This is why your groceries keep getting more expensive

Summary

Apple News Today – "This is why your groceries keep getting more expensive"

Date: June 1, 2026
Host: Gideon Resnick, in for Shumita Basu

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Episode Overview

This Apple News Today episode delves into several headline stories:

• Controversy over the Trump administration’s "anti-weaponization" DOJ fund
• Protests and unrest outside a New Jersey detention facility
• The continued surge in U.S. grocery prices and the factors behind rising food costs
• Brief updates on the Israel-Lebanon situation, movie box office news, and a meteor sighting in Massachusetts

The main theme centers around the ongoing strain on American consumers caused by fast-rising food prices and why relief is unlikely soon.

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Key Discussions & Insights

1. DOJ's "Anti-Weaponization" Fund (00:45–04:05)

• Background: The Justice Department’s fund for wrongful prosecution claims, emerging from Trump’s settlement with the IRS, faces staunch opposition, legal challenges, and political fallout.
• Republican Pushback: Notably, leading Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, criticize the fund’s potential to compensate January 6th participants.
  • Quote — Mike Pence (01:32):

    "Let's get rid of this fund. ... It's deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol on January 6th."

• Congressional Dynamics: Siobhan Hughes (Wall Street Journal) explains the unusually intense and sustained anger among Senate Republicans, seeing the fund as both politically and morally unacceptable.
  • Quote — Siobhan Hughes (02:10):

    "The senators are angrier than ever at Donald Trump. ... They’re not in the mood to cave, they’re not in the mood to back down."

• Legislative Impact: The uproar led to delays on a $70 billion immigration bill, and the issue is tangled with Senate reconciliation processes.
• Paths Ahead: Options under discussion include outright blocking the fund, imposing more oversight, or restricting eligibility.

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2. New Jersey Detention Center Protests (04:17–07:20)

• Escalating Unrest: Protests outside Newark’s Delaney Hall sparked confrontations with police. Issues include allegations by detainees of inedible food, violence, and lack of medical care.
• Violence and Response: Protests became non-peaceful, including barricade battles and property damage. Police used crowd control measures.
• Government Stances:
  • NJ Governor Mikey Sherrill urged calm and criticized actions that would provoke further escalation.
    • Quote — Gov. Mikey Sherrill (05:21):

      "Violent, chaotic clashes hurt everyone. ... It's time to bring the temperature down."

  • Senator Andy Kim, present at the protests, was pepper-sprayed; he called for focus on detainee welfare rather than personal stories.
    • Quote — Sen. Andy Kim (06:03):

      "It's not about me, you know, it's really about the detainees, about the unsafe conditions that we're seeing within Delaney Hall."

  • Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen criticized both local law enforcement and protesting lawmakers.
    • Quote — Mark Wayne Mullen (06:54):

      "ICE has to go out there, remove the barricade, and then you have one of the senators complain because he got splattered with a pepper ball. I'm sorry, you probably shouldn't have been there."

• Resolution Steps: DHS agreed to withdraw federal agents; family visitations at the center soon restarted.

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3. Why Your Grocery Prices Keep Climbing (07:28–10:27)

Inflation Snapshot and Outlook

• Inflation Facts: U.S. consumer prices are up 3.8% year-over-year, with food costs at record highs. Key driver: another wave of inflation is possible.
• Critical Factors:
  • International Conflict: The war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz increased fertilizer prices and reduced global supply (08:00).
    • Quote — Mark Niket, Bloomberg (07:56):

      "The war in Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz had kind of a double whammy effect on fertilizer, ... driving up the prices like 20% since the start of the war."

  • Farming Decisions: Farmers are using less fertilizer or skipping plantings; this will mean smaller harvests ahead.
    • Quote — Mark Niket (08:19):

      "That's going to mean smaller yields come harvest time, which is going to drive up the price for food."

  • Extreme Weather: Storms in Florida and drought in California have pushed up fruit and vegetable prices.
    • Quote — Mark Niket (08:26):

      "We're already seeing higher prices for fruits and vegetables because of the severe winter storms in Florida and the heat and drought we saw in California."

  • Persistent Drought: Over 60% of the contiguous U.S. faces moderate or worse drought (08:39).
  • Livestock Impact: The U.S. cattle herd is smallest in 75 years but beef demand holds, pushing ground beef above $7/lb; tomatoes up 40% year-over-year (08:55).
  • Trade & Tariffs: Tomato price spike also tied to tariffs on Mexican produce (09:12).
• Administration Response: Claims that prices will drop once Iran conflict is resolved; cites wage increases as an offset to higher prices.
• Bleak Short-Term Outlook: Even with war’s end, effects on yields and food prices are "baked in"—decisions and costs already incurred.
  • Quote — Mark Niket (09:48):

    "...the impact of fertilizer in particular has already sort of baked in. ... that's not going to change even if the war ends tomorrow."

