Tangle - Trump ramps up threats to remove Powell.
Episode Date: July 16, 2025In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has escalated his criticisms of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over Powell’s decision to maintain interest rates at current levels. The comment...s follow reports that Trump is considering removing Powell from his position, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the administration has begun vetting replacement candidates. Separately, on Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which showed prices rising faster than in May. The report added to existing concerns from economists and lawmakers that President Trump’s tariffs would be inflationary, a possibility that Powell has cited as his rationale for holding off on cutting the Fed’s interest rate.Ad-free podcasts are here!Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast that they could subscribe to — and we finally launched it. You can go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast here, our “Under the Radar” story here and today’s “Have a nice day” story here.Take the survey: What do you think about cutting rates or removing Powell as Fed chair? Let us know!Disagree? That's okay. My opinion is just one of many. Write in and let us know why, and we'll consider publishing your feedback.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Hunter Casperson, Kendall White, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This episode is sponsored by the OCS Summer Pre-Roll Sale.
Sometimes when you roll your own joint, things can turn out a little differently than what you expected.
Maybe it's a little too loose. Maybe it's a little too flimsy.
Or maybe it's a little too covered in dirt because your best friend distracted you when you dropped it on the ground.
There's a million ways to roll a joint wrong, but there's one roll that's always perfect.
The pre-roll.
Shop the Summer Pre-Roll and infuse pre-roll sale today
at ocs.ca and participating retailers.
When does fast grocery delivery
through Instacart matter most?
When your famous grainy mustard potato salad
isn't so famous without the grainy mustard.
When the barbecue's lit, but there's nothing to grill.
When the in-laws decide that actually
they will stay for dinner.
Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer,
so download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes.
Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders.
Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply.
Instacart.
Groceries that over-deliver.
From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle.
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.
And welcome to the Tangle Podcast, a place we get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking and a little bit of my take.
I'm your host, Isaac Saul.
On today's episode, we're going to be talking about Donald Trump, the latest inflation numbers
and some controversy around the Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell.
We're going to break down all the news we've gotten in the last week that ties into those
topics and then share some perspectives from the left and the right.
And then I'm gonna give my take.
We've also got a very interesting listener question today
about cloud seeding,
which is something I'm seeing talked about a lot more
on the internet.
It's a good one.
I'm gonna send it over to Will for today's main story
and I'll be back for my take.
Thanks Isaac.
All right, let's jump into today's quick hits.
Number one, President Donald Trump expressed support for a potential redistricting plan
in Texas that could improve Republicans' odds of maintaining control of the House of Representatives
in the 2026 midterm elections.
2. The Pentagon announced it is ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops
in Los Angeles. The service members had been deployed to the city in early June in response
to protests over the Trump administration's deportation efforts.
3. Russian Deputy Foreign Sergei Ryabkov,
rejected president Trump's call for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine
in the next 50 days, calling the demand quote, unacceptable.
Number four, house speaker, Mike Johnson called on attorney general,
Pam Bondi to offer a more substantive explanation for her decision to end
further disclosures on the Jeffrey Epstein case,
adding that the Trump administration should, quote,
put everything out there and let the people decide it.
And number five, President Trump said he had reached
a preliminary trade deal with Indonesia,
which will reportedly include a 19% U.S. tariff
on Indonesian imports and no tariffs
on U.S. exports to Indonesia.
Separately, the Trump administration will impose a 17% duty on most fresh Mexican tomatoes
imported to the U.S. He's doing a very bad job. He's way late. That's why I call him too late.
Jerome Powell is too late.
He's way late.
Interest rates should be coming down.
Jerome Powell has done a terrible job.
And frankly, I don't think he could do a worse job.
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has escalated his criticisms of Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell over Powell's decision to maintain interest
rates at current levels. The comments follow reports that Trump is considering removing
Powell from his position, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration has begun
vetting replacement candidates. Separately, on Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released
its monthly Consumer Price Index report, which showed prices rising faster than in May.
The report added to existing concerns from economists and lawmakers that President Trump's
tariffs would be inflationary, a possibility that Powell has cited as his rationale for
holding off on cutting the Fed's interest rate.
Tuesday's BLS report said the consumer price index CPI, which is a measure of the average
change in the prices consumers pay for a collection of goods and services,
increased 2.7% in June from the year prior, roughly in line with economists' expectations.
