Inflation hit a three-year high. What it means for you.

Summary

Apple News Today — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Inflation jumps again. Here’s where you might be feeling it most.
Date: June 11, 2026
Host: Gideon Resnick (for Shumita Basu)
Guests: Megan Lenhart (Barron's), Jerrel Dillard (Washington Post), Rebecca Lowe (NBC Sports, Fox Sports)

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Overview

This episode delivers a sharp look at the spike in inflation, its causes, and how it’s affecting everything from grocery bills to credit card debt. The show also covers major political developments around immigration funding, previews the record-breaking men’s World Cup set to begin in North America, and touches on high-profile news, from surveillance law debates to cultural moments involving Pope Leo and Bad Bunny.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inflation Surge & Economic Effects

• Main Drivers:

  • Oil price spike due to war in Iran disrupting Strait of Hormuz oil flows
  • Higher tariffs and ongoing drought contributing to grocery cost increases
  • Rising rents, airfares, and personal services (e.g., haircuts) also pushing inflation higher
  • Americans are dipping into savings and falling behind on credit cards ([00:42])

• Consumers Feeling the Pinch:

  • "As an everyday consumer, you're probably feeling the pinch these days... higher prices when you go to the store, when you go to the drugstore, things like that." — Megan Lenhart ([01:40])

• Wages Lagging:

  • Prices have risen faster than wages for months, creating economic anxiety and negative perceptions ([01:26])

• Oil Shock Ripple Effect:

  • High oil prices bleed into transportation costs, which then raise the cost of many other goods ([02:06])
  • "That means you're ending up paying a lot more." — Megan Lenhart ([02:06])

• Possible Peak and Glimmers of Optimism:

  • May's inflation could be a peak as gas prices start falling, and grocery inflation softens ([02:34])
  • "Anyone can cheer when they don't have to spend as much at the grocery store." — Megan Lenhart ([02:45])

• Persistent Risks:

  • Dining out costs are increasing even as grocery prices ease
  • Policymakers are vigilant about whether this is temporary or marks entrenched inflation ([01:59], [03:44])

Notable Quote

• "This is kind of scary, I think, for a lot of people when they start to look at this."
  — Megan Lenhart ([01:12])

2. Policy & Political Response

• President Trump’s Response:

  • Expressed optimism that inflation will recede when the Iran conflict ends
  • Quote: “I love the inflation,” referring to hopes of improvement post-war ([03:06])
  • Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting upcoming, likely to keep rates unchanged amid uncertainty ([03:06])

• Federal Reserve Stance:

  • Fed officials cautious; possibility of rates rising if inflation persists ([04:03])
  • "We're not going to make any big changes. But we're getting increasingly concerned about this broadening out..." — Megan Lenhart ([03:44])

3. Immigration Funding Deal

• Trump Signs Secure America Act:

  • Republican-backed, $70B to ICE and Border Patrol—funding through Trump's term, bypassing usual annual appropriations and bipartisan oversight ([04:30])

• Process & Reaction:

  • Unprecedented three-year funding pushed via reconciliation, eliminating checks and balances ([04:46])
  • Democrats opposed due to recent incidents and lack of reforms (e.g., no requirement for body cams, ban on officer face masks, or changes to enforcement) ([05:11])

• Republican & Democratic Voices:

  • Rep. Tom Cole (R): "Very reluctant... but felt like they had no choice. Doesn't believe this would become normalized.” ([06:19])
  • Rep. James Walkinshaw (D): “You’ll continue to see us use tools... to request investigations into specific enforcement programs. We'll highlight the most egregious cases.” ([06:47])

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4. 2026 Men’s World Cup: Preview & Stakes

• Tournament Scale:

  • 48 teams, biggest ever, hosted across US, Canada, Mexico ([07:23])
  • Debut nations: Cape Verde, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Curacao ([08:10])

• Format Changes:

  • More teams, potentially more lopsided games
  • 32 teams will advance to knockout rounds, giving mid-tier teams hope ([08:10])

• American Soccer’s Rise:

  • Soccer's popularity now rivals or surpasses Major League Baseball
  • “Soccer is mainstream. I think this is going to take it forward hugely.” — Rebecca Lowe ([09:43])

