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Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are promoting a more lenient approach to corporate fraud enforcement, encouraging Wall Street firms to voluntarily disclose wrongdoing in exchange for avoiding criminal charges, fines, and public disclosure of settlements. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, historically known for aggressive prosecutions of firms such as Drexel Burnham Lambert and SAC Capital, has been meeting with law firms and corporate advisers to explain its revised self-reporting policy under U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, the former chair of Apollo Global Management. Under the new framework, companies that self-report fraud could receive private non-prosecution agreements, even in cases involving widespread misconduct, senior executives, significant harm, or prior media exposure. Prosecutors may still pursue individuals involved, but corporations themselves could avoid charges and financial penalties if they cooperate and attempt to compensate victims. 

 

AML Intelligence

Financial Times

U.S. Senate Republicans have blocked Democratic efforts to overturn a series of Trump-era changes to consumer protection rules introduced at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including measures covering overdraft fees, medical debt collection and protections for military families. The Senate rejected three Democratic resolutions largely along party lines, with Democrats arguing the Trump administration had weakened consumer protections since taking control of the CFPB in February 2025 under acting director Russell Vought. Democrats said the repeal of rules requiring banks to obtain customer consent before charging overdraft fees would increase costs for consumers, while Republicans defended the changes as reducing regulatory pressure on businesses. The CFPB has rescinded 67 policies since President Donald Trump returned to office, with Democrats accusing the administration of effectively dismantling the agency, while Republicans argued the bureau had become overly powerful and insufficiently accountable.

 

AP News

The Hill

ByteDance-owned TikTok has made a final push at the EU Court ​of Justice, Europe’s highest court, to overturn its designation as a “gatekeeper” under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The case could shape the bloc’s efforts to curb the influence of major technology companies. TikTok was designated a "gatekeeper" under DMA in September 2023, ⁠joining other companies including Alphabet's Google, Meta ​Platforms, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Booking.com. TikTok has previously argued that the company failed all ​three criteria for gatekeeper status: significant market impact, acting as a key business gateway to users, and holding ‌an ⁠entrenched market position.

 

PYMNTS.com

Reuters

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has urged Americans to defend the judiciary. She told students at Southern Methodist University in Texas that an autonomous court system is key to the principle of equal justice under law and can’t be subject to other government branches. “Equal justice under law is a key tenet to freedom in our society, and in order to have that, you have to have an independent judiciary - one that is not beholden to the political branches or beholden to people,” Jackson said. “I just wish that people really focused on that and, therefore, stood up in some ways for the judiciary, when people - judges are being attacked and undermined, that is really an attack on our society.”

 

The Baltimore Sun

Politico

The Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell at a time of heightened political pressure on the central bank and growing uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook. Warsh, a former Fed governor and Wall Street executive nominated by President Donald Trump, was approved in a 54-45 vote despite concerns from Democrats about whether he would maintain the Fed’s political independence. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not cutting interest rates aggressively enough and has publicly pressured the central bank over monetary policy. Warsh has pledged “regime change” at the Fed, signaling potential changes to bond holdings, economic forecasting, and policy communication. However, he takes office as inflation risks rise following the Iran conflict, with higher energy prices reducing the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts and increasing speculation that rates could remain elevated for longer. Powell, whose term as chair ends May 15, said he will remain on the Fed’s board until 2028, citing concerns that political attacks on the institution could undermine confidence in the central bank’s independence. Warsh’s first Fed meeting as chair is scheduled for June 16th-17th.

 

CNN

CNBC

New York Times

Washington Post

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official says the risk from hantavirus to the general public remains very low, even as more than 100 agency staff work on the outbreak response. Dr. David Fitter, incident manager for the CDC’s hantavirus response, said: “To the American public, please know we are here to protect your health.” The CDC is carrying out public health assessments in Nebraska, where 16 of 18 cruise ship passengers linked to an Andes virus outbreak were taken for quarantine. The passengers had been aboard the MV Hondius, and all are being monitored at U.S. medical facilities.

 

Reuters

U.S. hedge fund giant Citadel has moved some of its crucial global quantitative strategies team out of Hong Kong. People familiar with the moves cited concerns over data security.

