expected

June 27 (UPI) — The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Friday that core inflation jumped higher than expected last month.

The BEA said in a press release that the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index for May rose 0.1%, and if food and energy are excluded from the data, the index rose 0.2%.

This bumps the annual inflation rate up to 2.3%, or 2.7% when food and energy are left out of the math.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting the 0.1% and 2.3% but only estimated the numbers would hit 0.1% and 2.6% minus energy and food.

“This morning’s news was consistent with other reports showing the economy gradually losing momentum in the second quarter,” said Wells Fargo Investment Institute market strategist Gary Schlossberg to CNBC Friday.

Schlossberg added that this was “ahead of the brunt of tariff increases expected to wash ashore during the summer and early fall.”

The inflationary uptick got its biggest boost from service prices, which are 3.4% higher than a year ago, while goods only moved upwards by 0.1%.

Inflation pressures in May showed a 0.2% price increase in food, but that was balanced by a 1% decline in energy-related goods and services costs. Shelter prices, on the other hand, went up 0.3%.

The BEA also reported Friday that personal income decreased $109.6 billion in May, or 0.4% at a monthly rate. When personal current taxes are subtracted from personal income, the current disposable personal income, or DPI, went down around $125 billion, or 0.6%.

June 27 (UPI) — The Supreme Court is slated to hand down its final rulings of its current term Friday, some of which could be landmark decisions.

It’s expected the Court will decide on whether President Donald Trump may enforce his executive order that would limit birthright citizenship. Trump had put out the order in January that alleged the 14th Amendment, which says every person born in the United States is a U.S. citizen., doesn’t actually apply to babies born to one or more parents who aren’t legally in the country.

The Court will also resolve whether or not the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an Affordable Care Act feature that recommends preventive care services that insurers must cover at no cost to patients, infringes the Constitution’s appointments clause as its members are not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Another major decision likely to be made Friday would decide if parents in Montgomery County, Md., had their religious rights violated because the Board of Education there hasn’t provided an opt-out for their children to avoid reading material that includes gay and transgender characters.

A First Amendment lawsuit that concerns a Texas law that requires people to verify their age before viewing online pornography is also on the docket, as is the fate of a Federal Communications Commission program that covers the cost of telecommunications services in rural and low-income areas.

A lawsuit that accuses Louisiana of gerrymandering congressional districts, in violation of the Voting Rights Act is also expected to be settled Friday.

The Court usually breaks for the summer until the new term starts in October, but they will still have to act on any emergency cases that might arise.

Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter and Lakers president and controlling owner Jeanie Buss broke their silence Wednesday on a blockbuster deal that shocked many in and outside of the Los Angeles.

A news release issued by Walter’s team confirmed his acquisition of majority ownership stake of the Lakers, with the transaction expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of this year.

During the sale talks, the valuation of the Lakers was placed at $10 billion, a record for a professional sports team, people with knowledge of the deal not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times. ESPN reported it is possible the value could swell to $12 billion before the transaction is complete.

Buss, whose family has had control of the Lakers for 46 years, will remain governor of the team and “continue to oversee all team operations on a day-to-day basis for the foreseeable future,” the statement confirmed.

Walter and Todd Boehly — a partner in the Dodgers ownership group — became the Lakers’ largest minority shareholders in 2021 when they bought 27% of the franchise, a stake previously held by Phil Anschutz.

Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss’ father, bought the team for $67.5 million in 1979 in a deal that included the Los Angeles Kings and the Forum in Inglewood. Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988.

“The Buss family is deeply honored to have looked after this incredible organization for almost half a century,” Jeanie Buss said in the statement. “From the day our father purchased the Lakers, we have been determined to deliver what the City of Los Angeles deserves and demands: a team that is committed to winning — relentlessly — and to doing so with passion and with style.”

Buss said she felt confident Walter would lead the franchise to success. During his tenure, the Dodgers signed a collection of stars headlined by two-way wonder Shohei Ohtani. The team won the World Series last year, their second championship and fourth World Series appearance in the last eight years.

“I have gotten to know Mark very well over time and been delighted to learn how he shares those same values,” Buss said. “For the last four years, Mark has been an excellent partner to us, and we are thrilled to keep working with him to continue the Lakers’ extraordinary legacy.”

