Overhaul

• Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has executed its most significant portfolio overhaul in several years, adding six new holdings to its investment strategy. • The expansion includes high-profile additions such as Netflix and Visa, signaling a shift in the fund's sector exposure. • This reshuffle matters as it reflects a strategic pivot in Ackman's approach to growth and value, diversifying the fund's concentrated bets.

Demonstrators accuse authorities of failing to tackle issues in exams for highly sought-after civil service jobsThousands of angry young job-seekers clashed with police in Jharkhand, one of India’s poorest states, on Monday as a weeks-long protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment drives for coveted government jobs escalated into a march on the state legislature.Police fired water cannon and teargas and swung batons as they tried to stop flag-waving demonstrators from clambering over barricades and surging towards the assembly in Ranchi, the state capital. Some of the protesters responded by dancing and cheering as jets of water drenched the crowd. Continue reading...

Ten months into her tenure as editor in chief, Weiss’ biggest – and riskiest – bet is getting closer to taking flightBari Weiss is 10 months into her tenure as editor-in-chief of CBS News, but her biggest test is right around the corner.The newest season of 60 Minutes is set to premiere next month after Weiss overhauled the show’s correspondent corps and production staff in the spring. Long considered the gold standard in television news, the show still generates a staggering nine million average viewers per night at a time when linear television’s core audience is either aging out or turning to digital alternatives. Continue reading...

While officials say proposed revisions will encourage more enrollment, advocates say it will undermine the programThe Trump administration has said it plans to overhaul Head Start, tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s neediest children.Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said on Thursday the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making, but the proposal has sparked alarm across the Head Start community, where advocates say it threatens the backbone of the antipoverty initiative. Continue reading...

• The Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committee has issued an information request to determine how Congress should overhaul the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). • The move follows several federal court rulings that overturned the agency's "click-to-cancel" rules and noncompete bans, as well as criticism regarding the FTC's 2022 data privacy rulemaking. • Critics, including former FTC chief technologist Neil Chilson, argue the agency has taken an overly aggressive position by stepping in where Congress has failed to act.

• The U.S. Senate has finalized a funding patch that includes language to block President Trump's plan to install political appointees in charge of grant approvals. • The measure serves as a temporary delay rather than a permanent ban, as GOP senators successfully fought off efforts by Democrats to prohibit the rule change outright. • This conflict highlights a partisan struggle over the objectivity of the grant process and the extent of executive control over federal funding.

• Thailand's government is reviewing over 100 laws identified by the private sector as significant obstacles to doing business. • Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs Pakorn Nilprapunt announced the initiative on July 31, 2026, aiming to reduce operational costs and enhance national competitiveness. • To facilitate the process, a new tracking system has been developed allowing private-sector representatives to submit specific issues and monitor the progress of their proposals.