Inflation Data Undercuts Trump’s Economic Claims, and the Danger of New Jet-Powered Drones

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

If you like YouTube, you'll love YouTube Premium. Hi, I'm Sean Evans from Hot Ones, and I want to tell you about YouTube Premium. It has offline downloads, so you can watch without Wi-Fi. Background play, so you can lock your phone, and it still plays, baby. Oh, and it is completely ad-free. Yes, I said it, ad-free.

Try YouTube Premium for two months free at youtube.com/premium.

Trial eligibility varies, terms apply, cancel anytime.

Tracy Mumford (0:32)

From the New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Thursday, October 15th. Here's what we're covering.

In Ukraine recently, new jet-powered drones have been screaming across the sky at hundreds of miles per hour, out racing air defenses as they slam into gas stations, bridges, power plants.

They've also hit a passenger train, a school, a shopping mall. The drones arrive so quickly, people barely have a chance to run. These new drones from Russia are a step beyond the older propeller-driven drones, the ones you think of with the incessant buzz like a lawnmower. Those Ukraine pretty much had under control. After years of attacks, the military had figured out how to take down what are known as shaheads, propeller-driven drones designed in Iran and used by Russia. But Russia has now transformed them, developing jet-powered versions. Last month alone, it launched 3,000 of them at Ukraine, according to the country's air force. Officials say they're coming in as fast as 370 miles an hour, roughly three times faster than the old ones, and they can carry heavier explosive payloads. Ukraine can shoot them down, but at a price. The missiles it uses to do that cost nearly a million dollars each.

Meanwhile, one new factor that complicated Ukraine's defense this week, satellite connectivity. The Ukrainian government said that with no warning, it was hit with restrictions on the military version of Starlink, the internet service it relies on for battlefield communications and for guiding interceptors to take down drones. The service, Star Shield, is funded by the Pentagon and was developed by SpaceX, which Elon Musk runs. Ukrainian defense officials say that this week, when their devices, like drones, reached more than 100 miles per hour, they lost connection, which has disrupted combat operations. Ukrainian officials and analysts speculated that the restrictions came from Washington, as President Trump has been criticizing Ukraine's leadership and pressuring the country to limit strikes on Russia. In a social media post yesterday, Musk wrote that Star Shield systems are controlled by the US government and that, quote, any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and, ultimately, the president. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

Donald Trump (3:16)

Whenever I have a news conference, somebody will stand up, say, Mr. President, affordability. I said, yeah, that was caused by Biden, who gave us the highest inflation in history, gave us the highest, and you know, the prices are all coming down.

Tracy Mumford (3:35)

Yesterday, at a rally to try and energize Republican voters ahead of the midterms, President Trump repeated a claim that he's been making for months, that everyday costs for Americans are dropping.

Donald Trump (3:47)

I have never seen anything like what's happening in our country right now. Our country is doing so well.

Tracy Mumford (3:53)

But the same day, the government's own data laid out a very different picture. The latest consumer price index showed inflation is up and that prices are 3.7% higher than they were this time last year.

Colby Smith (4:07)

US inflation has really been pushing higher over the course of the year. And the main driver has been the war with Iran. What we've seen is that energy prices stemming from that conflict have really moved up, whether it's gasoline prices or fuel oil.

All of these different kinds of energy costs are more expensive than they were just a couple of months ago.

Tracy Mumford (4:28)

My colleague Colby Smith covers the economy. She says that at the same time as inflation is rising, Americans' paychecks are not keeping pace.

Colby Smith (4:37)

My colleagues and I, we crunch the numbers, and what we see is that on average, Americans have essentially experienced zero wage growth in inflation-adjusted terms since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 And I think that's contributing to a lot of this feeling of economic malaise that has really intensified in the last couple of months. And that's incredibly important at a time when we're just weeks away from the midterm elections, and affordability issues are front and center.

Tracy Mumford (5:04)

In addition to the Consumer Price Index, new data out yesterday from the Pew Research Center gives an even fuller picture of how rising prices are hitting Americans.