price

CARACAS, Venezuela — At the White House, President Trump vows American intervention in Venezuela will pour billions of dollars into the country’s infrastructure, revive its once-thriving oil industry and eventually deliver a new age of prosperity to the Latin American nation.

Here at a sprawling street market in the capital, though, utility worker Ana Calderón simply wishes she could afford the ingredients to make a pot of soup.

“Food is incredibly expensive,” says Calderón, noting rapidly rising prices that have celery selling for twice as much as just a few weeks ago and two pounds of meat going for more than $10, or 25 times the country’s monthly minimum wage. “Everything is so expensive.”

Venezuelans digesting news of the United States’ brazen capture of former President Nicolás Maduro are hearing grandiose promises of future economic prowess even as they live through the crippling economic realities of today.

“They know that the outlook has significantly changed but they don’t see it yet on the ground. What they’re seeing is repression. They’re seeing a lot of confusion,” says Luisa Palacios, a Venezuelan-born economist and former oil executive who is a research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. “People are hopeful and expecting that things are going to change but that doesn’t mean that things are going to change right now.”

Whatever hope exists over the possibility of U.S. involvement improving Venezuela’s economy is paired with the crushing daily truths most here live. People typically work two, three or more jobs just to survive, and still cupboards and refrigerators are nearly bare. Children go to bed early to avoid the pang of hunger; parents choose between filling a prescription and buying groceries. An estimated eight in 10 people live in poverty.

It has led millions to flee the country for elsewhere.

Those who remain are concentrated in Venezuela’s cities, including its capital, Caracas, where the street market in the Catia neighborhood once was so busy that shoppers bumped into one another and dodged oncoming traffic. But as prices have climbed in recent days, locals have increasingly stayed away from the market stalls, reducing the chaos to a relative hush.

Neila Roa, carrying her 5-month-old baby, sells packs of cigarettes to passersby, having to monitor daily fluctuations in currency to adjust the price.

“Inflation and more inflation and devaluation,” Roa says. “It’s out of control.”

Roa could not believe the news of Maduro’s capture. Now, she wonders what will come of it. She thinks it would take “a miracle” to fix Venezuela’s economy.

“What we don’t know is whether the change is for better or for worse,” she says. “We’re in a state of uncertainty. We have to see how good it can be, and how much it can contribute to our lives.”

Trump has said the U.S. will distribute some of the proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan oil back to its population. But that commitment so far largely appears to be focused on America’s interests in extracting more oil from Venezuela, selling more U.S.-made goods to the country and repairing the electricity grid.

The White House is hosting a meeting Friday with U.S. oil company executives to discuss Venezuela, which the Trump administration has been pressuring to open its vast-but-struggling oil industry more widely to American investment and know-how. In an interview with the New York Times, Trump acknowledged that reviving the country’s oil industry would take years.

“The oil will take a while,” he said.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. The country’s economy depends on them.

Maduro’s predecessor, the fiery Hugo Chávez, elected in 1998, expanded social services, including housing and education, thanks to the country’s oil bonanza, which generated revenues estimated at some $981 billion between 1999 and 2011 as crude prices soared. But corruption, a decline in oil production and economic policies led to a crisis that became evident in 2012.

Chávez appointed Maduro as his successor before dying of cancer in 2013. The country’s political, social and economic crisis, entangled with plummeting oil production and prices, marked the entirety of Maduro’s presidency. Millions were pushed into poverty. The middle class virtually disappeared. And more than 7.7 million people left their homeland.

Albert Williams, an economist at Nova Southeastern University, says returning the energy sector to its heyday would have a dramatic spillover effect in a country in which oil is the dominant industry, sparking the opening of restaurants, stores and other businesses. What’s unknown, he says, is whether such a revitalization happens, how long it would take and how a government built by Maduro will adjust to the change in power.

“That’s the billion-dollar question,” Williams says. “But if you improve the oil industry, you improve the country.”

The International Monetary Fund estimates Venezuela’s inflation rate is a staggering 682%, the highest of any country for which it has data. That has sent the cost of food beyond what many can afford.

Many public sector workers survive on roughly $160 per month, while the average private sector employee earned about $237 last year. Venezuela’s monthly minimum wage of 130 bolivars, or $0.40, has not increased since 2022, putting it well below the United Nations’ measure of extreme poverty of $2.15 a day.

The currency crisis led Maduro to declare an “economic emergency” in April.

Usha Haley, a Wichita State University economist who studies emerging markets, says for those hurting the most, there is no immediate sign of change.

“Short-term, most Venezuelans will probably not feel any economic relief,” she says. “A single oil sale will not fix the country’s rampant inflation and currency collapse. Jobs, prices and exchange rates will probably not shift quickly.”

In a country that has seen as much strife as Venezuela has in recent years, locals are accustomed to doing what they have to in order to get through the day, so much so that many utter the same expression

“Resolver,” they say in Spanish, or “figure it out,” shorthand for the jury-rigged nature of life here, in which every transaction, from boarding a bus to buying a child’s medicine, involves a delicate calculation.

