Inflation Pressures Mount Across US Economy

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Inflation Pressures Mount Across US Economy

(Morgan Sweeney, The Center Square) Following Wednesday’s news that inflation remained elevated in September, economic reports released Thursday and Friday offered a look at rising prices across the U.S. economy.

Import prices, export prices, and prices charged by American producers all recorded their largest annual increases since 2022.

Rising import prices can increase the cost of raw materials and finished products that American businesses purchase from overseas. Import prices tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report do not include tariffs, though tariffs can still impact what exporters charge.

Import prices rose 1.1% from August to September and 8.1% from a year earlier — the largest 12-month increase since July 2022, when prices had risen by 8.8% over the previous year. The monthly increase was driven by higher prices for both fuel and nonfuel imports, with fuel prices rising much more sharply.

“Fuel is driving roughly 40% of September’s import price surge,” said Orphe Divounguy, founder of the Quantitative Research Group and former senior economist at Zillow.

Fuel import prices jumped 4.8% after declining in July and August, while nonfuel import prices rose 0.7%. From September 2025 to September 2026, fuel import prices increased 34.5%, including a 35.4% rise in petroleum and petroleum product prices and a 96.5% jump in natural gas prices — the largest annual increase for imported natural gas since June 2022.

Brent crude oil prices averaged roughly $114 per barrel in September, up from about $91 in August, while U.S. retail gasoline prices climbed to an average of $4.35 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. 

Nonfuel import prices also recorded their largest annual increase since April 2022, though the cost of producing those goods can still be affected by energy prices.

Export prices rose 2.2% in September and 11.6% from a year earlier, their largest annual increase since July 2022. Higher export prices can boost revenue for American businesses selling overseas, but may also make their goods less competitive. 

The Producer Price Index, which measures prices charged by U.S. businesses for goods and services, rose 1.3% in September — the largest monthly increase since March 2022. Prices were also up 6.3% from a year earlier, the largest annual increase since December 2022.

Higher import prices can push up costs for American producers, which may pass those increases along to customers.

Energy accounted for even more of the producer price increase than the rise in import costs, according to Divounguy.

“My analysis estimates that energy accounted for about half the increase, while transportation and wholesale and retail margins added another third,” Divounguy said.

Businesses in the New York-Northern New Jersey region also reported weakening economic conditions in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s October Business Leaders Survey.

The survey’s business activity index fell 12 points to -20.7, its lowest level since March. Forty-two percent of respondents said business conditions worsened during the month, compared with 22% who reported improvement. Employment held steady, but businesses became more pessimistic about the next six months, with an index measuring expectations for future activity falling into negative territory for the first time since December 2025.

Despite the decline in business activity, firms reported raising their selling prices at the fastest pace since 2022.

About 71% of firms reported paying higher prices, while only 40% reported charging customers more, which Divounguy noted suggests some businesses may be absorbing part of their rising costs rather than passing them along to customers, though the survey cannot determine how much.

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting committee is scheduled to meet at the end of October to decide whether to raise, lower or hold rates steady. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point in September, to a range of 3.75% to 4%, as part of its effort to bring inflation down.

“I still favor holding rates in October, but it’s a closer call,” Divounguy said. “The risk is that these cost increases keep spreading and people begin expecting inflation to stay higher for longer.”

Trump’s Russia Sanctions Waiver Infuriates Congress

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Trump’s Russia Sanctions Waiver Infuriates Congress

(Headline USA)  President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order late Friday, the latest in a series of steps that the Republican president has taken drawing the United States closer to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Putin to import Russian energy in an effort to curb high gas prices in the U.S.

“Beyond irresponsible,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., on social media, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that the sanctions that were supposed to take effect Sunday targeting Russian’s economy could be revived.

“What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?” Tillis said. “It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine.”

Tillis said that if Trump wants to actually bring down energy prices, he should resolve the Iran war, which is largely blamed for the spike at the pump, and “not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin.”

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said “Lindsey would be appalled,” referring to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who worked endlessly on the bill before he died this summer. The bill is known as the Lindsey Graham Russian Sanctions Act.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement that “by giving the Russian economy life support, Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump is “thumbing his nose” at Congress and “enabling Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression.” She urged her colleagues to take action to reverse course.

Trump’s actions come as Ukraine is bracing for a stark winter confronting Russia’s ongoing attacks on its energy infrastructure to heat homes and keep the lights on. Zelenskyy, who has endured a rocky relationship with Trump but stayed close to the U.S. lawmakers, urged supporters to speak out on behalf of the sanctions.

The next steps are highly uncertain with the House and Senate are on recess until after Election Day. Trump said he was waiving the sanctions indefinitely, citing national security concerns. It is unlikely Congress would be in a position to take any action to challenge Trump’s moves until lawmakers return to Washington.