Walter, the chairman and CEO of TWG Global, has ownership stakes in the Dodgers, the WNBA’s Sparks, the Billie Jean King Cup, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

He said the Lakers “have long been one of the most iconic franchises in sports.”

“Since Dr. Jerry Buss first purchased the team in 1979, they have truly set the standard for basketball in one era after another, which is why you can find people anywhere in the world wearing Lakers shirts and jerseys,” Walter said.

Control of the Lakers went into a family trust after Buss died in 2013, with daughter Jeanie Buss operating as the team’s governor. The structure of the trust meant the majority of Buss’ six children — Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, Janie, Joey and Jesse — had to agree to the deal for a sale to occur.

The structure of the family trust, according to people familiar with it, doesn’t allow for ownership to pass down to heirs after death, meaning the split among the siblings would go from being shared six ways down to five and so on.

“I admire what [Jerry Buss,] Jeanie and the Buss family have built, and I know how much this special organization matters to Southern Californians and to sports fans everywhere,” Walter said. “I also have tremendous respect for Jeanie’s continued commitment to maintaining the Lakers’ long-term vision and elite status, and I’m excited to work with her on the next era.”

Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong continues to hold a minority owner share of the Lakers.

The agreement for the sale of the Lakers came about three months after Bill Chisholm agreed to buy the Boston Celtics with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion — which was going to be a record, topping the previous mark of $6.05 billion sale for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

The Lakers transaction was viewed as a massive surprise in NBA circles.

The Celtics’ sale is not yet finalized, pending final approval by the NBA’s board of governors.

The Lakers, led on the court by stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic, are preparing to start their 78th season later this year. The team has reached the postseason 65 times in franchise history, including 32 trips to the NBA finals and 17 championships.

The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

BENFICA’s Club world Cup clash with Auckland City has suffered a huge hold-up – as fans run for cover from predicted lightning.

Organisers warned there could be a delay of more than an hour – with the Portuguese giants 1-0 up on the brink of half-time.

One warning predicted “excessive lightning2 in the area of the Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

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June 11 (UPI) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that U.S. inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index increased by a lower than expected 0.1% in May.

That’s an annual CPI rate of 2.4% before seasonal adjustment. Higher shelter costs of 0.3% in May drove the overall increase, according to the BLS.

“The index for shelter rose 0.3% in May and was the primary factor in the all items monthly increase,” the BLS said in a statement. “The food index increased 0.3% as both of its major components, the index for food at home and the index for food away from home also rose 0.3% in May. In contrast, the energy index declined 1.0% in May as the gasoline index fell over the month.”

With food and energy excluded, core annual CPI inflation was 2.8%.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.3% May CPI increase and a 2.9% annual CPI increase.

“The all items index rose 2.4% for the 12 months ending May, after rising 2.3% over the 12 months ending April,” the BLS statement said. “The all items less food and energy index rose 2.8% over the last 12 months. The energy index decreased 3.5% for the 12 months ending May. The food index increased 2.9% over the last year.”

Three of the six major grocery store food groups’ prices went up in May, while the other three declined. Prices for cereals and bakery products were up 1.1% in May, while fruits and vegetables rose 0.3%.

Meat, poultry, fish and egg prices fell 0.4% in May, according to the BLS. Egg prices dropped by 2.7%.

Energy prices measured by CPI dropped 1% in May after climbing 0,7% in April.

Gasoline prices fell by 2.6% in May, according to the BLS. CPI energy prices dropped by 3.5% compared with May 2024. Gasoline prices were down by 12% compared with May 2024.

Electricity prices rose by 4.5% year-to-year.

The most important pitches for the Dodgers on Tuesday came long before the start of their game that night.

In the second of a key three-game series against the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers found themselves in an uncomfortably familiar position: Lacking an available starting pitcher amid a wave of early-season injuries, and turning instead to a collection of minor league arms thrust into big league duty; set to open the game with Lou Trivino, and then have Matt Sauer pitch bulk innings.

It’s not what the Dodgers envisioned entering the year, when they expected to have a rotation of potential All-Stars on the mound every day.

It was eerily similar to the circumstances they faced last October –– their Game 4, elimination-staving win against the Padres in last year’s National League Division Series, specifically.

