President Donald Trump said he would move to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday if he does not step down from the Board of Governors when his term ends next month.

While former chairs usually step down from the Fed’s Board of Governors after their term ends, Powell is technically allowed to stay on the board until 2028.

Powell recently said he has “no intention” of leaving until the Justice Department’s investigation into the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation is complete, and claimed the probe is a pressure campaign by Trump to push the central bank to lower interest rates.

Since that point:

So, what happens now? While Warsh’s confirmation hearing is set for next Tuesday, the Supreme Court could rule on the president’s power to remove Fed officials as soon as today.

After a series of significant staffing cuts at the Internal Revenue Service, tax professionals claim more and more filers are falsifying their returns, betting that there is a lower chance they’ll be caught.

In the last year, the agency has shed thousands of workers in enforcement roles responsible for audits and collections, largely due to long-term funding cuts and the clawback of previous funding increases:

Tax experts warn that the budget pressures (and the resulting staff declines) could exacerbate already falling audits, especially for high-income individuals and complex businesses.

They’ve already been dropping for a decade: The IRS conducted a record low 497,541 audits last year, a steep drop from the 1.7 million annual average seen during the early 2010s.

The mix of layoffs, buyouts, and budget cuts has contributed to a growing perception among some taxpayers that enforcement is weakening, leaving some to hope the agency is too understaffed to catch them:

Welp, at least we have better returns: Tax refunds are a bit higher this year, as new deductions from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” have increased the average refund by 11% to $3,462.

A growing share of everyday interactions, like dealing with subscription cancellations, billing issues, spam, or robocalls, has become intentionally more difficult, a trend some experts call the “annoyance economy.”

Researchers estimate these frustrations have cost Americans about $165 billion annually in wasted time and extra fees, and while some of these nuisances result from outdated systems and regulations, others are there on purpose.

According to a report by the progressive Groundwork Collaborative:

How do companies profit from this? Instead of optimizing for convenience, many businesses have intentionally added small annoyances that wear consumers out. Each of those inconveniences provides a monetization opportunity (think unskippable ads, baggage fees, or paying for faster service).

It’s a universally hated practice: According to polling by Data for Progress, 75% of voters say they’re fed up with surprise junk fees from airlines, hotels, ticket vendors, and more, while over 80% of respondents say they are frustrated by constant spam calls and text messages. See the best ways to avoid spam texts here.

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The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to ease restrictions on several peptide-based treatments, a group of compounds that have gained popularity in fitness, wellness, and anti-aging circles.

It’s complicated. While regulated peptides are generally considered safe and effective (see overview), injectable or ingestible variants, especially for bodybuilding or weight loss, often fall in a gray area:

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly advocated for expanding access to peptides, calling himself a supporter of their potential benefits, though he referred to the deregulation of them as “substandard.”

Looking forward: The FDA said Wednesday it will hold a panel vote on the measure in July, with a second meeting planned to consider reinstating five additional peptides, though no date has been set.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby reportedly raised the idea of a potential merger with American Airlines during discussions with Trump administration officials, several outlets reported this week.

If pursued, the combination of the two rivals (which together control over 40% of the US market) would create the single largest airline in the world and strip Delta of its long-held revenue crown.

However, the deal would almost certainly face significant antitrust scrutiny. So why consider it?

Perhaps most important of all… it would help the airlines compete internationally. The majority of long-haul flights to and from the US are offered by foreign airlines, even though 60% of the flyers are Americans.

So could a deal get done? Well, considering the deal isn’t really even a deal yet, as no talks are in progress, it’s hard to say. However, experts don’t think regulators will greenlight the deal unless the airlines give up a lot of overlapping routes… and there are hundreds of them.

> Meta is reportedly building an AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg that employees can talk to, specifically trained on his voice and thinking patterns to help answer questions.

> Colombia has approved a controversial plan to kill dozens of Pablo Escobar’s “cocaine hippos” that were contained in his private zoo (see photos), following years of failed attempts to control their rapidly growing population.

> Scientists have discovered that sperm whales use a kind of “phonetic alphabet” with vowel-like sounds, showing striking similarities to how human language is structured.

> Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, and Bugatti are now selling invite-only, ultra-exclusive cars you can’t even see before buying. Not to worry, your invite probably ended up in your spam folder.

> Timothée Chalamet’s viral comment that “no one cares” about opera and ballet inadvertently helped boost the art forms’ popularity, with millions of social media interactions and a spike in ticket sales.

> A new genetic study suggests Christopher Columbus may have been a Spanish nobleman from Galicia, challenging the long-held belief that he was a humble sailor from Italy.