The Morning Dispatch: Inflation Pains
Happy Friday! The finishing touches were put on this newsletter from Gate 53 at Reagan National Airport, where one of your Morning Dispatchers sat for six hours waiting for a delayed flight after his plane was struck by lightning.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
A Thursday Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed inflation remaining at elevated levels, with the Consumer Price Index surging 5 percent year-over-year in May. The growth was largely driven by used cars and trucks, the cost of which rose 7.3 percent in May.
Initial jobless claims decreased by 9,000 week-over-week to 376,000 last week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, the lowest level since March 14, 2020. Initial jobless claims have now fallen for six straight weeks.
A group of 12 House Democrats led by Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) issued a statement condemning Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar following her comments equating the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban. After initially dismissing the criticism as “Islamophobic,” Omar put out a statement “clarifying” that she was “in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries.” House Democratic leadership—including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn—issued a press release “welcom[ing] the clarification” from Omar.