The annual CPI was 2.4% in May.
Core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices rose by 0.1% in May and 0.2% in June with annual core inflation
increasing by 2.9%.
Energy prices increased 0.9% and food prices rose 0.3% on the month.
And the only price categories to decrease month over month were new vehicles, used cars
and trucks, and airline fares, which declined 0.3%, 0.7%, and 0.1%, respectively.
In a series of posts on Truth Social over the past few days, President Trump has framed
these inflation numbers as a positive development and called on Powell to cut interest rates
by three points from its current rate of 4.5%.
Trump has also criticized Powell for several months over his refusal to cut rates and it suggested that he might fire the Fed chair if rates do not
decrease soon. In May the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Reserve was
exempt from the president's firing power over other federal agencies. However
congressional Republicans have also scrutinized the Federal Reserve over a
planned 2.4 billion dollar renovation of its Washington, D.C. headquarters.
In a Senate hearing in June, Senator Tim Scott,
a Republican from South Carolina,
called the renovations, quote, luxury upgrades
that feel more like they belong in the Palace of Versailles.
Senate Republicans and White House officials
have accused Powell of lying before Congress
for underselling the cost of the renovations,
leading to speculation that the president
may use the controversy
to oust Powell from his position.
Powell has denied the accusations and recently requested an inspector general review of the
renovation.
Today, we're going to explore perspectives on the economy and the Trump-Powell feud from
the left and right, and then Isaac will give his take.
We'll be right back after this quick break.
This episode is sponsored by the OCS Summer Pre-Roll Sale. Sometimes when you roll your own joint, things can turn out a little differently than what you expected. Maybe it's a little too loose, maybe it's a little too flimsy,
or maybe it's a little too covered in dirt because your best friend distracted you and
you dropped it on the ground. There's a million ways to roll a joint wrong, but there's one
roll that's always perfect, the pre-roll. Shop the summer pre-roll and infuse pre-roll
sale today at Os.ca and participating
retailers.
When does fast grocery delivery through Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard
potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit, but there's
nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that actually they will stay for dinner. Instacart
has all your groceries covered this summer. so download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first
three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that overdeliver.
Here's what the left is saying.
The left strongly opposes Trump's attacks on Powell, worrying that a move to replace
him could trigger widespread economic fallout.
Some urge caution in reacting to the latest inflation numbers, and others argue that politicized
central banks have ravaged the economies of other countries.
The Washington Post editorial board said Trump's attacks on the
Fed are worse than you think.
If Trump fires Powell, an unlikely outcome, immediate
disaster would result.
Investors would lose confidence in the Fed's ability to make
politically tough, but economically necessary decisions.
Investors would abandon US assets.
Bond markets would go haywire and the dollar would plummet, the board wrote.
But Trump risks politicizing the Fed,
even if he lets Powell stay through the end of his term
as chair in May.
He has signaled that Powell's successor must be willing
to cut rates to get the job,
which means that markets will perceive any nominee,
whether Scott Besson, Kevin Warsh, Kevin Hassett,
or someone else, as pre-politicized.
That would bring bad economic consequences, even in the best-case scenario.
Suppose the new chair, unwilling to totally compromise his legacy, refuses to sharply
cut rates like Trump wants.
Instead, he delivers just a quarter-point cut.
A concession to political pressure, perhaps, but a small one.
Politicians aren't good at monetary policy.
They face a powerful temptation to goose the economy
in the short term, even at the cost of future growth.
Just look at how Trump's budget bill
will explode the national debt.
That's why independent central banks exist,
to take the long view and make decisions
based on economic fundamentals,
rather than the political calendar.
In Bloomberg, Jonathan Levin praised Powell's caution
on tariff-driven inflation.
Trump's needling aside, the latest inflation data shows that Powell's wait-and-see approach
is the exact right tack for today's economic outlook, Levin wrote.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday that the Core Consumer Price Index rose 0.2
percent in June from a month earlier, a slightly encouraging surprise that leaves the year-over-year
rate at 2.9 percent.
But the reading remains well above the Fed's 2 percent target.
And the details of the report show tariffs are starting to fan higher
prices and that larger effects might start to feed through over
the next couple of months.
Still, this was neither a month to panic nor celebrate.