Here at the market, the smell of fish, fresh onions and car exhaust combine. Calderon, making her way through, faces freshly skyrocketing prices, saying “the difference is huge,” as the country’s official currency has rapidly declined against its unofficial one, the U.S. dollar.

Unable to afford all the ingredients for her soup, she left with a bunch of celery but no meat.

Cano and Sedensky write for the Associated Press. Sedensky reported from New York. AP writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

KATIE Price fans have been left in stitches after they spotted a hilarious detail in her latest sexy snaps.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed an unusual item on her bedside table – but did you spot it?

Katie, 47, is well known for her sexy snaps, and her latest ones were full of her usual glam.

The former pin-up shared racy pics of herself in a plunging white body suit, and other sexy outfits, that showed off her famously huge boobs.

The racy photos also showed off her slim legs, with the sexy outfit riding right up to the top of her thigh.

However, despite Katie’s photos having the wow factor, eagle-eyed fans were distracted by an unusual object in the background.

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As the former glamour girl posed up a storm, on her bedside cabinet was none other than a jacket potato.

The cooked spud was on a plate and sitting in the shelf of the table.

Fans were left in stitches after spotting the potato, and immediately started to comment, with one saying: “Why is there a jacket potato on the side table?” (followed by a laughing emoji).

Another added: “I’m loving the potato randomly in the background!”

This one said: “I think the potatoes jacket is good!”

Along with the cheeky comments, many fans also rushed to compliment her on her outfit, with one saying: “You look amazing.”

Another added: “Absolutely stunning Katie!”

KATIE OPENS UP

This light relief from fans comes after Katie made several candid confessions yesterday.

In a sad confession on the latest edition of her podcast, The Katie Price Show, she said: “I absolutely love myself but I don’t love myself when I look in the mirror, that’s the difference.”

In the same podcast, Katie revealed she was getting yet another cosmetic procedure done.

She explained how she was getting her lips done again and said how she gets them done every two months.

“I’m getting my lips done on Monday. They are shocking,” she said to her sister.

Her sister Sophie Price then asked: “Why? Why?”

Katie responded: “Why? Look at them.”

Sophie then said: “Can I just ask how many times in a month do yo get your lips done?”

“Once every two months,” Katie revealed.

She added: “Because they dissolve so quick because I’ve got a high metabolism.

HEALTH SCARE

On the same podcast, Katie also revealed her latest health scare after having her blood pressure done three times by doctors.

She claimed the test was done three times as doctors quipped: “It can’t be that low”.

Katie previously consulted doctors over her terrifyingly frail frame in October last year when she uploaded a selfie with a concerning caption.

She said: “First day off and straight to the doctors to find out what’s happened to my weight.”

Katie told fans she was forced to book in another appointment after they could only fill up two tubes at her blood test.

The podcaster shares Junior Andre, 20 and Princess Andre, 18, with her ex-husband Peter Andre.

She also has son Harvey Price, 23, who she had with Dwight Yorke after a brief fling.

Caracas, Venezuela – The normally noisy capital of Caracas was eerily quiet on Monday, two days after the United States bombed the city and abducted Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.

But many “caraqueños” nevertheless ventured out to buy food and other necessities, albeit at marked-up prices.

The tense atmosphere on Caracas’s streets was yet another sign of the uncertainty facing everyday Venezuelans, as they face the looming threat of further US intervention.

Local authorities have called for regular economic activity to continue in Venezuela. But some stores nevertheless remained closed, while households stocked up on basic supplies in case of shortages.

At Caracas’s central market, Quinta Crespo, many shopkeepers had shuttered their businesses for fear of unrest and looting.

Lines of 10 or more people often stretched outside the stores that remained open, despite the midday sun. Officers from the Bolivarian National Police patrolled outside to keep the queues calm.

Shoppers told Al Jazeera they were buying non-perishables, like corn flour, rice and canned goods, in case the security situation deteriorated in the capital.

“I’m looking for basic necessities, given the situation the country is going through,” said Carlos Godoy, 45, who lives in the western Caricuao district of Caracas. “We are waiting to see what happens. We are all in suspense, in uncertainty.”

Among the most expensive products Godoy saw on his shopping trip was powdered milk, which he said is selling for $16 per kilogram.

Another shopper, Betzerpa Ramírez, said she felt calm, despite the early-morning attack on Saturday. While she felt no need to hoard food items, she did note that prices for some goods have increased.

“Hygiene items are more expensive, even more than food,” she said.

Alexandra Arismendi, who works in a mobile phone shop at the Sambil mall in one of Caracas’s busiest shopping districts, expressed frustration with some of the recent price spikes.

The price of eggs, she said, was “exaggerated”.

“Prices are high,” she said. “A carton of eggs is selling for $10, which is beyond normal.”

Her colleague at the mobile shop, 23-year old María Gabriela, lamented the slump in sales, as shoppers stay indoors for fear of further unrest.

