Wholesale prices surge 11.2% in March, highest level on record –Economists expected producer inflation to surge by 10.6% in March | 13 April 2022 | Wholesale prices surged again in March as strong consumer demand, pandemic-related supply-chain snarls and the war in Ukraine continued to fuel the highest inflation in decades. The Labor Department said Wednesday that its producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches consumers, surged 11.2% in March from the year-ago period. On a monthly basis, prices grew by 1.4% — an uptick from February, when the gauge increased by 0.9%.  

Inflation in US soars 8.5% in one year, highest since 1981 | 12 April 2022 | The consumer price index jumped 8.5% in March from 12 months earlier, according to the Labor Department — the biggest year-over-year increase since December 1981 and a larger increase than the 8.4% that analysts predicted. Since March of last year, food costs are up 8.8%, electricity is up 11.1% and gasoline is up 48%, driven up by supply chain issues, consumer demand and disruptions to global food and energy markets worsened by Russia’s war against Ukraine and Biden administration policies. Month-to-month, the report showed inflation rose 1.2% from February to March, up from a 0.8% increase from January to February.  

Walgreens starts rationing baby formula as supply-chain crunch hits new parents – 29% of the top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the US –A recent study by Datasembly, a company that tracks retail records, revealed 29 percent of all top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the nation | 10 April 2022 | A national shortage of baby formula brought on by pandemic-related supply-chain issues has forced US retailers such as Walgreens to ration the all-important product. The company – the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS – said Friday that amid the supply-chain crunch, it is limiting customers to three infant and toddler formula product purchases at a time, at its 9,021 US locations. A company spokesperson told DailyMail dot com that the restrictions, already in effect, stem from an “increased demand and various supplier issues,” as it was revealed that 29 percent of all top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the nation.

CDC extending travel mask mandate 15 more days –The CDC is extending its mask mandate despite protests from airlines | 13 April 2022 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will extend its travel mask mandate for 15 more days despite protests from airlines. Joe Biden’s administration had previously extended the federal mask mandate to April 18 in early March. Airline CEOS united in calling on Biden to end the mandate on March 24, but to no avail. Biden’s CDC is making the extension due to a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

20 Federal ‘Assets’ Embedded at Capitol on Jan. 6, Court Filing Says | 13 April 2022 | At least 20 FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives “assets” were embedded around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a defense attorney wrote in a court filing on April 12. The disclosure was made in a motion seeking to dismiss seditious conspiracy and obstruction charges against 10 Oath Keepers defendants in one of the most prominent Jan. 6 criminal cases. David W. Fischer, attorney for Thomas E. Caldwell of Berryville, Virginia, filed a 41-page motion to dismiss four counts on behalf of all Oath Keepers case defendants before U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta in Washington, D.C.

Artillery and helicopters among $800 million in new military assistance for Ukraine approved by Biden | 13 April 2022 | In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an 800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense, and gear and equipment used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks. It is the latest in a series of U.S. security assistance packages valued at a combined 2.6 billion that has been committed to Ukraine since Feb. 24. Biden is under pressure from members of both parties in Congress to expand and accelerate U.S. aid.