It took almost a year for Graham to persuade Trump to agree to the Russian sanctions package. It was designed to impose steep tariffs on countries that import large amounts of Russian oil and energy products and was promoted as way to halt the flow of funds fueling Putin’s four-year war against Ukraine.

But even as Zelenskyy had watched from the visitor gallery as the Senate advanced the package after Graham’s death, skeptics in Congress warned Trump would be unlikely to follow the bill once he had signed it into law a month ago.

Last week, a bipartisan group of senators urged the Trump administration to more quickly clamp down on Russia, particularly the “shadow fleet” of tankers that Moscow is using to transport oil and bypass America’s sanctions. The senators noted that the bulk of the new law’s provisions were to be effective Sunday.

Instead, Trump soon announced the diesel deal with Putin, saying that Russia had agreed to supply tons of fuel to the U.S., where gas prices have skyrocketed in some areas and voters saying affordability issues are a top concern.

Outraged lawmakers have pledged to stop the Trump-Putin deal.

New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee who had led opposition to the Graham bill — warning that Trump would flout the law — introduced legislation Friday that would block Trump’s diesel deal with Putin. 

“At a time when the United States should be increasing pressure on the Kremlin, Donald Trump is cozying up to Putin and striking self-enriching deals instead of standing with Ukraine,” Meeks said in a statement.

He called the deal “corrupt” and said it “goes against everything the United States stands for.”

On Saturday, he said that “Congress is not helpless” and must act.

Graham’s sister, Darline Graham of South Carolina, helped ensure Senate passage of the bill, once she was appointed by the state’s governor to fill her brother’s seat.

She is now running against Democrat Annie Andrews in a tight race. Trump is expected in the state next week to rally voters.

“Look, the president and I share the same goal, which is to end the war, to get gas and diesel prices down, and the sanctions bill is one of the tools he can use to do that,” Darline Graham said at a campaign stop Saturday.

“It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it. Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia,” she said, “because I don’t trust Putin and I don’t trust Russia.”

Like her brother, who often publicly parted ways with the president, Darline Graham said she and Trump can have their differences.

“I am proud of it to help get across the finish line. It meant a lot to Lindsey,” she said. 

“But you know, like Lindsey, he disagreed with the president sometimes they had that relationship where they could agree to disagree sometimes. And I think that just happens.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Trump Endorses Tafoya in Closely Watched Minnesota U.S. Senate Race

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Trump Endorses Tafoya in Closely Watched Minnesota U.S. Senate Race

(Elyse S. Apel, The Center Square) President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican and former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race.

“You have to vote for Michele Tafoya, who is a very respected person,” Trump said during a rally in Ohio on Monday. “It’s hard to win because they cheat in their elections. I thought I won Minnesota three times.”

This endorsement comes just three weeks until Election Day.

Tafoya, who is running against Democrat Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, has since downplayed the endorsement, saying she “heard about that.”

“This campaign is about bringing all Minnesotans together whether they voted for President Trump or whether they voted for Kamala Harris,” Tafoya added.

That hasn’t stopped Flanagan’s campaign from using the endorsement to criticize Tafoya, saying she is “lockstep with Trump’s MAGA agenda.”

“Donald Trump wants you to vote for Michele Tafoya,” Flanagan said. “I’m asking you to vote for the future Minnesotans deserve—one without Trump’s chaos and cruelty. That’s the choice in this race.”

Tafoya and Flanagan are neck and neck in the most-recent polling of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race.

Flanagan currently leads Tafoya 44.8% to 43.3%, according to the average of the four most-recent polls compiled by 270toWin. That is well within the margin of error.

According to the Cook Political Report, the Minnesota U.S. Senate race is predicted to be likely Democrat. It is expected to be one of the bellwether races set to determine the balance of congressional power.

Of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, 33 are up for regular election in 2026, along with two special elections. Democrats currently hold 13 of the seats on the ballot, while Republicans hold 22. That means this election cycle will determine which party controls the 120th Congress.

A Republican candidate has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota since 2002. Tafoya hopes to be the first, labeling herself a political outsider.

“Minnesotans are rejecting Peggy Flanagan’s record of failure,” she said. “Gang violence. Rampant fraud. Declining test scores. All on her watch as lieutenant governor. It’s time for an outsider.”

Flanagan, who has served alongside Gov. Tim Walz since 2018, is running amid ongoing concerns over fraud in the state.

“Peggy Flanagan stood beside Tim Walz for eight years while Minnesota suffered billions in taxpayer dollars lost to fraud, a free-fall in academic performance, and rising crime,” Tafoya said. “Now she wants a promotion to the U.S. Senate. Eight years of failure doesn’t deserve a promotion.”

Flanagan has called out Tafoya for supporting President Donald Trump, calling her a “yes vote” for him if elected.

