President Joe Biden and members of his administration have touted the falling gasoline prices, suggesting that the decrease was because of the president’s policies. But U.S. presidents have little control over the price that consumers pay for gasoline. We look at the reasons for the decline in gasoline prices.
U.S. Inflation Rate at ‘Zero’ — for One Month
For the month of July, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Customers was unchanged from June. This has triggered a war of words between Democrats, who crow about “zero percent inflation” for July, and Republicans, who say the Democrats are now trying to “deny there’s inflation.” Both have a point.
Kathy Griffin Shares Satirical Trump Tweet, But Not Everyone Is in on the Joke
Dozens of former President Donald Trump’s supporters gathered outside his Florida home to protest a recent FBI search of the building. The activity triggered a satirical tweet falsely attributed to Trump’s eldest son, purportedly telling supporters to disperse, and saying, “We have many important people coming through the club and need to keep it clean.”
Photo Shows Electric Car-sharing Lot in China, Contrary to Facebook Post
Congress has passed a bill that would fund incentives to purchase electric vehicles. But a false claim is circulating on social media that purports to show an “electric car cemetery” in France. The photo actually shows a car-sharing company’s storage lot in China. The cars were to be replaced by updated electric vehicles.
A Guide to Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine
Medicare Prescription Drug Provisions of Inflation Reduction Act
Video Makes Unsubstantiated Claim About Chinese Maneuvers After Pelosi Visit to Taiwan
China held live-fire military drills around Taiwan as a response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island on Aug. 2. But a video posted on social media made unfounded claims that China had attacked a Taiwanese armory. An expert told us that the claim was false and a majority of the video’s footage did not appear to be from the week of Pelosi’s visit.
Social Media, Politicians Make Unfounded Claims of Politicized Mar-a-Lago Search
FBI agents searched the home of former President Donald Trump in Florida on Aug. 8 looking for presidential records and classified materials that were improperly removed from the White House. Social media posts claiming the FBI search was politically motivated have been swirling online, despite there being no evidence that President Joe Biden “had his department of justice’s FBI raid” Trump’s home, as one viral post claimed.
Proposed ‘Assault Weapons Ban’ Includes Grandfather Clause, Contrary to Social Media Posts
The House passed a bill on July 29 that would make it a crime to knowingly “import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon.” Social media posts falsely claim “millions of people will become felons overnight” because of the bill. Under the bill, current owners of such firearms would be allowed to keep them.
Scott Overstates Tax Increases in Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act proposes to raise over $700 billion in new revenues over 10 years to be spent on energy, climate change initiatives, health care and deficit reduction. But not all of those revenues come via higher taxes. More than half comes from health care savings and from beefed up IRS tax enforcement.