Housing costs keep inflation stubborn; New report on Maui wildfires released

Today’s top stories

• Unlike consumer goods such as hamburgers, housing costs don’t change minute-by-minute or even month-to-month, NPR’s Scott Horsley explains on Up First. There’s a lag. This means that over time, inflation data could show a slowdown in national rent increases, though housing costs will still be higher than they were pre-pandemic. 

• The timeline raises questions about Maui’s Emergency Management Agency, NPR’s Greg Allen says. Officials seemed unaware of the severity of the fire for most of the day and didn’t send out an evacuation order for Lahaina until more than an hour after the fire had spread into the town. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen resisted suggestions to issue an emergency declaration and later declined assistance from Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency. The attorney general says a full critique of the response by officials and agencies will come in the next phase of the investigation.

• All three conflicts are linked and date back decades, NPR’s Greg Myre says. “It’s really taken us into uncharted territory.” Israel’s war cabinet has been debating a response to Iran. The U.S. and European countries say the successful defense against Iran’s air strike was a win, and Israel should take it and de-escalate. Neither Hezbollah nor Israel appears interested in a full-scale battle on the northern border. In Gaza, the war is evolving. Most ground combat has stopped, and Israel is mostly using air strikes. 

We, the voters

• Aaron Hunter was shot in the head at 13 while playing with friends. Read about his road to recovery and how his mother is standing up for moms whose kids didn’t make it. 

Picture show

• See how different artists transformed a warehouse into lush, larger-than-life interactive exhibits based on beloved children’s books. 

3 things to know before you go

1. A new Lennon-McCartney collab just dropped. James McCartney and Sean Ono Lennon, the sons of Beatles members Paul McCartney and John Lennon, have co-written a song called “Primrose Hill.”
2. Another pandemic could be on the rise — this time among sea urchins in areas between Florida and the Caribbean. (via WUSF)
3. The University of Southern California says it will no longer have its valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, speak at commencement, citing safety concerns. Some student groups, such as the organization Trojans for Israel, have criticized Tabassum’s social media content about the Israel-Gaza war as “antisemitic bigotry.” Others denounced USC’s decision and said she should be able to speak freely. 

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