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National

President Trump may not intend to launch the 2nd Cold War, but his tweets on Friday laid out one path to get there.

Why it matters: The president is using Twitter to demand a conscious uncoupling of the world's two largest economies.

Trump's tweets, sent after China announced retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods:

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."

"I am ordering all carriers, including Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the Post Office, to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE all deliveries of Fentanyl from China (or anywhere else!)"

"Starting on October 1st, the 250 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, currently being taxed at 25%, will be taxed at 30% ...Additionally, the remaining 300 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, that was being taxed from September 1st at 10%, will now be taxed at 15%..."

Reality check: Presidents don't get to order companies to come home.

Between the lines: Earlier on Friday, Fed chair Jay Powell warned that "trade policy uncertainty" is a driving factor for the market's fears.

Trump's response: "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?"

Behind the scenes: Trump recently told advisers that he would be perfectly happy if the U.S. did no trade whatsoever with China, according to Axios' Jonathan Swan.

In late 2017, Trump first caught aides off guard when he floated the impossible idea of cutting off all trade with China.

The bottom line: All of this has gone down during a strong economy. Imagine how bad it'd get were things to turn in the other direction.

The tweets of August

Sources expect Trump to announce more tariffs imminently.

Politics

Trump tweets

Business

World

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Pro Rata

Axios Pro Rata

Data: FactSet; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

U.S. stock markets fell sharply on Friday following a day of escalating trade tensions between Washington, D.C. and Beijing.

By the numbers: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 623 points, or 2.37%. The Nasdaq lost 3%, and the S&P 500 was off 2.59%.

Driving the news: Shares opened lower after China announced $75 billion in retaliatory tariffs early Friday, but then picked up into positive territory after Fed chair Jerome Powell avoided making waves in a highly watched speech. 

Thereafter, Trump's took to Twitter, targeting both Powell (who he called an "enemy" of America) and China (from which he "ordered" U.S. companies to withdraw), and pledged new trade actions. 

Stocks fell more than 200 points immediately after the tweets, and only went further down from there — save for a small uptick in the closing minutes.

Stocks plunge after Trump's trade tweets

The Dow fell over 200 points in the minutes after Trump's tweets, and it only got worse from there.

U.S. China trade war

The CDC, state health officials and the Food and Drug Administration are now investigating 193 potential cases of a lung-related illness possibly linked to vaping, acting deputy director for Non-Infectious Diseases at the CDC, Ileana Arias, said on Friday.

The latest: In Illinois, 1 of those cases was fatal. An adult Illinois resident died after being hospitalized with a severe respiratory illness after vaping recently, state officials said Friday. The 193 cases were reported by 22 states, and not all have been confirmed, per Arias. Many of the cases involve teens and young adults. The Wisconsin and Illinois health departments have asked the CDC for assistance to investigate these cases.

Details: Investigators have not identified a specific product or compound that is linked to all confirmed cases, Arias said. Director for the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, Mitch Zeller, said Friday that "it is possible that some of these cases were already occurring and we were not picking them up" prior to the current investigation. 

There is no evidence that an infectious disease is the culprit of the illnesses, per the CDC.

In Illinois, 22 people have been hospitalized after experiencing respiratory illnesses following vaping, according to Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer and state epidemiologist at the Illinois Department of Public Health.

What they found: Reported symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, fatigue and chest pain, according to the CDC and Illinois health officials. Some also report vomiting, fatigue and diarrhea.

The bottom line: The Illinois resident's death could be the first U.S. death related to vaping. 

Go deeper: CDC probes 153 possible cases of lung illness associated with vaping

Editor’s note: This headline was changed to clarify that 1 person has died from vaping (not 1 in 193).

U.S. investigates fatality from vaping as lung-related illnesses rise

An Illinois resident's death could be the first U.S. death related to vaping.

An e-cigarette smoker on August 27, 2014 in London. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Health Care

Vaping

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg completed a 3-week course of radiation therapy in New York, the U.S. Supreme Court disclosed on Friday per an NPR report.

What's happening: Ginsburg's outpatient treatment began Aug. 5 to treat a malignant tumor on her pancreas. "The Justice tolerated the treatment well," per a U.S. Supreme Court press release. During the treatment, she managed to maintain an "active schedule," other than missing her annual summer visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Physicians at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York said tests provided no further evidence of the disease spreading to other parts of her body, according to NPR.

Background: Ginsburg, 86, received treatment in December 2018 for lung cancer. She is a 2-time cancer survivor, having battled the disease off and on for nearly 20 years.

Go deeper: Ginsburg to miss Supreme Court oral arguments for the first time

Ruth Bader Ginsburg finishes 3 weeks of radiation therapy

Ginsburg's outpatient treatment began Aug. 5 to treat a malignant tumor on her pancreas.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses for a photo on Nov. 30, 2018. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it is "concerned" about a new multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella that killed 2 and sickened 255 people from June 2018 to March 2019.

Why it matters: Experts have sounded the alarm over growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the U.S. and globally.

"This is an example of the type of outbreak that we would argue would only increase in frequency and magnitude as time goes on."

Greg Frank, head  of new advocacy coalition Working to Fight AMR

Driving the news: The "CDC is concerned about an increase in human illness from a new strain of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Newport that appears to have spread from cattle in the U.S. and Mexico," according to its press release.

This strain shows either partial or complete resistance to 2 of the most common antibiotics: azithromycin and ciprofloxacin, per the Aug. 23 MMWR report.

During that time period, for patients with available info, 60 were hospitalized, 4 were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 2 died. 43% reported the illness after travel to Mexico.

