Today in one sentence: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted at least 38 vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight flights by helicopter, a dozen VIP passes to sporting events, two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica, and a standing invitation to play at a high-end private golf club in Florida from several billionaire benefactors since 1991; Trump and one of his two co-defendants pleaded not guilty in federal court to three new charges in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case; inflation rose 3.2% from a year ago in July; and Biden signed an executive order limiting American investments in China as part of an effort to restrict the country’s ability to develop next-generation military and surveillance technologies.

1/ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted at least 38 vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight flights by helicopter, a dozen VIP passes to sporting events, two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica, and a standing invitation to play at a high-end private golf club in Florida from several billionaire benefactors since 1991. The travel often went unreported on Thomas’ required annual financial disclosure filings, and the total value of the undisclosed trips is probably in the millions of dollars. While it was previously reported that Harlan Crow paid for Thomas’ luxury vacations, his mother’s house, and a nephew’s tuition payments, Thomas, however, has also received special treatment from three other billionaires: David Sokol, H. Wayne Huizenga, and Paul “Tony” Novelly. All four billionaires have been major Republican donors. (ProPublica / New York Times / NPR / Bloomberg / CNN / Washington Post)

2/ Trump and one of his two co-defendants pleaded not guilty in federal court to three new charges in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Federal prosecutors initially accused Trump of committing 37 crimes in an indictment filed in June. Prosecutors, however, added three additional charges in a superseding indictment filed in July. Walt Nauta also pleaded not guilty. He faced six charges in the initial indictment, and was charged with two additional crimes in the superseding indictment. Carlos De Oliveira, meanwhile, was charged with four counts related to conspiring with Trump and Nauta to obstruct federal investigators’ efforts to retrieve secret national security documents from Trump after he left office. De Oliveira’s arraignment, however, was delayed because he hasn’t secured a Florida-based attorney. (Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / CNN / NBC News / CNBC)

3/ Inflation rose 3.2% from a year ago in July, up from 3% in June. It was the first annual inflation rate increase after 12 months of declines. The July inflation figure, however, remains far below last year’s peak of 9.1%, although it’s still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Federal Reserve policymakers, meanwhile, are debating whether to pause interest rate increases after raising them at 11 of the past 12 meetings from near zero to a range between 5.25% and 5.5% – a 22-year high. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico)

4/ Biden signed an executive order limiting American investments in China as part of an effort to restrict the country’s ability to develop next-generation military and surveillance technologies. The order, which won’t go into effect until next year, would restrict American investments in certain high-tech sectors in China, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and quantum computing due to national security concerns. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce, meanwhile, said it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.” (Associated Press / Washington Post / Politico / Bloomberg / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

Five years ago today: Day 568: Be happy, be cool.
Six years ago today: Day 203: Follow the money.