• Top Teams to Watch:

  • France: “If they fielded two teams, if they were allowed to, they could probably win the World Cup with either of them...” — Rebecca Lowe ([10:26])
  • Spain: Playing with the unity of a club team
  • Argentina: Defending champions, possibly underestimated
  • England: Strong squad, high hopes ([10:26]-[11:41])

Notable Quote

• "This country is starting to realize why the rest of the world loves this Sport."
  — Rebecca Lowe ([00:36])

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Additional Stories Covered

• FISA Surveillance Law Lapse Looms:

  • Congress struggles to extend FISA; surveillance powers in jeopardy over Trump’s controversial DNI nominee ([12:16])

• Omar Arten’s Referee Story:

  • Somali referee denied entry to US for World Cup due to questionable ties; warmly welcomed home after FIFA cuts ([13:35])

• Pope Leo vs. Bad Bunny: Madrid Event:

  • Pope Leo draws ten times more fans than Bad Bunny, signaling church’s youth appeal ([14:46])

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “This is kind of scary, I think, for a lot of people when they start to look at this.” — Megan Lenhart ([01:12])
• “Soccer is mainstream. I think this is going to take it forward hugely.” — Rebecca Lowe ([09:43])
• “If [France] fielded two teams... they could probably win the World Cup with either of them.” — Rebecca Lowe ([10:26])
• "[Arten] was denied entry... due to association with suspected members of terror organizations." — Gideon Resnick ([13:44])
• “The global music artist [Bad Bunny] actually became an attendee at a later event for the Pope and met him afterwards.” — Gideon Resnick ([14:46])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Inflation discussion begins: 00:05
• Megan Lenhart on oil shock: 00:11–02:06
• Federal Reserve & government response: 03:06–04:03
• Immigration funding analysis: 04:30–07:08
• World Cup preview (Rebecca Lowe): 07:23–11:52
• Other news briefs: 12:16–14:46

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Where to Find More

• After the Whistle — World Cup daily podcast with Rebecca Lowe and Brendan Hunt, available everywhere you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and YouTube ([11:52])

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Tone and Style

• Concise, factual, and approachable: The hosts and guests deliver data-driven analysis, with empathy for consumer anxiety and excitement about global events.
• Direct quotes preserve speakers’ voices, capturing both concern and enthusiasm throughout dynamic news cycles.

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This episode is essential listening for anyone wanting a succinct, insightful briefing on economic shocks, political maneuvers, and global culture — with actionable context and memorable commentary.

Transcript

[Gideon Resnick]

Good morning. Consumers are feeling the pinch as inflation ticks up. Behrens explains what could come next.

[Megan Lenhart]

What we're looking at right now, I think, is this idea of whether or not this is going to be a short term pain or if we're going to see a lot of this oil shock start to bleed into the real economy.

[Gideon Resnick]

President Trump signs a bill paying for much of his immigration agenda through the rest of his term. And after the whistle, host Rebecca Lowe explained how this World cup could push soccer even further into the mainstream of American culture.

[Rebecca Lowe]

This country is starting to realize why the rest of the world loves this Sport.

[Gideon Resnick]

It's Thursday, June 11th. I'm Gideon Resnick, and for Shamita Basu, this is Apple News Today. Inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in May, according to figures that were released yesterday. The war in Iran has disrupted oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz and driven fuel costs significantly higher tariffs and drought conditions combined with that have made grocery shopping pricier. And Americans have been increasingly dipping into savings accounts and falling behind on credit card bills.

[Megan Lenhart]

So this is kind of scary, I think, for a lot of people when they start to look at this.

[Gideon Resnick]

Megan Lenhart is a senior economics writer at Barron's.

[Megan Lenhart]

There's some pain points here, and a lot of it is stemming from the oil shock that we are currently experiencing.

[Gideon Resnick]

Prices have also risen faster than wages for months, which is making Americans feel squeezed and contributing to negative views on the economy. Inflation was also lifted last month by higher rents, airfare, and personal services like haircuts.

