President Joe Biden sounded a note of considerable economic optimism on Friday after the inflation metric most utilized by the Federal Reserve continued to increase.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index rose 5.4% between January 2022 and January 2023, while the version of the measure excluding more volatile food and energy categories rose 4.7% over the same time horizon, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Both figures surpassed analysts’ expectations.

Biden responded to the data release by claiming that “we have made progress on inflation, but we have more work to do.” He touted efforts from his administration to reduce prices and said Republicans undermine the strength of the economy by opposing his spending agenda.

“When I travel the country, I see optimism for this year and the years ahead. The optimism of families with just a little bit more breathing room thanks to our work to get workers back into jobs. The optimism of a record number of Americans applying to start a small business,” the commander-in-chief said in a statement from the White House. “But the fight is not over. We must finish the job in transitioning to stable and steady growth that benefits all Americans, while laying the foundation for strong and shared growth for years to come.”

Critics of the White House say the claim is one of several misleading assertions from senior officials about a supposed recent decline in cost pressures. The most recent inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which likewise showed continually elevated food and energy prices despite a lower headline inflation number, occurred one week after Biden said that “inflation is coming down” during his second State of the Union address.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) said in a Friday statement provided to The Daily Wire that the administration “has no plan to bring down inflation” but nevertheless seeks to implement more federal spending initiatives. “Families, farmers, and small businesses continue to suffer as a result of President Biden’s radical partisan agenda, yet he insists he will not abandon it,” he remarked.

The response to the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index data comes one day after Vice President Kamala Harris said in a speech that the administration has “reduced heating and electricity bills so folks have more money in their pocket to buy things like school supplies, replace the dishwasher, or take a family vacation.” The average cost of electricity has nevertheless increased 24% over the past two years, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the cost for utility natural gas increased 63% over the same period.

Despite the optimism from the White House, many households indicate they are in a precarious economic situation. Some 50% of respondents to a Gallup survey said they are financially worse off compared to last year, while 35% believe they are financially better off. Low-income Americans were the most likely to report that they have been worse off: some 61% reflected pessimism about their current finances in 2023, an increase from 41% in 2022.

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“Pretty Little Liars” actress Lucy Hale discussed Thursday her battle with alcohol addiction now that she’s gotten sober.

The 33-year-old actress revealed private details about her struggle during an appearance on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast. Hale recalled how she started drinking alcohol at the age of 14 and things spiraled out of control after that. She talked about how many “emotional rock bottoms” she experienced during that time.

“Dozens, and that’s why it was so hard because I’m like ‘Oh, I thought we went to the depths of hell … how could it be worse?’” she said during the emotional interview. 

The actress went on to say she hasn’t discussed these personal issues during interviews yet. The 90-minute podcast interview also detailed Hale’s battle with an eating disorder.

“I have never talked publicly about being sober – I have a little over a year of sobriety,” Hale explained. “I have been working on getting sober since I was 20; I’m 33. It took time. It took patience with myself.”

“I just held on to that belief that the real Lucy came out when she was drinking,” she continued. “It also quieted my mind … my brain just doesn’t shut off and it’s exhausting. I was a textbook binge drinker, blackout, wouldn’t remember what I did or what I said, which is scary.”

Hale had a breakthrough role in “Pretty Little Liars” and has been in several other Hollywood productions, including the TV shows “Life Sentence,” “Katy Keene,” and “Ragdoll” plus films like “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” “A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song,” and “Scream 4.” She also dabbled in a singing career and was one of the five winners on the reality singing competition show “American Juniors.”

The Teen Choice Awards winner said she was never able to be a “normal moderate drinker.”

“I was willing to go to this crazy dark place every time,” Hale said during the podcast conversation. “Of course I tried to be a moderate drinker, just having two. I have an allergy to alcohol. I cannot drink. I view it as an allergy; my brain doesn’t work the same way as someone who can just have a glass of wine. It always wants more. It’s craving that feeling.”

She also discussed all the ways she tried to quit drinking and failed. “I tried to change for boyfriends, I tried to change for my mum, I tried to change for my career, I tried to change for vain reasons – ‘I’ll look younger and look skinnier. I’ll stop drinking for that,’” the Hollywood star said. 

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“One of my best friends died of alcoholism and that still didn’t make me want to get sober,” Hale continued. “None of that s*** works. Alcohol isn’t the problem. The problem is this feeling inside of me.”

In January, the “Pretty Little Liars” cast member celebrated one year of sobriety and posted a photo of a cake on Instagram. “While this journey has mostly been private,” she wrote in part, “I felt compelled tonight to let anyone who is struggling know that you are not alone and you are loved.”