DAILY NEWS DIGEST
August 18, 2025
INFLATION ALARM BELLS WENT OFF AGAIN AND PRICES ARE RISING
Most worrisome was the biggest surge in wholesale prices since 2022. These prices reflect what businesses charge each other, and when their own costs rise, they tend to pass that on to consumers. But most companies, it turns out, have been reluctant to raise prices. They stocked up on goods and supplies before tariffs took effect, giving them room to keep prices steady.
MIAMI’S SCOOTER BOOM FIZZLES AMID TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CRUSADE
The small vehicles were trending after the arrival of hundreds of thousands of foreigners from Latin American countries, where in large metropolitan areas like Caracas, Bogotá and Mexico City, mopeds are a popular form of transportation. But the boom went up in smoke at the beginning of the year following the crackdown on immigrants led by Donald Trump. Driving a moped in Miami “is like having a tattoo on your face. Authorities say, ‘Hey stop, if you’re driving a moped, you probably don’t have papers,’” says Yonathan Rodríguez, a 40-year-old Venezuelan
LAS VEGAS’ GROWING MOSQUITO PROBLEM IS ‘A TICKING TIME BOMB’
Mosquitoes typically prefer more tropical, humid conditions, but a mix of urban development, climate change, insecticide resistance and genetic adaptations are creating a more hospitable environment for the insects in southern Nevada. The species that have taken hold in Clark County include ones that carry West Nile virus and dengue. In Vegas, more than 48 million visitors come every year from all over the planet. It just takes a couple of mosquito bites to start local transmission.
HUGE CROWDS GATHER IN ISRAEL CALLING FOR HOSTAGE DEAL AND END TO GAZA WAR
The protests came a week after Israel’s war cabinet voted to occupy Gaza City, the territory’s largest city, and displace its population, in a move condemned by the UN Security Council. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to want the entire city under Israeli occupation from 7 October. At least 1.9 million people in Gaza – or about 90% of the population – have already been displaced, according to the UN.