The normally bustling mall had largely emptied of its usual crowds. Gabriela herself was hesitant to show up for work. She travelled by taxi to avoid public transport.

“We thought people would be looking for chargers or power banks [for possible power failures], but they have been looking for other things,” Gabriela said.

“There has been no usual activity. It has been one of the strangest days in recent months.”

Venezuelans have become accustomed to volatile price increases and supply shortages over the past decade. Experts often blame government corruption, mismanagement and US sanctions for destabilising Venezuela’s economy.

During Maduro’s presidency, oil prices plummeted, sending Venezuela’s petroleum-heavy economy into free fall.

By 2018, inflation hit more than 130,000 percent, according to the country’s central bank. The COVID-19 pandemic also dealt the economy a wallop, leading to shortages of food and health supplies.

Maduro’s government has not published inflation statistics since he claimed victory in 2024’s disputed presidential election.

It remains unclear to what degree normalcy will return to Venezuela after the US attack on Saturday.

Early that morning, the administration of US President Donald Trump launched munitions against military installations in the states of Caracas, Aragua, Miranda and La Guaira.

At least 80 people died in the attack, according to an anonymous Venezuelan official quoted in The New York Times.

The US military offensive was over in a matter of hours. But Trump has warned he could authorise a “second wave” of attacks, should his demands for Venezuela not be fulfilled.

The Venezuelan government has also declared a state of emergency to “immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States”.

It has maintained that Maduro remains the leader of Venezuela, despite his abduction to the US.

To Arismendi, the tension in Venezuela has not yet reached the level seen after the 2024 election, when thousands of protesters took to the streets.

“I feel that there was more tension around the elections,” said Arismendi. “Thank God we’re not at that level right now, but I feel like we’re not that far off either.”

In today’s conflicts, women and girls are facing escalating violence with near-total impunity. From mass rapes in Sudan to attacks on schools and shelters in Gaza and Syria, and the segregation of women in Afghanistan, protection is collapsing as wars intensify. Speaking to Talk to Al Jazeera, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warns that violence against women is not a side issue but a front-line threat to peace and development. With funding shrinking and the political will faltering, she confronts hard questions about the world’s failure to protect those most at risk.

PRINCESS Andre has revealed that neither her mum, Katie Price, or her dad, Peter Andre, have watched her reality TV show.

The 18-year-old became a star in her own right earlier this year when ITV launched season one of The Princess Diaries, a fly-on-the-wall docuseries.

And despite the show being a massive hit, Princess says her famous parents weren’t sitting down on the couch to give it a watch.

She told The Sun: “I actually don’t think either of my parents have watched the show.”

“I don’t think it’s my dad’s thing, it’s more, it’s a show for people my age to watch, I think,” explained Princess, who was speaking at the launch of 3D Refirm x Facebible in Windsor.

Exes Katie and Peter share Princess and her older brother Junior, 20. While Peter is also a dad to Theo, Amelia and Arabella, and Katie to Harvey, Jett and Bunny.

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Peter and his wife Emily were featured in the reality show, but Katie claimed she was shunned from the series.

While her parents may not have watched it, Princess admitted she’s seen plenty herself.

“I watched everything about five times!” she laughed.

The teenager continued: “Just to make sure everything is how I want it and to check everything.”

The Princess Diaries has been renewed for a second and third season already, with Princess admitting that she has been filming “every day” recently.

“I’ve finished for season two and then I’ve got season three to film. So, I’m really excited. I think people are going to love it,” she said.

A date for the show’s release has not yet been confirmed, with Princess simply telling fans last year: “See you in 2026”.

In a break from filming, Princess was speaking at The Fairmont in Windsor, where Dr Raj Arora was launching 3D refirm – non-surgical skin tightening procedures – at her clinic, Facebible.

The doctor is a close friend of Princess’s dad and stepmum, Emily Macdonagh, who were also in attendance at the event.

She is the first doctor to offer 3D refirm at a medical-grade in the UK, with the treatment now available to book at http://www.thefacebible.com.

On June 12, Peggy Orenstein’s inbox flooded with booking requests for her Inglewood Airbnb.

The date seemed random, but after a quick search, the influx of interest became clear. It was exactly a year before one of the biggest events in American soccer history, when the U.S. will kick off its World Cup in a match against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, and Orenstein had set up the system to only accept booking requests up to a year in advance.

Orenstein’s rental sits just across the street from the venue. Suddenly, her Airbnb became one of the hottest homes in the Southland.

She hadn’t adjusted the prices yet to reflect the rabid demand, so she declined the requests and tweaked the rates. Typically, a two-night stay at the house would cost around $1,000. For a two-night stay during the Americans’ opening match June 12, it’ll now cost more than $10,000.

Roughly 6.5 million people are expected to travel to North America during the 2026 World Cup, and many of them will be heading to L.A., where SoFi Stadium is hosting eight games, including two U.S. matches during the group stage. Airbnb hosts are viewing the games as a gold mine, hoping soccer fans will shell out thousands to stay near the stadium.

