The morning began with continued focus on the Venezuelan earthquake's Spanish victims and the Zapatero investigation, but editorial attention shifted decisively by midday to the 'caso Leire'. Judge Pedraz imputed the current SEPI president and 25 others for alleged contract rigging, a story that dominated across the political spectrum from La Razón to eldiario.es. Simultaneously, Carmen Pano's testimony about a €250,000 bribe offer linked to the PSOE reinforced the corruption narrative, while Zapatero's secretary invoked silence in the Senate. In the afternoon, the government announced a VAT hike on gasoline to 21% with a temporary rebate, and PSOE and Sumar agreed on a new housing decree restoring rental extensions. By evening, the SEPI imputation remained the lead story, with the government publicly defending the accused official.