Politics

• Congressional watchdog probes Trump FHFA chief Bill Pulte - Pulte has made allegations of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Eric Swalwell.
• FBI arrests suspect in Jan. 6 pipe bomb case: MS NOW - The FBI arrested a suspect believed to have placed pipe bombs outside the GOP and Democratic party offices prior to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, MS NOW reported.
• Europe's plan to use $105 billion of frozen Russian assets tantamount to war, says Russia's Medvedev - It follows fresh proposals by the European Commission to unlock $105 billion to support Ukraine.
• Inside Europe’s biggest rare earths factory on Russia's doorstep - Developed by Canada's Neo Performance Materials, Europe's largest rare earths facility sits in Estonia's border city of Narva.
• Trump's South Korea tariff cuts are major boost for Hyundai and GM - The Trump administration said the tariff rate for vehicles from South Korea will drop to 15% as part of a trade deal.
• Jeffrey Epstein island photos and videos released as top banks share files with House Oversight Committee - The release comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi is on a deadline to publicly share files related to Epstein and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
• India is set to host Russia's Putin, deepening trade ties, unfazed by punitive U.S. tariffs - The two countries are looking to strengthen trade ties and are likely to sign bilateral interdepartmental and business agreements during Putin's visit.
• Russia 'ready' for war with Europe, Putin says, as Ukraine peace talks fail to deliver breakthrough - Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on threats toward Europe ahead of peace talks with the U.S., saying Moscow was "ready" for war.
• USDA secretary threatens to cut funding to blue states over alleged SNAP data noncompliance - The Trump administration threatened to cut off federal funding to blue states over their alleged refusal to share SNAP program data.
• Delayed tariff impact starting to hit, could cause companies to reduce head count in 2026 - President Trump's tariffs, aimed at reshoring American jobs lost to overseas manufacturing, could end up lowering head count instead