{"id":174254,"date":"2025-12-04T16:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T16:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/almost-half-of-americans-say-cost-of-living-is-worst-its-ever-been-new-poll-finds-live-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T16:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T16:00:15","slug":"almost-half-of-americans-say-cost-of-living-is-worst-its-ever-been-new-poll-finds-live-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/almost-half-of-americans-say-cost-of-living-is-worst-its-ever-been-new-poll-finds-live-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Almost half of Americans say cost of living is \u2018worst it\u2019s ever been\u2019, new poll finds \u2013 live – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump said earlier this week that the issue of affordability for Americans is a \u2018fake narrative\u2019 conjured by Democrats
A new poll by Politico<\/a> shows that 46% of Americans surveyed say that the cost of living is the \u201cworst they can remember it being\u201d<\/strong>. What\u2019s more, 37% of Trump voters share that view<\/strong>.
Similarly, almost half of Americans<\/strong> say that the cost-of-living crisis is the Trump administration\u2019s responsibility<\/strong>.
For his part, the president said this week that the issue of affordability for Americans is a \u201cfake narrative\u201d conjured by Democrats<\/a>.
\u201cThey just say the word. It doesn\u2019t mean anything to anybody, they just say it,\u201d Trump said.
Adm Frank \u201cMitch\u201d Bradley<\/strong> arrived on Capitol Hill earlier today to discuss the \u201cdouble-tap\u201d boat strike on suspected drug boats off the coast of Venezuela with the House and Sentate armed services committees. The top Navy official spoke to lawmakers alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Cain.
Representative Jim Himes<\/strong>, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, gaggled with reporters after Bradley\u2019s classified briefing.
\u201cWhat I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I\u2019ve seen in my time in public service,\u201d he said, according to CNN\u2019s Manu Raju<\/a>.
Himes added that Bradley did confirm \u201cthere had not been a \u2018kill them all\u2019 order, and that there was not an order to grant no quarter\u201d.
Senator Elissa Slotkin<\/strong> said that after reading the Pentagon inspector general\u2019s Signalgate report, it \u201creinforced what was already publicly known\u201d.
Today, we can expect to see the classified version of the watchdog\u2019s report to be released, which concludes that the defense secretary violated departmental policies <\/a>when he shared sensitive strike information in a Signal messaging chat in March.
\u201cThat kind of sensitive information, on a hackable personal cell phone and DoD-prohibited app, put the lives of our service members at risk,\u201d said Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat who serves on the both the armed services and homeland security committees in the Senate.
Among the beneficiaries of Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s pardons and commutations, there is a group that legal experts and political scientists see as some of the clearest evidence of how such actions undermine the rule of law: those who were released from prison and again arrested for different alleged crimes<\/strong>.
During his first term, Trump issued 237 acts of clemency \u2013 including to someone who was a predatory lender and drug smuggler and to another who ran a Ponzi scheme. Since taking office again, Trump has issued more than 1,600, most for people involved in the January 6 attack<\/a> on Congress.
At least a dozen of the people Trump has granted clemency to since 2016 were arrested for separate crimes after January 6.
That should come as no surprise, experts say, because Trump did not follow the usual review process for considering such pardons, making it more likely that those people had already committed other crimes or took the clemency as an indication that they did not do anything wrong.
\u201cWhat else would you expect?\u201d Susan Benesch, a human rights lawyer and director of the Dangerous Speech Project, said of the recidivism. \u201cPeople have been pardoned in the past after they expressed remorse or served a lot of time or credibly expressed that they were sorry and wish they hadn\u2019t committed the crime \u2013 or both.\u201d
A new poll by Politico<\/a> shows that 46% of Americans surveyed say that the cost of living is the \u201cworst they can remember it being\u201d<\/strong>. What\u2019s more, 37% of Trump voters share that view<\/strong>.
Similarly, almost half of Americans<\/strong> say that the cost-of-living crisis is the Trump administration\u2019s responsibility<\/strong>.
For his part, the president said this week that the issue of affordability for Americans is a \u201cfake narrative\u201d conjured by Democrats<\/a>.