 

Financial Times

Laura Swett, the chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the top U.S. energy regulator, has warned that PJM Interconnection, the operator of America’s biggest power grid, may be too big to function adequately amid the AI data center boom. PJM “perhaps simply has grown too big to function,” Swett said. “We simply cannot have a market that falls short at exactly the time when we must successfully navigate this once-in-a-generation opportunity to cement America’s energy leadership.” Bloomberg notes “the intense scrutiny” on PJM: one of the biggest American utilities, American Electric Power Co., is threatening to exit the system.

 

Bloomberg

Meta employees have launched a protest against the recent installation of mouse-tracking technology at U.S. offices. Flyers which have been seen in meeting rooms and elsewhere at the Facebook owner's offices encourage staffers to sign an online petition against the move. "Don't want to work at the Employee Data ​Extraction Factory?" the flyers ask, according to photographs seen by Reuters, which says it's the most visible sign ​to date of a nascent labor movement inside the company. A statement previously issued by Meta on the technology said: "If we're building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them - things like mouse movements, clicking buttons, and navigating dropdown menus." Reuters notes that, in the U.K., a group of Meta employees has started organizing a unionization push with United Tech and Allied ​Workers (UTAW).

 

Reuters

Amazon employees are using an internal AI tool called “MeshClaw” to automate non-essential tasks in a bid to show managers they are using the technology more frequently.

 

Financial Times

San Jose, California-based networking equipment maker Cisco has said it would cut nearly 4,000 jobs as part of restructuring aimed at ‌shifting investment toward artificial intelligence and related growth areas. "The companies that will win ​in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift ​investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest," chief executive Chuck ⁠Robbins wrote in a post on Cisco's website. 

 

Reuters

GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen has threatened to take a $56bn takeover proposal for eBay directly to shareholders after the online marketplace rejected the unsolicited $125-per-share cash-and-stock offer as “neither credible nor attractive”. Mr Cohen criticized eBay’s board for refusing to engage on the proposal and said shareholders deserved the opportunity to evaluate the offer, with GameStop having already built a 5% stake in eBay to support a potential hostile approach. eBay had raised concerns over financing, leverage, governance and executive incentives, while Cohen countered by attacking eBay’s management performance, highlighting declining active users and chief executive Jamie Iannone’s pay package.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the owner of the cargo ship Dali, two years after it struck Baltimore's Key Bridge, causing its collapse and killing six people. Synergy Marine, the company that operated the ship, along with one of its employees, has been charged with conspiracy, obstruction and misconduct resulting in death, among other offenses. Prosecutors allege the company misled investigators about conditions on the ship and failed to disclose hazards and other safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard. The company said it "will defend against these allegations with vigor."

 

NPR

BBC News

The Hill

A federal judge has ruled that the Justice Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security cannot pressure Facebook and Apple to ban ICE-monitoring apps and social media groups. This decision follows a lawsuit by Kassandra “Kae” Rosado, who claimed the agencies coerced Facebook into removing her “ICE Sighting-Chicagoland” group. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso, mandates that the agencies inform their employees and the companies involved about the order. Rosado's group had nearly 100,000 members and provided updates on ICE activities in the Chicago area.

 

Chicago Sun Times

Chicago Tribune

Japan’s major convenience store operators are developing stores into disaster response hubs, aiming to support local communities during earthquakes, typhoons, and other emergencies. Lawson recently reopened a store in Chiba Prefecture as a dedicated “disaster support convenience store,” equipped with solar panels, storage batteries, emergency water supplies, and free smartphone charging during outages. The company plans to expand the concept to 100 stores by fiscal 2030 as Japan prepares for potential large-scale disasters, including a possible Nankai Trough megaquake. FamilyMart plans to use electronic displays in around 11,000 stores nationwide to broadcast evacuation guidance and disaster updates, while also testing communication-equipped mobile sales vehicles with NTT Docomo. Seven-Eleven Japan has strengthened its real-time disaster monitoring systems, allowing stores to report outages and damage directly to headquarters through smartphone-based tools. Operators are also improving business continuity planning, including backup operational centres and enhanced disaster training for franchisees.

 

The Japan Times