[Megan Lenhart]

As an everyday consumer, you're probably feeling the pinch these days. We're still seeing, you know, a decent amount of inflation coming from a lot of different goods areas. And that means higher prices when you go to the store, when you go to the drugstore, things like that. These are all kind of very concerning things.

[Gideon Resnick]

Leonard said that policymakers will be keenly interested in whether these are temporary spikes or if they become more entrenched.

[Megan Lenhart]

This is sort of what we experienced, you know, in previous inflation bouts, especially when inflation starts to get very high. You start off with something like oil, for example. Oil prices are high. That leads to, you know, higher prices at the pump. But then that starts to bleed into other things. So transportation costs go up. That means airfares go up. That means the cost of transporting your food and getting food to the grocery store from the farms or the production facilities, those costs go up. That means you're ending up paying a lot more.

[Gideon Resnick]

Now it does seem as though May's inflation rate could represent a peak and gas prices have fallen this month even as they remain high. There was some optimism within the data for shoppers as well.

[Megan Lenhart]

Grocery inflation softened a little bit over the month. That's great news. I think anyone can cheer when they don't have to spend as much at the grocery store. But when it came to dining out, the cost of dining out, that actually firmed up a little bit. So unfortunately, while, you know, food inflation is not crazy overwhelming at this point, it is something worth watching.

[Gideon Resnick]

Some economists have also pointed to the fact that core prices, basically stripping out more volatile food and energy categories, have risen much more modestly. That could be what drove President Trump to say, quote, I love the inflation yesterday expressing optimism that things would ease up when the war in Iran ends, though after a new round of airstrikes from the US that end date remains unclear. These inflation numbers are also going to be front and center next week when the new Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh presides over his first policy meeting. Even as he signaled openness to potential interest rate cuts before his nomination. The likelihood now is that Fed officials will probably keep rates unchanged.

[Megan Lenhart]

That's the communication that they've been telegraphing. But there are a number of Fed officials who are sort of stepping up and saying, hey, we're going to keep watching this for now and we're not going to make any big changes. But we're getting increasingly concerned about this broadening out, about the potential for entrenchment.

[Gideon Resnick]

In fact, if inflation does remain a challenge, at Beast one Fed governor has said that they could no longer rule out raising rates later this year. Yesterday, President Trump ended a months long stalemate over immigration enforcement funding by signing a Republican backed bill that gives roughly $70 billion to ICE and Border Patrol.

[Omar Arten]

I'm thrilled to sign the Secure America act to immediately and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of my term.

[Gideon Resnick]

The fact that this funding will last through the rest of Trump's term is quite unusual. Jerrel Dillard, a congressional economic policy reporter for the Washington Post, told us why

[Jerrel Dillard]

appropriations are normally done in a bipartisan manner in that provide some oversight and some checks and balances as well. Right. And these agencies are normally only funded for a year. But doing this through the reconciliation process, Republicans decided to fund those agencies for the next three years, which will go through fiscal year 2029, and that kind of eliminates that oversight that would normally be there.

[Gideon Resnick]

In other words, Republicans use this special process called reconciliation to sidestep their Democratic colleagues entirely. The bill passed narrowly in the House on Tuesday along party lines. And in the Senate, just one Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, joined Democrats in trying to block the measure. Democrats did not want to support additional funding for these agencies after federal officers killed two protesters in Minneapolis earlier this year. They wanted the bill to include changes to immigration enforcement tactics like requiring judicial warrants to enter homes and banning face masks for officers. None of that made it into this bill. Neither did bipartisan proposals like requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras. Now the federal agencies responsible for immigration enforcement will have money to enact Trump's policies with few stipulations on how it's spent. That's even if the makeup of the House and Senate were to change after the midterm elections. This bill marks the second time within a year that billions of dollars have been granted to federal immigration enforcement agencies through Republican votes alone. Dillard spoke to at least one member of the party who felt squeamish about the way this latest bill was passed.

[Jerrel Dillard]

I spoke to Representative Tom Cole, who is the lead Republican on the House Appropriations Committee. He said that he was very reluctant to have to fund ICE and CBP this way, but he felt like they had no choice. But he doesn't believe that this would happen again in the future or become normalized. And if it did, he said he wouldn't support it.