“We have a choice, Minnesota,” Flanagan said. “Do you want a Senator who will work for you to lower costs, end the illegal war in Iran, and hold ICE accountable? Or do you want another Senator for Trump?”

Election Day is 18 days away, but absentee ballots have already been distributed statewide, and early voting begins today.

Whitmer Delegation Spent More than $200,000 on Asia Trip

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Whitmer Delegation Spent More than $200,000 on Asia Trip

(Elyse S. Apel, The Center Square) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her delegation spent more than $200,000 on an eight-day trip to Asia in September, averaging $26,000 per day.

This is according to records obtained by The Center Square through a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the Michigan Economic Development Corp..

The MEDC and the Michigan Economic Development Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization, “supported” the trip, according to the governor’s office.

In total, the trip cost $91,000 for airfare, nearly $70,000 for hotel accommodations, $13,000 for conference rooms and events, $11,000 for ground transportation, and $6,000 for meals. Other miscellaneous expenses included photographer fees, interpretation services, and $3,200 for a “cultural activity.”

Whitmer argued the trip to South Korea and Taiwan was critical for the state’s business relations.

“Michigan and Taiwan are both places where people know how to make things, solve tough problems, and build the technologies that will define our future,” Whitmer said. “We’re going anywhere and working with anyone to bring more jobs, investments, and opportunity back home to Michigan.”

As previously reported on by The Center Square, Republicans have criticized Whitmer’s international travels.

Earlier this year, the governor took a week-long trip to Europe, spending approximately $180,000. That came after a $61,000 January trip to Switzerland.

Whitmer’s office defended her Asia trip for “building on strong partnership to bring jobs and investment to Michigan.”

The trip began in South Korea, with day one including a “cultural walking tour” of “traditional Korean homes” and a local shopping district. This is according to the official itinerary shared with The Center Square via the records request.

The rest of the time in South Korea included meetings with Korean companies that have recently invested in Michigan and meetings with government officials.

“Investment missions allow Team Michigan to build the trust that turn conversations into opportunities for Michigan’s people, communities, and businesses,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of MEDC, who joined Whitmer on the trip. “During this mission, we deepened relationships with companies already investing in Michigan while positioning our state to compete for future investment.”

After three nights in South Korea, the delegation flew to Taiwan, where members met with President Lai Ching-te, government officials, and representatives of semiconductor, drone, and robotics companies.

“Michigan is a global hub of the automotive industry, excelling in smart mobility, automotive software, information and communications technology, and industrial automation, which are highly complementary with Taiwan’s semiconductor, electronic components, and smart manufacturing industries,” said Ching-te. “As a result, an increasing number of Taiwanese enterprises are investing and expanding their presence in Michigan . . . I anticipate that the governor’s visit will bring about more Taiwan-US industrial cooperation, so that together we can enhance supply chain resilience and reinforce each other’s technological and industrial security.”

The trip marked Whitmer’s third visit to Taiwan in three years. She was accompanied by a delegation of more than a dozen people. Those included eight officials from MEDC, two from the governor’s office, and:

  • David Coulter, county executive of Oakland County
  • Paul Rogers, the adjunct general of the Michigan National Guard
  • Charles Marshall, II, president of ITC Michigan
  • Marc Corriveau, Sr. vice president & chief government relations officer at Henry Ford Health System

Whitmer applauded the trip as a success.

“Michigan is competing on the global stage, and the best way to win is to build relationships and make sure companies know what we bring to the table,” Whitmer said. “In South Korea and Taiwan, we deepened our relationships with companies already creating good-paying jobs in Michigan, and showed others considering where to make their next investment why our state is the best place to build the future.”

Poll: Inflation Tops Voter Concerns

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Poll: Inflation Tops Voter Concerns

(Brett Rowland, The Center Square) Inflation ranks among the top three issues for 46% of registered voters, a nine-point climb since March, while the national debt and government spending sit near the bottom at 13%.

Voters put the debt near the bottom in a year the federal government ran a $2 trillion deficit, $218 billion more than in fiscal 2025, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. The government spent $1.052 trillion on net interest on the debt in fiscal 2026, more than the $965 billion it spent on national defense and 14% of all federal spending, according to the Treasury Department’s monthly statement released Friday. Gross interest on Treasury securities, which includes interest the government pays itself, was $1.36 trillion. The net figure works out to about $6,462 for each of the 162.8 million individual income tax returns the IRS processed in fiscal 2025, according to the IRS Data Book.

The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights Oct. 5-7, surveyed 2,527 registered voters nationally through an opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The pollster reports a margin of error of plus or minus 1.95 percentage points. Voters were asked to pick their top three issues from a list of 21.

Inflation led at 46%, up from 41% in an Aug. 12-16 survey of 2,533 voters and 37% in a March 2-5 survey that offered 19 options rather than 21. The economy and jobs followed at 31%, healthcare at 28% and government corruption at 25%.

