four-item meal for $5, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• Starbucks rolled out new deals for the month of May, including buy-one-get-one-free offers on Mondays and 50% off drinks on Fridays.

👀 Between the lines: Rising restaurant prices are boosting grocery sales, John David Rainey, Walmart's chief financial officer, told CNBC:

• "It's roughly 4.3 times more expensive to eat out than it is to eat at home. And that's benefiting our business."

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CNN announced that during its Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27 (40 days from now!): "To ensure candidates may maximize the time allotted in the debate, no audience will be present."

Why it matters: No peanut gallery was a major demand of Biden advisers. They believe an empty TV studio will "deprive their GOP rival of a major advantage," Politico reports, since Trump supporters laughed, roared and jeered at last year's CNN town hall in New Hampshire.

• The empty studio also precludes protesters.

📺 You'll be able to watch free: CNN said the debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will "stream without a cable login on CNN.com. CNN will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and cable news networks in the United States."

• Each of the two debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 were carried by at least 16 networks, according to Nielsen. The first debate was seen by 73 million viewers, the second by 63 million. (AP)

ABC said on Wednesday when announcing the other debate President Biden and former President Trump have agreed to: "ABC News will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and streaming news networks."

• ABC's debate is Tuesday, Sept. 10, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Bike shops around the country have whiplash: When COVID lockdowns hit, sales skyrocketed. Now supply is back, but demand has faded.

• Why it matters: It's one of many pandemic-era booms that fizzled as life returned to normal. (Sorry, Peloton!)

Flashback: Early in the pandemic, a surge of interest in cycling pushed sales up 64% to $5.4 billion in 2020. It wasn't unheard of for some shops to sell 100 bikes or more in a couple of days, AP reports.

• Inventory has finally caught up. But now fewer people want new bikes.
• So bike makers have been slashing prices. In 2023, bike sales totaled $4.1 billion — up 23% from 2019, but down 24% from 2020, according to the retail tracking service Circana.

Zoom in: Douglas Emerson of University Bicycles in Boulder, Colo., says the shop reached a "saturation point" — everyone who wanted a bike bought one.

• Now, he's pushing accessories: clothing, helmets and locks.

UC San Diego surfers have been catching glowing waves over the past week.

• The big picture: The bloom of bioluminescent plankton returned to La Jolla, putting on another nighttime light show in the water that can last days or months, Axios San Diego's Kate Murphy writes.

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