💻 Crypto Regulation Bill Faces Final Four-Week Window
The Senate's Clarity Act — a bipartisan bill to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets — is entering what experts call its last realistic window for passage before midterm elections.
Negotiators have four weeks before the August recess to resolve outstanding policy disputes. Experts warn that if the bill does not advance before the break, the midterm election cycle will effectively kill its chances this Congress.
The legislation aims to provide long-sought regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry, a sector that has lobbied aggressively for defined federal rules.
🏦 Fed Chair Warsh Testifies as New Inflation Data Drops
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is set to make his first appearance before Congress, delivering two days of testimony alongside the release of new U.S. inflation data.
Warsh's remarks will give lawmakers — and markets — their first major read on his policy direction since taking the Fed's top post. The inflation figures will provide fresh context for his testimony and shape expectations heading into the July Fed decision.
💵 Five Overlapping Forces Keep Inflation Elevated, Economists Warn
A convergence of pressures — the "Godzilla" El Niño weather pattern, surging AI energy demand, Trump-era tariffs, a fuel supply crunch, and the ongoing war in Ukraine — is keeping inflation persistently high, with little near-term relief in sight.
Economists note that businesses are still passing costs through to consumers. "These results suggest that many businesses are still adjusting their prices, more than a year after tariffs were first introduced," according to new analysis cited in the report.
Each factor compounds the others: El Niño disrupts agricultural supply chains, AI data centers drive up energy consumption, tariffs raise import costs, fuel markets remain tight, and the Ukraine conflict continues to pressure global commodity prices — leaving households and policymakers caught between multiple simultaneous shocks.
🇺🇸 US-Canada Strike Deal To Open $4.7B Detroit Bridge
The U.S. and Canada have reached an agreement clearing the way for the long-delayed Gordie Howe International Bridge to open, the Canadian government announced Friday.
The $4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, was originally scheduled to open June 27 but was delayed. It will now open July 27. President Trump claimed the U.S. secured a "much better deal" in the negotiations.
The crossing is a major trade corridor between the two countries, and its opening is closely watched given ongoing U.S.-Canada trade tensions.
🇮🇷 Iran Rebuilds Nuclear Sites While Under U.S. Ultimatum
Satellite imagery obtained by CNN shows Iran actively rebuilding damaged nuclear infrastructure at the Parchin military complex and a site known as "Mount Pickaxe," suggesting Tehran may have resumed prohibited activity while still bound by its Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S.
The MOU, signed with the Trump administration, explicitly prohibited Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons. The observed reconstruction activity reportedly began before Trump formally declared the ceasefire void, raising questions about compliance from the outset.
The findings add pressure to ongoing U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts at a critical juncture, with Washington's ultimatum over Iran's nuclear program still unresolved.
🏛 Democrats Demand Probe Into Trump's $1.2B Crypto Income
Top Senate Democrats are calling for hearings and investigations into President Trump's cryptocurrency earnings, which exceeded $1.2 billion last year according to his recently released financial disclosures.
The disclosures show Trump earned approximately $594 million from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture. Democrats cited national security concerns over the president's digital asset holdings and are pressing key Senate committees to examine the matter.