With the backdrop of a steady unemployment rate, it's time to do as
the embattled Fed
chair, whom Trump has committed to replacing when his term is up next year, has been advising
all along.
Wait for more data, Levin said.
It's entirely possible, of course, that tariff impacts could spread further and that the
Fed will still slowly lower policy rates.
The central bank doesn't have to wait for inflation to return to 2% to start lowering
rates again. Rates are clearly at a level that the median Fed policymaker would deem
restrictive. Powell and his colleagues just need to gain confidence that it remains on
the right trajectory. In the New York Times, Rebecca Patterson wrote,
If you like 35% inflation, go ahead, fire the Fed chair.
Let's look at Hungary and Turkey. Leaders of both countries faced with budget deficits, inflation pressures, and a desire
to increase growth, sound familiar, have broken institutional standards and changed laws to
ensure that their central banks support the government's political aims, Patterson said.
Not surprisingly, Hungary's currency has been weakening against the euro since 2011, more
so than other regional currencies.
In Turkey, President Erdogan fired the central bank's governor, who kept the rates high
to slow inflation, and selected his replacement.
Over the next few years, he continued to fire and replace governors and deputy governors.
Not much good came from the lower interest rates.
Since the 2018 election, the Turkish lira has lost 88% of its value against the
dollar. There is a reason both Republican and Democratic presidents in recent decades
have publicly supported central bank independence. They have agreed on fiscal accountability
and the rule of law. They have also understood that even if the Fed makes mistakes, acting
independently of politics supports its credibility, and that helps make the United States a more
reliable, more attractive place to invest," Patterson wrote.
Without that stability and predictability, the nation is in danger of losing what makes
its economy and financial markets exceptional. And here's what the right is saying.
Many on the right questioned Powell's tariff-driven rationale for resisting an interest rate
cut.
Some say Trump's effort to oust the Fed chair could backfire.
Others suggest Powell should be replaced if he doesn't change course soon.
In Understanding America, Orrin Cass wrote, something is rotten at the Federal Reserve.
One might look at the economy's current state,
with inflation approaching the 2% target
and unemployment holding near 4%,
and conclude everything looks fine.
Interest rates should hold steady.
If that were Powell's position,
it would seem respectable, Cass said.
Instead, he has made a point of going on the record
that, quote, if you just look at the basic data
and don't look at the forecast,
you would say that we've continued cutting.
The difference, of course, is that this time all forecasters
are expecting pretty soon that some significant inflation
will show up from tariffs, end quote.
But tariffs are not inflationary.
Obviously, tariffs can cause changes in prices.
In some respects, that's their entire purpose.
But a change in relative prices,
or even a one-time shift upwards in the overall price level, is not inflation of the type
cognizable from monetary policy.
But a change in relative prices, or even a one-time shift upwards in their overall price
level, is not inflation of the type cognizable from monetary policy, Cass wrote.
Perhaps you could construct an inflation story
from the concern expressed by many economists
that tariffs will reduce output.
But raising interest rates would be an odd response
and asking the Federal Reserve to sit in preemptive judgment
on which economic policies it believes will be best
and worst for growth would transform
and politicize the Fed's role irrevocably.
In the Wall Street Journal, Gerard Baker suggested Trump may end up
sorry he tried to control the fed.
I shall refrain from the pearl clutching of much of the media about Mr.
Trump's efforts to pressure the fed to be more accommodating.
Since the fed gained true independence in the 1950s, almost every president has
complained that the central bank was holding back the economy with high
interest rates, Baker wrote.
What's more, there are reasonable grounds for thinking Mr. Powell has gotten things
badly wrong.
Even the Fed agrees it was too slow in responding to the inflationary surge that followed the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The problem, though, is that replacing him with someone committed to doing Mr. Trump's
bidding would make things much worse.
However bad Fed policy is, if markets think the central bank is run according to the president's priorities,
the likely consequence will be tighter, not easier money, Baker said.
If Mr. Trump could really find a person on the planet who thinks rates should be three points
lower than they are, pushing the policy rate down to 1.25%, a negative real rate of about 1.5% in an
economy the president himself touts as
booming, yields on everything from treasuries to corporate bonds would surge on confident
expectations that the Fed was lighting an inflationary bonfire.
