You already felt it, but consumer prices in the United States are rising at an alarming pace. In fact, it’s the fastest rate in nearly three years, as sharp increases in energy costs caused by war in the Middle East made life more expensive for consumers. And the price of most goods are rising at a time when Americans are already frustrated by the high cost of living.

The Labor Department’s consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025, up from a 3.3% year-over-year gain in March. On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6% from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4%, according to the data released Tuesday. The month-over-month gain was down from a 0.9% increase in overall prices from February to March, when the initial financial shock from the war hit the U.S. economy.

Labor Department figures showed that gasoline prices are up more than 28% compared with a year ago. However, the AAA motor club listed the average regular gallon of gasoline above $4.50 on Tuesday, about 44% more than it cost last year at this time.

After accounting for inflation, workers' average hourly earnings dropped 0.5% in April and turned negative on a 12-month basis—down 0.3%—marking the first time since April 2023 that purchasing power has eroded on an annual basis, according to data cited by CNBC and CNN.

President Trump said rising inflation is “only temporary” and tied to the conflict with Iran. In remarks to reporters Tuesday, he said the war was necessary to prevent Tehran from having a nuclear weapon. Trump said inflation would lower when the conflict was over and that he thought the economic impacts would be worse than they are. Asked if his policies were working, Trump said: “My policies are working incredibly.” Pressed further, Trump said, “If the stock market goes up or down a little, the American people understand.” Uh … do we?

President Trump’s high-stakes visit to China this week is a historic opportunity for the world’s two largest economies to reframe their trade relationship—and the tone of their rivalry. But to get there, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping must navigate tricky frictions ranging from tech, trade, critical minerals and Taiwan in two days of meetings that are now also deeply overshadowed by the war with Iran.

The trip is the first from an American president to China since Trump visited in 2017, but it’s playing out in front of a vastly different backdrop. Trump and Xi now sit on different sides of an increasingly fractured geopolitical landscape, especially as China’s close partner Iran remains defiant in the face of Washington’s demands to end the war. However, Trump spoke highly of Xi ahead of their meeting, calling him an “amazing, amazing man.”

Trump is expected to discuss AI guardrails, since the U.S. and China both have an interest in preventing each other from weaponizing AI tools against them or letting rogue systems into the wild. The goal will be to return to Washington at the end of the week with positive economic headlines and a reinforced personal relationship that both governments regard as the most consequential bilateral tie in the world. The possibility of extending the trade truce reached between Washington and Beijing last fall is on the agenda, as well.

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Here’s a retro reboot nobody saw coming. Hacky sacks, the favorite game (sport?) of stoners in the 1990s is suddenly the hot new trend sweeping high schools. Teens are actually starting clubs at school and making ironic TikToks about their new discovery.

Apparently, the sudden fad started just a few months ago and within weeks, the footbags are sold out in most places. Well, I would think so … where were they even being sold nowadays? But what’s nice to hear is that kids see it as a refreshing way to get off their phones (when they’re not filming for social media) and connect with each other in an old fashioned, analog way. And online, it’s become an elaborate inside joke, with hundreds of accounts cheekily treating the game as a varsity sport. They post interscholastic rankings and announce when students “commit” to fictional hacky sack programs at Division I colleges.