Earlier Tuesday, however, the Dodgers had reasons for optimism: These current circumstances might not last much longer.

Hours before the game, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell took notable steps in their recovery from injuries.

For the first time in a while, they could start to see light at the end of the pitching tunnel.

On the Petco Park mound, Ohtani threw the third live batting practice in his continued recovery from a 2023 Tommy John surgery, hurling 44 pitches over three simulated innings while racking up six strikeouts against a pair of rookie league hitters from the organization.

Back in Los Angeles, Glasnow threw the third bullpen session of his recovery from a shoulder inflammation injury, and could be getting close to facing live hitters himself in the near future.

And after Ohtani finished his session in San Diego, Snell threw 15 pitches in the bullpen, his first full bullpen session since suffering a setback in his recovery from shoulder inflammation back in April.

“Really encouraging,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You can start to see us get to the other side. It’s stuff to look forward to.”

Ohtani’s live session was the day’s biggest development. He made a significant jump in workload, going from the 29 pitches he threw two weekends ago at Dodger Stadium to a 44-pitch outing Tuesday that concluded with 23 throws in his third and final inning. But, after battling poor command in his previous live BP, he showed increased consistency and sharpness with all of his pitches, giving up just a ground-ball single and a lone walk while including 15 swings-and-misses with a variety of offerings.

“It wasn’t just pure power and velocity,” pitching coach Mark Prior said of Ohtani, whose fastball averaged around 94-96 mph. “He got some swing-and-misses on his off-speed pitches. He’s being able to keep guys off balance and mess up their timing. There’s different types of misses. I think from that standpoint, those are good things.”

Roberts came away so encouraged, he even hinted at a more optimistic timeline for when Ohtani –– who hasn’t pitched in a big league game since August 2023 –– might be able to join the team’s active rotation, saying the chances are “north of zero” that the right-hander could return before the All-Star break.

In recent weeks, Roberts had said Ohtani wouldn’t be back until after the Midsummer Classic.

“It’s tempting,” Roberts said. “I’m sure Shohei feels tempted to just kind of rip the Band-Aid off and get into a big league game. But I think we’re doing a good job of being patient. And truth be told, I don’t think anyone knows the right time to get him in a big league game. We’re still being very careful, I guess.”

Another notable development from Roberts on Tuesday: Ohtani might not have to complete “a full build-up” before pitching in big league games.

“Anything he can give us is certainly additive,” Roberts said, an idea underscored by Ohtani’s two-way player status, which would effectively make him an extra arm on the Dodgers’ staff without counting against their 13-pitcher roster max.

“I still stand by him, and [head team physician] Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache and the training staff are going to drive this,” said Roberts, who wasn’t sure when Ohtani would throw his next live session. “I’m just anxious for the next one.”

Glasnow and Snell have more steps to complete in their comebacks, from their own live sessions to likely minor league rehab stints.

Prior also noted that those two will have to be more fully built up before they are activated, given the already overworked state of the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Still, Snell said after two months of lingering shoulder pain earlier this year, the breakthrough he has experienced in the last two weeks has renewed his confidence about how he’ll perform when he returns.

“I’m very excited,” he said after throwing at about 70% intensity level in his 15-pitch bullpen. “After this ‘pen, the ramp up is gonna start, and I can start pitching, and I know I’m gonna be a factor on the team again.”

Prior offered similar encouragement with Glasnow’s recent work, noting his fastball is up to 95-96 mph.

“Everything looks good,” Prior said of Glasnow. “He really has been feeling good and the ball has been coming out really good.”

In the meantime, the Dodgers will have to continue to tread water. They currently have only four healthy starters in the rotation between Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May and Justin Wrobleski. And though Emmet Sheehan could be an option to return from his own Tommy John surgery after one more start in his minor league rehab next week, the recent loss of Tony Gonsolin –– and continued absence of Roki Sasaki, who has yet to progress past light catch play –– has only further limited the club’s pitching options.

That’s why, even on a day the Dodgers were patching together a pitching plan once again, they were finally feeling hopeful about the long-term state of their staff.

Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow are finally making strides toward returning.

The star-studded pitching staff the club had been planning for this season might soon become a reality once again.

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, May 23 (UPI) — Venezuela will hold regional and parliamentary elections Sunday amid a deep political and economic crisis. High voter abstention is forecast and a divided opposition lacks a unified strategy against the ruling party.