Inflation was the top issue for every group in the survey. It ranked first among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters at 47%, Republicans and Republican-leaning voters at 45% and true independents at 48%, the pollster’s term for voters who say they lean toward neither party. Nothing else came close to that agreement. Illegal immigration split 30% among Republicans and leaners to 6% among Democrats and leaners. National security split 23% to 7%.

Karlyn Bowman, a distinguished senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute who has studied public opinion since the 1970s, said in an email that the pattern is a common one.

“Price levels/increases are immediate. We all feel them,” she said. “Issues such as the government debt are more abstract. People don’t think about them in their daily lives.”

The poll was in the field a week before the government confirmed prices were still climbing. Consumer prices rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% over the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, up from 3.4% in August. Gasoline prices rose 9.1% in September alone and 34.2% over 12 months, accounting for more than half of the monthly increase. Grocery prices rose 1.8% over the year and restaurant prices 3.5%.

Voters ranked inflation higher while the headline number held still. The most recent inflation reading was 3.4% when the August poll was in the field, July’s rate, and 3.4% again when the October poll was conducted, August’s rate. Inflation gained five points as a top-three issue between the two.

Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, whose September survey of Wisconsin voters found inflation and the cost of living the single most important issue for 45% of respondents, said the goods driving the increase are the ones people buy most often.

“Both are at least weekly purchases and people feel that directly, as opposed to rent or insurance costs which may rise once a year or so,” he said of gasoline and groceries. He pointed as well to cumulative increases since 2021: “There is still sticker shock at home or auto prices and in how much a family pays at the checkout for three or four bags of groceries, compared to what they remember paying 6 or so years ago.”

The fiscal issues ranked at the bottom. High taxes drew 16%, tariffs and international trade 14%, the national debt and government spending 13% and fraud 7%. The debt has not moved as a top three issue: it drew 14% of respondents in March, 14% in August and 13% in October, while inflation climbed nine points over the same period. It also drew about the same share from every group, 14% among Republicans and leaners, 13% among Democrats and leaners and 15% among true independents.

Franklin said that is unlikely to change on its own.

“Debt seldom gets attention, and then not for very long,” he said. “In the current political environment neither the president nor members of Congress are taking up the debt issue or providing leadership on the issue.” He cited the 2010 Simpson-Bowles commission as the last serious bipartisan attempt at budget reform, and said it failed to win much legislative support. When voters are focused on the cost of living, he said, “it is very hard [for] the debt, or the annual deficit, to get any traction, and certainly not without presidential and congressional leadership on the issue.”

Both parties have noticed. Franklin said Republicans and Democrats alike are running ads about grocery prices.

“Both parties say they will ‘fix’ the problem,” he said. “They are all quite vague as to how they will fix it.”

Voters go to the polls Nov. 3.

Iran War Hits American Wallets Hard

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Iran War Hits American Wallets Hard

(Headline USA) More than seven months into the U.S. war with Iran, sharply higher fuel prices are making it more expensive to drive and fly and adding to the cost of some goods, prolonging the strain on American households as the midterm elections approach.

Motorists and airline passengers have borne the clearest consequences as the fighting disrupts Middle East oil shipments. Some companies have raised delivery charges or prices on selected products. Yet the higher cost of making and moving goods has not translated into across-the-board price increases at stores.

Shoppers may not be spared indefinitely, though. Many companies have absorbed at least part of their higher production and transportation costs. A September jump in wholesale prices suggests some businesses may eventually charge more if fuel prices stay elevated.

The chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, Mark Zandi, estimated this week that the war has cost the average U.S. household the equivalent of almost $2,000, including $1,100 in higher energy prices, $540 in higher interest rates and $360 in military costs. The energy portion is growing by $50 a week at current fuel prices, Zandi said.

Here’s a look at price changes since the war began and which goods and services could be most susceptible to increases in the months ahead.

Regular gasoline averaged $2.98 a gallon nationwide and diesel $3.76 almost eight months ago, according to AAA. Gas peaked at $4.56 in May, below its 2022 record, while diesel reached a record $6.53 in September.

On Friday, the national average stood at $4.33 a gallon for gasoline, or 45% above its prewar level, and was up 68% for diesel at $6.33, AAA reported. Gas typically costs less in the fall, and this is the first October a gallon of regular gas has cost more than $4 on average, it said.

Expensive diesel is less apparent to most U.S. residents but contributes to overall inflation by raising the cost of moving goods.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains dangerous and constrained, prolonging uncertainty over oil supplies and fuel prices. The Energy Information Administration said this month that it expected winter heating costs to be 21% higher for the roughly 3% of households that rely on heating oil, most of them in the Northeast, assuming the weather is mild.

