Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) William J. Pulte just handed renters who are looking to buy a home a huge win. Until now, if you were renting a home, the only thing that went into qualifying for a mortgage was your credit score, which until now has never included rent payments. Thanks to a brand new order from Pulte, that all changes today: My ORDER today (thanks to my boss, POTUS) will allow for Americans to use their RENT to qualify for a mortgage. Credit history will no longer just include credit cards and loans. This is HUGE. — Pulte (@pulte) July 8, 2025 Here are more details according to National Mortgage Professional: Mortgage lenders working with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now choose to use Vantage Score 4.0, while still keeping tri-merge credit checks on borrowers. “Effective today,” Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William J. Pulte posted on X this morning, “to increase competition to the Credit Score Ecosystem and consistent with President Trump’s landslide mandate to lower costs, Fannie and Freddie will ALLOW lenders to use Vantage 4.0 Score with no current requirement to build new infrastructure (stays Tri Merge).” The post could signal real disruption in the credit scoring and mortgage data landscape — lenders working with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now use VantageScore 4.0, pulling credit from all three major bureaus. “VantageScore thanks Director Pulte for his resolute focus on enacting credit score competition as required by the law, and promoting efficiency and affordability for creditworthy Americans,” stated Silvio Tavares, president and CEO of VantageScore, in a release. Tavares added that Pulte’s decision “will revolutionize the American mortgage market and grant millions of creditworthy Americans the golden opportunity to own their homes.” National Mortgage Professional reported in late April that more lenders are checking borrowers’ credit with VantageScore, which was developed by Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Overall, some 41.7 billion VantageScore credit scores were used in 2024, up a sizeable 55% from 26.9 billion in 2023. Today’s announcement from FHFA today came after Pulte said in May that the agency would move forward with plans to change the credit-score requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte has specifically targeted the higher costs of Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) credit scores, and upon Pulte’s announcement, shares of FICO have fallen more than 10%. In following up on his first post, Pulte said the move to allow VantageScore will bring “forgotten Americans” back into the fold while reducing homeownership costs. “We are expanding credit access to millions of forgotten Americans — people who live in rural areas, renters who pay their rent on time every month — and bringing down closing costs,” he posted on X, then pinned the post. He also had hinted that cost-saving moves are in the works: “If it helps the American consumer, and is legal, we must do it,” Pulte posted Thursday evening, July 3. He also gave a nod to President Donald J. Trump, calling the VantageScore change “huge.” “My ORDER today (thanks to my boss, POTUS) will allow for Americans to use their RENT to qualify for a mortgage,” he wrote on X, referencing VantageScore 4.0’s consideration and treatment of a range of payment types in determining creditworthiness. “Credit history will no longer just include credit cards and loans. This is HUGE.”

"It is an incomprehensible void that he is leaving in our lives"

Federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the National Guard conducted an immigration raid at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on Monday, prompting more criticism from Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Karen Bass.

Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now facing immense ridicule after sharing what appears to be a heavily-edited photo of himself on Instagram, prompting some critics to question why a grown man and politician would feel the need to aesthetically "enhance" his appearance.

Just days after flash floods ravaged central Texas — leaving at least 100 people killed and more than 160 still missing — a similar warning went out along New Mexico’s Ruidoso River as it rose rapidly on Tuesday. The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque posted a warning as the river began to rise, warning residents to avoid the area and not to make any effort to drive through the floodwaters. “A DANGEROUS situation is unfolding in RUIDOSO! A FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY remains in effect! Seek HIGHER GROUND NOW! Do NOT attempt to drive through the floodwaters. The current will carry away your vehicle!” the initial post read. A DANGEROUS situation is unfolding in RUIDOSO! A FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY remains in effect! Seek HIGHER GROUND NOW! Do NOT attempt to drive through the floodwaters. The current will carry away your vehicle! #nmwx — NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) July 8, 2025 Additional warnings came out a short time later, showing just how quickly the river was rising. “The flood wave on the Rio Ruidoso has reached the Hollywood gage. Stay away from the river! This is a look at the change in the river depth in just 30 minutes, courtesy of the USGS!,” the post read. Side by side photos showed the change over 30 minutes. Another 30 minutes later and it’s hard to tell where the riverbed is. The river is now in major flood stage at over 15 feet. Stay away from the river! Seek higher ground NOW! #nmwx pic.twitter.com/gd3ecndelG — NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) July 8, 2025 A follow-up post showed a photo taken after another 30 minutes, and the river bed was even higher: “Another 30 minutes later and it’s hard to tell where the riverbed is. The river is now in major flood stage at over 15 feet. Stay away from the river! Seek higher ground NOW!” the NWS warned. The latest update showed data indicating that the river’s 20.24 foot provisional crest on Tuesday was a full five feet higher than last year’s 15.86 foot crest on July 20, 2024. “The Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood reached a provisional crest of 20.24 feet this afternoon while significant flash flooding was occurring. If this is confirmed, it would be a record high crest (compared to last year’s crest of 15.86 feet on July 20th),” the NWS announced. The Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood reached a provisional crest of 20.24 feet this afternoon while significant flash flooding was occurring . If this is confirmed, it would be a record high crest (compared to last year’s crest of 15.86 feet on July 20th). #NMwx pic.twitter.com/QHtTrXLf3H — NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) July 8, 2025 ANOTHER Catastrophic Flood event unfolding NOW this Tuesday evening in New Mexico. The Ruidoso River in NM rose by 20 feet+ in less than an hour shattering a record. Videos coming in now breaking of homes floating down the Ruidoso River. Several inches of rain has fallen on burn… pic.twitter.com/7yZufCdejH — Noah Bergren (@NbergWX) July 8, 2025

D'Angelo Barber was placed under arrest Monday