Rumors spreading on social media claim the U.S. government will soon be issuing stimulus checks to taxpayers in certain income brackets. But for now it's only wishful thinking. Congress has not passed legislation to authorize such payments. And the IRS says no new stimulus checks will be distributed in the coming weeks. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri last month introduced a bill that would send tax rebates to qualified taxpayers using revenue from tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump. Hawley's bill has not passed the Senate or the House.

House Republicans appear to be backing off some, but not all, of the steep reductions to the Medicaid program as part of their big tax breaks bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson is running into resistance from more centrist GOP lawmakers opposed to ending health care coverage for their constituents back home. This is as a new report out Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows millions of Americans would lose Medicaid coverage under the various proposals being circulated by Republicans as cost-savings measures. House Republicans are scrounging to come up with as much as $1.5 trillion in cuts to health care, food stamps and other programs, to offset the revenue lost for some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.