12:30 Report

Inflation climbs to 4-year high as Iran war drives up energy prices

by Cate Martel - 04/10/26 12:51 PM ET

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by Cate Martel - 04/10/26 12:51 PM ET

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- - - 🎤 Plus: Melania Trump denies Epstein ties in surprise statement

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Happy Friday! The Artemis II astronauts are set to splash down to Earth this evening! The capsule will lose communication with Mission Control for about six minutes while it falls through the atmosphere. Oh, and parachutes will slow it down from about 25,000 mph to just 20 mph.

In today’s issue:

- Inflation hits nearly 4-year high

- UK prime minister ‘fed up’ with energy hikes

- Vance heads to Pakistan with big task: End war in Iran

- Melania Trump denies Epstein ties

- Roger Stone reportedly saved Gabbard’s job

- Masters highlights and viral moments

📈 NEWS THIS MORNING

Inflation, it’s getting hot, hot, hot:

Credit: AP Photo | Damian Dovarganes

Inflation surged to 3.3 percent (!) over the past year, with energy prices rising nearly 11 percent.

For context: This is the highest inflation increase in nearly four years.

More about energy prices: The price of fuel oil jumped by 30.7 percent. The price of gasoline spiked by 21.2 percent. Oh, and the price of energy commodities rose by 21.3 percent.

Timing: The U.S. and Israel launching a military operation against Iran drove up energy prices. Traffic significantly slowed at the vital Strait of Hormuz, which transports roughly 20 percent of the global oil supply.

➤ GAS PRICES MAY TAKE SOME TIME TO COME DOWN:

That’s because the wholesale price of oil jumped as refiners tried to stock up on their supply. They paid high prices for this crude oil and those prices will be passed along to customers, even if future oil shipments are lower. Read the WSJ explainer

Read more: The New York Times reports how “The Oil Shock Is Worse Than You Think.”

➤ BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER IS ‘FED UP’:

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is “fed up” with how the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran has raised energy prices in the United Kingdom. He even drew parallels to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Starmer told ITV News’s Robert Peston: “I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy, because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world,” he said.

✈️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Vance is off to test his skills:

Vice President Vance heads to Pakistan today for one of his biggest tasks yet: salvage the fragile ceasefire deal with Iran that appears to be crumbling and bring the war to an end.

Who else is tagging along?: Special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner

Keep in mind about Vance: “He’s also emerged as the leading internal critic of the U.S. war in Iran as new reporting has noted his skepticism of the conflict since before it began. … Despite his skepticism, Vance is loyal to Trump.”

Read more on what to expect, via The Hill’s Julia Manchester: ‘Vance seeks to save fragile ceasefire at expected Islamabad trip’

💬 Follow today’s live blog

➤ MEANWHILE, TRUMP TOLD ISRAEL TO BACK OFF:

President Trump says he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back strikes in Lebanon because it could unravel the delicate ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

➤ WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF THE CIVILIAN DAMAGE IN IRAN?:

Some schools and hospitals in Iran have been devastated, according to a New York Times analysis.

As of April 2: “At least 763 schools and 316 health care facilities had been damaged or destroyed in the war.” 📸 Photos from the Times’s analysis

What about civilian casualties?: “The Times was not able to verify the total number of people killed at schools and health care facilities. At least 1,701 civilians have been killed in Iran as of Tuesday, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Among them are students, teachers and health care workers.”

➤ A REMINDER TO WHITE HOUSE STAFF — NO INSIDER TRADING:

“The White House warned staff last month against using nonpublic information to trade on financial markets, as a series of well-timed bets on oil and prediction markets related to the war in Iran have raised concerns about insider trading,” reports The Hill’s Julia Shapero. Read more

I had to do a double take on this:

First lady Melania Trump caught Washington off guard when she gave a rare, on-camera statement on Thursday declaring she did not have ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduc