US inflation held firm in December amid pressure on Trump over cost of living
US inflation held firm last month as Donald Trump faces mounting pressure over the cost of living for millions of Americans.The closely watched consumer price index rose 2.7% in the year to December, in line with the previous month, according to official data published on Tuesday morning, ahead of a speech by the US president on the economy.The latest reading was broadly in line with economists’ expectations last month, and significantly above the Federal Reserve’s target for 2% inflation.Food prices and housing costs lifted the index higher in December.
On a month-to-month basis, CPI increased 0.3%.The so-called “core” index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% – growth that Samuel Tombs, chief US economist, said was “driven by the unwind of distortions” caused by the longest US government shutdown in history, “rather than strong underlying momentum”.The Trump administration has claimed prices are falling, and blamed lingering inflation on the Biden administration, which left office almost a year ago.
Inflation hit a 40-year high in the US in June 2022 at 9.1%, as economies across the globe grappled with rapid price growth due to distortions caused by the Covid pandemic.Polls have shown consumers are shifting affordability blame on to the Trump administration.Twice as many Americans believe their financial security is getting worse rather than better, according to a Harris Poll conducted for the Guardian last month, and they are increasingly blaming the White House.The president is due to deliver a speech on the economy in Detroit later on Tuesday.
He has announced a series of eye-catching measures in recent days, including a cap on credit card interest rates and a ban on large institutional investors buying single-family homes, in a bid to address affordability concerns.In a post on social media, Trump hailed “Great (LOW!) Inflation numbers” and appeared to claim that his controversial tariffs strategy – which many economists have warned risks driving up prices – was responsible.Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator from Massachusetts, said: “For a year now, Donald Trump has raised costs for families despite his promise to lower them ‘on day one’.Today’s data shows that inflation is still higher than it was when President Trump started his trade war in April.And annual inflation on groceries and utilities has risen compared to a year ago, hitting household budgets hard.
”The latest inflation data was released amid an extraordinary battle for control of the US Federal Reserve, which is tasked with steering the economy.Although the central bank cut interest rates three times last year, it defied Trump’s push for deeper cuts – prompting intense criticism from the president.Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, revealed on Sunday that the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment, escalating fears about the Trump administration’s threats to the central bank’s independence.
UK threatens action against X over sexualised AI images of women and children
Elon Musk’s X “is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online”, a minister has said, as the UK government prepares to outline possible action against the platform over the mass production of sexualised images of woman and children.Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said the government would fully support any action taken by Ofcom, the media regulator, against X – including the possibility that the platform could be blocked in the UK.Kyle said Ofcom had received information it had requested from X as part of a fast-tracked investigation into the use of platform’s built-in AI tool, Grok, to generate large numbers of manipulated images of people, often depicting them in minimal clothing or sexualised poses.The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, who said on Friday that she expected action from Ofcom within days, is due to give a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon.Kyle told Sky News: “Let me be really clear about X: X is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online
‘Dangerous and alarming’: Google removes some of its AI summaries after users’ health put at risk
Google has removed some of its artificial intelligence health summaries after a Guardian investigation found people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading information.The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are “helpful” and “reliable”.But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information, putting users at risk of harm.In one case that experts described as “dangerous” and “alarming”, Google provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests that could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they were healthy.Typing “what is the normal range for liver blood tests” served up masses of numbers, little context and no accounting for nationality, sex, ethnicity or age of patients, the Guardian found
Elon Musk says UK wants to suppress free speech as X faces possible ban
Elon Musk has accused the UK government of wanting to suppress free speech after ministers threatened fines and a possible ban for his social media site X after its AI tool, Grok, was used to make sexual images of women and children without their consent.The billionaire claimed Grok was the most downloaded app on the UK App Store on Friday night after ministers threatened to take action unless the function to create sexually harassing images was removed.Responding to threats of a ban from the government, Musk wrote: “They just want to suppress free speech”.Thousands of women have faced abuse from users of the AI tool which was first used to digitally strip fully clothed photographs into images showing them wearing micro bikinis, and then used for extreme image manipulation.Pictures of teenage girls and children were altered to show them wearing swimwear, leading experts to say some of the content could be categorised as child sexual abuse material
Behind the Somali daycare panic is a mother-and-son duo angling to be top Maga influencers
YouTube influencer Nick Shirley, whose viral video alleging fraud by daycare centers servicing Minneapolis’s Somali American community came days ahead of the Trump administration’s declaration of a national funding freeze, has for years published conspiracy-minded takes on hot-button rightwing issues.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.He also has close ties to the White House, Republicans, and to representatives of an earlier generation of rightwing partisan “ambush journalists” such as James O’Keefe
Elon Musk’s X threatened with UK ban over wave of indecent AI images
Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by the UK government to tackle a wave of indecent AI images or face a de facto ban, as an expert said the platform was no longer a “safe space” for women.The media watchdog, Ofcom, confirmed it would accelerate an investigation into X as a backlash grew against the site, which has hosted a deluge of images depicting partially stripped women and children.X announced a restriction on creating images via the Grok AI tool on Friday morning in response to the global outcry. A post on the platform said the ability to generate and edit images would now be “limited to paying subscribers”. Those who pay have to provide personal details, meaning they could be identified if the function was misused
Robots that can do laundry and more, plus unrolling laptops: the standout tech from CES 2026
This year will be filled with robots that can fold your laundry, pick up objects and climb stairs, fridges that you can command to open by voice, laptops with screens that can follow you around the room on motorised hinges and the reimagining of the BlackBerry phone.Those are the predictions from the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas that took place this week. The sprawling event aims to showcase cutting-edge technology developed by startups and big brands.Many of these fancy developments will be available to actually buy, moving from outlandish concepts to production devices, although some are still limited to costly prototypes.The rise of the humanoid robot continues, with the show floor filled with myriad prototypes, some of which operated autonomously rather than being remotely controlled or performing set routines this year
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