Today’s Big Story

The Fight Over Medical Debt

The CFPB wanted medical debt to be left off credit reports. That's changed under Trump.

This doesn’t seem great: America’s consumer protection watchdog has switched its position on removing medical debt from credit reports. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule just weeks before the end of the Biden administration that would have kept medical debt from people’s credit history.

At the time, the agency reported 15 million Americans would benefit from the change, removing $49 billion in medical debt from records. It was set to go into effect in March. Then came the change in administration, with the agency not just reversing its position, but also teaming with plaintiffs trying to block the rule, NPR reported Monday.

In a motion filed at the end of last month, CFPB joined the Consumer Data Industry Association and the Cornerstone Credit Union League to request a judgment “holding unlawful and vacating the Medical Debt Rule because it exceeds the Bureau’s statutory authority. We believe that Congress is the only one who can act on this and determine whether or not it can be on the credit report,” Dan Smith, CEO and president of the Consumer Data Industry Association, told NPR.

If you’re wondering just how much debt America carries from health problems, the recent data from CFPB found that it affected about one in five Americans—for a total of $220 billion owed. Additionally, a 2021 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that: 100 million adults had some medical debt, with more than 14 million owing over $1,000, and 3 million were struggling to pay off bills of more than $10,000. Now, a judge is expected to decide whether to vacate the rule by the middle of June.

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this year, banning medical debt from credit reports could have some unintended consequences, particularly for the healthcare ecosystem as a whole. “Though the CFPB has claimed that medical debt remains a ‘poor’ predictor of whether or not someone can repay their loans—in the setting where a lender is mulling whether or not to extend credit—leaving the debt off reports removes some incentive to pay that exists between the patient and the provider,” that report said. “The process of chasing debt, placing it in collections, and seeking to be repaid is a long and costly one.”

Trump Sours on Russia

The president expressed frustration over new attacks in Ukraine and the slow pace of peace talks

The Kremlin claimed President Donald Trump was showing signs of “emotional overload” after he called Vladimir Putin “absolutely crazy” following Moscow’s largest aerial assault on Ukraine. “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump is now eyeing sanctions against Moscow. The restrictions likely wouldn’t include new banking sanctions, one of the people said, but other options are under discussion to pressure the Russian leader into concessions at the negotiating table, including a 30-day cease-fire supported by Ukraine that Russia has long rejected. Trump might also decide not to impose new sanctions. “Trump is also tiring of the peace negotiations and is considering abandoning them all together if a final push doesn’t work, people familiar with his thinking said, a remarkable change for a leader who campaigned on his ability to end the conflict on his first day in office.”

The developments mark a new deterioration in relations between the U.S. and Russia—which have had ups and downs even in the past few months. Ukraine has publicly agreed to a 30-day ceasefire but Putin has only said Russia will work with Ukraine to craft a “memorandum” on a “possible future peace”—a move described by Kyiv and its European allies as delaying tactics. And between Sunday evening and Monday morning, Russia launched 355 drones against Ukraine, killing and injuring dozens of people.

Deadly Strikes Hit Gaza

While a new aid group says it has begun distributing food

Deadly Israeli airstrikes hit a school turned shelter and other targets in Gaza on Monday, according to rescue workers and witnesses, as a controversial new private aid organization with ties to both the Israeli and U.S. governments said it began distributing food inside the enclave. The Washington Post reports that the Israeli military said the strike targeted an active intelligence “command and control center” operated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group in the Strip. Before the renewed attacks, Israel’s blockade on food and medicine halted entry of vital supplies for more than two months, and spurred a fresh humanitarian crisis in the enclave marked by warnings of widespread starvation.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios on Monday he is “disappointed” that Hamas has so far failed to accept his proposal for a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. Witkoff has been speaking directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Hamas leadership through a backchannel facilitated by Palestinian American businessman Bishara Bahbah.

Meanwhile, the head of a new U.S. and Israel-backed organization set to distribute aid in Gaza has quit, saying it would be impossible to do the job without compromising basic humanitarian principles. This departure followed growing acrimony within the traditional aid sector about efforts by Israel to replace the current aid system in Gaza with this newly founded one overseen by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Critics called the foundation “untested” and were suspicious of private contractors hired, including one run by a former C.I.A. officer, to secure and distribute food. Other aid groups have warned that in addition to undermining a long-held humanitarian framework in the enclave, that the plan will once again force widespread displacement in Gaza, while also concentrating distribution in areas that may not be accessible to everyone.

Can Cocktail Bars Thrive Without Ice?

One Parisian establishment is giving it a try

Just last year, InsideHook announced that we’ve hit “peak cocktail ice”. But the pendulum was bound to swing and now, cocktail experts are asking what happens when a bar decides to avoid ice in its drinks altogether? That’s exactly what Paris’s De Vie is doing, combining local ingredients with an ice-free approach. In an article for Punch, Nicola Leigh Stewart talked to the bar’s founders to learn more about the concept—and what it was like creating a menu with that restriction.

The founders told Punch that environmental concerns informed their decision. “No bar in Paris is making their own ice because of the size of venues, so here, a company makes them and delivers them, and ice is heavier than concrete, so you’re basically transporting cinder blocks from one part of Paris to another,” owner Alex Francis explained.

But the connection between icemaking and sustainability is one that many cocktail bar owners are having to consider. When InsideHook spoke with Ice author Amy Brady in 2023, she also raised this topic. “[D]epending on how you source your ice and how you use it, it could be more sustainable,” she said. “Again, it kind of just depends on your larger energy output as a business.” And there are plenty of ways to keep a drink cold—from using frozen grapes to chilling pre-batched cocktails.

The Long Read

Apple relied on cheap Chinese labor as it became the world’s most valuable company

Let your good vibes flow.