Finally, in The Washington Times, White House Senior Trade Counselor Peter Navarro argued
Powell's Fed is imposing enormous costs on America. Powell's stubborn refusal
to lower interest rates, despite ample evidence calling for such action, is inflicting serious
economic damage on America. Even keeping rates just a half percentage point higher than economic
conditions justify carries heavy costs in growth, employment, household finances, and
the federal budget, Navarro wrote.
Moreover, about a quarter of the nation's debt is financed through short-term treasuries.
These instruments are actually sensitive to interest rate hikes.
Keeping rates unnecessarily elevated by 50 basis points means taxpayers face an additional
$100 billion in debt service costs over the next decade.
Mr. Powell's rigid policies thus impose a double fiscal burden.
This isn't Mr. Powell's rigid policies thus impose a double fiscal burden. This isn't Mr. Powell's first costly error.
Recall that during President Trump's first term, Mr. Powell erroneously raised rates
in 2018, choking off robust economic growth.
History is repeating itself in Trump's second term, as the Fed chair again misjudges economic
conditions and refuses to rectify his mistake, Navarro said.
It's past time the Federal Reserve
Board of Governors intervened. Mr. Powell appears incapable of acknowledging, let alone correcting,
his profound miscalculations. If he will not voluntarily adjust course, the board must act
decisively to prevent further economic harm. All right, that is it for what the left and right are
saying. I will send it back over to Isaac for his take and today's reader question.
All right, that is it for the left and the right are saying, which brings us to my take.
I think it's worth starting here with a quick reality check.
The economy is doing very well.
Unemployment may have ticked up in the past year, but it continues to hover at about as
low a level as it has sustained since the Nixon administration.
Job growth also continues to hum, surpassing economists' expectations.
The stock market and crypto are hitting all-time highs. And up until a few days
ago, inflation has continued to fall. Trump's tariffs are on pace to raise hundreds of billions
of dollars of new revenue. And I'd probably be writing about their potential to eat into the
deficit, if not for the massive deficit bomb that Trump just signed into law. That and yesterday's
consumer price index. The latest report showed prices
went up basically across the board last month. That increase was in line with economist expectations,
but it's not exactly great when economists are expecting rising prices.
On Friday, I wrote and discussed in this podcast how I had been wrong about the impact of tariffs
on inflation. By now, I said I would have expected
price increases from tariffs to start to show up for Americans, mostly because that's what nearly
every economist on the planet told us to expect. I've been looking for an increase in prices for
products that were being tariffed or whose supply chains were being hit by increased levies. Well,
that may have finally happened this week. The economist, Mike Conksell, produced a chart
showing prices spiking for appliances
and household furnishing and supplies.
We've published that chart on our website.
And along with it, the economist Parker Ross
further explained the importance of appliance
and furniture prices, posting on X that,
"'If you know where to look, it seems pretty clear
"'that inflationary pressures are building in the product categories
most exposed to tariffs.
Ross had predicted tariffs would cause price increases
in household furnishings first,
since so many of the imports the administration has tariffed
fall into that category.
Household furnishings jumped by 1% in June,
Ross noted, the largest bump in the sector
since the peak of pandemic-era inflation in 2022.
These price increases aren't debatable.
They are happening.
What is debatable is whether they actually constitute inflation in the traditional sense.
Orrin Cass, under what the right is saying, has thoughtfully argued that any price increases
tariffs may cause are not technically inflationary since they aren't a result of too much money
chasing too few goods, or the economy overheating, or anything else caused by monetary policy cause are not technically inflationary since they aren't a result of too much money chasing
too few goods, or the economy overheating, or anything else caused by monetary policy.
The higher prices caused by tariffs are typically one-time increases, as long as the tariff
rate doesn't change again.
They do not compound.
A company gets taxed, it raises its prices, and then the event is over.
Cass is essentially arguing that because these price increases
aren't caused by monetary policy
and because they might not be sustained,
we should describe them differently.
As a counterpoint, his critics have argued
that he's moving the goalposts
and that inflation is definitionally an increase
in the cost of goods or services,
regardless of whether the government is intending it.
Increased prices are still inflation.
