Axios

With markets wobbling and the world watching, Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh went back to basics yesterday morning: He affirmed that the Fed is determined to get inflation down and may have to raise interest rates to accomplish it, Axios' Neil Irwin writes from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Why it matters: If the Warsh Fed follows through with rate hikes, it would increase borrowing costs for Americans and potentially put him in the crosshairs of the rate-cut loving president who appointed him.

President Trump pledged Friday to allow farmers and ranchers to process their own meat in a salvo aimed at the industry's four dominant meatpackers, calling them a "nasty Monopoly."

Why it matters: The president is under pressure to help a constituency his own policies have squeezed — increasing farmers' costs while raising prices for consumers on products like beef.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $16.7 million contract to a Kentucky-based firm on Thursday to buy electric gloves that can deliver painful shocks.

Why it matters: Some senators pushed back on the purchase, citing public scrutiny over the use of force by some ICE agents.

A federal judge again declined to erase President Trump's hush money conviction on Friday, noting that the president's arguments were "neither new nor legally sufficient."

Why it matters: The loss is another blow to the president, who has sought to get the conviction of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records thrown out after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have immunity for "official acts."

Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh said Friday that the central bank's leaders have "work to do" if they are not confident that inflation is moving to 2% "clearly and at sufficient speed," implying that interest rate hikes are ahead in the absence of improvement in price pressures.

The big picture: In a much-anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Warsh made clear that he is committed to the Fed's longstanding policy playbook of using interest rate adjustments to try to manage inflation — even as he sees this as a "hinge point in history" with the advent of AI.

• It raises the strong possibility that the Fed's next move will be an interest rate increase, which could put him crosswise with President Trump, who has long sought rate cuts.

Friday marks six months since the U.S. launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

Why it matters: The war is changing global energy markets and domestic politics in all kinds of big and sometimes surprising ways.

Republicans will have some stiff competition for eyeballs when they hold their first-ever midterm convention next month in Dallas — the NFL, American television's undisputed champion of ratings.

Driving the news: The GOP's Sept. 9-10 convention in Dallas will go head-to-head with the two opening games of the NFL season, which are expected to draw huge audiences each night.

The Strait of Hormuz has been Iran's most powerful card since the start of the war in late February. But over the past two months, U.S. officials say the American military has steadily eroded Iran's leverage over the crucial waterway.

Why it matters: What began six months ago with the goal of degrading Iran's missile capabilities and destroying what remained of its nuclear program has evolved into an open-ended fight over the world's most important energy chokepoint.

The Iran war hits its six-month mark Friday, with President Trump's path to ending it increasingly unclear.

Why it matters: Trump entered the war projecting a four- to five-week military campaign. Six months later, his proposed exits have ranged from military victory to a negotiated peace deal tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

A federal judge on Thursday struck down the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, ruling that the government's actions violated Anthropic's constitutional rights.

Why it matters: The ruling marks a major legal victory for Anthropic in its months-long fight with the Trump administration over how the military can use its AI models.