Jet fuel averaged $99 a barrel worldwide before the war, doubled to $209 in April and climbed back to nearly $195 in September after a spring decline, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Airlines have raised ticket prices and fees, trimmed schedules and shelved plans to add flights. Airfares cost about 22% more in September than they did a year earlier, the consumer price index showed. Average domestic airfares rose from $405 in late 2025 to $445 in the April through June period of this year, excluding optional fees, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Fuel price volatility makes it harder for airlines to plan and could discourage them from lowering fares even when fuel prices start to fall, analysts said. United Airlines pulled some December flights and warned of further possible cuts in 2027. Fewer available seats could mean less pressure to hold ticket prices down.

Higher fares have covered substantial portions of higher fuel costs for domestic airlines but not enough to prevent a squeeze on their third-quarter profits, according to consensus estimates.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture initially expected grocery prices to rise 1.7% this year, below the historical annual average. USDA now expects a still comparatively modest 2.4% increase.

Individual food prices can be volatile, and it’s not clear how much of this year’s expected increase is due to the war and how much is due to other factors, including tariffs, unfavorable weather and higher labor costs.

Cornell University economics professor Chris Barrett said he was surprised grocery prices haven’t risen faster given higher costs for diesel, fertilizer and refrigeration. USDA revised its 2026 fertilizer cost estimates for major crops upward by 9% to 13% and fuel, lubricant and electricity estimates by 33% to 41%.

Barrett suspects retailers are absorbing some increases to avoid alienating fed-up customers after multiple years of food inflation. Grocery prices in September were about 22% higher than five years earlier.

Experts have warned that fresh produce and other frequently replenished perishables could respond quickly to higher transportation and refrigeration costs. Barrett sees “very little prospect” of a significant reduction in fuel prices that could ease the pressure on farmers and truckers.

A strengthening El Niño weather pattern could damage crops through drought, heat or flooding, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned. That could lift commodity prices, although ample inventories and good harvests elsewhere may limit the impact on groceries.

Nearly all shoes sold in the U.S. are imported, and roughly 70% of the materials in a synthetic shoe are petrochemical-based, according to Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. The industry trade group opposed Trump administration tariffs last year.

Footwear prices were 3.4% higher in September compared to 12 months earlier, according to the consumer price index. Men’s shoes went up the most, by 4.5%.

While import costs are down from a year ago, the footwear trade group said oil prices, tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty are likely to keep retail shoe prices rising into 2027.

“Footwear companies are working hard to keep shoes affordable, but there is a limit to how much additional cost businesses can absorb before those pressures reach consumers,” FDRA President and CEO Matt Priest said.

The cost of moving goods and delivering packages was already increasing and depended on more than fuel.

It’s not clear. September producer-price data showed that transportation and warehousing of goods sold to businesses as inputs cost 10.2% more than a year earlier. Prices for truck and water freight services each rose 19.3%. The indexes measure what transportation providers charged but do not show how much of the increase appeared in retail prices.

Consumers have felt the higher costs most directly when sending packages. The U.S. Postal Service raised base prices 8% in April for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select, citing increased transportation costs. UPS, FedEx and DHL also impose fuel surcharges on many shipments.

Shipping costs could remain elevated during the holiday season even if oil prices ease. Third-party provider AFS Logistics and financial services company TD Cowen project record parcel costs this quarter and the highest truckload rates since early 2022.

“We expect fuel to drive elevated transportation costs for the foreseeable future,” AFS Logistics CEO Andy Dyer said.

Although UPS and FedEx surcharges could decline if diesel and jet fuel prices fall, changes to carrier surcharge formulas, holiday fees and tight trucking capacity could keep total shipping bills elevated, AFS said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Coastal Homes Burn as Hot Winds Fuel California Fires

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Coastal Homes Burn as Hot Winds Fuel California Fires

(Headline USA) A fast-moving fire fueled by high winds burned at least six homes in Southern California on Friday, engulfing expensive coastal properties and prompting thousands to evacuate.

Black smoke — visible from miles away — billowed over tennis courts and swimming pools while firefighters doused blazing homes in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Some homeowners sprayed water on their properties before heeding evacuation orders.

Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with heat-related injuries, officials said. 

Authorities have not said how the blaze, which was less than a square mile as of Friday evening, started.

“Had these winds been a little bit stronger, a little bit different direction, this could have been a whole lot worse,” said San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler.

Howard Hart, a councilmember for San Juan Capistrano, said he and his wife doused their roof with water and moved propane tanks away from their home before they evacuated Friday with a to-go bag.

Laura Hart hasn’t had to evacuate due to fire in the more than five decades she’s lived in the community, she said.

“This doesn’t usually happen to us, we usually see it on the news,” she said. “We always pray to God it’s not us, but yeah, it was today.”

The Norte fire started in the coastal city of San Clemente, and wind drove it into San Juan Capistrano. An evacuation shelter has opened in each city. By Friday night, about 16,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate, said Fire Chief TJ McGovern, of the Orange County Fire Authority.