• Rising Hunger:
  • A Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey finds more Americans are skipping meals now than even during the COVID-19 pandemic (10:08).
  • About 10% of all and nearly 20% of lower-income families have gone hungry (10:22).
    • Quote — Mark Niket (10:27):

      "Consumers are already struggling to deal with high food costs. And if we see rising food prices, that's just only going to add to the argument that politicians should be focusing on cost of living as an issue in the midterm elections."

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Other Notable Stories

• Israel-Lebanon Conflict Update (10:52–11:34): Despite a ceasefire, Israeli military advances deepen; over a million Lebanese displaced; direct Lebanon–Israel talks upcoming.
• Box Office Shocker (11:34–12:11): YouTube-originated horror films dominate, with "Backrooms" and "Obsession" topping charts; most ticket buyers are under 35.
  • Memorable Line (12:11):

    "A movie born from the Internet with a bigger opening than the latest Pixar release ... is 'melting brains' in the offices of studio executives."

• Meteor Sighting in Massachusetts (12:22–12:59):
  • Meteor streaked over MA/NH, disintegrated in the atmosphere, no damage; possible fragments at Cape Cod’s ocean floor.

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Timestamps for Main Segments

• [00:45–04:05] DOJ "anti-weaponization" fund controversy
• [04:17–07:20] New Jersey detention center protests
• [07:28–10:27] Grocery price surge: causes and impact
• [10:52–12:59] Brief updates (Israel-Lebanon, box office news, meteor)

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Tone:
The episode is brisk, informative, and urgent—reflecting both the scale of current economic challenges and the intensity of ongoing political debates.

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For More:
Find detailed reporting in the Apple News app, including deep dives on the aviation mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and other major topics mentioned in this episode.

Transcript

[Narrator/Anchor]

Good morning. The Trump administration's so called anti weaponization

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

fund is in trouble as Congress returns.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The Wall Street Journal explains why the

[Siobhan Hughes]

congressional recess is usually a time for people to step back from their most bitter feelings, but that seems not to have happened.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Tensions escalate in New Jersey as protests

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

around a detention center continue and why

[Narrator/Anchor]

your grocery prices are so high and

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

might not come down anytime soon.

[Narrator/Anchor]

It's June Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

This is Apple News today.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Since the Justice Department announced the creation

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

of a fund for people claiming wrongful federal prosecution, it has faced heated opposition from all corners. So much so that it's now unclear how or when it will ever truly get off the ground.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The fund emerged from President Trump's lawsuit

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

settlement with the irs.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Critics say it risks becoming a pot

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

of money for convicted allies selected by a panel loyal to the White House.

[Narrator/Anchor]

It's already facing legal challenges.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

On Friday, a federal judge in Virginia temporarily halted its progress while a court battle plays out, effectively ruling that no money can go out the door for now.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And it's faced a lot of political

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

pushback, including from members of the Republican party.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump's former Vice president, Mike Pence

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

became the latest high profile Republican to criticize the proposal.

[Mike Pence]

Let's get rid of this fund. I mean, I mean, it's deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol on January 6th. And I think that's broadly held by most Republicans and most Americans.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Now, as Congress returns from recess, Republicans are going to have to face questions

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

about this DOJ plan once again.

[Siobhan Hughes]

When Congress left session, many Republicans were apoplectic about this fund.

[Narrator/Anchor]

That's Siobhan Hughes, congressional reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Hughes said that ordinarily, a recess allows

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

tempers to cool, but that hasn't happened this time.

[Siobhan Hughes]

The senators are angrier than ever at Donald Trump. And they are very, very clear with the White House that this anti weaponization fund, at a minimum needs pretty strong guard, but at a maximum needs to be entirely canceled altogether.

[Narrator/Anchor]

In fact, according to Journal reporting, more

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

than a dozen Republican senators have privately appealed to White House aides about killing this fund. Many senators have shared Pence's concerns that those convicted for involvement in January 6, people found guilty of targeting them for violence, could get payouts.

[Narrator/Anchor]

All of this already led to Republicans

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

leaving for a Memorial Day recess without passing a roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement package.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Some senators have reportedly told the White

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

House that they worry about voting for it if concerns about this fund are not addressed.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Hughes explained that they're using a reconciliation

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

method to get this immigration bill through, something opponents of the anti Weaponization Fund could exploit.

