While gas prices have pulled back from highs seen earlier this year, travelers for the holiday weekend will still need to shell out more than a year ago amid the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The average price of a regular gallon of gas in the U.S. came in at about $3.84 on Thursday, according to AAA. While that's down more than 10% from last month, it's 21% more expensive than the same day in 2025.

More than 61 million Americans are slated to travel by car over the July 4th holiday week, AAA reported.

— Alex Harring

U.S. consumers are still feeling pessimistic about the economy as November's midterm elections near.

The University of Michigan's closely followed consumer sentiment index climbed more than 10% from May to June. But the index is still down more than 18% year over year and within striking distance of the record lows set this year.

Joanne Hsu, the survey's director, said in a statement that cost of living challenges remain top of mind for Americans. More than half of consumers have said high prices are hindering their personal finances for three straight months, she said.

What's more, more job seekers appear to be giving up on entering the workforce. The labor force participation rate fell to its lowest level in half a century when excluding the pandemic, according to data released Thursday.

— Alex Harring

Today's interview comes after the Supreme Court gave the president broader powers to remove federal regulators this week but made an exception for the Federal Reserve, preventing Trump from immediately firing Fed governor Lisa Cook.

The court found the Fed occupies "a unique role in the U. S. Government," giving the central bank an extra layer of protection against presidential power.

Trump has put public pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates as few other modern presidents have. Lower interest rates expand profitability and are generally more politically popular than higher rates, but can undermine broader price stability in the economy when applied too broadly.

The question is whether the ruling will take the wind out of Trump's pressure campaign on the Fed in the future.

In a Truth Social post after the ruling, Trump said the court had sent the case back "on a strictly procedural basis" and vowed to take further action against Cook.

–Tobias Burns

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Trump of using power to benefit himself and punish his enemies, saying in an interview with Democracy Docket Wednesday that his administration had turned the Justice Department into "a big personal law firm for him and his allies."

"He wants to stay in power for the perks, he wants to stay in power for the financial benefits flowing to him and his family," Clinton said. "He wants to stay in power to wield unaccountable power against anyone that he considers a political obstacle or an adversary."

Clinton also criticized major corporations, law firms and media organizations that she said had capitulated to Trump, while urging Democrats to focus on winning competitive seats in the midterms rather than only fighting over deep-blue districts.

"We're not going to win the majority just by changing who's in the chair in deep blue districts," Clinton said. "I'm a numbers person. How do we get to the numbers we need to control the House and the Senate?"

--Luke Fountain

The White House promoted its America 250 push with a social media post declaring, "A nation built on unity," over an image of Robert E. Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia.

The artwork, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris' Let Us Have Peace, depicts one of the Civil War's defining final scenes: the Confederate general yielding to the Union commander in April 1865. The social media graphic also featured the line, "Whose broad stripes & bright stars through the perilous fight."

The Wednesday post quickly drew criticism online from users who said the image's message was more complicated: Lee led a rebellion against the United States, and the scene depicts Confederate defeat, not simple national harmony.

–Luke Fountain

Tensions between Trump and Elon Musk have eased since the pair publicly clashed over the president's signature "One Big Beautiful Bill" law last summer.

Musk called a draft of the bill "utterly insane" in a social media post, while Trump countered that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO "just went CRAZY!"

By the fall of 2025, Musk and Trump were seen shaking hands at a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist who was shot and killed as he spoke at a rally at Utah Valley University in Orem. In May, Musk was part of the delegation that accompanied Trump on his trip to China.

Musk spent months, and around $300 million, to push Trump back to the White House in 2024. He then served as a special government employee last year, leading the Department of Government Efficiency for the administration, slashing the federal workforce, cutting some government spending and putting an end to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The second Trump administration has given Musk billions of dollars worth of defense contracts at SpaceX and has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit against its AI unit, xAI, in Mississippi.

