The Senate passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill Friday in an 86-11 vote.
Why it matters: The legislation would impose new sanctions on Russia, renew Iran sanctions and hand President Trump fresh authority to slap tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is waging an unprecedented economic war on Cuba — and wants to make sure the island's communist leaders know it's going to get worse.
"What we're trying to teach them is there are no escape valves," Rubio told Axios.
Why it matters: Cuba's economy is in a state of slow-motion collapse because of crushing U.S. sanctions and communist mismanagement of the island, which prides itself as the hemisphere's chief foe of the superpower 90 miles to its north.
Suspected Iran-linked cyberattacks are exposing long-standing vulnerabilities in fragmented U.S. drinking water systems facing aging infrastructure and intensifying climate threats.
Why it matters: Drinking water systems disruptions can threaten public health and essential services, while many utilities—especially smaller ones—lack the staff and resources to strengthen their defenses..
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Thursday said it gave Paramount the green light to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
It comes following assurances from Paramount that it would preserve editorial independence, invest in U.K. programmingand protect children's networks..
Why it matters: It's a major regulatory win for Paramount, which is facing a more contentious approval battle back home.
A legal cat-and-mouse game has played out over whether the president can use various obscure, untested provisions to impose tariffs. Now, Congress appears on track to give him a big, new — and explicit — tariff authority.
Why it matters: A bill on Russia sanctions, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate and would allow President Trump and future presidents to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major importers of Russian energy.
The leaders of America's biggest companies are much less optimistic than they were before the start of the war earlier this year, according to a survey of Fortune 500 leaders out Thursday morning.
Why it matters: When leaders are feeling optimistic, they push for more hiring, capital investment and dealmaking, and that drives growth in the economy and markets.
And all of that is critically important right now — businesses' AI infrastructure spending is a key driver of GDP growth. Regular folks, meanwhile, are struggling in the face of rising prices.
The FBI opened an investigation into whether President Trump was acting as a Russian asset after he fired FBI Director James Comey in 2017, newly declassified memos show.
Why it matters: The release of the files on the probe, known as "Oxferd Comma," revives one of the most consequential episodes in the Trump-Comey saga and comes months after Trump's Department of Justice again put the former FBI director under criminal indictment.
