Wilson Reiser, CEO of Piqua-based Winans Coffee & Chocolate, said his company hasn’t yet increased prices to consumers as a direct result of his increased production costs. Coffee accounts for half of Winans’ manufacturing business
“I think we’re doing what most companies are doing,” Reiser said. “We’re eating it. We’re waiting.”
Michael Thomas, owner of Poppets Coffee and Tea in Dayton, said everyday business tasks are more complicated under the new tariffs, especially given fluctuations. But his business is going forward with plans to open a new location on Dorothy Lane in October, regardless of tariffs and an uncertain economic climate.
What’s happening in southwest Ohio?
• DoD to DoW: President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the Defense Department’s name to the Department of War as a “secondary title.” But Congress possesses legislative power, and Congress has not yet voted on the name change. A local political science professor told this news outlet the order was mostly a “rebranding” move for the department, calling it “a lot of sizzle and no steak.”
• ‘Pledge to America’: Worried that national Democrats have lost their focus after a 2024 election defeat and the return of Donald Trump to the White House, one Ohio Democrat in Congress says Americans deserve more than just an anti-Trump party. U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Cincinnati, whose district includes all of Warren County, has stepped up to offer what he calls his “Pledge to America.” This pledge includes repealing the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” It also contains more general calls for tax reform, new housing and infrastructure, health reform, crime legislation, education changes and more.
Other national updates:
• Charlie Kirk: Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at a Utah college event in what Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence. Trump announced the death on social media and praised the 31-year-old Kirk, who was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point, as “Great, and even Legendary.”
• Tariffs and your smartphone: Apple unveiled its next line-up of iPhones, the first to be released since Trump returned to the White House and unleashed a barrage of tariffs. The tech company is keeping prices steady with its typical price model, with the iPhone 17 starting at $800. The prices indicated that Apple was ready to absorb the cost of tariffs to ward off competition from other smartphone providers, Reuters reported.
• Epstein birthday book: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by Trump, which he has denied. The letter was included as part of a 50th birthday album compiled in 2003 for Epstein, a sex trafficker who was once a friend of Trump’s. Trump has said he did not write the letter or create the drawing of a woman‘s body that surrounds the letter, and he filed a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for earlier reporting on his link to the letter.
• Venezuela: The United States is continuing to boost its military forces near Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, even after a U.S. strike destroyed what Trump said was a drug-carrying boat operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. Trump has designated Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, MS-13 in El Salvador and six groups based in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations, pointing to international connections and operations of the groups that include drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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