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This week, Lee Zeldin’s EPA announced “approving nationwide E15,” pitching it as “fortifying the domestic fuel supply.” What that means exactly is that the federal government will allow more stations to cut gasoline with ethanol, which, yes, makes it cheaper, but it also yields less power and worse fuel economy in your engine.

Seattle’s lefty Mayor Katie Wilson admitted she was wrong to slam Starbucks and push for a boycott of the mega-coffee chain birthed in the Pacific City. Wilson, 43, issued a terse mea culpa to the New York Times this week as questions swirl about whether the liberal Northwest city can attract and retain businesses, including Starbucks, which recently chose to expand its footprint in Tennessee. The democratic socialist made waves last fall when she joined a barista union rally as mayor-elect and expressed her disgust with one of Seattle’s most recognizable businesses. “I am not buying Starbucks, and you should...

Oregonians are on track to overwhelmingly reject hikes to the state’s gas tax, payroll tax and vehicle registration and title fees that would have gone toward funding the maintenance and operations of public roads and bridges. Initial election results from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office shortly after 8 p.m. showed the measure failing by a 4:1 margin. Had it succeeded, the measure would have doubled most vehicle registration fees, raised the gas tax from 40 cents to 46 cents, raised title fees from $77 to $216 and doubled the payroll tax used for public transit from 0.1% of a...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed rising gas prices as “peanuts,” even as new polling shows his economic approval rating falling to a new low. The remarks highlight growing pressure on the White House as inflation and fuel costs remain high, weighing on voters and shaping political sentiment ahead of the midterms. The disconnect could have broad implications for U.S. households and the 2026 elections, with rising prices and the Iran war expected to remain central campaign issues.

(The Center Square)—The Los Angeles City Council’s delay on a $30-an-hour minimum wage has some groups shaking their heads and others clapping their hands. The council last week voted to postpone implementation of the new minimum wage for hotel and airport workers. The vote was 9-6 and would move the timeline from 2028 to 2030. The vote came amid pressure from businesses threatening efforts to repeal the city’s gross receipts tax, which is a major source of revenue for Los Angeles. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson has been quoted in various news reports as calling this a placeholder to keep talks...

Washington — As inflation rose to its highest rate in years and CBS News polling shows high prices at the pump are causing financial strain for many Americans, President Trump told reporters Tuesday, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation" as a motivation for negotiations with Iran, and said he is only concerned with preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. When asked by a reporter how much Americans' finances are "motivating you to make a deal," Mr. Trump responded: "Not even a little bit."

LMFAO!! Trump just went off on a reporter! "You're a STUPID person, and you happen to be!" REPORTER: "You promised to bring inflation down. It's now at its highest level in three years. Are your policies not working? What's happening?" TRUMP: "If you go back to just before the war, for the last three months, inflation was at 1.7%. Now, we had a choice. Let these LUNATICS have a nuclear weapon. If you want to do that, then you're a STUPID person, and you happen to be!"

The national retail average for a regular gallon of gas was $4.457 on Monday. That's a 1-cent increase from Sunday, according to the American Automobile Association, and 35 cents more than last Monday. At this time last year, a gallon of gas was $1.29 cheaper. The surging prices seemed to stabilize or even decrease for about two weeks, following a temporary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran that has been indefinitely extended. However, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route where roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes, has effectively remained closed or extremely limited to passage...

US forces sank six Iranian small boats deployed to harass traffic in the Strait of Hormuz Monday, shortly before President Trump warned the Islamic Republic will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it interferes with efforts to reopen the crucial waterway. Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) told reporters on a Monday press call that while Iran historically has deployed “between 20 and 40 small boats” to threaten commercial shipping in the strait, “today, we saw just six, and eliminated them quickly.” “We have an enormous amount of capability and firepower concentrated in...

For months, I’ve been a bit confused about “affordability,” the latest Democrat meme. Then, early last week, I read a piece about “affordability” and realized: “of course.” Affordability is just the Democrats’ latest excuse for giving out free stuff to their supporters, paid for by you and me. Even though I can’t find the article that I read, I wrote about “affordability” on my Substack.AdvertisementIf you look at the Congressional Progressive Caucus “New Affordability Agenda” you realize that Affordability is not just about free stuff, but something else. “Affordability” is about politicians trying to fix things they screwed up already....

