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A Rare Plan

Beefing Up Supply

What’s going on: On Friday, President Donald Trump said up to 300,000 metric tons of imported beef will get a tariff break over the next 90 days. On top of that, Trump says it will be sold 25% below the market price (currently averaging $6.89 per pound). Why the special treatment? The US — one of the world's top two beef producers and its largest consumer — is facing its smallest herd in 75 years due to prolonged drought and rising food costs for the animals. A yearlong ban on Mexican cattle after a screwworm outbreak squeezed supply further. While the US already imports record amounts of beef from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia, the administration says this new move — expected in an executive order within two weeks — will give shoppers some relief as the domestic herd rebuilds. 

What’s at steak: Your backyard BBQ may not cost or taste the same. Details on the imported beef remain scarce. Trump hasn’t said which countries will supply the beef, only that it will be the “highest quality.” The White House and USDA say most of the meat will be beef trimmings used to make ground beef. It’s also unclear who would absorb the proposed 25% discount — whether it applies during export or import, or if a government or private company is subsidizing it. Savings may also stay with retailers rather than reach consumers. Then there’s the long-term impact on American cattle producers: Ranchers, along with some Republican lawmakers, worry cheaper imported beef will depress domestic prices, hurting an already wounded industry that needs time and resources to rebuild.

Related: Some Weird Items Are Part of Trump's 50% Canadian Tariffs (The New York Times gift link)

Power Failure

Why Are the Lights Still Out in Gary?

What’s going on: Nearly two weeks after historic storms tore through Northern Indiana, some residents still don’t have power. In Gary, Indiana, more than half the city initially lost electricity after wind gusts reached 99 mph, heavy rain flooded neighborhoods, and trees toppled power lines. The storms killed at least seven people and knocked out power to nearly 375,000 customers. The power company says some residents may not get their power back until Tuesday. In the meantime, residents have lost food and medicine, missed work, and paid thousands for generators, hotels, and other necessities. Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) called the damage “unprecedented” and sent more than 600 lineworkers across the region to repair or replace hundreds of utility poles. In some areas, crews have had to rebuild parts of the electrical system entirely. 

Tell me more: The severe weather hit the town especially hard, but the prolonged blackout exposed another vulnerability: About one-third of residents live in poverty in a city that has faced decades of population loss and disinvestment. A class action lawsuit alleges the electric company failed to adequately manage trees and vegetation near power lines, making the system more vulnerable to storm damage. NIPSCO denies the allegation and says it has doubled its spending on vegetation management since 2016. For some residents, it's reinforced a longstanding feeling that Gary, a majority-Black city, gets overlooked. As one resident told The New York Times: “If we weren’t a Black city things would be different.” 

Related: Another Heat Dome? See What Region Will Be Affected This Time (The New York Times gift link)

Face value

Your Skin Routine Is Getting Hormonal

What's going on: Estrogen is everywhere — including next to your retinol. Over the past few years, estrogen-based skincare has become one of beauty’s buzziest new categories within prescription face creams. Menopausal and perimenopausal women can experience drops in estrogen, which often makes their skin thinner, drier, and less elastic. Women’s skin also loses about 30% of its collagen during the first five years of menopause. So if the skincare routine that worked since college suddenly isn’t cutting it, hormones may be part of the reason.

Put on your readers: Many of the newer prescription face products contain estriol, a gentler form of estrogen. This active ingredient is often compounded specifically for your face with ingredients like hyaluronic acid or vitamin C. That’s different from estradiol, the more potent estrogen commonly found in prescription vaginal creams. Social media hasn’t always bothered with that distinction, with posts touting vaginal estrogen as a wrinkle-fighting skincare hack. But doctors are worried. Applying vaginal creams to your face without medical supervision is not advised — especially because without also taking adequate progesterone, it can cause the uterine lining to thicken, and, as one doctor told The Guardian, can potentially increase the risk of endometrial cancer. One dermatologist made it clear: You don’t want to be “flooding your system with unnecessary hormones.” While your face and your vagina may both have fluctuating hormones, they do not necessarily share a prescription.

Related: Are We Heading Toward a “Collagen Cliff”? (The Conversation)

PS: Social media gives us some truly unhinged health advice. Occasionally, some of it is actually useful. Every Wednesday, Skimm Well + Good sorts the promising from the please-don’t-try-that-at-home. Subscribe here.

Quick Hits

🍪 Karoline Leavitt ended her reign as White House Press Secretary with cookies that had some pointed departing words in frosting. Message received. 

👠 Yes, you may have actually gone up a shoe size as you’ve gotten older, and experts explain why. We'll take any excuse to buy new shoes.

🧑‍🍳 Here are six kitchen purchases professional chefs say you don’t need, like an avocado slicer. Just use a knife (you only need five of them, apparently).

⚽ Taxidermy raccoon enthusiast Erling Haaland has benched his signature long locks in favor of a buzzcut. Bun voyage.

🍽️ A Michelin-starred restaurant is offering a four-course tasting menu for kids 9 and under, with an optional $38 cheese course. Somehow, they will still want fries.

💔 Brooklyn Beckham showed off a brand new tattoo — and it appears to cover the “mamma’s boy” tattoo he used to have. If you wanna be his mother, you gotta get with his wife.

Skincare That Works

Ali, Senior Commerce Director, here. When it comes to my nighttime skincare routine, I’ve tried a lot of things to figure out what works. I’m bullish about keeping it concise because I lose interest and motivation too easily. Here are my recommended five items:

• A very basic foaming face wash from a trusted Japanese brand

• This moisturizer (a dupe for Rhode), topped with this one 

• The ultimate pimple patch that has saved me in so many situations

• A treatment that takes down cystic acne quickly and successfully

• And lastly, an eyebrow and lash enhancing serum to keep them full

Skimm'd by: Anna Davies, Marisa Iallonardo, Mallory Simon, Aryanna Prasad Bhullar, Stephanie Gallman, Molly Longman, Maria Corpus, Samantha Darby, and Marina Carver. Fact-checked by Sara Tardiff.