A Ballroom, a Bread Theory & a Monkey Mafia
Happy Saturday! A new ballroom at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, global trade deals and monkey thieves. Let’s catch up on this week’s news and more ...👇🏽
“It’ll be a great legacy project, and I think it’ll be special.”
President Trump after the White House announced plans for a major renovation of the East Room to construct a $200 million ballroom, funded by the president himself and other private donations: "The project will begin in September 2025, and it is expected to be completed long before the end of President Trump’s term."
The project joins a long list of updates to the People’s House over the years — and Architectural Digest compiled them all in one place.
🗣️ Your Conversation Starters:
📰 Worth a Read: Israel announced a daily, 10-hour pause in military action to allow humanitarian aid into populated areas of Gaza. What needs to happen next in the war between Hamas and Israel? The Washington Post editorial board weighs in. Plus, Jenna breaks down the latest developments – and what the media often gets wrong on Gaza – in her latest podcast.
🌎 "We have a deal” (or maybe not): As the August 1st tariff deadline approached, the U.S. and European Union kicked off the week announcing a trade deal. Developments continued throughout the week – track the deals and tariff rates here. However, late on July 31st, the administration announced new tariffs on countries without trade deals - which led to a big sell-off in European stocks. Watch this space on Monday!
🥖 Better Bread Abroad? Experts offer several theories on why bread in Europe may feel better for the body than bread in the U.S. We might just need to taste-test this one ourselves.
💎 Hidden Gems: Princess Diana’s iconic wedding dress – worn 44 years ago this week – sparkled with hundreds of sequins and pearls. But tucked among them? A hefty good-luck charm.
🥤 Sweet News: Coca Cola brings back soda sweetened with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup – but does it make a difference for your health? Researchers say that’s “besides the point.”
🚨 "AI Psychosis": As more people turn to ChatGPT for advice and emotional support, some experts warn that AI chatbots "can escalate a mental health or psychotic episode.”
😎 New Emojis: Apple just revealed a fresh batch of emojis coming with the iOS 26 update – including a hairy creature, a treasure chest, and a trombone!
🐒 Monkey Mafia: In Bali, a pack of monkeys runs a savory scam operation – ransoming tourists’ phones and sunglasses, then bartering them back for tasty snacks.
⭕️ Hula Hoop Pioneer: Joan Anderson, the woman who coined the name “hula hoop,” dies at age 101.
🎙️ This Week From Jenna:
The New York Times issues a correction to a front-page photo that ignited outrage around the world about the starvation of Palestinian children. What to know about this "clarification" and what to consider about this story as you form your own opinion. Plus, three quick things to consider on the war between Israel and Hamas: a key fact, a reminder, and a question we can all ask.
WATCH ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE. You can also listen on podcasting platforms everywhere (Apple, Spotify).
🎙️ SCOOP (approx. 64 minutes) “Man Eaters” & Mounting Questions About Gaza – Plus: A Personal Look at the Site of the Historic Texas Floods. Listen. (SCOOP Insiders can attend this live broadcast once a week and get their news questions answered; they also receive the special video report EXCLUSIVELY delivered to their inbox along with a "cheat sheet" for the week ahead — learn more HERE).
🎙️ Podcast (approx. 21 minutes): Are We Approaching Mental Health All Wrong? Watch or Listen.
️ 🎙 Podcast (approx. 33 minutes): Confused About What's Happening in Gaza? Listen To This! Watch or Listen.
🙌🏽 What We Found SmartHER This Week:
If you’re trying to “clean up” your cleaning supplies (pun intended), one of our colleagues Kelly has found a great dishwasher soap and laundry detergent. In her words: “I’ve tried a lot of non "tox" laundry detergents and this one has worked the best!”
“It’s a unique ecosystem. It’s a totally new thing that has not been seen before.”
Dominic Papineau, exobiologist and co-author of a newly published study, remarks on the discovery of the world’s deepest known ecosystem nearly 6 miles below sea level in the Pacific Ocean. A three-person submersible descended 30,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean to make this fascinating discovery. Read more here.
Video: Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, CAS
And that's The Weekend Digest!
❤️,
Jenna and the SHN Team
Daily news, interviews, our latest podcasts and more at www.SmartHERNews.com.
