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... U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August, while a key measure of underlying inflation posted its largest increase in four months, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week. ...

"Energy inflation does not stay at the gas station. It travels by truck, airplane and cargo ship into nearly every store in America," said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University. "The Fed is now more likely than not to raise its policy rate ... it cannot afford to let an energy shock become an everything shock."

The CPI increased 0.4% last month after edging up 0.1% in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

In the 12 months through August, consumer inflation advanced 3.4% after rising by the same margin in July. The rise in the CPI was in line with economists' expectations.

A 3.9% jump in gasoline prices after two straight monthly declines accounted for more than a third of the increase in the CPI over the month. Other motor fuels, which include diesel, surged 9.6%. They surged 44% year-on-year in August.

There was, however, some respite for consumers at the supermarket. Food prices edged up 0.1% for a second straight month. Grocery prices were unchanged amid muted increases in the costs of meat and fish. Fruit and vegetable prices fell 0.4% over the month, weighed down by a 6.2% drop in the cost of lettuce because of a Cyclospora outbreak.

But egg prices increased 2.9%, while nonalcoholic beverages cost more, as did dairy and related products. Food prices advanced 2.7% year-on-year in August and the annual increase in consumer inflation is outpacing wage growth. Inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings fell 0.3% over the year in August.

"Inflation-adjusted wage growth contracted for a fifth consecutive month in August," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. "This is the longest income squeeze since 2012 -- excluding the post-pandemic period when public assistance kept income growing despite historical job losses." ...

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... The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to drastically weaken requirements for leak inspections and equipment upgrades at more than 700,000 low-producing "stripper wells," according to a draft rule being reviewed by the White House and seen by ProPublica.

These wells -- which tend to be old, poorly maintained and thus prone to leaking -- produce just 6% of the country's oil and natural gas but are responsible for roughly half the sector's methane pollution, studies show.

The EPA acknowledged similar figures in the draft. But it said that the cost of complying with existing regulations would force the lowest-producing wells to shut down and that this was "unreasonable" -- even though it would eliminate just 0.4% of U.S. oil and gas production, according to an industry estimate cited in the proposed rule. ...

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... A new study linking the likelihood of autism and ADHD symptoms in early life to in-utero exposure to a common plasticizer is no doubt going to cause a stir.

It's another chapter in the ongoing search for answers to some pretty complex questions, like why autism and ADHD diagnoses are on the rise, and why so many children around the world seem to be afflicted with behavior problems, and what the chemicals in plastics could be doing to our brains.

And while it's an interesting addition to the research, there are very specific things this new study can (and can't) tell us about all these hot topics in science, and what patterns are emerging between them.

Let's get into it.

The study, published in Med (a peer-reviewed journal owned by Cell Press), looked at children's behavioral traits at ages two and four, and how they correlate with the child's potential prenatal exposure to the common plastic additive DEHP.

DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is a synthetic chemical that helps make plastics more flexible. It's often used in vinyl furniture upholstery, garden hoses, shower curtains, medical tubing, and vegan leathers.

It's also known to easily leach out of the material it was added to, which is how it can end up in our food, water, and ultimately, our bodies. ...

... Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab to export its crude since Iran has been targeting vessels in the strait of HormUz. ...

The Saudi east-west oil pipeline and its facilities, used to transport oil to the Red Sea, may have been hit by the Houthis.