US Inflation Returns to 3.8% in April – Blue State Narrative Misleading","description":"Inflation climbed to 3.8% in April, marking a three‑year high. While some claim only blue states feel the pinch, data shows rising costs across the nation, driven by higher gas prices and other fundamentals.","summary":"Since early 2024, inflation has risen to a 3.8% annual rate in April, affecting all regions. The spike is largely due to soaring gasoline costs linked to Middle‑Eastern conflict, not solely a blue‑state phenomenon. Core and trimmed‑mean measures remain above Fed targets, prompting concerns about underlying price pressures.","image":"https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/7917e97/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3696x2862+0+0/resize/599x464!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F4f%2Fc2%2F9d6523ab5d33dce5c0130bdcffe1%2F6a72d2f21d4f467eb9738d14dda2139f","text":"<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — After a slow cooling period in 2024 and 2025, inflation has climbed back to a three‑year high, now at 3.8% in April and putting pressure on households’ budgets and driving up the cost of basic necessities such as gasoline and groceries.</p><p>On Wednesday, financial commentator Larry Kudlow asked Fox Business host Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, whether inflation was truly a “big problem.” Hassett claimed that inflation was “on a deep downward dive,” especially if the blue states were removed from the picture.</p><p>Yet the data tells a different story.</p><p>Hassett’s comment is based on an older White House report that used November 2023 data, before the Iran – U.S. war that began on Feb. 28, 2025. Since then, gasoline prices have climbed more than 40% nationwide, erasing any regional differences.</p><p>Inflation is high in all nine Census Bureau regions. The Pacific region, consisting mostly of Democrat‑led states (California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska), had a 3.5% rate in April — below the national figure of 3.8%. In contrast, the East South Central region, made up of Republican‑governed states (Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee), had a 4.5% rate, above the national average. The West South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana) rose 3.2% from a year earlier, higher than its pre‑pandemic 1% average.</p><p>Higher gasoline prices drive up grocery costs, and the price of gas has risen in every state. While Texas averaged $3.72 per gallon in April, California was $5.98. Year‑over‑year, gas in Texas surged nearly 36%, and California’s increase was 26%.</p><p>Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose from 2.5% in January to 2.8% in April on the C…</p>
