Caving Again: Trump Backs Off Flavored Vape Ban He Once Touted (Washington Post)

“It’s going to go the way of guns,” predicted one adviser, referring to Trump’s abandonment of efforts to combat gun violence after insisting he would take action after last summer’s mass shootings.

Anti-tobacco groups expressed frustration: “It appears that politics, not public health, is driving the decisions,” said Robin Koval, chief executive and president of Truth Initiative.

Economy Watch.

Morgan Stanley Sees U.S. as Laggard in 2020 Across Markets (Bloomberg)

Strategists see the S&P 500 dropping to 3,000 by end of next year.

World Trade Organization: Global Goods Trade Hit by Tensions and Rising Tariffs (Bloomberg)

Global Headlines.

Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam Urges Besieged Protesters to Heed Police (Bloomberg)

Global Wave of Street Protests Spreads to Iran (Bloomberg)

Iran is the latest example of anti-government protests that have rocked nations from Lebanon to Iraq and Chile, fired by anger over issues including corruption, inequality and a yearning for democratic choice.

California Mass Shooting: 4 killed, 6 wounded in Mass Shooting at Football Party in Fresno (CBS News)

2020 Watch.

Maga Rally Backfire: Louisiana Delivers Trump a Black Eye (Politico)

The president has lost two of three gubernatorial elections in conservative Southern states, raising questions about his standing heading into 2020.

Barack Obama: Democratic Candidates Should Ease Off Talk of Revolution (Washington Post)

The comments marked some of Obama’s most pointed words yet about a fluid primary in which he is not picking sides.

He said Americans “like seeing things improved. But the average American doesn’t think that we have to completely tear down the system and remake it. And I think it’s important for us not to lose sight of that.”

New York section.

Editorial: Mike Bloomberg is Right to Acknowledge His Stop-and-Frisk Mistake (New York Daily News)

At a Brooklyn church on Sunday, Bloomberg said: “Over time, I’ve come to understand something that I long struggled to admit to myself: I got something important wrong. I got something important really wrong.”

“I can’t change history…I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong – and I am sorry.”

Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, who attended the service, tweeted: “Thanks Mike Bloomberg for showing real leadership in your remarks this morning … There’s strength in humility & admitting when you got something wrong.”

Read the remarks and watch the video here.

Future of Transportation.

Detroit’s Big Sustainability Bet: Ford Unveils Electric Mustang SUV to Challenge Tesla Dominance (Bloomberg)

Progress: Airbus Says Zero-Carbon Regional Jet May Arrive as Soon as 2030s (Bloomberg)

Best of late night.

On the world’s largest Starbucks opening in Chicago:

“It’s a Starbucks that’s five stories high. I think I know how this happened: When the builders asked ‘What size do you want?’ the Starbucks people were like ‘Tall.’”
— Jimmy Fallon

“The Starbucks is massive. It’s so big that when you ask for the bathroom key, it’s attached to a car door.”
— Jimmy Fallon

“The big movie this weekend is “Ford vs Ferrari” starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale. It’s supposed to do much better at the box office than today’s other release: “Hyundai vs Kia.””
— Jimmy Fallon

On a new poster for the upcoming season of ‘The Bachelor’:

“The new poster for the upcoming season of ‘The Bachelor’ was just released, and it features the next bachelor, Pilot Pete, with the slogan: ‘Expect Turbulence.’ When they saw that, Spirit Airlines was like, ‘Hey, get your own damn slogan!’”
— Jimmy Fallon