NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

US military ready to resume combat in Persian Gulf if needed, US defense secretary warns: As US President Donald Trump considers a tentative agreement that would open the Strait of Hormuz and start nuclear talks with Iran, he has not given any indication of a decision. CNN

Economic signals suggest U.S. consumers are feeling the strain: Signs of financial strain are emerging as households grapple with the highest inflation rate in nearly three years. Two key inflation metrics — the Consumer Price Index and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index — show that many Americans' incomes are falling behind inflation. That means millions of households are losing purchasing power as consumer prices outpace their income. CBS

GOOD NEWS

Federal Judge Blocks Trump's $1.8 Billion “Anti-Weaponization” Fund”: A federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the Trump administration from transferring any money into a secretive and loosely controlled $1.8bn fund while a legal challenge proceeds. THE GUARDIAN

Trump's name must be removed from Kennedy Center, judge orders: The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump," U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote in a 94-page ruling. AXIOS

Trump to headline 250th anniversary fair opening after performers drop out: U.S. President Donald Trump will headline an event commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall next month ​after several musical performers scheduled to appear in the celebration canceled, citing concerns about ‌its association with him. REUTERS

WORST ADMINISTRATION EVER?

Trump Lets Big Corporations Dodge $40 Billion in Taxes: President Donald Trump’s decision last year to withdraw the US from a global effort to rein in corporate tax-dodging has allowed major American companies to avoid at least $40 billion in income taxes. The New York Times, citing securities filings, reported Friday that American Express, Paypal, Pepsi, and other major US-based corporations “avoided taxes by attributing hundreds of billions of dollars in earnings to low- or no-tax foreign locales like Cyprus, Bermuda, Switzerland, and the Cayman Islands.”

DESI NEWS

Shrey Parikh bounces back, battles nerves and dominates spell-off to win the National Spelling Bee: Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, CA arrived as a favorite and walked away as a National Spelling Bee champion Thursday night, outlasting a deep and experienced group of finalists and beating Ishaan Gupta in a lightning-round tiebreaker that looked like it was over as soon as Shrey raced through his first word. AP

Fake ICE agents terrorize immigrants amid Trump’s crackdown: Although neither the federal government nor local authorities publish specific records of people impersonating immigration agents, an analysis by Noticias Telemundo, based on court records, police reports and news articles, suggests that the number of such crimes has increased over the past year. Our investigation documented at least 31 cases in 2025 alone. NBC

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY

How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public: Public health experts around the world and health workers on the ground in the Republic of Congo and Uganda say that the response has been significantly hindered by the near-absence so far of the United States, historically the leader in any major outbreak. The United States used to fund robust disease surveillance networks across the region and maintained emergency teams to take charge in public health crises like this one. Much of that work ended with the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development early last year. NYT

CORRUPTION ALERT

Company led by Republican fundraiser pardoned by Trump wins $106m federal contract: The day before Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration. Last month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records. THE GUARDIAN

The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr.: When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism. But interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s. PRO PUBLICA

Trump airport branding deal opens new route to profit for family: The newly-branded President Donald J Trump international airport, less than five miles from Mar-a-Lago, his gilded waterfront Florida mansion, joins a glut of other entities, including passports, street signs, national parks passes, performing arts centers and golden immigration visas, retitled to satiate the commander-in-chief’s addiction to aggrandizement. Naturally, Tuesday’s vote by a surprisingly bipartisan group of commissioners to hand over trademark and commercial rights of the former Palm Beach international airport to the county’s most notorious resident comes with another lucrative enrichment opportunity. THE GUARDIAN

The Trump administration is facing scrutiny for how it’s handing out billion-dollar border wall contracts:  A new lawsuit alleges the Trump administration awarded the bulk of new Texas border wall contracts to two firms without “genuine competitive opportunities.” One of the chosen firms has faced legal issues and claims of shoddy construction work. BIG BEND SENTINEL

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