Today’s Big Story

Juul Can Sell in the U.S. (Again)

The authorization ends a multiyear review that nearly bankrupted the brand

U.S. regulators authorized Juul Labs to keep its e-cigarettes on the U.S. market, breathing new life into the vaping company after a federal ban pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. According to an announcement on Juul’s website, the Food and Drug Administration determined that its e-cigarette device and pods—which come in tobacco and menthol flavors—are “appropriate for the protection of public health.”

As you might remember, Juul was once a juggernaut in the e-cig business, the vape of choice for many bros and one of the most valuable startups in America. But in 2022, the FDA ordered Juul to halt its sales because of unresolved questions related to the toxicology data that Juul had submitted in its application to remain on the U.S. market.

Thursday’s announcement removes Juul from the limbo it’s been mired in for the past three years—not knowing whether its products would be allowed to remain on store shelves. With clearance from the FDA, Juul could now raise money from outside investors or sell part or all of the company.

“It is a real milestone for the company,” Juul CEO K. C. Crosthwaite tells Axios in an interview. ”It’s critically important, in our view, that adult tobacco consumers have options that are reviewed by a regulator, that meet the scientific hurdle and are marketed responsibly.” But tobacco watchdogs attacked the move, arguing that it will exacerbate the crisis of youth vaping. “It is a big step in the wrong direction to authorize sales of the product that was responsible for this public health crisis in the first place,” Yolonda C. Richardson, CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement.

The Associated Press reports that Juul previously discontinued several fruit and candy flavors that helped drive its popularity but were favored by teens. Now, Juul will be one of only two U.S. companies authorized to sell menthol-flavored vapes, which many adults prefer to tobacco flavor. But, they’ve already lost significant market share in recent years amid rising competition (both legal and illegal) including e-cigarettes surreptitiously imported from China.

The Epstein Drama Continues

Trump orders officials to ‘produce’ more Epstein documents after mounting pressure

Facing uproar in his MAGA base over the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Donald Trump announced Thursday night that he was authorizing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of grand jury testimony from the prosecution of the disgraced financier, and Bondi said she would make that request in federal court today.

But even if the request succeeds, it would fall far short of recent critics’ demands to release all investigative materials. The president cited “the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein” for his directive, which doesn’t fulfill requests from some congressional Republicans to make public all investigative files collected by the department and the F.B.I., not just testimony presented in federal court.

According to NBC News, some of Trump’s most prominent supporters, including Steve Bannon, far-right activist Laura Loomer and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., had promoted the idea of Trump naming a special counsel. But the White House shot those hopes down on Thursday. Trump is also urging his supporters to move on, and started referring to the case as a “hoax.” But, of course, Trump must’ve known this was coming since he campaigned on making the Epstein files public, and Attorney General Pam Bondi had repeatedly pledged to make more information available.

The Twilight of Late Night TV

The end of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ bodes poorly for the future

I guess we can’t say it’s a surprise, but it still feels a little shocking. On Thursday, CBS announced it would be canceling the Late Show—not just the version hosted by Stephen Colbert for the past ten years, which has ruled the Nielsen ratings for most of that time, but the entire franchise that began in 1993 with David Letterman. During a taping, Colbert told his audience that he was told of the decision “just last night” and that it wasn’t the end of his run but the entire franchise. “This is all just going away,” Colbert said, prompting one of several choruses of boos and nos from the crowd.

And it’s hard to interpret this as anything other than the end for late night television. The beginning of the end, anyway. In just 10 months, CBS will be out of the late night game entirely, and it’s unlikely the few remaining hosts still battling for eyeballs at 11:30 p.m. will endure much longer. Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert’s late-night rival (and friend) responded with fury: “Love you Stephen,” the host posed, despite being on hiatus. “F--- you and all your Sheldons CBS.”

The timing is also bound to raise some questions because it comes just two weeks after the parent company of CBS, Paramount, settled a lawsuit lodged by President Trump against CBS News. But we knew this day would likely come. Since the dawn of YouTube it’s been hard to see a long future ahead for the classic late night format, as the water cooler value of these shows has dropped significantly in a too-online age.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Too Much’ + a Pimm’s Cup

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Disappear a little this weekend.