María Corina Machado, leader of the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform, who is in hiding from government security forces, has called for a boycott of the vote. She urged Venezuelans not to legitimize what she describes as a fraudulent process.

Other opposition leaders, including former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles and Zulia state Gov. Manuel Rosales, have chosen to participate in the vote to preserve political representation.

After leading the opposition coalition that secured Edmundo González’s victory in the 2024 presidential vote, Machado remains a key figure for many who oppose President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro rejected the election results and held on to power by force. Machado’s influence is expected to drive widespread abstention, according to Beatriz Rangel, a former Cabinet minister under President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

A recent poll from the Center for Political and Government Studies at Andrés Bello Catholic University found that just 15.9% of Venezuelans plan to vote in the upcoming elections. Of those, 74.2% said they would back pro-Maduro government candidates, while 13.8% expressed support for figures aligned with Rosales and Capriles.

The leading reasons cited for abstention include a lack of trust in the National Electoral Council (27.4%), the belief that voting no longer makes a difference (23.9%), and the view that participating would undermine protests against alleged fraud in the most recent presidential election (14.4%).

Venezuela’s economic situation continues to worsen after a brief period of relative stability. The Venezuelan Finance Observatory reported a 2.7% contraction in the economy during the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, citing declining oil production, soaring inflation and reduced domestic consumption.

The Economic and Social Research Institute at Andrés Bello Catholic University projects inflation will reach 220% by the end of the year, driven by the depreciation of the bolívar and falling government revenues. The weakened currency has made imported goods more expensive and eroded purchasing power for most Venezuelans.

The upcoming elections will decide 285 seats in the National Assembly and 24 regional governorships, most of which are expected to remain under the control of Maduro allies.

For the first time, representatives from the disputed Guayana Esequiba region also will be elected, a move that has heightened tensions with Guyana. The Guyanese government has denounced the inclusion as illegal and warned that those participating could face arrest.

Along with vacation necessities such as sunblock and a toothbrush, Southern Californians hoping to get away for Memorial Day weekend will also need to bring a hefty supply of patience to freeways and airports.

A record-breaking number of people across the country are opting to travel rather than stay in for the long weekend— the official kickoff to summer, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California, or AAA.

In Southern California, about 3.6 million are expected hit the road or hop on a plane, the third consecutive year of record-breaking travel for Memorial Day weekend.

“Consumers continue to prioritize travel with family and friends after the pandemic,” Jena Miller, vice president of travel products for AAA, said in a statement.

Most people will be behind the wheel for their weekend getaways, according to AAA. Roughly 2.9 million people in Southern California are expected to hit the road starting Thursday, about 3.6% more than last year.

About 45.1 million people across the country will be traveling for the long weekend and most of them — about 39.4 million — will be driving, AAA estimates.

The automobile club said drivers will also be paying less with car rental costs expected to be about 8% lower than last year, and gas prices about 50 to 60 cents cheaper than last May.

More drivers means more potential gridlock, but the midmorning traveler has a better chance of being rewarded with a speedier commute. Experts say before noon is the best time for people to get on the road this weekend.

“Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23 are expected to be the busiest travel day,” Gianella Ghiglino, a spokesperson for AAA, said in a statement. “So if you are leaving those days, you want to make sure you avoid that morning rush hour and you still leave before noon.”

In Southern California, the busiest stretch of freeway is expected to be the 5 Freeway from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, where the typical 90-minute drive could take up to three hours during the worst times, according to AAA.

Vacationers looking to hop on a flight this weekend should be prepared for packed airports.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly 54,000 flights are scheduled Thursday, the busiest day of air travel for the weekend and one of the busiest days of the year so far at airports across the country.

That increase will come despite the fact that domestic flights cost about 2% more this year compared with 2024, according to AAA.

The Transportation Security Administration is bracing for the rush of travelers. The agency expects to screen about 18 million passengers and crew members between Thursday and Wednesday.

“TSA is ready for the additional passenger volume, and we look forward to welcoming families traveling during this peak period,” Ha McNeill, TSA acting administrator, said in a statement.

Officials are encouraging air passengers to ensure bags are compliant with TSA regulations and to bring a Real ID or other acceptable identification such as a passport.