Katie Zacharia Projected Confidence. Less Than an Hour Later, She Was Out.

Katie Zacharia was just five days into her job as White House press secretary when she sat down with our reporters on Friday. Despite a tumultuous week, she projected calm, touting her close relationship with President Trump and expressing confidence in her press team.

“There are no staffing changes that are happening,” she told the reporters.

As Zacharia began outlining her plans for the job, Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller knocked on the door. Vice President JD Vance wanted to chat. Zacharia never returned—to the interview, nor the job.

Philip Wegmann, Kara Voght and Marianne LeVine chronicle the difficult circumstances surrounding her appointment and the extraordinary moment her tenure ended.

Passing down a family business or vacation home might seem like a generous gift to future generations. But when those assets reach the grandchildren, things can get messy. Today, many cousins lack the close relationships that allow them to cooperate as business partners, which is what they become the moment they jointly inherit an asset. Harvard Business School’s Christina Wing calls this the “cousin problem.” Drawing on her work advising families, she explains why inheritances can become a source of resentment—and what families can do to prevent disputes before they begin.

Back in March, when Blue Owl found itself at the center of the backlash against private credit, staff were told, “We’re going to emerge stronger from this storm.” But clients have continued to ask to withdraw their money, and its stock recently dipped to near all-time lows—bad news for employees’ stock-based pay. In search of growth, the firm’s leadership has pivoted toward a huge bet on financing and building AI data centers, reports Matt Wirz.

Driverless trucks are on the interstate in Texas and can do almost everything a human truck driver does, except honk. Equipped with advanced perception systems that give way to merging cars and detect hazards early, these autonomous vehicles are suited to handle repetitive depot-to-depot routes known as the middle mile. We take you onto the highway to see how driverless freight could reshape logistics as major companies face rising shipping costs and demand.

That is the revenue growth Hermès saw in the Americas during the first half of this year. As demand softens in traditional luxury strongholds like China and the Middle East, the U.S. is emerging as a rare bright spot for the brand. Rather than making wealthy shoppers go on a pilgrimage to a store in Manhattan or Beverly Hills, Hermès is chasing customers by meeting them where they are: wealthy suburbs and smaller American cities like Nashville and Austin.

A growing number of women are saying that becoming a watch enthusiast has unlocked an unexpected workplace advantage. A comment about a timepiece gives them an entree into conversations traditionally dominated by men—helping build rapport, gain social capital and close deals.

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Bharbi Hazarika and James Leigh in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.