Good morning and Happy Friday! This is Betty Lin-Fisher with Friday's consumer-focused edition of The Daily Money.

Mortgage interest rates slipped lower over the past week, coming in at the lowest levels of 2025. But they still remain high, my colleague Andrea Riquier reports.

What does this mean for the housing market?

Should workers' tips be taxed?

President Donald Trump has reiterated his pledge to end taxes on tips for workers, saying he will work with Congress to get a bill on his desk in the coming weeks.

Economist and policy experts, though, call the idea unfair, costly and inconsequential to most lower-income Americans.

📰 Consumer stories you shouldn't miss 📰

• Michelle Singletary with the Washington Post says you're right to be paranoid that Elon Musk's DOGE is trying to access your data.
• At the same time, the Treasury Department has limited DOGE access amid a privacy lawsuit.
• Here's tips for a budget-friendly Super Bowl party.
• Speaking of Super Bowl, don't forget to rate the ads on Ad Meter.
• The FAA is limiting flights at Reagan National Airport.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield settlement checks are coming soon.

🍔 Today's Menu 🍔

Amid soaring egg prices and a national shortage, Cracker Barrel on Thursday said its customers won't be charged extra for eggs. Waffle House earlier this week announced a 50-cent surcharge. "There's nothing hospitable" about a surcharge, Cracker Barrel said.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.