Could Inflation Be Peaking?

It’s Thursday, August 11. Welcome to the News Diet. Today I’m gonna talk about the latest inflation numbers, the current fighting between Texas and New York regarding immigration, and also the man who was planning to assassinate the former national security advisor. Let’s be informed so we can get on with our day.

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Yesterday the Consumer Price Index numbers for July came out, and while it didn’t show huge improvements in the efforts to get prices down, it did signify that the current inflation could be peaking. What the report showed is that the rate of inflation in the 12 months ending in July was 8.5%, which is still very high, but it was down from June’s 41 year high of 9.1%.

Here’s a breakdown of the rates of some of the most closely watched items: the cost of food rose 1.1% in July, bringing it to a 10.9% increase since last year - the highest since 1979. Energy prices dropped 4.6%, with gasoline also declining 7.7%. Used car prices fell 0.4%  and airfare dropped 7.8%. Overall, the prices of goods fell 0.5% and services rose 0.3%. Also, wages rose 0.5%.

There are some small indicators here that the rising prices could be slowing, but the Federal Reserve said they need to see more months like this in order to consider the economy to be getting back on track. They’ve already raised interest rates several times this year, and some economists believe they’re considering another hike in September. The Fed says they want to get inflation back down to only 2%. It’ll be interesting to see how long this takes considering the unemployment is still very low, wages are still rising, and also service prices have been increasing as well, which could affect how fast the economy cools.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Mayor of New York City Eric Adams have been having a public back and forth over immigration this week, when the New York Mayor blasted Abbott for sending busloads of illegal immigrants from Texas to New York City. Right now, the country is experiencing records levels of migrants at the southern border. People from Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and more are arriving to the border by the thousands every day. In 2021, immigration officials encountered more that 1.7 million migrants along the border, and 2022 is looking to be on a similar trajectory. 

With a large part of Texas adjacent to Mexico, Texas authorities have been asking for more help in securing that border. But the Biden Administration has yet to make any significant moves to address the issue. In fact, just this week, President Biden ended a Trump-era policy that originally required asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting for their case to be processed. Well now, these people can stay in the US while they wait, which can sometimes take years.

So in protest, Texas Governor Abbott has started sending buses of migrants over to New York City and Washington D.C. saying that he wanted to give them a sense of what it was like to be inundated. New York City is what’s called a sanctuary city, which means that local laws will protect illegal immigrants from being deported or prosecuted. He’s so far sent more than 4,000 immigrants to New York so far, and reportedly over 6,000 to DC. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called the move “horrific” and “anti-American”.

Now, Abbott is accused of being heartless, with critics saying that he is putting these people in harms way by forcing them to take the trip from Texas to these other cities. Adams’s critics are saying he’s being hypocritical for claiming to be pro-immigrant, even if it’s not legal, but then acting outraged when those migrants are sent his way. Abbott hasn’t expressed any plans to stop sending buses, and with his reelection coming up, it’s likely this fight won't end anytime soon.

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The Department of Justice announced charges for an Iranian man allegedly planning to assassinate former national security advisor John Bolton. The operative is a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, and authorities suspect his motivation was to retaliate the killing of Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani lead Iran’s military operations in the Middle East and was killed in 2020 by a strike ordered by President Trump. 

Here, the suspect is said to have first asked a US resident he met online to take pictures of Bolton, saying it was for a book he was writing. Then he contacted another individual offering $300,000 to “eliminate” Bolton. He also mentioned another potential job in the future for $1 million.

So now this man is wanted by the FBI, and he’s said to currently be in Iran.

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It’s Thursday, August 11. And you’ve just been informed. Now it’s time to get on with your day. I’m Michele Carroll. Thanks so much for listening.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/iranian-operative-charged-alleged-plot-assassinate-john-bolton

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62498193

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https://news.fiu.edu/2022/migration-to-the-us-is-on-the-rise-again-but-its-unlikely-to-be-fully-addressed-during-the-summit-of-the-americas,-or-anytimesoon

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/08/1116285340/new-york-migrant-bus-texas-abbott

https://www.foxnews.com/media/gov-abbott-accused-brutality-human-trafficking-columnist-busing-illegal-immigrants-nyc

https://nypost.com/2022/08/10/texas-gov-abbott-dares-nyc-mayor-adams-to-make-my-day-in-migrant-war/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/politics/migrants-yuma-arizona-mexico-border/index.html

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/09/remain-in-mexico-migrant-protection-protocols-judge-injunction/ 

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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-july-cpi-data-due-at-8-30-am-eastern-11660132986

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-price-growth-expected-slow-due-lower-gasoline-costs-2022-08-10/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/08/10/cpi-report-2022-inflation-eases-off-40-year-high-july/10282413002/?gnt-cfr=1