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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is in the Trump administrations crosshairs. Employees at the CFPB, an agency designed to protect consumers from unfair financial practices, were ordered to stop all activities in recent days by new acting director Russell Vought, who is also serving as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position he was confirmed to by the Senate along party lines last week. Vought reportedly closed the CFPBs headquarters and told employees to stop working, according to the Wall Street Journal, as the administration ramps up efforts to shut it downor at least declaw it to some degree. The CFPB, which Congress created in the wake of the 2008 foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession, has long been a political target of Republicans, and with full control of the federal government, the Trump administration is evidently going after it in an attempt to deregulate the financial system. While Trump himself cant unilaterally get rid of the CFPBonly Congress can do that, as Congress was the body that created itits unclear what happens next. Experts say that while the CFPBs work is on pause, the rules and regulations that the CFPB has put into place are still on the books. Its not vanishing into thin air, says Kimberly Monty Holzel, a partner at Goodwin’s financial services, consumer financial services, and fintech practices, who previously worked at the CFPB for four years. We have orders with active orders from the CFPB, she says. Those orders dont terminate. She adds that the firms regulated by the CFPBwhich include banks, debt collectors, financial payment platforms, and morestill need to act in good faith cooperation with the government, and that though whats happening may be surprising or alarming, consumers should remember that there are still numerous other regulating bodies that are still active. The CFPB is not the only regulatorconsumers can still go to the FDIC, the OCC, the Fed, she says. And states still regulate banks, too. There isnt a vacuum of regulation. However, the Trump team has reportedly floated the idea of dismantling some other regulators, like the FDIC, too. Mixed signals Other experts say that whats happening at the CFPB is a prime example of the mixed signals coming out of the Trump administration. They told people to go home and not work at the office. At the same time, theyre saying to other government employees no more remote work, says Jeff Sovern, a Michael Millemann professor of consumer law at the University of Marylands Francis King Carey School of Law. They have said that theyre trying to eliminate waste, so theyre gutting an agency that generates huge returns to consumers, $21 billion annually, and yet costs less than $1 billion per year to operate. Itll generate more waste, he adds. So what exactly is the administration doing then? The whole thing makes no sense unless you see it as an attempt to eliminate or curtail agencies that they dont like, Sovern says. As noted, many Republicans have long been miffed about the CFPB, which has, over the years, done things like cut overdraft fees, change mortgage lending rules, compensate fraud victims, establish a database for consumer complaints, and much more, typically to the benefit of consumers. The agency polls very strongly across both parties, with support from three-quarters of Republicans in recent years. Even so, many Republican lawmakers have made it a target, even though its been wonderful for their constituents, says Sovern. Sovern also has a warning for voters: The CFPB was born out of a financial crisis, and if its stymied, the consequences could be dire. The bureau was created in 2010 because we had the Great Recession, and one of the things that led to the Great Recession was predatory lending, he says. Congress recognized that we needed an agency to protect consumers, he says, because the agencies tasked with doing so werent getting the job done. If we get rid of the CFPB, we run the risk of another Great Recession. Less safe from financial traps and scams While a sequel to the Great Recession may not occur immediately, one thing is clear in the short term: Putting the CFPBs work on pause does mean that consumers are in a more perilous position than they were before. Across the country, people in my family and your family are less safe from financial traps, scams, and mistakes than they were a few weeks ago, says Chris Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah. The CFPBs work is the way that we ensure that companies are complying with the law, he says, and the people who do that job are now cooling their heels instead of protecting the public. Peterson echoes Sovern in that he thinks the public should be more outraged by whats happening, particularly because the CFPB was created as an act of lawand taxpayers have paid for it to do its work. Its a government service that we all paid for, and that is required by federal law to be provided to us all. And now thats been suspended without a law that authorizes it. Its not consistent with the constitution, he says. We dont have an experience quite like this in the history of the country,” Peterson adds. “Its ambiguous as to what happens next.” Holzel says that she thinks the CFPB will resume some activities at some point, and that whats currently happening may be a sort of payback by the Trump administration on behalf of players in the financial industry who felt that the Biden administrations CFPB had gone too far, and acted too aggressively in recent years. The past four years had very aggressive leadership, and very liberal views on their authority to touch certain areas, which are disputed, she says. People are not happy about the past four years because they felt like it may have been good for consumers, but chaotic for banksbanks that were trying to follow the rules in good faith. As for whether those in the industry are happy with whats happening? Im hearing different things as to whether or not its a good thing, Holzel says.