—Ashley Capoot and Lora Kolodny

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up by nearly 600 points, or 1.1%, on Thursday ahead of the Trump interview on a soft jobs print, while the S&P 500 closed flat.

The weak jobs report report was perhaps something the Administration does not want to see, but it raised investors' hopes the Federal Reserve would hold off from hiking interest rates, boosting the market. The Dow closed at a record and is on a four-week winning streak.

Semiconductors fell for the second day in a row, weighing the technology heavy Nasdaq Composite down by 0.8%. Chips stock were volatile in the back half of the week on news of efficiency gains among the frontier models and a move by Meta to rent out excess computational capacity.

– Tobias Burns

Trump's July 4th celebration to mark America's 250th birthday is arriving amid growing controversy over how the events have been organized, funded and politicized.

Trump and his allies have built a splashy, Washington-centered celebration that includes the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, a major renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, military flyovers, a UFC event at the White House, a Salute to America program and a massive fireworks show.

The events have already drawn questions over corporate money, donor access, uneven state participation and the sidelining of America250, the bipartisan commission Congress created nearly a decade ago to plan the semiquincentennial. The state fair has reportedly drawn smaller-than-expected crowds, while algae blooms have returned to the Reflecting Pool after renovations Trump directed that were meant to fix the issue.

A new report Thursday from House Natural Resources Committee Democrats, MS NOW reported, accuses Trump of turning the anniversary into a political project and alleges that some donors who intended to give to America250 were instead directed to Freedom 250 banking information. Democrats say the allegations could raise questions about potential wire fraud or charitable solicitation fraud, though they remain unproven.

–Luke Fountain

Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. needs to maintain global leadership in AI, particularly over China.

But as the U.S. government has restricted model rollouts from top U.S. AI companies, namely Anthropic and OpenAI, Chinese companies have launched models that rival frontier labs in some capabilities. Zhipu's GLM 5.2, released last month, can perform on par with top U.S. labs on some cyber benchmarks, according to researchers.

A number of tech executives and investors have raised concern that Chinese developers were being gifted valuable time in their effort to catch up.

—Ashley Capoot

The Trump administration lifted the export controls on Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models this week, but the AI company is still entangled in litigation with the government.

In March, the Department of Defense designated Anthropic a supply chain risk, meaning it purportedly threatens U.S. national security. The label requires defense contractors to certify that they will not use the company's technology in their work with the military.

Anthropic sued the Trump administration in San Francisco and Washington in an effort to undo its blacklisting by the Pentagon, and those cases are still pending.

—Ashley Capoot

Investors are keen to know if Trump intends to continue with his pressure campaign on the Fed following his maximum pressure campaign on former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.

He is thought to be giving new Chairman Kevin Warsh more room to run, CNBC's Matt Peterson reported.

Inflation is rising in the aftermath of the Iran war, having already gotten a boost from tariffs enacted last year, even as wage growth continues a longer-term moderation. 

This doesn't look like the time for steady rate cuts, and current Warsh recently emphasized the bank's 2% inflation target, which hasn't been reached since 2021. Futures markets bets on the Fed are pointing to a greater likelihood of interest rate hikes than any easing this year.

Investors are also curious about whether the Trump administration is planning any more direct interventions in the economy. The government took a 10% stake in Intel last year prior to the parabolic rise in many chip stocks that took place earlier this year. OpenAI, an artificial intelligence leader set to go public in the next 12 months, is considering allowing the U.S. government to take a 5% stake in the company, according to a new report by the Financial Times.

–Tobias Burns

With the midterm elections fast approaching, Trump is branding his new political foes with an old political trope by calling them communists.

The label harkens back to Cold War politics and Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who infamously pilloried his political opponents with accusations of being communists in the 1950s. It comes as a new crop of insurgent progressive Democrats associated with the Democratic Socialists of America wins primaries around the nation.