The World Cup rental market will serve as a test case for the 2028 Olympics, when an estimated 15 million people are expected to visit Southern California.

For the night of the opening match June 12, more than 70% of short-term rentals in Inglewood have already been booked, according to data site Inside Airbnb. That’s a 58% increase compared to typical reservation rates on normal days.

Rates are rising as well. On June 1, the average booked rate for an Airbnb in L.A. is $245, according to data platform AirDNA. On June 12, when the U.S. plays Paraguay, it’s $382 — a 56% jump.

In Inglewood, prices are even wilder. Homes that normally rent for hundreds are listed for thousands. The nightly price for a one-bedroom apartment a block from SoFi is typically around $400. On June 11, the day before the game, it’s $713. On June 12, the day of the game, it’s $1,714.

“It’ll be interesting to see how much people will pay,” Orenstein said.

Some hosts use an algorithm to determine their nightly rates, but Orenstein sets the prices herself. She arrived at the $10,000 number by looking at nearby hotels, which are mostly sold out for the nights of the eight World Cup matches.

“The Lum Hotel had a suite available during the World Cup for $1,943. Meanwhile, our house can accommodate eight guests with four bedrooms, plus a kitchen and yard,” she said.

There are classic amenities such as a grill and hot tub, but the biggest amenity is proximity. Orenstein is banking on visitors ponying up for the convenience of parking at the property and walking to the stadium while everyone else navigates traffic jams and long rideshare waits.

“It gets crazy out there,” she said. “I’ve had people offer to pay me $40 to use the bathroom while walking by during a Taylor Swift concert. Our neighbor sold parking spots for $1,000 during the Super Bowl.”

David (pictured) and Peggy Orenstein, run an Airbnb across the street from SoFi Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Colin Johnson has been renting out his home near SoFi Stadium for two years. It’s his actual residence, meaning when someone stays there, he has to book a hotel or crash on a friend’s couch. But he said the payouts are worth it.

“There are so many events and venues around us, why wouldn’t we take advantage?” he said.

A typical two-night stay in the three-story townhouse runs about $600. For the U.S. opening match, it costs more than $3,000.

Johnson said demand is roughly 60% Americans and 40% foreigners, but he expects foreign interest to pick up as the games get closer.

Demand isn’t limited to Inglewood. Luxury rentals across Los Angeles are being booked for eye-popping numbers, according to Mokhtar Jabli, founder of luxury rental platform Nightfall Group.

He’s booked two so far. The first was rented by a Florida client coming to Los Angeles to see Iran play two matches at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand and Belgium. The modern home in Hollywood Hills, complete with an infinity pool overlooking the city, rented for $33,000 for seven nights from June 15 to 22.

The second was booked by a New York client coming to see the U.S. play Paraguay. The 7,000-square-foot mansion in Malibu comes with a movie theater, butler, security and full-time staff. For 10 days, it rented for $100,000.

Jamie Lane, chief economist for AirDNA, expects a surge across L.A. County — not just in demand, but in supply.

“There’s a lot of interest right now in what you can make as a host,” Lane said. “In most cities, there won’t be enough lodging, so that pushes rates higher.”

He added that since Airbnb is the official “Alternative Accommodations and Bookings Platform” of the World Cup, the company is urging people to host. AirDNA has hosted multiple bootcamps around the country for people interested in renting out their homes during the World Cup, teaching them how to furnish homes, how to set prices during the games and more.

Lane expects a boost in listings early next year, which would mirror Paris in the months leading up to the 2024 Olympics, when active listings soared by 40%.

It’s unclear how proactive Southern California cities will be in cracking down on illegal listings as homeowners look to make a quick buck by renting out their rooms. Many cities have strict short-term rental regulations, but haven’t taken the steps necessary to enforce them.

Last year, the L.A. Housing Department estimated that 7,500 short-term rentals were violating the city’s Home Sharing Ordinance, but the city only issued 300 citations.

Orenstein said it won’t be easy in Inglewood.

“You have to jump through hoops to have an Airbnb,” she said. “Apply for permits, do inspections, pay your taxes every month. It has to be done right.”

Joe Cullen says opponent Mensur Suljovic’s slow style of play is akin to cheating after the 32nd seed was knocked out.

Austrian Suljovic denied using any specific tactics in his second-round success.

“I never ever do this as a provocation,” said the 53-year-old. “I do it only for my game. Sorry Joe, I never do this – love you man.”

England’s Cullen won the first set, but became the 11th seed to crash out as he lost the following three, including throwing away a 2-1 lead in the fourth set.

Referring to the way that Suljovic slowed down play, Cullen said in a post on X: “If that’s darts, I don’t want no part of it.

“Always liked Mensur away from the board but that was plain for all to see! I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way. The old guard will say it’s part of the game but word it how you will – it’s cheating. That’s not darts.”

