1/ Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that elevated inflation posed a “significant risk” of becoming “entrenched” in the economy. According to minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, officials said inflation had become “more persistent than they had previously anticipated,” emphasizing the need to raise interest rates faster and to levels high enough to slow economic growth and control cost-of-living increases running at their highest levels since 1981 – even if it meant causing a recession. In June, officials voted to raise their benchmark rate 0.75 percentage point, the largest increase since 1994. Members said the July meeting would likely result in another .50 or .75 percentage point increase, and warned “that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate if elevated inflation pressures were to persist.” (Bloomberg / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNBC)

2/ The number of open U.S. jobs fell to 11.3 million in May – down from 11.6 million in April. While it was the second straight monthly decline in open positions, there were 5.95 million people unemployed in May – meaning there were nearly two available jobs for every unemployed person in the U.S. The unemployment rate in May was 3.6%, slightly above where it was before the pandemic. New applications for unemployment benefits, however, rose to 235,000 last week from 231,000 the week before. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

3/ Senate Democrats reached an agreement with Joe Manchin to raise taxes on some high earners to keep Medicare from going bankrupt. The plan – effectively a slimmed-down version of the Build Back Better Act that Manchin scuttled last year over fears of rising inflation – would impose taxes on certain income from pass-through businesses. The tax is expected to raise about $203 billion over a decade, which would be used to sustain Medicare’s key trust fund until 2031. The fund is currently projected to start running out of money in 2028. Democrats expect to submit the text of the legislation to the Senate’s parliamentarian in the next few days. If it complies with the chamber’s budget rules, Democrats could avoid a Republican filibuster and pass the provision with just 50 votes. (NBC News / Bloomberg / Washington Post / ABC News / Associated Press)

4/ The IRS audited former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew Mc...