"As we're seeing now, communism is the greatest threat to our country," Trump said in a speech in North Dakota on Wednesday. The president singled out one Democratic U.S. House candidate in New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier, for a past social media post where she said she wiped her hands on an American flag.

"We don't wipe our hands on a flag, did you hear the person? One of our communist people?" Trump said. "These people are a disgrace."

Chevalier told MS NOW earlier this week that she is not a communist.

The DSA is not a communist group, but does call for increased government programming to reduce poverty and provide healthcare. It's also unclear whether communist accusations will carry the same weight in the 21st century as they did in the 20th century.

—Garrett Downs

After months of debate, the House and Senate passed a bipartisan housing package in June that aims to increase housing supply and make homes more affordable. Trump was due to sign the legislation at the Capitol on June 24, but he abruptly canceled an hour before the scheduled signing. He downplayed the bill and said he would not make it law until Congress passes an unrelated election bill, known as the SAVE America Act.

House Speaker Mike Johnson officially transmitted the bill to Trump on Monday, starting a 10-day clock. If the president has not vetoed the bill in that window, it will become law even if he doesn't formally sign it.

The housing package was heralded as a win by both Republicans and Democrats, who are eager to campaign on the legislation ahead of the 2026 midterms in which voters have serious concerns about the cost of living.

Johnson told USA Today this week that he believed the housing bill would become law, but Trump has not publicly ruled out a veto.

—Justin Papp

Amid simmering tensions with Congress, Trump has repeatedly called for firing Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, the chamber's nonpartisan advisor on rules and procedures, in the past several months.

Trump first called for MacDonough's firing in May, after she ruled a $1 billion Secret Service provision for his White House ballroom project could not be included in an unrelated budget bill. He again called for her ouster in June when she made a similar determination about the SAVE America Act, the Trump-backed bill that would require photo identification to cast a ballot and proof of citizenship to register for elections.

On Wednesday, Trump again took aim at MacDonough.

"How the Republican Senate is not firing the Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Radical Left Senator Harry Reid, and Barack Hussein Obama, is beyond me! She has been ruling unfairly against Republicans for years, and Majority Leader John Thune has the right to do it, immediately. FIRE THE PARLIAMENTARIAN NOW!!" Trump posted to TruthSocial.

—Justin Papp

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday declined to rule out a return to full-fledged combat in Iran, saying the decision depends on Iran's actions during the current negotiation period.

"Well, I can't commit to anything, because obviously it depends on what the Iranians are ultimately going to do," Vance told reporters after speaking to service members at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach.

But Vance said he can commit that Trump will not send troops back into combat in Iran "unless he has to, unless there's a clearly defined purpose for it."

"If we've gotta do more, of course, that's kind of up to the Iranians," Vance said. "If they try to rebuild their nuclear program, if they try to start shooting at commercial vessels again, that's going to change our calculus."

— Kevin Breuninger

The Trump administration said Wednesday it will not renew its trilateral trade pact known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA.

The decision — announced on the deadline for the trade partners to determine whether to renew the deal for another 16 years — won't invalidate the agreement, which will stay in effect for another decade. But it triggers yearly reviews that could result in the renegotiation of major parts of the treaty and undermines its premise.

Trump "chose not to rubber stamp a USMCA renewal without addressing existing issues," a senior administration official told reporters in a call Wednesday announcing the move.

Trump's "primary" concern with USMCA centers on the U.S.′ trade deficits with Canada and Mexico, according to the official.

—Kevin Breuninger

Trump's insistence on Congress' adoption of a controversial voter-identification and proof of citizenship bill has derailed action in both the House and Senate in the past week and threatens other GOP priorities.

Republican hardliners jammed up the House floor this week, in part because of congressional leadership's refusal to attach a version of the election bill, dubbed the SAVE America Act, to the National Defense Authorization Act. In the face of stiff opposition, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent the House home early for its July 4 recess.