After the match, the 36-year-old shook his head as he picked up his darts case and turned to glare at the Austrian, who celebrated his win in front of the crowd.

The PDC does not have a specific, timed rule for pace of play, but deliberate slow play intended to disrupt an opponent is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and a potential rules breach.

Suljovic is next in line to take on defending champion Luke Littler, who faces David Davies on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, 2018 champion and 17th seed Rob Cross managed to avoid a deciding set against Ian White as he won a nervy encounter 3-1.

Krzysztof Ratajski beat Ryan Joyce 3-1 to reach the third round, while Luke Woodhouse cruised past Max Hopp with a victory in straight sets.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When Idalia Bisbal moved to this Pennsylvania city synonymous with America’s working class, she hoped for a cheaper, easier life than the one she was leaving behind in her hometown of New York City.

About three years later, she is deeply disappointed.

“It’s worse than ever,” said the 67-year-old retiree, who relies on Social Security, when asked about the economy. “The prices are high. Everything is going up. You can’t afford food because you can’t afford rent. Utilities are too high. Gas is too expensive. Everything is too expensive.”

Bisbal was sipping an afternoon coffee at the Hamilton Family Restaurant not long after Vice President JD Vance rallied Republicans in a nearby suburb. In the Trump administration’s second high-profile trip to Pennsylvania in a week, Vance acknowledged the affordability crisis, blamed it on the Biden administration and insisted better times were ahead. He later served food to men experiencing homelessness in Allentown.

The visit, on top of several recent speeches from President Trump, reflects an increasingly urgent White House effort to respond to the economic anxiety voiced by people across the country. Those worries are a vulnerability for Republicans in competitive congressional districts like the one that includes Allentown, which could decide control of the U.S. House in next year’s midterms.

But in confronting the challenge, there are risks of appearing out of touch.

Only 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how Trump is handling the economy, down from 40% in March, according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Yet Trump has called affordability concerns a “hoax” and gave the economy under his administration a grade of “A+++++.” Vance reiterated that assessment during his rally, prompting Bisbal to scoff.

“In his world,” Bisbal, a self-described “straight-up Democrat,” responded. “In the rich man’s world. In our world, trust me, it’s not an ‘A.’ To me, it’s an ‘F,’ ‘F,’ ‘F,’ ‘F,’ ‘F,’ ‘F.’”

Agreement that prices are too high

With a population of roughly 125,000 people, Allentown anchors the Lehigh Valley, which is Pennsylvania’s third-largest metro area. In a dozen interviews last week with local officials, business leaders and residents of both parties, there was agreement on one thing: Prices are too high. Some pointed to gas prices while others said they felt the shock more at the grocery store or in their cost of healthcare or housing.

Few shared Trump’s unbridled boosterism about the economy.

Tony Iannelli, the president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, called Trump’s grade a “stretch,” saying that “we have a strong economy but I think it’s not yet gone to the next stage of what I would call robust.”

Tom Groves, who started a health and benefits consulting firm more than two decades ago, said the economy was at a “B+,” as he blamed the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, for contributing to higher health costs, and he noted stock and labor market volatility.

Joe Vichot, the chairman of the Lehigh County Republican Committee, referred to Trump’s grade as a “colloquialism.”

Far removed from Washington’s political theater, there was little consensus on who was responsible for the high prices or what should be done about it. There was, however, an acute sense of exhaustion at the seemingly endless political combat.

Pat Gallagher was finishing lunch a few booths down from Bisbal as she recalled meeting her late husband when they both worked at Bethlehem Steel, the manufacturing giant that closed in 2003.

Now retired, Gallagher too relies on Social Security benefits, and she lives with her daughter, which helps keep costs down. She said she noticed the rising price of groceries and was becoming exasperated with the political climate.

“I get so frustrated with hearing about the politics,” she said.

A front-row seat to politics

That feeling is understandable in a place that often gets a front-row seat to the national debate, whether it wants the view or not. Singer Billy Joel’s 1982 song “Allentown” helped elevate the city into the national consciousness, articulating simultaneous feelings of disillusionment and hope as factories closed.

In the decades since, Pennsylvania has become a must-win state in presidential politics and the backdrop for innumerable visits from candidates and the media. Trump and his Democratic rival in 2024, Kamala Harris, made several campaign swings through Allentown, with the then-vice president visiting the city on the eve of the election.

“Every race here, all the time,” Allentown’s mayor, Democrat Matt Tuerk, recalled of the frenzied race last year.

The pace of those visits — and the attention they garnered — has not faded from many minds. Some businesses and residents declined to talk last week when approached with questions about the economy or politics, recalling blowback from speaking in the past.

But as attention shifts to next year’s midterms, Allentown cannot escape its place as a political battleground.

Trump’s win last year helped lift other Republicans, such U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, to victory. Mackenzie, who unseated a three-term Democrat, is now one of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress. To win again, he must turn out the Republicans who voted in 2024 — many of whom were likely more energized by Trump’s candidacy — while appealing to independents.

