CFPB moved this week to finalize a narrowed version of its Section 1071 small‑business census, cutting some demographic fields and shifting the compliance timetable. The decision splits banks and civil‑rights groups as the rule heads to OIRA for review.

GAO found an estimated $186 billion in improper federal payments in FY2025, mostly concentrated in Medicare, Medicaid, the EITC, SNAP and shuttered venue grants.

A White House-linked delegation flew to Caracas to advance memorandums on oil and minerals, but security, legal and environmental hurdles make quick payoffs uncertain.

The D.C. Council streamed a committee mark‑up Thursday on a bill to convert HPAP loans to grants for displaced River East at Grandview homeowners while reviewing DCHA board nominees.

The Bank of England kept Bank Rate at 3.75% and warned higher energy costs could push inflation sharply higher as Brent briefly topped $126.

Former Rep. Barney Frank, 86, has entered hospice care at his Ogunquit, Maine home as he deals with congestive heart failure and finishes a political book.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is championing abstinence-based recovery and 'wellness farms' — and rolling $100M toward a pilot that has experts warning medications could be sidelined.

More than two dozen news executives called on Israel to lift its ban on foreign reporters entering Gaza, saying independent reporting is essential after deadly attacks on journalists.

Senators pressed Jeffrey Kuntz about a February 2025 opinion that let President Trump’s defamation suit against the Pulitzer Prize Board proceed. Advocacy groups say the timing of his contacts with senators and the White House raises recusal concerns.

A Vanderbilt analysis finds Americans may be overcharged about $150 billion a year on insurance and urges federal loss‑ratio guardrails to lower premiums. The proposal would reshape a market usually regulated by states.

Top cyber officials told senators an Election Security Group has not yet been reconvened for the 2026 midterms, prompting bipartisan concern about coordination against foreign meddling.

EPA chief Lee Zeldin defended a White House request to cut agency funding to $4.2B at tense congressional hearings, drawing sharp exchanges and renewed legal fights.

The State Department plans a limited-run America250 passport that places President Trump’s portrait and a gold signature on an interior page ahead of July celebrations. Details about distribution and run size remain unclear.