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E-Commerce
In the span of three plays in the second quarter of the most-watched event on television, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked multiple times before launching the football soaring through midaironly for it to be intercepted and returned for a touchdown by his team’s opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles. And as that series of unfortunate events unfolded for the Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX, it seemed America rejoiced. As one X user wrote before the big game: The amount of people I know who will be rooting for the Eagles simply because they dont want the Chiefs to win is a beautiful thing. Hate conquers all. Hate conquering all certainly seemed to be the storyline of Sundays spectacle. The Eagles handily destroyed the Chiefs, a team whose successful season has been muddied by overexposure and controversy. And during the halftime show, Kendrick Lamar publicly embarrassed his rapping peer Drake, an artist that much of the country has turned against. From the game itself to the diss-filled halftime show, people who love to hate enjoyed their evening as “schadenfreude” defined much of the night. The word schadenfreude has its roots in Germanschaden meaning harm, freude meaning joy, and schadenfreude then meaning happiness found in the misfortune of others. And Americans have certainly embraced the act in recent years: Schadenfreudes popularity has grown exponentially since the start of the millennium, according to Googles word-use tracker. The Super Bowl was no exception. A three-peat denied The Chiefs might have been the most hated team in the NFL when the Super Bowl aired. It seemed much of America wasnt necessarily rooting for the Eagles to win, but rather against any happiness for Kansas City. After Philadelphia’s victory, one X user celebrated: “THE GREAT EVIL HAS BEEN DEFEATED.” The dynasty-in-progress had won the last two Super Bowls, and this year they became the first team in NFL history to make a third consecutive Super Bowl after winning the first two. Had they won Sundays game, they would have been the first team in NFL history to three-peat (win three times in a row). But many viewers didnt want to see that happen. The Chiefs’ unpopularity is in part due to perceived referee favoring. Many of the Chiefs victories this season have been decided by questionable, game-changing referee calls. And although the NFL commissioner vehemently denied any rigging allegations, that didnt stop fans from making them. After one questionable playoff win, even rapper Lil Wayne declared to his 34 million X followers that he hates the cheating azz Chiefs. The cheating allegations may not have any merit, as data shows the Chiefs dont receive nearly as much help from referees as many assume. But haters have found other reasons to dislike the team; New York Magazine columnist Jake Nevins wrote that although the Chiefs may not be cheaters, they are boring and swagless, smug and exasperating. As Super Bowl LIX progressed and the Chiefs struggled to put anything together offensively, the delight at the loss only grew. Statistically, Mahomes had one of the worst quarterback games in Super Bowl history. Fans in Philadelphia responded by gleefully burning a puppet of Kermit the Froga character many have said sounds exactly like Mahomesin a bizarre sort of effigy. Ultimately, the Chiefs lost in an even more embarrassing manner than the final 4022 score suggests. And broadcasters knew that would make many viewers very happy. Nick Wright, a talk-show host known for his obsession with the Chiefs, posted Monday morning that his eventual broadcast about the loss would be undoubtedly delightful for everyone but me. And the joyfully hateful comments followed: One user responded, cant wait to hear you cry today, and another said, you deserve it.” Pop star Taylor Swift, too, had her turn in the haters spotlight: The Super Bowl stadium erupted into raucous boos after she popped up on the jumbotron. Since the singer began dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in late 2023, the NFL has faced criticism for featuring too much footage of Swift during its game broadcasts. (But, maybe Swift shouldn’t feel too bad: Eagles fans have also famously booed Santa Claus.) A winning diss track CNN claimed that Drake lost worse than the Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX. And based on Kendrick Lamars spite-fueled halftime show, that may be true. When the NFL announced that Lamar would be headlining this years halftime show, many immediately knew the centerpiece of the performance would be the critically beloved (and now Grammy-winning) diss track of Drake: Not Like Us. The feud between the two rappers has been ongoing since 2013. And on the largest stage of all, with millions of eyes and ears on him, Lamar took the opportunity to spotlight rumors that his rapping rival has a tendency to date younger women. During the show, Lamar rapped: Say Drake, I hear you like em young, and told viewers, hide your little sister from him. His diss track also includes a lyric calling Drake a pedophile, and while Lamar didn’t say the word out loud during his performance, the audience gladly did it for him, yelling and cheering. The world noticed this joyous hate on full display. As one X user put it: A whole stadium calling you a pedophile during the Super Bowl has to be rock bottom, right? And the diss wasnt limited to the lyrics. Lamar also brought on tennis star Serena Williams as a guest for the halftime show, who performed a crip walk dance during Not Like Us. Williams and Drake were rumored to have briefly dated in 2011 and 2015, and Drake has publicly dissed the athlete in two of his songs. The audienceand social mediawent wild. But as the “hater-bowl” concluded, there were many victories to celebrate genuinely, not spitefully. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts overcame the odds to win his first Super Bowl after losing to Patrick Mahomes two years ago. Philadelphias running back Saquon Barkley also won his first Super Bowl after a tumultuous departure from the New York Giants. And before the game even started, the broadcast began with a moving tribute to victims of the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, with two survivors taking the field as honorary captains.