Mackenzie’s balancing act was on display when he spoke to the party faithful Tuesday, bemoaning the “failures of Bidenomics” before Vance took the stage at the rally. A day later, the congressman was back in Washington, where he joined three other House Republicans to rebel against the party’s leadership and force a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of the year.

Vichot, the local GOP chairman, called Mackenzie an “underdog” in his reelection bid and said the healthcare move was a signal to voters that he is “compassionate for the people who need those services.”

A swing to Trump in 2024

Lehigh County, home to Allentown and the most populous county in the congressional district, swung toward Trump last year. Harris’ nearly 2.7-percentage-point win in the county was the tightest margin for a Democratic presidential candidate since 2004. But Democrats are feeling confident after a strong performance in this fall’s elections, when they handily won a race for county executive.

Retaking the congressional seat is now a top priority for Democrats. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who faces reelection next year and is a potential presidential contender in 2028, endorsed firefighter union head Bob Brooks last week in the May primary.

Democrats are just a few seats shy of regaining the House majority, and the first midterm after a presidential election historically favors the party that’s out of power. If the focus remains on the economy, Democrats are happy.

The Uline supplies distribution factory where Vance spoke, owned by a family that has made large donations to GOP causes, is a few miles from the Mack Trucks facility where staff was cut by about 200 employees this year. The company said that decision was driven in part by tariffs imposed by Trump. Shapiro eagerly pointed that out in responding to Vance’s visit.

But the image of Allentown as a purely manufacturing town is outdated. The downtown core is dotted by row homes, trendy hotels and a modern arena that is home to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey team and hosts concerts by major artists. In recent years, Latinos have become a majority of the city’s population, driven by gains in the Puerto Rican, Mexican and Dominican communities.

“This is a place of rapid change,” said Tuerk, the city’s first Latino mayor. “It’s constantly changing ,and I think over the next three years until that next presidential election, we’re going to see a lot more change. It’s going to be an interesting ride.”

Sloan writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — President Trump made dozens of promises when he campaigned to retake the White House last year, from boosting economic growth to banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports.

But one pledge stood out as the most important in many voters’ eyes: Trump said he would not only bring inflation under control, but push grocery and energy prices back down.

“Starting the day I take the oath of office, I will rapidly drive prices down, and we will make America affordable again,” he said in 2024. “Your prices are going to come tumbling down, your gasoline is going to come tumbling down, and your heating bills and cooling bills are going to be coming down.”

He hasn’t delivered. Gasoline and eggs are cheaper than they were a year ago, but most other prices are still rising, including groceries and electricity. The Labor Department estimated Thursday that inflation is running at 2.7%, only a little better than the 3% Trump inherited from Joe Biden; electricity was up 6.9%.

And that has given the president a major political problem: Many of the voters who backed him last year are losing faith.

“I voted for Trump in 2024 because he was promising America first … and he was promising a better economy,” Ebyad, a nurse in Texas, said on a Focus Group podcast hosted by Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell. “It feels like all those promises have been broken.”

Since Inauguration Day, the president’s job approval has declined from 52% to 43% in the polling average calculated by statistician Nate Silver. Approval for Trump’s performance on the economy, once one of his strongest points, has sunk even lower to 39%.

That’s dangerous territory for a president who hopes to help his party keep its narrow majority in elections for the House of Representatives next year.

To Republican pollsters and strategists, the reasons for Trump’s slump are clear: He overpromised last year and he’s under-performing now.

“The most important reasons he won in 2024 were his promises to bring inflation down and juice the economy,” Republican pollster Whit Ayres said. “That’s the reason he won so many voters who traditionally had supported Democrats, including Hispanics. … But he hasn’t been able to deliver. Inflation has moderated, but it hasn’t gone backward.”

Last week, after deriding complaints about affordability as “a Democrat hoax,” Trump belatedly launched a campaign to convince voters that he’s at work fixing the problem.

But at his first stop, a rally in Pennsylvania, he continued arguing that the economy is already in great shape.

“Our prices are coming down tremendously,” he insisted.

“You’re doing better than you’ve ever done,” he said, implicitly dismissing voters’ concerns.

He urged families to cope with high tariffs by cutting back: “You know, you can give up certain products,” he said. “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”

Earlier, in an interview with Politico, Trump was asked what grade he would give the economy. “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus,” he said.

On Wednesday, the president took another swing at the issue in a nationally televised speech, but his message was basically the same.

“One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead,” he said. “Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. … Inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down.”

Republican pollster David Winston, who has advised GOP members of Congress, said the president has more work to do to win back voters who supported him in 2024 but are now disenchanted.

“When families are paying the price for hamburger that they used to pay for steak, there’s a problem, and there’s no sugarcoating it,” he said. “The president’s statements that ‘we have no inflation’ and ‘our groceries are down’ have flown in the face of voters’ reality.”

