August 26, 2025: SpaceX Starship Launch, Cook-Trump Legal Battle Heats Up, More

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
News when you wanted with Bloomberg News. Now I'm Doug
Prisoner Bute.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Four three two one.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
SpaceX has successfully completed the tenth test flight of the
Starship Rocket. This follows two consecutive scraped launches, one yesterday
the other on Sunday. Now, this mission came with heightened
stakes after a string of setbacks earlier this year. Starship
launched today from the Starbase complex in South Texas, and
roughly an hour later, the Starship Rocket completed its mission

(00:34):
by splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Starship is billed
as the most powerful rocket ever built, and it's central
to Elon Musk's goal of reaching Mars. It's been roughly
twenty four hours since President Trump said he is firing
fed Schaer Lisa Cook. Earlier today during a cabinet meeting,
Trump said he is already looking for Cook's replacement.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Well, we have some very good people for that position.
And I think we have some very good people who
went down to I mean, I think I maybe in
my own mind have somebody that I like. But I
deal with Scott, and I deal with Howard, and we're
dealing with a lot of people actually that are going
to be involved in that decision altim It's a very
important decision now.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
In a statement released Tuesday by the FED, it said
it will abide by any court ruling regarding Cook. If
Trump were to succeed, he could secure a dubbish majority
on the Fed's board as he pushes for lower interest
rates now. Cook was appointed by former President Biden back
in twenty twenty two. She is the first black woman
to serve on the Fed's board. And we got reaction

(01:35):
from former FED Vice Chair Layel Brainerd well, I.

Speaker 4 (01:38):
Think the Federal Reserve is an incredibly difficult position here,
but you have to remember this is not about an
individual governor. This is really an unprecedented attack on the
independence of the Federal Reserve as an institution.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
You can catch the full conversation with former FED Vice
Chair Lalel Brainerd on the Bloomberg Podcast YouTube channel. President
Trump is threatening what he called an economic war if
Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Voladimir Zelensky do not move
toward peace. On Tuesday, Trump said he has various serious
measures in mind, including potential sanctions. However, he declined to

(02:17):
set a firm timeline. Now This warning follows Trump's summit
with Putin in Anchorage. At that time, it raised hope
for negotiations. However, so far no talks with Zelensky have
been arranged. Now Trump is doubling tariffs on Indian goods
imported to the US. This is after India purchased Russian oil.
By the way, those higher levees will take effect tonight

(02:38):
at twelveh one am Wall Street time. Meantime, Trump is
threatening tariffs and export restrictions on countries that impose digital
services taxes on American technology. Here is Bloomberg's ros methison.

Speaker 5 (02:51):
What this tells us is two things. One is that
Donald Trump keeps moving the goalposts on trade. You think
you've got one thing sorted, and another thing immediately he
crops up, be it tech, be it furniture, or something else.
And the second thing is he really does zero win
on these digital services tax He's been doing that for
many years.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
That's Bloomberg's ras matheson. Now this move could affect the
European Union. Earlier, a European Commissioned spokesman said the EU
has a sovereign right to regulate digital services. US Transportation
Secretary Sean Duffy is threatening to withhold federal trucking safety
funds to California, New Mexico, and Washington unless those states

(03:31):
can prove their drivers speak English.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Hopefully in the next thirty days. We won't have to
withhold any money from them, but if they don't come
in a compliance, we will start with withholding this money
and then we will take additional steps to guarantee compliance.
And this is not just to be clear, this is
not just about saying we have some obscure rule that
we want them to comply with that truck drivers speak

(03:54):
English proficiently. This is about keeping people safe on the road.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
That is Transportation Secretary Mary Sean Duffy. Now, California, New Mexico,
and Washington collectively received forty six million dollars in trucking
safety fees back in twenty twenty three. Incidentally, this announcement
follows a deadly crash in Florida where a foreign truck
driver made an illegal U turn, killing three people. Cracker

(04:19):
Barrel Old Country Store is scrapping plans for a new
logo after receiving complaints, including from President Trump. Earlier today
on Truth Social Trump said Cracker Barrel should go back
to its old logo with an image of a man
leaning against a beryl. Now the new design removed the image,
sparked controversy and prompted a slump in the share price

(04:39):
of Cracker Barrel. And that is news when you want
it with Bloomberg News. Now, I'm Doug Prisoner and this
is Bloomberg