[Siobhan Hughes]

This process they're using is something that allows Democrats to get amendment votes. And so in essence, what the Trump administration did is forced Republicans into a position of having to take terrible votes in order to get his priority through.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And there remains a growing body of

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Republican senators who have lost to Trump backed primary challengers but still have months left.

[Siobhan Hughes]

In their terms, these Republicans truly have nothing left to lose. And what I have been told from multiple aides across the board is Senate Republicans are really standing firm here on this anti Weaponization fund. They're not in the mood to cave, they're not in the mood to back down and that this is a precursor of what is going to come.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Lawmakers could try and block the fund outright, insist on judicial oversight, or attempt

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

to exclude some people from eligibility, regardless of what happens with the ongoing litigation.

[Narrator/Anchor]

But it's unclear just how exactly Republican

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

senators might proceed and what the Trump administration might do next.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The DOJ said in response to the

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

federal judge's ruling that it remained confident in the legality of the fund.

[Narrator/Anchor]

For more than a week, protesters have

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

gathered outside a federal detention center in Newark, New Jersey.

[Narrator/Anchor]

That was the sound outside Delaney hall,

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

where this weekend some protesters fought over barricades.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Some knocked down barriers, set fire to

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

tires and other street debris and hurled projectiles at officers.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Police used tear gas, riot shields and

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

batons as they attempted to disperse the crowds.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The protests follow allegations of inhumane treatment

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

at the 1000 bed facility.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Some detainees say that they've been given

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

inedible food, that they've suffered violence from staff and been denied medical care.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The Department of Homeland Security has denied those allegations. The claims here date back months, but

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

tensions escalated over Memorial Day weekend when detainees announced a hunger strike through their lawyers.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The state first set up peaceful protest

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

zones for both anti and pro ICE demonstrators, but those zones were reportedly violated.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Now a curfew around the area has been set up, and on Sunday, New

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill called for calm.

[Governor Mikey Sherrill]

Let me be clear. Violent, chaotic clashes hurt everyone. They put the lives of both protesters and law enforcement in danger. They take the focus away from people inside Delaney hall and their families, and they raise the temperature with ice. I will ensure public safety and I refuse to give ICE an excuse to surge into our communities. That would make the situation more dangerous and put more New Jerseyans at risk. It's time to bring the temperature down.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Democratic lawmakers have also raised concerns Senator

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Andy Kim was protesting with families of detainees last week.

[Narrator/Anchor]

He said he was pepper sprayed.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Amid chaotic scenes over the weekend, Kim spoke to cnn.

[Senator Andy Kim]

Let's make sure we focus in on what is really at stake here. It's not about me, you know, it's really about the detainees, about the unsafe conditions that we're seeing within Delaney Hall. And that's what this has to be about. You know, all of the protests. It needs to focus in on that, not about anything else.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Trump's new Homeland Security Secretary, Mark Wayne

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Mullen, is facing his first major test with how to respond.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The relationship between federal and state law

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

enforcement has been a complicated one of late, particularly as DHS has sent federal agents into democratically led states and cities

[Narrator/Anchor]

during his predecessor Kristi Noem's tenure that

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

culminated in the deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis.

[Narrator/Anchor]

At last week's Cabinet meeting, Mullins said

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

that detainees at the Jersey facility were being fed and had sanitation.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And he criticized how the state had

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

reacted to the protests.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

The local police refusing, literally refusing to respond. They barricade it, not allowing our employees to come in and out. ICE has to go out there, remove the barricade, and then you have one of the senators complain because he got splattered with a pepper ball. I'm sorry, you probably shouldn't have been there.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Federal agents have since agreed to withdraw

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

from the site of the protests, and Mullen thanked Governor Sherrill for assisting in securing the area.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Sherrill announced Sunday that family visits at the center would resume days after they

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

had been suspended by dhs.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Prices in the United States are rising

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

at their fastest pace in three years,

[Narrator/Anchor]

according to a key economic indicator that tracks consumer spending.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

It rose to 3.8% in April, the highest level since May of 2023. And last week's inflation report showed that prices for gas, electricity, clothing and food are continuing to climb. Bloomberg reporter Mark Niket has been looking into grocery costs.

[Narrator/Anchor]

He told us about the forces driving

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

prices higher there and how there could be another possible wave of inflation on the way.

[Mark Niket]

The war in Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz had kind of a double whammy effect on fertilizer, reducing the available supply but also driving up the prices like 20 since the start of the war.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

With fertilizer less available and more expensive, farmers were forced to make tough decisions with crops this spring by either using less fertilizer or not planting certain crops altogether.

[Mark Niket]

And that's going to mean smaller yields come harvest time, which is going to drive up the price for food.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Bad weather has further complicated the picture.