Another problem for Trump, pollsters said, is that many voters believe his tariffs are pushing prices higher — making the president part of the problem, not part of the solution. A YouGov poll in November found that 77% of voters believe tariffs contribute to inflationary pressures.

Trump’s popularity hasn’t dropped through the floor; he still has the allegiance of his fiercely loyal base. “He is at his lowest point of his second term so far, but he is well within the range of his job approval in the first term,” Ayres noted.

Still, he has lost significant chunks of his support among independent voters, young people and Latinos, three of the “swing voter” groups who put him over the top in 2024.

Inflation isn’t the only issue that has dented his standing.

He promised to lead the economy into “a golden age,” but growth has been uneven. Unemployment rose in November to 4.6%, the highest level in more than four years.

He promised massive tax cuts for the middle class, but most voters say they don’t believe his tax cut bill brought them any benefit. “It’s hard to convince people that they got a tax break when nobody’s tax rates were actually cut,” Ayres noted.

He kept his promise to launch the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history — but many voters complain that he has broken his promise to focus on violent criminals. In Silver’s average, approval of his immigration policies dropped from 52% in January to 45% now.

A Pew Research Center survey in October found that 53% of adults, including 71% of Latinos, think the administration has ordered too many deportations. However, most voters approve of Trump’s measures on border security.

Republican pollsters and strategists say they believe Trump can reverse his downward momentum before November’s congressional election, but it may not be easy.

“You look at what voters care about most, and you offer policies to address those issues,” GOP strategist Alex Conant suggested. “That starts with prices. So you talk about permitting reform, energy prices, AI [artificial intelligence] … and legislation to address healthcare, housing and tax cuts. You could call it the Affordability Act.”

“A laser focus on the economy and the cost of living is job one,” GOP pollster Winston said. “His policies on regulation, energy and taxes should have a positive impact, but the White House needs to emphasize them on a more consistent basis.”

“People voted for change in 2024,” he warned. “If they don’t get it — if inflation doesn’t begin to recede — they may vote for change again in 2026.”

The holidays have arrived once again. You know, that annual festival of goodwill, compulsory spending and the dawning realization that Santa and Satan are anagrams.

Even in the best of years, Americans stagger through this season feeling financially woozy. This year, however, the picture is bleaker. And a growing number of Americans are feeling Grinchy.

Unemployment is at a four-year high, with Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, declaring, “The U.S. economy is in a hiring recession.” And a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds that 70% of Americans say “the cost of living in the area where they live is not very affordable or not affordable at all.”

Is help on the way? Not likely. Affordable Care Act subsidies are expiring, and — despite efforts to force a vote in the House — it’s highly likely that nothing will be done about this before the end of the year. This translates to ballooning health insurance bills for millions of Americans. I will be among those hit with a higher monthly premium, which gives me standing to complain.

President Trump, meanwhile, remains firmly committed to policies that will exacerbate the rising cost of getting by. Trump’s tariffs — unless blocked by the Supreme Court — will continue to raise prices. And when it comes to his immigration crackdown, Trump is apparently unmoved by the tiresome fact that when you “disappear” workers, prices tend to go up.

Taken together, the Trump agenda amounts to an ambitious effort to raise the cost of living without the benefit of improved living standards. But if your money comes from crypto or Wall Street investments, you’re doing better than ever!

For the rest of us, the only good news is this: Unlike every other Trump scandal, most voters actually seem to care about what’s happening to their pocketbooks.

Politico recently found that erstwhile Trump voters backed Democrats in the 2025 governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia for the simple reason that things cost too much.

And Axios reports on a North Carolina focus group in which “11 of the 14 participants, all of whom backed Trump last November, said they now disapprove of his job performance. And 12 of the 14 say they’re more worried about the economy now than they were in January.”

Apparently, inflation is the ultimate reality check — which is horrible news for Republicans.

Trump’s great talent has always been the audacity to employ a “fake it ‘till you make it” con act to project just enough certainty to persuade the rest of us.

His latest (attempted) Jedi mind trick involves claiming prices are “coming down tremendously,” which is not supported by data or the lived experience of anyone who shops.

He also says inflation is “essentially gone,” which is true only if you define “gone” as “slowed its increase.”

Trump may dismiss the affordability crisis as a “hoax” and a “con job,” but voters persist in believing the grocery scanner.

In response, Trump has taken to warning us that falling prices could cause “deflation,” which he now says is even worse than inflation. He’s not wrong about the economic theory, but it hardly seems worth worrying about given that prices are not falling.

Apparently, economic subtlety is something you acquire only after winning the White House.

Naturally, Trump wants to blame Joe Biden, the guy who staggered out of office 11 months ago. And yes, pandemic disruptions and massive stimulus spending helped fuel inflation. But voters elected Trump to fix the problem, which he promised to do “on Day One.”

Lacking tangible results, Trump is reverting to what has always worked for him: the assumption that — if he confidently repeats it enough times — his version of reality will triumph over math.