It was one of several fires in the region hit by dry, warm gusts known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior and toward the coast. The strongest winds were expected through Friday afternoon, but conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday night, with a heat advisory in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday on the Orange County and San Diego County coast, the National Weather Service said.

Tens of thousands of people in the state are without power after their electricity was turned off. A separate fire by the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton shut down for hours a section of Interstate 5 that is a major artery connecting Orange County to San Diego. That added hours to commutes throughout Southern California.

The coastal cities are surrounded by hillsides. San Juan Capistrano, a city of 35,000, is known for horse trails and the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente, which is home to 62,000 people, is known as a “Spanish village by the sea” and popular with beachgoers and surfers.

“The fire is right up on the city,” said Victor Cabral, a San Clemente Council member. “It’s on the perimeter of our homes on the north end.”

Nine schools were also closed Friday in San Juan Capistrano, the Capistrano Unified School District said.

Nearby residents were also on edge as smoke darkened the sky.

Wyoming resident Shannon Needham was visiting her mother at her assisted living facility in Dana Point just north of San Clemente when she learned about the fire.

The facility director told her that two buses would be on standby in case they needed to evacuate, Needham said.

“You could hear the fire trucks, you could hear the helicopters and everything above. And it was so smoky, it was just dark smoke,” Needham said.

Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power in dry winds. More than 118,000 customers in California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.

The weather service also issued a red flag warning for parts of central and Northern California through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Teacher Tackles Gunman After School Massacre

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Teacher Tackles Gunman After School Massacre

(Headline USA) A teacher threw her phone at the teenage gunman who killed four people at an Oregon elementary school Thursday, then tackled and fought with him — likely saving lives before he was shot by a man who followed him into the building, police said Friday. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz called her actions “heroic” during a news conference and said she was not injured.

In a statement read to reporters on Friday, Kenda Freeman said her son, Kaylub Giamanco, shot the gunman in Thursday’s attack at Silver Rail Elementary School. She said he is the father of two girls at the school.

The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child, 7, and a teacher, 54, were injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition, authorities say.

Krantz identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student at the school.

During the news conference, the police chief named the suspect and said he would only utter his name that one time.

The news conference lasted a little over 30 minutes.

The school resource officer was not at the school at the time of the shooting, authorities said.

They said the officer oversees around six other buildings and was at a nearby school.

Armed with a .40-caliber pistol, Giamanco entered the school, heard shots and fired his gun after seeing a teacher fighting with the shooter, Krantz said.

Just moments earlier, he had seen the gunman shooting at a truck and heading toward the school.

Krantz said the teacher “threw her cellphone at the suspect and then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. She was not injured in that incident, but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed,” the chief said.

“I don’t think we can underestimate or underappreciate that courage,” Krantz said.

“When someone is willing to risk their own life for others, we recognize that. The quick thinking to observe, to then park and follow someone into the school is incredible and undoubtedly saved people.

“If it came natural as a protective father, that’s terrific,” he said.

“The teacher who’s willing to stand and fight for her children — incredible,” the chief added. “We all recognize that is true heroism. We don’t see that a lot in society.”

The first 911 call came from the driver of a red pickup truck who saw the boy throw his gun over a fence outside the school and then climb over it, Krantz said.

The driver yelled at the boy, who fired at him, striking the truck three times. The driver was not injured, but drove off and called for help.

A second driver, a 36-year-old man whose children attend Silver Rail, saw the gunman shooting at the truck and heading toward the school. He pulled into the parking lot, grabbed his .40-caliber pistol and followed the attacker inside.

He saw the teen wrestling with the teacher and shot him several times, Krantz said.

The mother of the teen identified by authorities as the Oregon school shooter says her son was a ‘good boy’ as she tearfully apologized to victims and their families.

Shauntai Nickerson, the mother of Griffin John II, told reporters outside her apartment near the school that if she could have done something to prevent the shooting, she would have.

“I miss my boy,” Nickerson said, sobbing and crying, according to The New York Times and CNN. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss.”

She declined to say how the 16-year-old obtained the pump-action shotgun, and didn’t comment further when The Associated Press and other outlets knocked on her apartment door later.

“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” Krantz said. “We may never get that full answer, but we want it.”

The police chief added that police are also still trying to determine how the shooter obtained the gun.

The family of Meghan Lambert, in a statement read by officials, said she grew up in Bend, graduated from Boise State University and had a passion for sports, especially volleyball, and was a local coach.

They said she was funny, opinionated, “fought for the underdog” and “those with special needs”

“Meg loved those children,” the family said.

The gunman fired as many as 15 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun and had about 44 rounds remaining when he was killed, the police chief said.

Authorities said he was a former student.

