Newly launched numbers present that inflation has skyrocketed nationwide since this similar time final yr. The Shopper Worth Index went up greater than 9% from a yr in the past in June and in Washington State, the numbers are even greater.
SEATTLE – Newly-released numbers present that inflation has skyrocketed nationwide since this similar time final yr. The Shopper Worth Index went up greater than 9% from a yr in the past in June and in Washington state, the numbers are even greater.
On the Rainier Valley Meals Financial institution, volunteers are working to maintain the neighborhood wholesome and fed by delivering groceries and providing in-person “procuring” throughout which individuals can choose their very own objects without cost.
“It provides them an opportunity to make their month-to-month wage go just a little additional,” stated Gloria Hatcher-Mays, Govt Director, Rainier Valley Meals Financial institution.
Organizers and volunteers have watched costs skyrocket on the grocery retailer together with their shoppers, particularly domestically the place inflation has outpaced the nationwide degree.
“For the nation, it was roughly 9.1 % for an inflation enhance within the month of June, however what we all know in Seattle it’s gone up one other share level to 10.1%, so we’ve been rather more impacted right here than somewhere else,” stated Hatcher-Mays.
By way of demographics, one of many bigger teams the Rainier Valley Meals Financial institution serves is seniors, and they’re hit the toughest with the rising price of meals.
“We’ve seen extra seniors discovering their option to the meals financial institution immediately themselves,” stated Hatcher-Mays.
She says social safety checks aren’t maintaining.
“We’ve seen social safety checks not likely having a rise, that correlates what occurs with inflation, so seniors are actually feeling the pinch,” stated Hatcher-Mays.
Christina Wong, Director of Public Coverage at Northwest Harvest says staff there just lately accomplished a survey of households from throughout Washington. She says 90% reported that the price of residing was their largest barrier to getting nutritious meals. She says Congress has the chance proper now in the course of the price range reconciliation course of to convey again a few of the assets that have been misplaced, together with the expanded Little one Tax Credit score.
“It was no shock that whereas these funds have been going out final yr, baby starvation dropped by 40%, after which they went again up once more to 40%,” stated Wong.
She says there has additionally been a drop-off in donations to meals pantries as a result of individuals are feeling extra challenged in their very own houses. Hatcher-Mays says they’ve additionally felt the pinch on the Rainier Valley Meals Financial institution.
“From January to June, we now have seen a rise of 15% within the sum of money that we now have needed to spend to purchase the foodstuffs that we have to serve everybody right here out of the meals financial institution,” stated Hatcher-Mays.
Wong says fuel costs are one other hurdle for native households. They used to have the ability to drive to totally different shops to comparability store to get one of the best deal on meals, however with fuel costs so excessive, it is not cost-effective to try this.
Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to a resounding victory over the Conservatives in the United Kingdom Thursday evening, shaking up British politics as discontent grows with growing poverty rates and record-high energy prices.
After 14 years of Conservative governance, the Labour Party roared back after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for the snap election to take place weeks before the obligated date.
Here are five things to know about the landslide victory and what it means for America’s closest ally.
Since being elected to the British Parliament in 2015, Keir Starmer has focused his efforts on making his party more electable. While he is a socialist, the new prime minister has moved to the center on some economic issues and has frustrated some pro-Palestinian factions of his party with his position on the war in Gaza.
Starmer promised “national renewal” as he gave a victory speech on Friday morning. He chuckled as he was congratulated by “Elmo” — or, rather, independent candidate Bobby Smith, who was dressed as the red Sesame Street character.
Labour was able to win 412 out of a possible 650 seats — almost 64% (despite only garnering 35% of the vote share), thanks to Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system. The seat total was the party’s best showing since 1997, when former Prime Minister Tony Blair swept to power with 418 seats, and matched its 2001 total.
After Sunak’s party lost 251 seats in Parliament, he apologized for the brutal loss.
“This is a difficult day at the end of a number of difficult days,” the outgoing prime minister said Friday morning. “I am sorry. I take responsibility for the loss.”
Labour took 412 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The Conservatives retained 121 seats as the country waits for the election results in two more districts.
Sunak said he would step down as the leader of the Conservative Party but “not immediately,” as he will try to firm up the succession plans before moving aside.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was Britain’s shortest-serving leader as she spent just 49 days in the role, was among the Conservatives who lost their seats. She became the first former prime minister to lose her seat in 100 years.
In 2022, Britain elected her to lead the country by more than 26,000 votes. On Friday morning, Truss lost her race by 630 votes, a damning indictment on the country’s disenchantment with the Conservative Party.
“I think the issue we faced as Conservatives is we haven’t delivered sufficiently on the policies people want,” Truss told the BBC after her loss. The former prime minister faced widespread criticism for sparking financial turmoil during her chaotic 49-day rule.
Penny Mordaunt, a onetime Conservative leader of the House of Commons, also lost her seat by under 2 percentage points. Mordaunt, who served in Sunak’s Cabinet, suffered a narrow defeat to Labour’s Amanda Martin.
While Labour took home landslide wins, the Reform U.K. party snagged significant wins, claiming a historic four parliamentary seats. Nigel Farage became a member of Parliament for the first time, celebrating as his party tracks to become the third-largest party in Britain. Farage says Reform U.K. will “now be targeting Labour votes.”
Former President Donald Trump congratulated Farage, a longtime ally who shares similar views on immigration.
“Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country! DJT.”
Farage was a central player in the Brexit fight, and his participation in the election this year was a last-minute surprise. After formerly leading the U.K. Independence Party and the Brexit Party, Farage announced last month he was going to run for leader of the Reform U.K. party.
His Reform U.K. party as a whole, however, fell victim to Britain’s electoral system, winning 14% of the vote share but only four seats. The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, traditionally the country’s third-biggest party, won 71 seats with just 12% of the vote.
The Tories weren’t the only ones who faced a string of defeats on Thursday.
The Scottish National Party, which has dominated politics north of the border for more than two decades, was reduced to just nine seats, losing 37 and garnering just more than 700,000 votes. The shellacking was the party’s worst performance since 2010 and came after more than two years of chaos.
The Scottish independence movement’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon, unexpectedly resigned last year. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, was also plagued with difficulties, resigning in May after serving for only 13 months.
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The party only competed for the 57 seats up for grabs in Scotland. A resounding victory there would have given teeth to the renewed independence referendum, but leadership problems along with fractured feelings about the referendum slowed momentum for the movement.
“We are experiencing something that we have not experienced in quite some time,” the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said. “We are going to be beat in Scotland, and we are going to be beat well.”
The editorial board of The Washington Post published a mock speech in which President Joe Biden announced the abandonment of his 2024 reelection campaign.
The faux address — under the headline of “What if Biden spoke these words?” — imagined Biden delivering the news to Americans on Thursday, Independence Day, a week after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump sparked calls for him to end his run.
The key part in the Post’s essay read:
My season of service is nearing its close. This was a hard truth to face. But it is the natural course of things — as evident as the progression from spring to summer, from fall to winter. This is why I have decided to withdraw from the campaign for president of the United States.
It envisioned Biden announcing new debates between potential nominees, including Vice President Kamala Harris, and concluded with the president urging Americans to “search your soul as I have” when they go to the polls in November.
Some people on social media suggested it was the Post’s call for Biden to quit the race. Others were simply confused by the editorial.
The annual “A Capitol Fourth” show returned to the District this Fourth of July on PBS. The show took place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Alfonso Ribeiro hosted the event. It featured music performances from famous singers such as Smokey Robinson, Fantasia and Darren Criss followed the traditional fireworks.
Watch an archive of the event below.
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