Gina Heeb (4:25)

Regulators are asking for a sweeping amount of information. In some cases, banks are being asked to send along internal policies that could amount to what the administration calls debanking, as well as complaints from their databases. Regulators are also reviewing their own databases for patterns that could indicate that certain customers have been unfairly cut off from access to accounts or rejected from accounts altogether. And in some cases, they're asking for entire lists of customers whose accounts were closed, not at their own request. The time span is really striking. Some of these requests are going back a number of years.

Alex Osola (5:11)

Why are they asking for this? What indication is there that this is a problem?

Gina Heeb (5:16)

This is an issue for the president that is very near and dear to him. He has alleged that the largest banks have debanked him and his family. He has said that they have unfairly cut off access to conservatives. And there have been just broad accusations that banks have kept a distance from certain industries, such as cryptocurrency and cannabis, although these industries were ones that regulators were not very comfortable with banks working with a couple years ago.

Alex Osola (5:48)

What have banks said about this?

Gina Heeb (5:50)

So banks say that they only close accounts because of credit risks, because of legal risks and to weed out money laundering and terrorist financing. They say they're not looking at political parties, ideological views, religion, the things that the administration is alleging.

Alex Osola (6:09)

So these banks will have to respond to these letters. Presumably what happens after that?

Gina Heeb (6:15)

Regulators are working with the Justice Department. Whether that leads to actual probes, formal charges remains to be seen. But we do know that DOJ is looking for violations of civil rights laws, and some of these regulators have explicitly said that there could be fines down the road.

Alex Osola (6:35)

That was WSJ reporter Gina Heeb. Thanks, Gina.

Gina Heeb (6:38)

Thanks for having me.

Alex Osola (6:45)

The University of Michigan's monthly consumer survey found that views on the economy dropped in September as worries about high prices and the labor market weighed on household sentiment. Investors, however, were optimistic today as a rally helped US Stocks break their three day losing streak. The S and P and Dow both advanced about 0.6% while the tech heavy Nasdaq added 0.4%. For the week, all three indexes closed in the red. Coming up, federal regulators are giving some authority back to Boeing six years after tightening their oversight. That's after the break.

Jimmy Fallon (7:26)

Tuesday on NBC. Jimmy Fallon and Bozma St. John host the highly anticipated new competition show. I hired 10 creatives from all walks of life. They will be battling it out to see who can impress the world's biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity. This is the battle for the next big idea.

Andrew Tangel (7:44)

This is not play play. We're spending millions of dollars.

Jimmy Fallon (7:47)

I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you. Be the best idea on Brand with Jimmy Fallon. Series premiere Tuesday on NBC.

Alex Osola (8:00)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone speaking at the United nations today. Speaking to an almost empty room, he lashed out at countries that recognized a Palestinian state this week amid a crescendo of international criticism over Israel's conduct in the war in the Gaza Strip. In his speech, Netanyahu accused his critics of turning against Israel under pressure from their domestic populations, rising anti Semitism and a biased media.

Benjamin Netanyahu (8:26)

Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving Al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11th. This is sheer madness. It's insane and we won't do it.

Alex Osola (8:44)

In an unusual move, the Israeli leader said he ordered that trucks with loudspeakers be deployed to Gaza so that hostages could hear him as he called for them to be freed. He's scheduled to meet with President Trump on Monday. Boeing has secured sizable aircraft orders from Turkish Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle. The company has announced today a boost for the jet maker as it seeks to revamp its business. The companies didn't disclose financial terms, but buyers typically receive steep discounts for big aircraft orders. Another promising sign for Boeing. The company is regaining authority from the Federal Aviation Administration to perform final safety checks on its 737 Max jets starting next week. For more, I'm joined now by Andrew Tangle, who covers aviation safety for the Wall Street Journal. Andrew, why did the FAA revoke this authority in the first place?

Andrew Tangel (9:36)

It was 2019 and two 737 maxs had just crashed, in large part because of a flawed flight control system with a faulty design, not a factory problem. But at the same time, factory problems emerged. The FAA was concerned about the company's pressure on employees to produce aircraft and deliver aircraft. And while the plane was grounded in 2019, the FAA took this authority back and said, we are going to make sure all of the regulatory requirements are adhered to before we sign off on Boeing's ability to hand these planes over to airlines to fly passengers.

Alex Osola (10:24)

Is it typical for plane manufacturers to have this sign off authority that Boeing had lost?

Andrew Tangel (10:29)

Yes. These inspections and sign offs are pretty routine. Aerospace manufacturers, they have a subset of employees who act on behalf of the regulator. The inspection has been compared to a final walkthrough before you buy a house. It's not a very intrusive inspection, but this created a choke point for Boeing. FAA inspectors were finding problems with the aircraft.

Alex Osola (10:56)

So now that Boeing does have this authority back, what does this mean for the company?

Andrew Tangel (11:00)

It's a sign that they're regaining trust from the regulator. It's a significant early milestone for Boeing's overall recovery and its attempts to turn the corner from these two crashes, but also a long string of quality issues.

Alex Osola (11:19)

That was WSJ reporter Andrew Tangle. Thanks, Andrew.

Andrew Tangel (11:22)

Thanks for having me.

Alex Osola (11:23)

And that's what's news for this week. Tomorrow you can look out for our weekly markets wrap up. What's news in markets? Then on Sunday, we're taking a look at the Trump administration's use of military force on boats in international waters to combat drug smuggling. That's in what's New Sunday and we'll be back with our regular show on Monday morning. Today's show is produced by Pierre Pienamet and Rodney Davis with supervising producer Jana Herron. Michael Lavalle wrote our theme music. Aisha Al Muslim is our development producer. Chris Insley is our deputy editor. And Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. I'm Alex Osola. Thanks for listening.