[Mark Niket]

We're already seeing higher prices for fruits and vegetables because of the severe winter storms we saw in Florida and the heat and drought we saw in California, the largest vegetable producing state in the country.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And according to the most recent data,

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

more than 60% of the continental US is under moderate drought conditions or worse. And that's been the case since early April. Some experts have said those conditions could continue for weeks.

[Narrator/Anchor]

It's hitting the wheat and cattle industries particularly hard. The US cattle herd is now the

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

smallest it's been in 75 years. But demand for beef hasn't dropped, which has pushed prices for ground beef over $7 per pound, according to the AP. Though it is the ubiquitous tomato that soared higher than any other food product this past year, up by 40%.

[Narrator/Anchor]

It points to the Iran war, but

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

also crop yields and tariffs on Mexico.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The administration has acknowledged the price strain,

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

but maintained that once the conflict in Iran was resolved, prices would come down. And yesterday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on ABC News that wage increases would help offset some of the increased prices for goods.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

In the end, people look at their wallets, they decide how to vote. And if they look at their wallets and look at how much money they have after, you know, the increase in prices, they're going to find that they have a lot more money.

[Narrator/Anchor]

But Niket said prices at the grocery

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

store could remain high for the foreseeable future, even if the war ended soon,

[Mark Niket]

just because the impact of fertilizer in particular has already sort of baked in. You know, farmers have already made their decisions about whether to reduce their fertilizer applications or their crop rotations, which is going to affect the yield come harvest time. And that's not going to change even if the war ends tomorrow.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Many Americans are already struggling to keep

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

food on their tables.

[Narrator/Anchor]

In fact, more people are going hungry

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

today than at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic.

[Narrator/Anchor]

That's according to a survey conducted by

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

the Federal Reserve bank of New York from October to February that was released last week.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Nationwide, 10% of all families and nearly

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

20% of lower income families said that they had been forced to skip meals or to go without food.

[Mark Niket]

So it's really kind of a warning sign that consumers are already struggling to deal with high food costs. And if we see rising food prices, that's just only going to add to the argument that politicians should be focusing on cost of living as an issue in the midterm elections.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And to a few other stories we're following as the U.S. and Iran continue

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

to work towards a resolution to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to make a deeper incursion into Lebanon.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Despite a ceasefire announced more than six weeks ago, the conflict between Israel and

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

the Iranian backed militant group Hezbollah has largely carried on.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The Israeli military seized a 900-year-old castle

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

over the weekend, in the farthest advance into the country in 26 years.

[Narrator/Anchor]

More than a million Lebanese people have

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

been displaced since early March from Israeli strikes in the country and a series of evacuation orders.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The latest military moves come just days before Lebanon and Israel are set to

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

hold their next direct round of talks

[Narrator/Anchor]

at the US box office.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

YouTube didn't kill the movie theater.

[Narrator/Anchor]

It actually might have helped revive it

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

for at least a weekend anyway. The debut feature, backrooms from 20 year old Kane Parsons, debuted at number one, making over $80 million in its first three days.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The film is an adaptation of Parsons

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

own popular YouTube series and cost only $10 million to make.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And at number two was Obsession, another horror film made by 26 year old

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

Curry Barker, who also began his career on YouTube.

[Narrator/Anchor]

According to one research firm, about 86%

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

of ticket buyers for backrooms were under the age of 35.

[Narrator/Anchor]

As the wall Street Journal put it,

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

a movie born from the Internet with a bigger opening than the latest Pixar release and the sequel to Devil Wears Prada is quote, melting brains in the offices of studio executives.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And if you live in Massachusetts, you

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

might have heard this sound on Saturday.

[Narrator/Anchor]

That was a three foot wide meteor

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

making contact Earth's atmosphere around the New Hampshire Massachusetts border.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The American Meteor Society said they received

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

dozens of reports from Delaware all the way to Montreal, either hearing the boom, feeling the ground shake, or seeing the fireball which was said to resemble a shooting star in the daytime.

[Narrator/Anchor]

The meteor was traveling at 75,000 miles an hour.

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

But not to fear, CBS reports that it disintegrated in the air and there haven't been any reports of damage on land.

[Narrator/Anchor]

NASA says that any remnants are about

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

100ft underwater in Cape Cod. Just in case you were hoping to go hunting for pieces,

[Narrator/Anchor]

you can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

news app right now, we have a

[Narrator/Anchor]

narrated article coming up next, Popular Mechanics reports on the high tech undersea robots being used to try and solve one

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

of the greatest aviation mysteries in history,

[Narrator/Anchor]

the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. If you're listening in the podcast app. You can follow Apple News plus narrative to find that story, and I'll be

[Co-Anchor/Reporter]

back with the news tomorrow.