And honestly, intentionally causing it through tariffs is less excusable than accidentally
through monetary policy. Regardless of what we call the increased consumer prices,
I think that context provides plenty of good reason for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to stand
pat on interest rates for now. Obviously, that decision carries some risk. For instance,
weekly mortgage
demand just plummeted and the housing market seems desperate for some kind of relief. Also, as we
learned during the Biden administration, inflation can be a self-fulfilling prophecy and Powell's
worried projection could result in actual behavior that leads to inflation. But on the whole, I think
Powell has done a genuinely good job shepherding the U.S. economy
to its position today. Far too many people take for granted our current economic position,
which is much rosier than any other nations coming out of the pandemic.
You can certainly criticize Powell for being a cycle too late to raise rates or a cycle too
slow to lower them, but that kind of criticism lands far short of justifying his removal.
low to lower them, but that kind of criticism lands far short of justifying his removal.
I'll state that bluntly, Trump should not fire him. So planting power with a genuinely political appointee would be a disaster, an argument Rebecca Patterson lays out in convincing terms
under what the left is saying. Every president of my lifetime has disagreed with a Fed chairman
over some decision or another, but none has ever gone as far as trying to replace them.
Other countries have tried it.
Politicizing a national bank is a disaster,
not just for the long-term health of the institution,
but for the nation's economy.
I also find the attacks on Powell
over the renovation of two federal buildings
to be a total distraction.
The project has been underway for years,
going back to Trump's first term.
Yes, the $2.4 billion price tag for a building renovation certainly feels obscene, even though
they initially approved budget was $1.9 billion, but Powell has posted a helpful FAQ explaining
how things went sideways.
He even welcomed an inspector general to review the costs of the project, which the administration
would pursue if they really wanted to do something productive. It's not as if Powell conjured that money from the central bank and is leading the
project management. He's the chairman of the Fed. He sets the nation's monetary policy. And to beat
a dead horse, it's hard for me to get excited about this project when that same Congress just
voted to add trillions of dollars to our deficit. In other words, one could argue that it's time to
cut rates and that tariffs are not inflationary in the traditional sense. Honestly, I don't have
a fully formed opinion about that. What's much harder to do is to argue that Jerome Powell,
the person who oversaw an objectively excellent monetary response to the pandemic, is incompetent
and should be fired for not seeing things the same way.
Firing the Fed chair would get the president some headlines, another round of legal challenges
and another sycophant to do his bidding, this time at one of the last remaining independent
institutions in the US government.
The rest of us would get nothing but economic disruption. We'll be right back after this quick break.
This episode is sponsored by the OCS Summer Pre-Roll Sale.
Sometimes when you roll your own joint, things can turn out a little differently than what
you expected.
Maybe it's a little too loose, maybe it's a little too flimsy, or maybe it's a little
too covered in dirt because your
best friend distracted you and you dropped it on the ground. There's a million ways to roll a joint
wrong, but there's one roll that's always perfect, the pre-roll. Shop the summer pre-roll and infuse
pre-roll sale today at ocs.ca and participating retailers. When does fast grocery delivery
through Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard potato salad
isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit but there's nothing to grill.
When the in-laws decide that actually they will stay for dinner.
Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer, so download the app and get
delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus, enjoy zero dollar delivery fees on your first three orders.
Service fees, exclusions
and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over deliver.
All right. That is it for my take, which brings us to your questions answered. This one is
from Christie in Texas who said, I was wondering if you could speak about cloud seeding. I live in Texas and I'm
hearing more and more about how cloud seeding is responsible for the increased
rain and storms in the area. I can only assume this is extrapolated to mean that
this is also somehow responsible for low pressure systems, tropical storms and
hurricanes, increased death and destruction, etc. I would like help
connecting the dots for how this farming practice can possibly be connected
to changing in more volatile climate.
So great question, Christy.
We appreciate you coming to us to learn more about this.
We're gonna just cover the basics
about cloud seeding in Texas.
First of all, cloud seeding is indeed happening.
It's also true that the government has experimented
with hurricane seeding in the past as a way
to mitigate more intense storms.
However, it's not the shadowy conspiracy that some claim it is.
The hurricane seeding program was paused due to public pressure and eventually canceled
as scientists found they could not have a measurable effect on these storm systems.
Cloud seeding, as it is used today, has a pretty narrow application. It causes moisture in the atmosphere to form into clouds.
Several western states use cloud seeding primarily for one of two reasons.
To increase snowfall or to dispel hailstorms.
Texas uses cloud seeding to prevent hailstorms, but it also uses it to increase rainfall.
Remember, Texas is enormous.