[Gideon Resnick]

James Walkinshaw of Virginia, a Democrat in the House, told NPR that he expects to see Democrats respond by being more aggressive in committee hearings where ICE and Border Patrol leaders testify.

[James Walkinshaw]

I've done that on the Homeland Security Committee. You'll continue to see us use tools and mechanisms like the Government accountability office and IG's independent inspectors general. To the extent that Trump hasn't fired them to request investigations into specific enforcement programs. We'll have document requests. We'll highlight the most egregious cases.

[Gideon Resnick]

But beyond that, getting any changes through the appropriation process appears limited at best now at least until 2020.

[Jerrel Dillard]

Foreign.

[Gideon Resnick]

Over the next six weeks, 104 matches of the world's best soccer will be happening across the U.S. mexico and Canada as the largest World cup tournament in history gets underway. Joining me now to set the stakes is Rebecca Low. She's been covering the Premier League for NBC Sports for over a decade. She'll be covering the tournament this year for Fox Sports. And she is the co host of the Apple News World cup podcast after the Whistle. Rebecca, hello. Welcome, Gideon.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Thank you. So lovely to be here with you.

[Gideon Resnick]

Thank you so much for joining us. So Rebecca, as we said, this is going to be A massive tournament. We have 48 teams total. That's a stark departure from how the tournament has been structured for the last almost 30 years, where the men's World cup had 32 teams that were involved. How could that change in format impact the way that this tournament plays out?

[Rebecca Lowe]

In lots of different ways. Firstly, we're going to see a lot of teams who would never have thought they'd ever get anywhere near a World Cup. We've got four first timers, Cape Verde, Uzbekistan, Jordan and Curacao. In one way, Gideon, that could be a great thing. We're going to see new cultures, new colors, new vibrancy, new sets of fans who are living their dream. The flip side of that is we could see some very lopsided score lines. We could see a lot of goals against those teams because you really are mismatching, say a Curacao with, with the Germany, for example. And that isn't always a great look when you have maybe an 8 nil or a 9 nil. It may not happen, but it could well happen because the differentiation between the best and the not so good will now be a lot bigger. 32 teams are going to go through to the knockout round, which means that there's a lot more hope for a lot of teams that are so used to going out at the group stage. Maybe a middle ranking team, somebody like a, a Sweden or an Ecuador or a Ghana in this World cup. They have a really good chance of going through to the knockout rounds where em, anything can happen. So it's going to affect it in a multitude of ways.

[Gideon Resnick]

And this is only the second time in World cup history that the US has hosted the men's tournament. And again it's sharing that role with Canada and Mexico. But I want to ask you about what it could mean for soccer standing here in the US the sport has come quite a long way since the Men's World cup was here in 1994. It's booming in popularity, more popular than Major League Baseball according to at least one survey released earlier this year. So how might this World cup accelerate that trend?

[Rebecca Lowe]

Oh, I think it's going to have a huge impact. I mean, if you think back to 1994, there was no domestic league in the United States and from the World cup of 94 birthed Major League Soccer in 1996, which is now thriving 30 years later. Soccer is no longer the niche. If you know, you know, sport, soccer is mainstream. I think this is going to take it forward hugely.

[Gideon Resnick]

It's a really exciting prospect. And later this Week we're going to hear from your after the whistle co host, Brendan Hunt, all about Team usa, their prospects, how they might be looking in this tournament. So I want to take this moment to ask you instead about everybody else that is vying for this world title, who are, let's say, three or so teams that you're keeping a close eye on that could potentially make a deep run here.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Your favourites, Gideon of France and Spain. France have a squad where if they fielded two teams, if they were allowed to, they could probably win the World cup with either of them, which means that their first 11, that starts a game. When they then make their substitutions, which normally happen some midway through the second half, they can put five subs on and turn this game around because the strength on their bench is so incredible. Spain, a young team, but a manager who has this team playing like a club football team as opposed to a national football team. Because remember, a lot of these or all of these national teams, they don't spend all their time together like you would at club soccer, but Spain looks like they do. So you've got France, you've got Spain. Let's not forget Argentina, defending champions Lionel Messi. You look through their starting lineup and it's still really strong like it was for years ago. But people are sort of sleeping on Argentina a little bit because winning back to back World Cups has only ever happened twice and the last time was the late 50s and early 60s. So I think because of that people are thinking, well, it's so hard to win back to back. They won't do it. Don't be so sure. Argentina, for me are weirdly underestimated. And then I have to say England, don't I? Of course they're number four in the world. They're number one in my heart. And let's hope they're number one come the end of July.

