“The absence of federal oversight doesn’t mean the city is powerless; rather, it should be a turning point. With the cost of living continuing to rise, New York needs a homegrown partner whose model is rooted in their success, not in taking advantage.”

(NYC Council/William Alatriste)

With New York City’s affordability crisis growing more dire by the day, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been a lifeline most took for granted, shielding consumers and businesses from fraud, abuse, and any unfair banking practices in a city where few have a cent left to spare.

Now with the agency on the line, consumers and businesses alike face heightened financial vulnerability when they need protection the most, raising the critical question of who will step in to fill the federal watchdog’s shoes and safeguard everyday Americans and their bank accounts from exploitation? 

The impact may not be immediate—in fact, most people might not fully understand the role of the CFPB. However, predatory practices often slip under the radar, building up over time, whether through misleading charges or hidden interest rates, leading to irreparable damage before anyone realizes it.

Just earlier this year, New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $1.065 billion judgment against capital lenders found to have been misleading small businesses about the nature of their cash advances for years, charging interest rates as high as 820 percent. And in 2025, the Federal Trade Commission reported a nearly 25 percent increase in fraud complaints since the prior year, with losses surpassing $12.5 billion, largely driven by a rise in digital scams, phishing attacks, and unregulated digital lending and fintech. The staggering figure underscores the critical need for safeguards as new threats continue to emerge.

In New York in particular, where countless individuals live paycheck to paycheck, the stakes are sky-high. With consumer debt trending upwards due to credit and auto loans, especially among younger borrowers, New Yorkers can’t afford to be complacent about their finances. Finding trusted institutions that have their best interests at heart, such as their local nonprofit credit union or a reliable personal advisor, can offer reassurance.

These partners are driven by their customers’ long-term success and financial education, not just quarterly profits. In 2024, Municipal Credit Union hosted a financial literacy workshop series that reached over 5,000 New Yorkers. It was our way of building on the work we do with our members, because like many other credit unions, we see our members as co-owners in our organization, and their success mirrors our own.

The alternative doesn’t bode well—not just for individual consumers, but for New York’s economy as a whole. With credit card debt and home interest rates soaring, leaving both consumers and businesses with little to no financial cushion, the entire city is at risk of a significant downturn.

The situation eerily mirrors 2008, before the CFPB opened its doors, when the country entered a great recession due to predatory lending practices that left millions in foreclosure. If New Yorkers don’t leave their finances in the right hands, we could find ourselves on the brink of a similar economic collapse, stalling the region’s growth and stability for years to come.

The landscape is evolving, but so are New Yorkers. The absence of federal oversight doesn’t mean the city is powerless; rather, it should be a turning point. With the cost of living continuing to rise, New York needs a homegrown partner whose model is rooted in their success, not in taking advantage.

Traditional banks aren’t going anywhere, but New Yorkers can still take charge of their financial futures by choosing institutions that truly have their best interests at heart—and always have their backs.

Kyle Markland is the CEO of Municipal Credit Union in New York City.

The post Opinion: With Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Limbo, New Yorkers Need a New Financial Partner appeared first on City Limits.

The National Weather Service will resume translating its products for non-English speakers.

The weather service paused the translations this month because its contract with the provider had lapsed. Experts said the change could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather.

Related Articles

La Nina exits after three weak months, leaving Earth in neutral climate state

Storms tore up two of America’s most iconic trails. Federal cuts have disrupted repairs

Wild weather expected across Midwest, South gets a rare ‘high-risk’ designation — the most severe category

Forecasters warn of deadly floods and strong tornadoes in parts of the Midwest and South

Storms could unleash deadly floods, strong tornadoes in large part of US in coming days

The weather service said Thursday the contract has been reinstated, and the translations will resume by the end of the day Monday.

Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023. That replaced manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan.

Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data.

The translations are important during extreme weather events, but general weather forecasts are also essential for people who work in tourism, transportation and energy, experts say.

The weather service’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is among the federal agencies targeted by the Trump administration for aggressive staff and budget cuts.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a personal story of his own heroin addiction, spiritual awakening and recovery at a conference on drug addiction Thursday and emphasized that young people need a sense of purpose in their lives to prevent them from turning to drugs.

Kennedy called addiction “a source of misery, but also a symptom of misery.” In a speech that mentioned God more than 20 times, he pointed to his own experience feeling as though he had been born with a hole inside of himself that he needed to fill.

“Every addict feels that way in one way or another — that they have to fix what’s wrong with them, and the only thing that works are drugs. And so threats that you might die, that you’re going to ruin your life are completely meaningless,” he said.

