To no one’s surprise, besides the “experts” who get paid for their predictions, the consumer price index increased just 0.2% month-over-month in July and remained at a steady year-over-year rate of 2.7%.

The consumer price index (CPI), which is a widely viewed measure of inflation, once again showed a lower year-over-year increase than what economists predicted as more of President Donald Trump’s tariffs go into effect, CNBC reported. The economic report published Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics marked the second-straight month showing an annual inflation rate of 2.7%.

With another solid inflation report under his belt, Trump is again putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its next meeting, which is scheduled for September 16-17. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump said that “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate.”

“The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we’ve blown through Powell and the complacent Board,” Trump added.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% for the month and 3.1% for the year. The monthly increase was in line with expectations, while the annual core CPI rise was slightly above what economists predicted, according to CNBC. Most of the CPI increase was driven by a rise in shelter prices, the BLS reported. Energy prices, meanwhile, dropped 1.1% and food prices remained steady. Prices for used cars and trucks jumped 0.5% while transportation and medical care services also saw a rise of 0.8%.

The CPI report showed that Trump’s tariffs have had little to no effect on prices. Household furnishings and supplies showed a slight increase of 0.7%, but other products that are largely imported, including clothing and canned fruits and vegetables, remained mostly flat.

Former White House economist Jared Bernstein, who worked under former President Joe Biden, even admitted that tariffs are not having a major effect on inflation “at this point.”

“The tariffs are in the numbers, but they’re certainly not jumping out hair on fire at this point,” Bernstein told CNBC.

CNN was also surprised by the low inflation numbers reported on Tuesday.

“Look at that food. This is where people spend their money, right? … Food [is] flat, 0%, and actually down at the grocery store by 0.1%.”

Stocks rose Tuesday morning following the lighter-than-expected inflation report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 jumping 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.8% on the good economic news.

Trump’s tariffs on over 90 countries finally went into effect last week after he extended the deadline and struck numerous trade deals. Some of the president’s highest tariff rates include 50% tariffs on India and Brazil, while other tariff rates range from 15% to 40%. On Monday, the president extended the tariff deadline for China for an additional 90 days as his trade officials seek to work out a deal with the communist country.

President Trump declares a “Crime Emergency” in Washington, D.C., and federalizes the city’s police force to crack down on rampant crime. In a novel deal, the Trump administration will receive a 15% cut of revenue from U.S. tech companies’ AI chip sales to China. The Trump administration reclaims border wall materials sold off by the previous administration and allocates billions to complete the project.

It’s Tuesday, August 12, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

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Trump Federalizes D.C. Police Amid Crime Wave

Topline: President Trump announced on Monday that he is placing the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control in an unprecedented effort to crack down on the capital’s rampant violent crime.

Invoking the Home Rule Act, President Trump signed an executive order officially declaring a “Crime Emergency” in D.C. “Today, we’re formally declaring a Public Safety Emergency,” Trump said from the White House. “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful Capital was.” Attorney General Pam Bondi will now assume control of the city’s police department. Trump also announced the deployment of at least 800 National Guardsmen and hundreds of other federal agents to the city to “immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks.”

The move was prompted by D.C.’s soaring crime rate, which last year was the fourth highest in the country. The president is also pushing Congress to eliminate the city’s no-cash bail policy and end its sanctuary status for illegal aliens.

The D.C. Police Union released a statement supporting the federal intervention as a “critical stopgap.” Democrats and the legacy media have decried the move, with some calling it the “road to authoritarianism.”

U.S. Gets Cut of AI Chip Sales to China

Topline: In a first-of-its-kind deal, tech giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the U.S. government a 15% share of the revenue they earn from selling certain artificial intelligence chips to China.

The agreement is a compromise that allows the American companies to continue selling to the lucrative Chinese market while avoiding a total ban, which the administration had considered due to national security concerns. The specific chips are critical for AI development and have both commercial and military applications.

President Trump explained that the deal was possible because the chip in question, the H20, is an “old chip” and that China’s Huawei already has a similar one. “If I’m going to do that, I want you to pay us as a country something, because I’m giving you a release,” Trump said.

While Nvidia and AMD are relieved to have avoided a total ban, other tech industry leaders are reportedly “panicking” over the precedent of the government taking a cut of a private company’s revenue. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, appeared to support the administration’s goals, saying, “We want the American tech stack to be the global standard.”

Trump Reclaims Border Wall Materials

Topline: The Trump administration is reclaiming border wall materials that the previous administration was set to auction off, using billions in new funding to restart construction and complete the “Big Beautiful Wall.”

The company GovPlanet, which had been tasked with selling the materials, has reached an agreement with the administration to transfer them back to the government “at-cost” over the next 90 days. The move reverses a Biden administration effort that critics said was intended to hamstring Trump’s border security agenda.

The “Big Beautiful Bill” allocated nearly $50 billion to complete the border wall. The administration has pointed to recent tragedies as evidence that the wall is still necessary. On Monday, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, an illegal alien who raped and murdered Rachel Morin, a mother of five, in 2023, was sentenced to life in prison.

In a victim impact statement, Morin’s son said, “Every time I see a picture of her, I think about the life I had with her and my four sisters. I miss her.”

The judge told Hernandez, “You are not a candidate for rehabilitation. You took a life that was not yours to take.”