Inflation slowed in July, showing Fed's rate hikes are working
CBSN
Inflation slowed in July as gasoline prices dropped, a sign that the Federal Reserve's efforts to control spiraling prices are taking effect.
Consumer prices last month were unchanged, a drop from June's 1.3% increase, the Labor Department reported on Wednesday.
Still, the 8.5% annual increase showed prices remain painfully high for consumers. Prices for food and shelter continued to rise last month, although those increases were offset by falling energy costs.
An Arizona grand jury indicted 18 people Wednesday in the ongoing investigation into an alleged attempt to use alternate electors after the 2020 presidential election as part of a wider alleged conspiracy to falsely declare then-President Donald Trump the winner, the state's attorney general announced.
Almost four out of every 10 people in the United States live in a place where air pollution is considered bad enough to put their health at risk, the American Lung Association warned in its latest "State of the Air" report released on Wednesday. That proportion of people — about 39% of the population — had risen sharply since earlier rounds of pollutant data were analyzed for the annual report last year, and the trends were especially pronounced in certain parts of the country.