Six months before Election Day, America’s $39 trillion national debt has moved from an abstract fiscal concern to a dinner-table anxiety… A new national survey released Thursday by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation found that 92% of registered voters are concerned that the national debt is fueling inflation and driving up their personal cost of living, including prices for groceries, energy, housing, and transportation. The figure includes 94% of Democrats, 92% of independents, and 89% of Republicans — a degree of bipartisan alignment rarely seen in today’s fractured political environment… The concern extends beyond deficits in the abstract. Eighty-eight percent...

President Trump on Friday addressed seniors at The Villages in Florida and touted his second-term achievements that have made life more affordable for those in their golden years. “I’m much, much younger than the people in this room, but I feel I can relate to you anyway,” the 79-year-old president joked at the world’s largest retirement community, before rattling off policy after policy his administration has pushed to benefit seniors. Trump lauded the “largest tax refunds of all time” received by American seniors this year thanks to his One Big Beautiful Bill Act. **SNIP** The president then tore into former...

SNIP Summary: Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran following a Monday Situation Room meeting, rejecting both a resumption of bombing and acceptance of Iran's current proposal The blockade is aimed at forcing Tehran to dismantle its entire nuclear programme, with Trump demanding at minimum a 20-year suspension of enrichment Iran's three-step proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while deferring nuclear talks was rejected as evidence of bad faith The Strait of Hormuz is seeing its lowest transit levels since the conflict began, driving up energy costs and weighing on Trump's poll numbers ahead...

Existential crises tend to arrive when the gap between how life feels and how we thought it would feel becomes too wide to ignore.For a growing number of Americans, 2026 hasn’t just been hard. It’s been disorienting. A Talker Research survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found that one in three people (32%) say they’re currently experiencing an existential crisis, with younger adults far more likely to feel that way than older generations. Nearly four in ten (37%) say their entire lives feel out of their control... A separate survey of 5,000 Americans, conducted by Talker Research for Current in December...

Oil prices jumped more than 5% Wednesday, on a report that President Donald Trump is prepared to keep the U.S. Navy blockade of Iran in place for an extended period. International benchmark Brent crude futures rose more than 5% to $117.58 per barrel at 11:21 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with June delivery rose more than 5% to $105.33 per barrel. Trump has decided in recent meetings to continue the blockade of Iran rather than resume bombing or walk away from the conflict, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. The president has told his aides recently to...

President Donald Trump was pressed in the Oval Office on Thursday about gas prices after he said he once worried they could go as high as $200 a barrel due to the war in Iran. A reporter asked if Trump would be willing to accept $200 oil in order to continue the war. “I think that there’s nothing worse than a nuclear weapon that takes out one of your cities, or two of your cities, or three. I think there’s something worse than the nuclear weapon is going to destroy the Middle East, including Israel,” Trump replied, adding: I think...

1/10 The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would cost Iran approximately $276M/day in lost exports and disrupt $159M/day in imports, a combined economic damage of ~$435M/day, or $13B/month.Over 90% of Iran's $109.7B in annual trade transits the Persian Gulf. Oil/gas accounts for 80% of government export earnings and 23.7% of GDP. Kharg Island alone generates ~$53B/year, or as I noted to @TIME, "$78 billion a year in energy

Inflation surged in March as consumer prices jumped amid the economic disruptions caused by the Iran war's impact on the energy market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday said that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – rose 0.9% from a month ago and is 3.3% higher than last year. The annual figure jumped from last month's 2.4% reading, while the monthly increase also rose markedly from last month's 0.3% reading Expectations vs. reality Both the 0.9% monthly increase and 3.3% annual rise were in...

RAINELLE, W.Va. (AP) — Every month, Rebecca Michalski takes a deep breath before opening her electric bill. She lives on a fixed income, and heating her small house this winter has been staggering: Her February charge was $940.08 — more than her check. It makes no sense. She turns the lights off during the day and only burns one lamp with an energy-efficient bulb in the living room at night, but she keeps falling further behind on payments. In desperation, she took out a loan after getting a cut-off notice during an extended arctic blast that kept the state’s heaters...

Based on the CPI, inflation is relatively cool. Don't be fooled. It's much higher than advertised, and you can see it clearly if you look at the right data. When talking heads on CNBC or Fox Business talk about inflation, they always reference the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This metric measures the price changes in a “basket of goods.” This gives a fair approximation of price inflation (although intentionally understated), but it doesn’t give us a good gauge on the trajectory of inflation as historically economically defined. Inflation isn’t just “rising prices.” Historically, inflation was defined as an increase in...