The House advanced the SAVE America Act in February, but the legislation lacks the 60 votes it would need in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. Trump and his supporters have repeatedly pushed Senate leaders to abolish the filibuster to pass the election bill, but there's also insufficient support to drastically change the chamber's procedures.

—Justin Papp

The Trump administration and OpenAI are engaging in preliminary and ongoing talks about a possible government stake in the AI company, according to a source close to the discussions, who asked not to be named because the details are confidential.

The talks have been in progress for more than a year, as CNBC previously reported, but nothing official has been decided and the specifics are still subject to change. Altman first shared the idea with the Trump administration in 2025.

OpenAI has reportedly discussed giving the government a 5% stake in the company, according to a report from the Financial Times on Thursday. That potential holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion at the artificial intelligence startup's recent $852 billion valuation.

—Ashley Capoot

Trump's idea to restrict defense contractors from buying back their own stock and paying dividends is picking up steam in Congress. The Senate Armed Services Committee incorporated a provision to write it into law into its version of the National Defense Authorization Act — a must-pass defense bill.

As written, contractors would need Pentagon approval to execute buybacks or pay dividends. The legislative text closely resembles an executive order Trump issued in January. An amendment to add a similar provision to the House version of the NDAA didn't make it into the final bill.

Trump has not publicly leaned on Congress to approve the measure yet, but if he does, it would greatly improve its chances of becoming law. Advocacy groups representing Pentagon contractors are lobbying hard to kill the proposal.

—Garrett Downs

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Thursday that a grand jury had indicted Olympian canoeist David Hearn on a felony charge for allegedly destroying a piece of liner from the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall.

"This was a deliberate act to damage the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore, and have witnessed," Pirro said. "National Park employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands."

Hearn, 67, has said, "I didn't vandalize anything." He claims he reached down into the pool on June 19 to touch a piece of liner that had become partially detached.

Trump has made the renovation of the Reflecting Pool a top priority, and has claimed that its new "American flag blue" liner was intentionally damaged by vandals.

— Dan Mangan

The White House in late June sent Congress an $87.6 billion supplemental funding request for the Iran war, a proposal that raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill and may be meeting with some opposition — and not just from Democrats.

Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., immediately slammed the request, which would require congressional approval.

"President Trump launched a reckless and costly war with Iran — without authorization from Congress or the support of the American people — that he should never have started, and now, instead of doing anything to help families get by, he is asking taxpayers to pick up the tab and give him billions more to wage wars overseas," Murray said in a statement at the time.

Politico reported on Wednesday that even some key Republicans are alarmed at the supplemental, claiming the administration hadn't provided enough information.

—Justin Papp

Iran is intent on charging fees for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital trade route that was choked off during the U.S.-Israeli war and remains at the center of ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran, according to multiple reports.

The U.S. has floated the possibility of relinquishing some frozen Iranian funds in exchange for the Islamic republic abandoning its claims over the waterway, but Iran has so far refused, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The monthslong war in Iran, launched by the U.S. and Israel in late February, led to last month's signing of a 60-day memorandum of understanding that paved the way for further talks on a permanent deal. But tensions remain high, with the sides exchanging fire at one point and continuing to publicly disagree about key issues.

Axios on Wednesday cited a U.S. official saying discussions in the Persian Gulf currently center on "how the Strait should be managed after [the memorandum expires]."

—Kevin Breuninger

Trump's interview with CNBC has been teed up by some unwelcome economic news: The Labor Department reported a sudden slowdown in U.S. job growth last month.

Nonfarm payrolls for June increased by a seasonally adjusted 57,000 for the month, less than half of the Dow Jones forecast of 115,000. Job creation in May was also downwardly revised to 129,000, according to the government's latest monthly report.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% — but that was largely due to a decline in the labor force participation rate, suggesting fewer people in the U.S. are actively looking for work. The rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 61.5%, its lowest point since March 2021.

—Kevin Breuninger and Jeff Cox