First the U.S. Marines and now the Army. For the first time in American history, two members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff lack the blessing of the Senate, as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, holds up hundreds of military promotions to protest the Pentagon’s new abortion policy. We’ll explain the implications of having interims filling these top military posts. And good news for the lungs of the planet: Deforestation is on a downward trend in the Amazon rainforest. Plus, we’ll play a game of Half Full / Half Empty with predictions about the “vibecession.”

Here’s everything we talked about:

- “Amazon deforestation at six-year-low in Brazil after plunging 66% in July” from CNN

- “Army chief retires as Tuberville hold snarls the Pentagon’s top ranks” from Politico

- Joint Chiefs of Staff vacancies from Twitter

- “Why ‘grandternity’ leave might become the newest form of parental leave” from Marketplace

- “The Federal Reserve could help instant payments catch on” from Marketplace

- “Cybersecurity labels are coming. Will they be effective?” from Marketplace

- “Are we finally exiting the ‘vibeces sion’?” from Marketplace

We are taking our usual summer hiatus next week, but while we are on break we’d love to hear from you! We want to know your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.

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The (interim) Joint Chiefs of Staff?