August 11 2025

Trump Pairs Putin Summit Offer With Economic Threats to End Ukraine War

In Ohio, a New Mecca for 'MAHA Moms' Trades Phones for Farm-to-Table Living

Corporate Stock Buybacks Hit Record Pace, Fueling Market Rally

In Unusual Deal, White House Approves Chip Exports to China for a Price

Al Jazeera Says Staffers 'Murdered' in Gaza; Israel Says Airstrike Targeted Terrorist

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1. Trump Pairs Putin Summit Offer With Economic Threats to End Ukraine War

President Trump is combining diplomatic overtures with economic threats to persuade Russia to end its war in Ukraine.Mr. Trump raised the stakes of his approach this week, when he announced plans to meet President Vladimir V. Putin, on the same day that he said he would punish India for buying Russian oil by doubling U.S. tariffs. Over the past month, Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cripple Russia’s war economy if Mr. Putin doesn’t agree to a cease-fire, either by imposing new sanctions or by closing off the remaining markets for Russian oil. The Kremlin has so far brushed off Mr. Trump’s ultimatums, saying it intends to push ahead with its latest offensive.

NYT

2. In Ohio, a New Mecca for 'MAHA Moms' Trades Phones for Farm-to-Table Living

thousand mornings like this one. Birds chirping. Pesticide-free vegetables growing. And children, many children, roaming the land without phones or ultraprocessed snacks. “You guys want to gather up? Let’s do a quick lesson first,” said Leah Lauchlan, the mother who would lead “Kids Farm Day” on a Tuesday in mid-July. A gaggle of neighborhood children had arrived early on bicycles and tricycles, and were already plopped down in the dirt, pulling weeds. “Soil supports 95 percent of all food production,” said Ms. Lauchlan, holding a coffee mug that read, “MRS.” Trim, tanned and toned, the 42-year-old mother of five looked ready to shoot an athleisure commercial, pairing spandex and sneakers with shimmery eye shadow and large gold hoops. “If the soil isn’t healthy,” she added, “then the food isn’t healthy — and then the people aren’t healthy.” Several mothers and their children gather in this spot twice a week, amid cucumber and tomato vines they have planted themselves on a plot next to a small working farm. Most live just a short walk away, in custom-built homes with painted shutters and rocking chairs out front, on roads with names like “Nectar Court” and “Lavender Way.” Ms. Lauchlan and her husband were one of the first couples to buy a home in 2018 at Aberlin Springs, an “agri-community” in southwest Ohio, commuting distance from downtown Cincinnati. The development includes almost 100 homes that sell for up to $1.5 million, constructed around a farm that feeds the residents — with a farm store that sells a $22 beef tallow balm alongside fresh sourdough and eggs. A luxury outgrowth of the hippie commune, the neighborhood has become a mecca for the “MAHA mom.”

NYT

3. Corporate Stock Buybacks Hit Record Pace, Fueling Market Rally

American companies are repurchasing their shares at a record pace, boosting their balance sheets and fueling the U.S. stock rally. U.S. companies have announced $983.6 billion worth of stock buybacks so far this year, the best start to a year on record, according to Birinyi Associates data going back to 1982. They are projected to purchase more than $1.1 trillion worth overall in 2025, which would mark an all-time high. The biggest repurchasers include tech giants Apple and Google parent Alphabet. Big banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley also are leading the charge.

WSJ

4. In Unusual Deal, White House Approves Chip Exports to China for a Price

Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices have agreed to give the Trump administration a portion of the sales from their artificial-intelligence chips to China, unusual agreements that deepen their relationships with the U.S. government. The Trump administration will receive 15% of the sales as part of a deal to approve exports of Nvidia’s H20 AI chip to China, according to people familiar with the matter. That could amount to billions of dollars given demand for the H20 chips and is the latest example of the White House employing novel tactics to raise revenue. The administration has reached the same agreement with AMD for its MI308 chip, the people said. Details of the arrangements and the financial structures are still being worked out. The Commerce Department began issuing licenses for Nvidia to send its H20 chip to China Friday, following through on a July promise. Over the weekend, the agency started moving licenses for the AMD chip, some of the people familiar with the matter said. Exports of the H20 and MI308 were halted in April, when trade tensions between the U.S. and China were simmering. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has gone on a charm offensive since then, talking to officials in both countries about the need to do business with one another.

WSJ

5. Al Jazeera Says Staffers 'Murdered' in Gaza; Israel Says Airstrike Targeted Terrorist

Five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Sunday, the network said, with the Israel Defense Forces claiming one was a Hamas leader posing as a journalist. The network said that Anas al-Sharif; another journalist, Mohammed Qreiqeh; and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were killed. The network reported that they died “in a targeted Israeli strike on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City.” In its coverage, Al Jazeera termed the killings the staffers murder. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that al-Sharif was "the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops." The IDF said in a statement about the killing that it had "previously disclosed intelligence information and many documents found in the Gaza Strip" that it said confirm that al-Sharif was a member of Hamas. Al Jazeera reported that al-Sharif was a well-known Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who reported extensively from northern Gaza.

NBC

August 11, 1934: Federal prisoners land on Alcatraz

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Sources

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/world/europe/russia-economy-oil-trump-us-sanctions-tariffs.html
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/us/politics/ohio-maha-moms-farms.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dU8.xPYc.bmsSRjTEFNS7&smid=url-share
3. https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/stock-buybacks-2025-3b0ddedd?mod=hp_lead_pos2
4. https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-administration-to-take-15-cut-of-nvidia-and-amd-chip-sales-to-china-f9e34b5f?mod=hp_lead_pos1
5. https://apple.news/ATECEaw_vS0GJU_tlQlZFqw

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