The food-borne illness was linked to Mexican-style soft cheese obtained in Mexico and beef obtained in the U.S.

Context: This is one example of the dire threat posed by all AMR, one that could be killing up to 162,044 people in the U.S. every year — which would make it the third leading cause of death, says Frank. (The CDC is updating its AMR report this fall, but its last report from 2013 shows annual U.S. deaths were "at least 23,000 people.")

AMR is growing for multiple reasons, including a lack of return on investment. 

Frank points to Achaogen, which had received approval of an important new antibiotic targeting a superbug, but recently had to declare bankruptcy after it only made $1 million in its first 6 months on the market.

What's next: Frank, who also is the director of infectious disease policy at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, says the new coalition was formed to raise public awareness of the growing threat from AMR.

The coalition also advocates for policies promoting the development of new antibiotics under a stewardship program to ensure appropriate use — and is watching bills recently introduced to the Senate: the DISARM Act and the STAAR Act. 

With antibiotic resistance growing, WHO promotes monitoring tool

Drug resistance could kill 10M people per year by 2050, experts say

CDC "concerned" about drug-resistant Salmonella

Experts point to this as an example of the growing, dire threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Photo of a different strain of Salmonella as it invades cultured human cells

A different strain of Salmonella (red) invades cultured human cells. Photo: Media for Medical/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Science

Antibiotic resistance

President Trump significantly escalated his trade war rhetoric on Friday with a series of tweets — just two days after tweeting that things were "great with China."

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing  your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."

The bottom line: It should go without saying that Trump doesn't have the authority to order U.S. companies to look for alternatives to China. 

Go deeper: China announces retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. goods

Trump tells American businesses to leave China

The president doesn't have the authority to give such an order.

Fed Chair Jay Powell said in a closely watched speech Friday that the central bank is ready to support economic growth but "stopped short of signaling the start of a more aggressive easing campaign," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: Worries of an economic downturn have increased in recent weeks, and Powell warned that "trade policy uncertainty" is a driving factor for the market's fears. President Trump has stepped up his calls for the Fed to do more to stimulate the economy — going so far as to tweet just minutes before Powell's speech — even though interest rates are already near historic lows.

Unsurprisingly, Trump took to Twitter again to slam Powell just after his speech ended, asking, "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powel [sic] or Chairman Xi?"

He added: "As usual, the Fed did NOTHING! It is incredible that they can 'speak' without knowing or asking what I am doing, which will be announced shortly. We have a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed. I will work 'brilliantly' with both, and the U.S. will do great."

Jerome Powell: Trade wars weighing on economy, no word on cuts

The president has stepped up his calls for the central bank to do more to stimulate the economy.

Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Federal Reserve

China announced Friday that it would levy retaliatory tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on $75 billion of U.S. goods in two batches on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, per CNBC.

Why it matters, via Axios' Dan Primack:  Expectations were that the markets would be focused primarily on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech in Jackson Hole this morning, but this news will refocus investors on trade.

The tariffs are a direct response to President Trump's announcement earlier this month that the U.S. would levy 10% tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of U.S. imports from China on Sept. 1 — with some of those tariffs pushed back to Dec. 15 to account for the holiday season.

The big picture: China's announcement also included news that it would increase its tariffs on U.S. automobiles back to 25% on Dec. 15. It had slashed those tariffs to 15% — in line with its imports from other countries — last December after progress on the issue during talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20.

Dow futures had been green all morning, but flipped to red on the news of the tariffs.

The state of play: As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported, the biggest tool Trump has to pump the economy and the markets is a trade deal with China. But if anything, senior administration officials have turned harder against China in recent weeks thanks to national security concerns in Hong Kong and Taiwan — and these retaliatory tariffs aren't going to help.

China announces retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. goods

They'll come in two batches on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.

Sports

Axios Sports

The third week of NFL preseason used to be the week when starters played deeper into games and gave us clues about the regular season. As last night proved, that is no longer the case.

What happened: Andy Dalton, Eli Manning and Nick Foles barely played; Lamar Jackson and Carson Wentz never saw the field; and neither did Aaron Rodgers or Derek Carr — though that was due to the field being 80 yards long (no, really).

The Panthers, Jaguars and Redskins (and others) played their starters for longer, but they might regret that now: Panthers QB Cam Newton sprained his foot, while Jaguars WR D.J. Chark and Redskins TE Jordan Reed and suffered concussions.

The backdrop: Last year, Rams head coach Sean McVay determined that preseason football wasn't worth the injury risk — or really all that necessary when evaluating players — and sat his entire starting offense for all four games.

The move was met with skepticism (how would players knock the rust off?!), but the Rams silenced the haters by winning their first eight games, making the Super Bowl and, perhaps most importantly, being one of the league's healthiest teams.

On top of that, a growing number of coaches have come out and said they prefer joint practices to preseason games.

"The only real change from a game to a practice is in a game you don't get to do it over. At least in a practice setting, if we make a mistake, we can line up and do it again, and so we can correct that mistake right away. ... We get a little bit better evaluation in practice."

Axios

Friday's top stories

The tweets of August

Stocks plunge after Trump's trade tweets

U.S. investigates fatality from vaping as lung-related illnesses rise

Ruth Bader Ginsburg finishes 3 weeks of radiation therapy

CDC "concerned" about drug-resistant Salmonella

Trump tells American businesses to leave China

Jerome Powell: Trade wars weighing on economy, no word on cuts

China announces retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. goods

The NFL preseason isn't what it used to be

White House considers new mental illness project to target violent behavior

Trump's China bind

News aggregation apps take on Big Tech

A reality check for AI hubris