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E-Commerce
Everyone has a favorite moment from Super Bowl LIX. Eagles fans likely will long cherish the decisive victory over the Chiefs. Some will discuss Kendrick Lamars game-changing halftime show. Me? I was happy to see Puppy Monkey Baby again. The former Mountain Dew mascot, which made its disturbing debut in 2016 and was widely hated by pretty much everyone, was part of DoorDashs 2025 Super Bowl commercial, a spot that crammed in more corporate mascots than anyone thought possible. For some reason, that stirred some nostalgic feelings in me and I took to Facebook to post I, for one, am THRILLED to see the return of Puppy Monkey Baby!!! Thats when things got weird. I made the post, basically, to amuse myself. A short while later, during a less interesting commercial break, I decided to see if any of my friends were equally excited about the weirdest of all possible mascots. (They were, for the most part, not.) However, I had received a notification from Meta saying I could manage invites to friends on and off Facebook by creating an event and it had taken the liberty of choosing the time, date and informational copy for this event, which it dubbed Puppy Monkey Baby Returns! The wait is over!, the page read. Puppy Monkey Baby is back and better than ever! Join us for a fun-filled evening of laughter, joy, and excitement as we celebrate the return of our beloved Puppy Monkey Baby. With special performances, giveaways, and surprises, this is an event you wont want to miss! This preview, it added in small print at the bottom, was generated by AI. Ah. Yes. Of course it was. On the one hand, this made sense. Puppy Monkey Baby looks like something an AI system would generate when its in the midst of a hallucinogenic fever dream. And perhaps keywords like baby and thrilled led the system to think I was about to become a father and wanted to celebrate. But where in the heck did it get the idea there would be special performances? And giveaways? Not only was I learning about a party I hadnt planned for a nightmare-fuel corporate mascot, but I had to offer prizes to people who came? When Fast Company contacted Meta, a spokesperson for the company confirmed that it was a new feature. This feature can help people create events directly from their Facebook posts through AI suggestions,” said a Meta spokesperson. “You can choose to either edit or disregard a suggested event and provide feedback on the quality of the AI-generated suggestion, which helps us improve the experience. Meta has said in the past that its AI systems are still a work in progress. The company, on Monday, was expected to begin carrying out a series of company-wide layoffs, reducing its headcount by as much as 5% as it prepares to spend $60 billion on AI development in 2025. One upside, I suppose, is that at least Facebook didnt automatically invite any of my friends to this non-existent party, which was scheduled for 5:00 p.m. the next day. (Good thing, too! The time it gave me to prepare would have meant a menu largely made up of leftover buffalo dip and some cold pizza.) I looked online to see if I could find if anyone else had seen their posts seemingly transformed into an invite. There werent many (and none, that I could find, whose mystery invites revolved around Puppy Monkey Baby), but I wasnt entirely alone. One users political post in January saw him getting the strange notification about managing invites for friends. Invites are kind-of, sort-of hot once again, following the introduction of Apples Invite app for iCloud+ subscribers. Meta has never been shy to clone features of other tech companies (i.e. Instagram Stories, which had many of the same characteristics as Snap, and Reels, which is presented as an alternative to TikTok). That said, theres no evidence that Meta is looking to extend its invite or event segment beyond its current walls. Metas in a fight with Google, Microsoft, X, OpenAI and more for supremacy of this burgeoning market and is looking for ways to incorporate it into peoples lives. This misfire, though, should serve as a warning to Meta and those other companies. Sometimes its best to make sure your experiments are locked in the lab when youre still working on them. Otherwise, well, you could end up with a different sort of Puppy Monkey Baby.
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E-Commerce
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