We’re experiencing inflation that can’t be ignored
13 July 2021
Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED
June's jump in consumer prices was the biggest year-over-year increase for any month since 2008 — a surprising 5.4%, with used cars and trucks responsible for one-third of the surge.
Why it matters: The White House was counting on fleeting inflation. Now, it's starting to look like it could last.
Many of the biggest gains were for goods and services we need as we go back into the world: Plane tickets, hotels, restaurants and cars all jumped.
- Cars — rental and used — are the biggest culprit, accounting for nearly half of the 0.9% increase from May. But there's evidence that car inflation has peaked.
A silver lining: Price jumps in hospitality, including a 0.7% increase for restaurants, are a result of a rise in wages.
What's next: Economists expect inflation will cool off in the second half — especially if car prices start to revert to normality.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.