[Gideon Resnick]

A lot. A lot of great options there. Um, Rebecca, before I let you go, can you just let our listeners know where they can actually find after the whistle if they want to hear you talk about all the action. Brendan, talk about all the action throughout this tournament.

[Rebecca Lowe]

I mean, basically everywhere. Gideon, where you get your podcasts is where we will be on Apple Podcasts, on the Apple News app as well, on YouTube, on Spotify. You can see us. This is season three and finally we're in vision. We're on camera for your delight. And also we are over on all the social media platforms after the whistle, Apple. We've even made it to TikTok.

[Gideon Resnick]

Oh, wonderful. The final Frontier. Rebecca, thank you so much again.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Thanks, Gideon.

[Gideon Resnick]

And for more from Rebecca, stick around after today's episode. If you're listening in the Apple News app after the whistle, we'll play for you next. And to a few other stories we're following. Congress is struggling to come to a resolution to extend a warrantless surveillance law before it expires on Friday. That's in large part because Democrats have said they won't support an extension of the law called fisa. But it's because they object to Trump's nomination of an ally, Bill Pulte, as the director of National Intelligence. Pulte, a federal housing regulator, has no intelligence experience and was seen as a controversial pick to fill the DNI role. Congressional Republicans have lobbied Trump to nominate a permanent replacement, saying it'd be difficult to get the votes to pass the bill otherwise. Trump says he's interviewing five people for the job, all with a national security background. On Wednesday, he asked for a short term extension of the law so he could have time to make his pick. There are concerns that a lapse in FISA could hamper security efforts around the World Cup. And as the World cup kicks off tonight with its first two matches thousands of miles away, a World cup worthy celebration had already taken place on Wednesday.

[Omar Arten]

I wanted to tank for FIFA for supporting me all the way and Somali people also. So I'm very grateful for FIFA and for caf also.

[Gideon Resnick]

That's the sound of Omar Arten receiving a hero's welcome in Mogadishu and speaking to reporters after being denied entry into the US to be a referee in this year's tournament. Arton would have been the first Somali official to referee a World cup, but he was denied entry upon arriving in Miami and later cut by FIFA. He had reportedly been issued a visa to travel to the U.S. but a U.S. official told the AP that he was denied entry due to association with suspected members of terror organizations. Arton told the New York Times that he was questioned about the militant group Al Shabaab, but he said he didn't know anything about them. Somalia is among almost 40 countries that have been subjected to new travel restrictions. FIFA President Gianni Infantino called the matter unfortunate, but said that his hands were tied.

[Omar Arten]

Maybe sometimes it's good as well to just, you know, chill, relax. We work on everything. We try to solve everything. Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.

[Gideon Resnick]

Infantino added that FIFA can't control what governments do regarding entry into the country. Arton is considered one of Africa's most decorated and respected referees. And it was a clash of global superstars in Spain this week when Pope Leo and Bad Bunny both made appearances on the same night in Madrid. And while Leo said that he assumed people would choose Bad Bunny's concert over his prayer vigil this past Saturday, he couldn't have been more wrong. About 600,000 people showed up to see the pontiff, compared to about 60,000 for Bad Bunny. The global music artist actually became an attendee at a later event for the Pope and met him afterwards. The Times of London report Spanish youth were, quote, going nuts over the Pope, perhaps proving that his efforts at attracting more young people to the church is beginning to work. And he even did the ubiquitous 67 meme with his hands as he passed by, something you really might have to see to believe. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the news app right now, stick around. The latest episode of after the Whistle, hosted by Rebecca Lowe and Brendan Hunt, AKA Coach Beard from Ted Lasso, is coming up next. That's where you can follow all the highs and lows of the World cup this summer. If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow after the Whistle for new episodes. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.