The difficulty now is that positive thinking doesn’t swipe at the register.

You can lie about the size of your inauguration crowd — no normal person can measure it and nobody cares. But you cannot tell people standing in line at the grocery store that prices are falling when they are actively handing over more money.

Pretending everything is fine goes over even worse when a billionaire president throws Gatsby-themed parties, renovates the Lincoln Bedroom and builds a huge new ballroom at the White House. The optics are horrible, and there’s no doubt they are helping fuel the political backlash.

But the main problem is the main problem.

At the end of the day, the one thing voters really care about is their pocketbooks. No amount of spin or “manifesting” an alternate reality will change that.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”

KIERAN Hayler has pleaded not guilty to raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl while he was married to Katie Price.

The 38-year-old is accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the girl.

He allegedly attacked the girl in West Sussex between June 2016 and October 2016 when he was married to Katie, 47.

She is not a member of his or Katie’s extended family.

Hayler appeared at Lewes Crown Court today where he pleaded not guilty to the four alleged offences.

The ex-stripper, who was charged in October following a probe by Sussex Police, was bailed to next appear at the same court in April.

His Honour Judge Stephen Mooney set a provisional trial set to last one week for next October.

A representative for Hayler previously said: “Kieran Hayler strongly denies the allegations made against him in its entirety.

“Mr Hayler is fully engaged and has been co-operating with the police throughout the investigation and will continue to do so.

“He looks forward to his name being cleared believing in the judicial system to do so.”

Hayler, who has worked as a stripper and actor, married Katie at a luxury resort in the Bahamas in 2013.

He was her third husband following her marriages to singer Peter Andre and cage fighter Alex Reid.

Katie and Hayler split in 2018 following cheating allegations on his side and formally divorced in 2021.

He got engaged to Michelle Penticost but the pair separated in February this year.

Sussex Police said: “We can confirm Kieran Hayler, 38, of Northchapel in West Sussex, has been charged with three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against a 13-year-old girl.

“The offences are alleged to have occurred at an address in West Sussex between June 1 and October 13, 2016.

“Hayler remains released under investigation and is due to appear before Crawley magistrates’ court on November 19.

“The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has received ­support from specially trained officers as our enquiries continue.”

FIFA announced an affordable admission pricing tier for every nation that’s qualified for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The supporter entry tier will make tickets available at a fixed price of $60 for every match, including the final, for each nation’s participating members associations.

The new tier comes after supporters’ groups from Europe called out FIFA on the dynamic pricing of tickets, which changes the value based on the popularity of the teams playing in each match.

“In total, 50% of each PMA allocation will fall within the most affordable range, namely supporter value tier (40%) and the supporter entry tier (10%),” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday. “The remaining allocation is split evenly between the supporter standard tier and the supporter premier tier.”

FIFA will also waive the administrative fees for fans who secure participating member association tickets, but their teams do not advance and they seek refunds.

Tickets sales were rolled out by FIFA in phases, with a third of the tournament’s inventory claimed during the first two phases. The third phase started on Dec. 11 and will go through to Jan. 13. During this period, fans have the opportunity to allocate tickets for a match based on a random selection draw.

Before the new tier was introduced, the cheapest ticket for the World Cup final in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey would cost fans more than $4,000. The high prices raised concerns among European supporters.

“The prices set for the 2026 World Cup are scandalous, a step too far for many supporters who passionately and loyally follow their national sides at home and abroad,” the FSA, an organization of supporters for England and Wales, said in a statement posted on its website on Dec. 12. “Everything we feared about the direction in which FIFA wants to take the game was confirmed — Gianni Infantino only sees supporter loyalty as something to be exploited for profit.”

FIFA previously stated it adopted the variable pricing because it was common practice for major North America sporting events.

“What FIFA is doing is adapting to the domestic market,” a FIFA official said in the conference call. “It’s a reality in the U.S. and Canada that events are being priced as per the demand that is coming in for that event.”

A FIFA official told reporters before the first tickets went on sale that world soccer’s governing body expects to make more than $3 billion from hospitality and tickets sales and is confident the tournament will break the all-time World Cup attendance record set in 1994, the last time the competition was held in the U.S.

That 1994 World Cup featured just 24 teams and 52 matches. The 2026 tournament will be twice as large, with 48 teams and 104 games.

FIFA said it received 20 million requests during the random selection draw sales.

SoFi Stadium will host eight matches, beginning with the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12. The Americans will finish group play in Inglewood on June 25, playing the winner of a March playoff involving Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey and Romania. Two Group G matches — Iran vs. New Zealand on June 15 and Iran-Belgium on June 21 — also will be played in SoFi, sandwiched around a Group B match between Switzerland and the winner of another European playoff, this one featuring Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland.

The teams for the three knockout-stage games to be played at SoFi Stadium — round-of-32 games on June 28 and July 2 and a quarterfinal on July 10 — haven’t been determined, but the possibilities include Mexico, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Austria and Algeria.

Staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.