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Today’s Morning Sixpack starts at the gas pump and ends with a lesson in how fast a good-sounding story can outrun the evidence. In between, an ambassador is shown the door, a theme park tragedy raises hard safety questions, a university faces a reckoning, and senators from both parties tell the president to rethink a deal with Moscow.
Energy Prices Push September Inflation Higher Before Midterms
Inflation reached a 3.7 percent annual rate in September, extending this year’s climb as energy prices surged. The Labor Department’s report was hotter than expected and was the final reading before the midterm elections. Gasoline jumped 9.1 percent from August and accounted for more than half of the monthly increase, while core inflation came in at 2.6 percent. Energy prices are up more than 20 percent from a year ago, fuel oil is up 74 percent, and diesel is hovering near a record above $6.20 a gallon. Because diesel moves farm equipment and refrigerated trucks, economists warn it ripples into the price of food and other goods. The politics are tough for Republicans, with only about 25 percent of registered voters approving of the president’s handling of the economy in one poll, and the Federal Reserve raised rates in September and may need to do so again. As KPMG’s Diane Swonk put it, everybody sees the price of gas.
Source: The Washington Post
Trump Asks Kimberly Guilfoyle To Resign As Greece Ambassador
President Trump asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece after a series of reports raised questions about her conduct and private interests. The Wall Street Journal reported that she promoted a Greek construction company while working closely with its top lobbyist, sought $100,000 from a Trump donor before her confirmation hearing, and accepted private-jet travel and luxury hotel hospitality from a shipping magnate. She told White House officials the donor’s text messages were AI-generated, but they did not believe her, and the Journal said it verified the messages. Her push to sell American natural gas to Balkan and Eastern European countries is now under scrutiny, with Albania awaiting a feasibility study, Ukraine’s state energy company saying talks have ended, and Romania’s memorandum expired. The scandal also blindsided Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s team during his visit to Athens. Guilfoyle called the allegations false, and Trump later said she “wasn’t a member of my family.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Man Who Died In Six Flags Roller-Coaster Fall Identified
Police identified the man who died Monday after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia as 42-year-old Atlanta resident Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem. Witnesses and employees told investigators he was ejected from the ride, struck other patrons, and fell beneath the attraction. One rider described it as feeling like slow motion that happened in an instant. Kariem was the information technology manager at Wesley International Academy, where he was also a technology teacher and robotics coach, and his school community remembers him as deeply loved. Police, Georgia’s insurance and fire safety office, and the coaster’s manufacturer are investigating, and Six Flags temporarily closed nine other rides across six parks. Serious injuries on fixed-site rides are rare, but these parks have no federal safety oversight and no single agency tracks accidents.
Source: Yahoo News
Cornell Bans Fraternity Parties After Sexual-Assault Lawsuit
Cornell University is banning parties at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year as it faces scrutiny over its response to an alleged sexual assault in 2024. A woman identified as Jane Doe alleged in a lawsuit last month that several men drugged and raped her at a fraternity party, though the allegations have not been established in court. President Michael Kotlikoff apologized to her, condemned the alleged assault, and acknowledged that women on campus continue to question whether they are safe. The Faculty Senate will debate whether it has confidence in university leaders, although a no-confidence vote would be largely symbolic. A party ban is immediate, but rebuilding trust will take far longer.
Source: BBC News
Bipartisan Senators Demand Trump Drop Russian Diesel Deal
Six senators from both parties are urging President Trump to abandon his plan to buy diesel from Russia. Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis joined Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Richard Blumenthal in saying the administration did not consult Congress or provide the explanation required by law. Trump announced the plan after a call with Vladimir Putin, saying Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons, with more shipments to follow. The senators noted that Congress banned Russian energy imports in 2022 so U.S. purchases would not help fund the war in Ukraine. Senator John Barrasso defended the focus on energy costs, but experts say the volume is smaller than what the country uses in a single day and is unlikely to lower prices at the pump.
Source: AP News
Viral Claim About Ukraine Disabling Russian Bots Lacks Evidence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a strike on Russian tech company Yandex’s data centers reduced bot activity online, but researchers say there is no solid evidence that Russian political influence accounts went quiet. The claim fueled posts saying pro-MAGA, AfD, and Reform UK accounts had dropped off. Cloudflare data showed reduced traffic from Yandex servers, consistent with disrupted web crawlers rather than vanishing trolls. Researchers said the Matroyshka disinformation network remained active, and a review of 76 AfD politicians and 136 MAGA accounts found only ordinary fluctuations in posting. The episode shows how easily “bot” becomes a catchall label, and how appealing a clear victory over manipulation can be.
Source: Mother Jones
That’s your Morning Sixpack: higher prices, harder questions, and a reminder that the headline is not always the evidence. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
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