Inflation down:Â Inflation fell to 5% in the 12 months ending March 31 according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. The Consumer Price Index for March rose only 0.1%, down from the 0.4% increase in February. Energy prices fell 3.5% in March. Food prices were unchanged from February.
Trump praises dictators:Â In an interview on Fox News last night, Donald Trump demonstrated he has a bad case of dictator envy when he heaped praise on Russia’s Dictator Vladimir Putin, China’s Dictator Xi and North Korean Dictator Kim Jung Un. Trump praised all of them as being very smart and much smarter than President Biden, while ignoring the economic distress they’ve brought to their countries, their human rights abuses, their suppression of freedoms and the murders for which they’ve been responsible. Trump was encouraging his followers to accept the idea of putting a dictator in charge of the U.S.
Biden’s Ireland trip:Â President Biden has arrived in Dublin, Ireland, after making a visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland. It’s part of a four-day trip built around the 25th anniversary of the agreement that ended the fighting between Catholics and Protestants. The fighting had gone on for 30 years. There have been only relatively minor breaches of the agreement.
Convention and closings in Chicago:Â Officials from the Democratic Party traveled to Chicago today for talks on the party’s decision to hold its 2024 presidential nominating convention in the windy city. This coincides with an announcement from Walmart that it is closing all four of its Chicago stores. Walmart said, “The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago ”“ these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years.”
Tighter emissions standards:Â The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this morning proposed tighter vehicle emissions standards to reduce emissions and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. The EPA said the standards would prevent 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere and save approximately 20 billion barrels of oil. EPA Administrator Michael Regan described the proposal as the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks. The proposed emissions standards would go into effect for the 2027 model year.
Scott considers presidential run:Â Republican Sen. Tim Scott this morning launched a committee to explore the possibilities for him running for the Republican Presidential Nomination. Scott is from South Carolina. He’s the only Black Republican serving in the U.S. Senate.
