Axios

Headline CPI rose 0.4% in August, its biggest monthly increase since May, with gasoline accounting for more than a third of the increase.

• The Fed typically looks through temporary supply shocks, but a sustained energy surge risks spilling into other prices — and energy price pressures have only escalated further in September.

Zoom out: Central banking orthodoxy would suggest not responding to energy price shocks directly, but responding to the extent that swings in fuel prices are filtering through to broader prices.

• Unfortunately for anyone seeking lower borrowing costs, there is evidence that this is indeed happening, risking energy-driven inflation becoming more entrenched.
• Soaring diesel fuel prices are affecting the price of transportation of all sorts of goods, with the biggest effects on bulky or heavy items.
• Airline fares were up 2.7% in August alone and are up 23.4% over the last 12 months.

Between the lines: If energy price relief were in progress, it would be easier to look through those price surges. No relief is in sight, however.

• Those figures are already backward-looking. The energy shock has since worsened this month, with oil prices around $100 a barrel and diesel topping $6 a gallon for the first time on record — all pointing to more inflation pressure still to come.

I don't know if AI is going to destroy humanity. Neither do you.

• But here's what I do know: It's very difficult to have a sober conversation about this when there's so much money at stake.

More than three-quarters of U.S. states have a smaller share of justices of color on their high courts than the share of people of color in their population, per an Axios analysis of new Brennan Center for Justice data.

Why it matters: State high courts shape major decisions on voting, abortion, civil rights and criminal justice, yet their benches often don't reflect the communities they serve.

Consumer prices remained elevated in August as the Iran war's energy shock fueled a fresh burst of inflation.

Why it matters: The renewed price pressures are squeezing household budgets, with signs that underlying inflation is proving stubborn across the broader economy.

• The data could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week.

A week of extraordinary warnings about AI is shifting the fight in Washington from whether to regulate to how far policymakers are willing to go.

Why it matters: Washington and industry's failure to put basic guardrails around AI came into plain sight this week, spurring fresh momentum for regulatory action.

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, some lessons remain deeply ingrained in the national security apparatus — while others have faded.

The big picture: A vast majority of Americans say the attacks forever changed the country. But some key post-9/11 security norms — like airport screening, intelligence gathering and international cooperation — have evolved with new technology and shifting political whims.

America says "never forget" — but a growing share of Americans don't remember.

Why it matters: More Americans are coming of age with no firsthand memory of 9/11, creating emotional distance from the trauma and more room for dark humor and reinterpretation.

Anthropic insiders' warnings this week that AI could end humanity in the next decade have members of Congress frantically seeking answers and trying to cobble together some kind of response.

Why it matters: Federal lawmakers are at the "concepts of a plan" stage at this point, with congressional leaders showing little apparent urgency to mobilize.

DALLAS — Support for President Trump is dropping among millennials and Gen Zers — particularly young men. Vice President Vance is in charge of getting them back in the midterms.

Why it matters: The 42-year-old Vance, the first millennial VP, capped off the GOP's two-day convention here with a direct appeal to families with young children that emphasized the "birthright" of U.S. citizens.

"This is history, this is history." That's what photojournalist Spencer Platt was thinking 25 years ago as he photographed the events unfolding on the morning of 9/11.

Why it matters: Platt and fellow Getty photographer Mario Tama told Axios what it was like on the ground that day. Trained as photojournalists, their instinct was to move toward the danger to document history.