Treasury & AI Security: Scott Bessent warned the U.S. can’t “lose the AI race” to China, as U.S. agencies flagged alleged industrial-scale model “distillation” by six China-based AI firms. Markets & Rates: Gold held steady ahead of the Fed, while U.S. bond yields hovered near 5% as investors weighed inflation and rate-path signals. Consumer Finance: A new study finds 30% of Americans use buy-now-pay-later for groceries—and that retailers may respond by raising prices or cutting inventory. Trade & Banking Spillover: The U.S. escalated its Canada dispute with bans on Canadian dairy, alcohol and motorcycles, while Canada doubled steel and aluminum surtaxes to 50% amid tariff retaliation. Crypto Policy: The Senate CLARITY Act vote is nearing, with U.S. banks pushing to tighten stablecoin rewards rules. Corporate/Legal: Meta agreed to pay up to $18B over social media claims, including limits on youth engagement features. Defense Industrial Base: The Pentagon backed Elmet Group with $450M to expand U.S. tungsten capacity. Healthcare Compliance: Dompé U.S. will pay $32M to settle kickback allegations tied to Medicare co-pays. Insurance/Fintech Ops: Proxima CX launched a rebranded AI customer experience platform for insurance and financial-services workflows.