Related Articles

Judge blocks parts of Trump’s overhaul of US elections, including proof-of-citizenship requirement

Judge rules the Trump administration violated a 2019 settlement in deporting a man to El Salvador

Lawsuits take aim at voter-approved transit projects worth billions

Trump science cuts roil university labs, targeting bird feeder research, AI literacy work and more

Department of Homeland Security points to another agency when asked about court-barred deportations

Speaking to about 3,000 people at the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, Kennedy did not address recent budget and personnel cuts or agency reorganizations that many experts believe could jeopardize public health, including recent progress on overdose deaths.

Kennedy drew cheers when he said that we need to do “practical things” to help people with addictions, like providing them with Suboxone and methadone. He also said there should be rehabilitation facilities available for anyone who is ready to seek help. But he focused on the idea of prevention, signaling his view of addiction as a problem fueled by deteriorating family, community and spiritual life.

“We have this whole generation of kids who’ve lost hope in their future,” he said. “They’ve lost their ties to the community.”

Kennedy said policy changes could help reestablish both of those things. Though Kennedy offered few concrete ideas, he recommended educating parents on the value of having meals without cellphones and providing opportunities for service for their children.

The best way to overcome depression and hopelessness, he said, is to wake up each morning and pray “please make me useful to another human being today. ”

He suggested that cellphones are a pernicious influence on young people and that banning them in schools could help decrease drug addiction. He cited a recent visit to a Virginia school that had banned cellphones, saying that grades were up, violence was down and kids were talking to one another in the cafeteria.

Kennedy told attendees that he was addicted to heroin for 14 years, beginning when he was a teenager. During those years, he was constantly making promises to quit, both to himself and to his family.

“I didn’t want to be someone who woke up every morning thinking about drugs,” he said, noting that one of the worst parts of addiction was his total “incapacity to keep contracts with myself.”

Kennedy said he eventually stumbled upon a book by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung that claimed people who believed in God got better faster and had more enduring recoveries, so he worked to rekindle his faith and started attending 12-step meetings.

Kennedy was interrupted several times by hecklers shouting things like, “Believe science!” He has been heavily criticized by scientists and public health experts for pushing fringe theories about diet, vaccines, measles and autism, among other things.

One heckler was escorted out of the ballroom with a raised middle finger. Without responding directly to the hecklers, Kennedy said that he tries to learn from every interaction, even with people who give him the finger because they don’t like his driving.

“God talks to me most through those people,” he told the group.

University of Washington researcher Caleb Banta-Green was among those escorted out after he stood up and shouted, “Believe science! Respect spirituality! Respect choice! Respect government workers!”

“Spirituality is an essential part of recovery for some people; 12 step works great for the people it works for, however, it should never be mandated,” Banta-Green said in an email after the program.

He added, “We have decades of science-based interventions that are proven effective for supporting recovery and reducing death from substance use disorder. The problem we have is massive underfunding.”

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson in Washington state contributed.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Anyone looking to book a room at one of the best hotels in the country might want to consider a stay in Denver.

This week, Esquire unveiled its list of the best new hotels in the world, which reporters and editors culled “the old-fashioned way,” they wrote – by visiting a slew of new properties in person over the last year.

Denver’s nature-inspired Populus Hotel, which opened last October, was not only the sole local spot on the list but also earned the title of “hotel of the year” for 2025. Rising 13 stories into the skyline, the Populus is immediately noticeable for its white exterior covered in oblong windows, designed to mimic the eyes of aspen trees. In fact, its namesake is the scientific term for aspens, Populus tremuloides.

Esquire’s Jeff Gordinier gushed about the aesthetic, from the exterior with its arched windows designed to deter birds from flying into the glass to the sheets of reishi mushroom leather decorating the in-house bar, Pasque. The Rocky Mountains vistas from the rooftop bar, Stellar Jay, aren’t bad either, he wrote.

Related Articles

Worries about flying seem to be taking off. Here’s how to cope with in-flight anxiety

Here’s a sustainable travel hack: Shop at your local refill store

See the grandeur of our nation during National Park Week

Lonely Planet: The 10 best places to visit in Italy in 2025

How to enjoy the natural and urban gems of the Pacific Northwest — even when your time is limited

The mission behind the Populus also resonated. The property was designed to be the country’s first “carbon positive” hotel, meaning it aims to make a positive environmental impact. It does so with amenities like a biodigester that turns food scraps into compost, using only renewable energy resources, and planting trees for each night a guest stays there, The Denver Post previously reported.

“Traditionally, hotels are pretty bad for the environment, but every gesture at this curvy, revolutionary property has been created with the idea of honoring nature. That spirit happens to lead to a beautiful and restorative experience,” Esquire said.

The Populus Hotel topped the publication’s list of 42 hotels across the globe; you can take a virtual tour of it below. If you’re looking for an escape from Denver, see where else in the world Esquire recommends you should stay here.