“This has been a terrifying and traumatic experience that will affect us profoundly for years to come,” said Bend-La Pine School Superintendent Steven Cook.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz says a teacher threw a cellphone and tackled and fought with the teenage gunman to try to stop him.

The teacher’s actions likely helped save lives, the chief said, calling her actions “heroic.”

Linda Sanchez’s 6-year-old son was getting escorted to the bathroom by a teacher when the two heard gunfire. They hid under a table in a nearby office until the gunfire stopped.

Soon after, Sanchez got a robocall notifying her about the lockdown at her son’s school, and then heard ambulances and police cars heading to the school where her son attends the first grade.

“My heart was just like pounding because he was in there,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez’s son was in a special education class at the time where some students went for individualized attention. Sanchez was told by school staff that the classroom was closest to the door where the gunman entered the school.

Five-year-old Rhoam Summer liked for all of his sea creature stuffed animals to be in his favorite color: rainbow, his aunt said.

“He never met a stuffie that he didn’t think needed to be rescued and cared for,” said Swan Sheridan, whose sister is Rhoam’s mother.

“He had a great fondness for sharks and dinosaurs and creatures that were in his words, ‘misunderstood,’” she said.

He was also a fast runner and a fearless climber, his aunt said.

Sheridan said her nephew would climb and jump off anything and was an “incredibly fast” runner, even from a young age. “He was a little ball of energy from the moment he was born,” she said.

“He was a very, very happy child,” she said.

A wounded teacher was identified by family as Becky Drury. Her mother-in-law, Yvonne Drury, said on Facebook that she underwent surgery and had injuries to her left arm and right hand.

Some 911 calls came from inside the school, and officers arrived within minutes, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.

The attacker was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, she said.

The school has students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with about 450 enrolled last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education.

Children were taken by bus to a nearby church serving as a reunification center for families. Parents hugged, kissed and held their children’s hands as they walked to their cars, with some bringing along favorite stuffed animals or other comfort items from home.

The man who shot the school shooter in Bend, Oregon has been identified by his mother.

Kenda Freeman said Kaylub Giamanco is a lifelong Bend resident and a father with two young daughters at Silver Rail Elementary School.

“He is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel and community for the outpouring of love and support,” she said, reading from a prepared statement to reporters outside her son’s residence near the school.

Freeman said the family is asking for privacy “during this difficult time” and is not giving interviews.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House he had been briefed on the shooting and praised the actions of a “great hero” who he said “took care of business.”

“It’s a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it,” Trump said, saying the tragedy otherwise likely would have been much worse.

The 16-year-old suspect, identified only as a Bend resident, was found dead inside the school minutes after the first calls for help, Police Chief Mike Krantz said. Police said he got into the school by shooting through locked doors.

The attacker used a pump-action shotgun that was purchased by his mother, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

Under Oregon law, a minor may possess a shotgun if provided by a parent or by someone else with the parent’s consent.

Police said they didn’t know if the shooter knew anyone at the school or if he had attended it.

Brooke Olsen’s daughter is a kindergartener at Silver Rail.

“I think it’s miraculous that someone was there before law enforcement even arrived to stop further tragedy from happening,” Olsen said Friday, weeping at times. “I’m feeling very grateful.”

The attacker used a pump-action shotgun that was purchased by his mother, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

A 16-year-old opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher. He was then shot by a person at the scene who followed him inside, authorities said.

The suspect was found dead inside the school minutes after the shooting was first reported, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.

The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child, 7, and a teacher, 54, were injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition, he said.

The first 911 call came just before 1 p.m. from a person in a vehicle outside Silver Rail Elementary who reported being shot at by someone with a long gun, Krantz told reporters. Further 911 calls came from inside the school, and officers arrived on scene within minutes, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.

The attacker, who police identified as a Bend resident, was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, she said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Trump Leads GOP Charge in Georgia

Headline USA Editor
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Trump Leads GOP Charge in Georgia

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump took his midterm campaign blitz to the battleground Georgia on Friday and rallied with top Republicans in the state.

In Dalton, the heart of conservative northwest Georgia, Trump praised Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson as part of a larger White House effort to boost GOP enthusiasm in an election that could reshape the final years of his second presidency.

“You have to pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump said as at least one man in the crowd cried “Trump 2028.” Later, he predicted, “On election night, Georgia is going to prove that America does not belong to those who hate us.”

A critical swing state, Georgia is unlike many of the solidly Republican places that Trump has recently visited, including Alabama, Montana and Tennessee. That means Jackson, a billionaire businessman, and Collins, a two-term congressman, will likely need more than Trump stalwarts to defeat their respective Democratic opponents, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Trump spent more of his speech decrying top Democrats, defending the war in Iran and promoting his U.S.-Mexico border policies rather than talking about Georgia Republicans.

He repeatedly called Ossoff “Pee-wee Herman” and mocked him for wearing makeup during public appearances. The president acknowledged that he himself also wears makeup but insisted it is “light” compared to the senator.