It contains regions, subregions, and 23 distinct drainage basins.
The portions of the state that use cloud seeding are in the drier western parts of the state,
and they do not operate over the drainage basin of the Guadalupe River, which flooded earlier this month.
What's more, as Augustus de Rico, the CEO of Rainmaker, a cloud seeding company that operates in Texas, has explained, cloud seeding operations
ceased the day before the storm because forecasters knew about the increased moisture coming off the
Gulf. More to the point, cloud seeding technology is not capable of inducing storms that can cause
the level of rainfall that hit Texas' Hill Country. Cloud seeding can cause moisture already in the
atmosphere to precipitate, but it cannot bust the drought or cause floods.
As Derico explains, Rainmaker can precipitate 40 million pounds of water with three drones
spraying a cloud-seating agent into the sky. The storm that flooded Texas produced at least
1.8 trillion gallons of rain, which by our calculations would have required about a million
of Rainmaker's drones to seat.
All right, that is it for your questions answered today.
I'm going to send it back to Will for the rest of the pod
and I'll see you guys tomorrow.
Have a good one, peace.
All right, thanks Isaac.
Jumping back in here with our Under the Radar story.
In the five years since the pandemic
first forced many workers out of the office,
the return to in-person work
has revealed a burgeoning gender divide.
New surveys show that while men
are increasingly going back to the office,
the share of women doing so has remained mostly flat.
Some economists posit that the rise in remote work
has helped more women enter the workforce,
offering the flexibility to balance a career
with household and child-rearing
responsibilities, which women are more likely to undertake than men.
Data also shows that a greater share of women prefer to work from home compared to men.
However, some researchers find that remote work also comes with fewer opportunities for
advancement and a greater risk of losing one's job, potentially exacerbating existing gender
disparities in the workforce.
The Wall Street Journal has this story, and you can find it in today's show notes.
Now on to numbers about today's main story.
The years William McChesney Martin Jr. served as Federal Reserve Chairman was 1951 to 1970,
which was the longest tenure of any chair in Fed history.
The approximate number of years that Fed Chair Jerome Powell
has served as chairman is seven,
and the number of months since the Fed's last rate cut
is seven, and it came in December of 2024.
The 12-month change in the CPI in June was a 2.7% increase,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists had predicted the 12-month change in the CPI in June was a 2.7% increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Economists had predicted the 12-month change in the CPI for June to also be a 2.7% increase.
The 12-month change in grocery prices as of June was a 2.4% increase.
And the 12-month change in energy prices as of June was a 0.8% decrease.
And finally, the 12-month change in housing prices as of June was a 3.8% increase.
And lastly, here is our have a nice day story to send you on your way today.
The city of Paris banned swimming in its iconic river Seine in 1923 due to high pollution levels.
For years, more than 20,000 homes dumped their waste directly into the Seine, contributing to its toxicity.
The city has tried to lower pollution in the river since the 1990s, investing about 1.4 billion euros in the cleanup efforts,
which culminated in the river's use as a venue for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This summer, for the first time in over a century, the river is open to the public for
swimming.
Paris' cleanup efforts have become a model for similar projects around Europe.
Paris will open the Seine in three locations until the end of August, and other municipalities
plan to open 14 more swimming spots beyond the city.
The Guardian has this story, and again, you can find a link to it in today's show notes. and 14 more swimming spots beyond the city.
John Lull. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is led by managing editor Ari Weitzman with senior editor Will Kavak and associate editors Hunter Kaspersen,
Audrey Moorhead, Bailey Saul, Lindsay Knuth, and Kendall White. Music for the podcast was produced
by Dyett75. To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our website at retangle.com.
This episode is sponsored by the OCS Summer Pre-Roll Sale.
Sometimes when you roll your own joint, things can turn out a little differently than what
you expected.
Maybe it's a little too loose, maybe it's a little too flimsy. Or maybe it's a little too covered in dirt because
your best friend distracted you and you dropped it on the ground. There's a million ways
to roll a joint wrong, but there's one roll that's always perfect. The pre-roll. Shop
the summer pre-roll and infuse pre-roll sale today at OCS.ca and participating retailers.
What's better than a well marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue?
A well marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart
shopper and delivered to your door.
A well marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool.
Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered.
Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders.
Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply.
Instacart. Groceries that over-deliver.