When Trump later invited Jackson to the stage, the gubernatorial candidate’s appearance was very brief and featured him thanking Trump for his work on behalf of “all foster children” and “for caring about our vulnerable children.” That was a far cry from a promise Jackson made at an earlier rally when he pointed at the president and said he’d be “this guy’s favorite governor.”

The rally was the first time Jackson and Collins appeared at the same venue this fall. That’s a contrast to Ossoff’s and Bottoms’ multiple joint rallies.

Ossoff said he was “surprised Georgia Republicans want the president here,” saying it would remind voters that Trump and his party had pushed policies that have “driven the cost of groceries, fuel and healthcare to their all-time highs,” Ossoff said.

Bottoms also seemed thrilled.

“When Donald Trump says he wants people to imagine that he is on the ballot, I am asking the people of Georgia to do just that,” she said, pointing to Jackson’s promise to be Trump’s “favorite governor.”

The risks have been evident even in the deeply conservative part of Georgia where Trump spoke. The president won the district by about 37 points in 2024, but in an April special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican Rep. Clay Fuller won by only 12 points.

People attending Friday’s event nonetheless said they believe Trump has done better on kitchen table issues than his low national approval ratings suggest.

“I think it’s a heck of a lot better than it was under Joe Biden. That’s for sure. Or any other Democrat president for that matter,” said Dianne Leveridge, who said she voted for Trump three times and would do it again if she could.

Leveridge acknowledged high gas prices but said “the oil companies aren’t playing fair.”

Cindy Massengill, 67, said Trump is “doing as good as he can do with the fight he has to fight” against “the people in office that are fighting him,” despite Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress.

Trump had been to Dalton before, last coming on Jan. 4, 2021, the day before Ossoff and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won concurrent Senate runoffs. He had already lost the presidential campaign to Joe Biden but was unwilling to accept it.

“There is no way we lost Georgia. There’s no way,” Trump said that day. “That was a rigged election but we’re still fighting it.”

On Friday, he again suggested he carried Georgia six years ago, falsely claiming “it was a rigged election.”

Trump endorsed Collins days before his June runoff victory over former football coach Derek Dooley. When announcing his decision, Trump complained that Dooley had conceded that Biden was elected legitimately.

Gov. Brian Kemp did not endorse Collins until September, and he warned voters during the primary that the congressman could not win in November.

Trump did not endorse Jackson until after he’d won a Republican primary runoff over the president’s original pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. The president cited Jones’ loyalty in his endorsement.

But the governor wasn’t with his fellow Republicans on Friday, according to his top political adviser.

“He has a family obligation that day,” said Cody Hall.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Jack Smith Seized Sensitive Payroll Data of Conservative Nonprofit, Bombshell Files Reveal

Luis Cornelio
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Jack Smith Seized Sensitive Payroll Data of Conservative Nonprofit, Bombshell Files Reveal

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) New documents show that Special Counsel Jack Smith obtained sensitive payroll data from one of the most prominent conservative organizations in the country, the Conservative Partnership Institute.

CPI became the subject of Smith’s aggressive crackdown of President Donald Trump seemingly in part because of its proximity to Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff and Cleta Mitchell, a legal scholar and election law expert.

The new files, obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee and released by journalist Catherine Herridge, indicate that Smith had access to CPI’s payroll information through its ADP system.

A Headline USA review of the redacted files found that the information included employees’ names, Social Security numbers, tax withholdings and health care benefits.

It remains unclear why Smith’s team obtained the files or how the information was used, but their contents raise serious questions about the broad scope of the investigation and whether such files were even necessary for the probe.

A separate file also seemed to show that Smith seized a summary of CPI’s bank account activity with Capital One from March 26 to March 31, 2021.

The file included CPI’s bank account number, the number of deposits and withdrawals for the six days, the remaining balance and the account’s maintenance fees. The specific amounts and other sensitive information were redacted from the documents released to the public.

The extraordinary records add to a growing list of evidence exposing that Smith’s investigation swept up sensitive information extending beyond Trump.

The Senate Judiciary Committee revealed in 2025 that at least 430 Republican and conservative individuals and entities were targeted by subpoenas issued by Smith’s team as part of what lawmakers have decried as a “fishing expedition.” Even lawmakers had their phone records secretly subpoenaed as part of the investigation.

Most recently, the Republican-led committee revealed that Smith also got his hands on communications involving White House officials and journalists, including some of the most prominent voices on the political right.

Headline USA has reached out to CPI for comment.

For his part, Smith has denied any wrongdoing. In several congressional hearings, Smith claimed that his probe followed standard investigative procedures and adhered to DOJ protocols, though the growing list of damning evidence suggests otherwise.

His investigation and subsequent prosecution of Trump are now under probe by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers across multiple congressional committees.

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