\u201cThey just say the word. It doesn\u2019t mean anything to anybody, they just say it,\u201d Trump said.
The FBI has arrested a person accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) building and near the Republican headquarters on the night before the January 6 insurrection, according to multiple reports.
The years-long search included the FBI releasing surveillance footage of the suspect placing a bomb at the DNC, and offering a $500,000 reward.
The bombs, which police deactivated and prevented from exploding, were discovered on the same day supporters of Donald Trump<\/a> stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 presidential election victory.
My colleague Jakub Krupa<\/strong> is following the latest developments out of Europe in our dedicated live blog.
Earlier, he reported that the French president, Emmanuel Macron<\/strong>, <\/strong>has warned European leaders that \u201cthere is a chance that the US will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong>, the German magazine Der Spiegel<\/strong> reported<\/a>, quoting a leaked note from a recent call between the European leaders.
The magazine claimed that Macron talked about the tense moment in the talks to be \u201ca big danger\u201d <\/strong>for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz<\/strong>, <\/strong>adding that the Ukrainian leader \u2013 also on the call \u2013 needed to be \u201cvery careful\u201d.
\u201cThey are playing games with both you and us,\u201d<\/strong> Merz was reported as saying, which the magazine concluded was a reference to Steve Witkoff\u2019s recent mission to Moscow.
Donald Trump will welcome the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame<\/strong>, as well as the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi<\/strong>, to the White House today.
After a trilateral meeting (which is currently closed to the press), the three leaders to will head to the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace \u2013 recently renamed in the US president\u2019s honor \u2013 to sign a peace deal that aims to mitigate conflict in eastern Congo.
Later, Trump and the first lady will take part in the national Christmas tree lighting on the Ellipse in Washington DC.
A new Emerson College Polling\/Inside California Politics survey takes a look into the crowded race for California governorship, in which more than 95 candidates <\/a>have so far submitted paperwork indicating their intention to run.
The poll found<\/a> that Republican Chad Bianco<\/strong>, Republican Steve Hilton<\/strong>, Democrat Eric Swalwell<\/strong> (12%) and Democrat Katie Porter<\/strong> are currently leading the June 2026 primary. Of those polled, 13% said they were voting for Bianco, 12% for Hilton, 12% for Swalwell and 11% for Porter. In all, 31% of voters are undecided.
Votes were split on the influence of Gavin Newsom<\/strong> and his endorsement: 33% said Newsom\u2019s endorsement would make them more likely to vote for a candidate, 33% said his endorsement would make them less likely to support a candidate, and 35% said it would make no difference.
Newsom currently holds a 47% job approval rating, while 39% disapprove of the job he is doing as governor, according to polling.
A law has come into effect in Texas<\/strong> that will allow individuals in the state to sue abortion pill providers in other states<\/strong>. Proponents say it is a way to enforce abortion restrictions in Texas. Opponents worry about the methods complainants might use to find their evidence.<\/p>\n

In this special episode of Politics Weekly America<\/strong>, the Guardian US reproductive health and justice reporter, Carter Sherman, speaks to people who are using, providing and protecting abortion pills, and those fighting against them in Texas.
With the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth<\/strong>, already in the hot seat over the 2 September boat strike<\/a> and the inspector-general report <\/a>on his use of the Signal messaging app in March, the Wall Street Journal is reporting <\/a>that Hegseth had asked Adml Alvin Holsey<\/strong> to step down after he had expressed concerns over the legality of the attacks in the Caribbean.
Hegseth had announced in October <\/a>that Holsey would be stepping down as head of the US military\u2019s southern command less than a year after he took over the post. The posting, which oversees operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, typically lasts three years.
The discord between Hegseth and Holsey began just days after Donald Trump<\/a> was sworn into the office, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing former officials. But it intensified after Holsey expressed concern over the \u201cmurky legal authority for the boat strike campaign\u201d.
The Trump administration<\/a> has insisted the strikes are legal under the rules of war and that the US is engaged in armed conflict with traffickers \u2013 an argument that has been widely rejected by most legal experts. The Pentagon\u2019s own Law of War manual states that it is prohibited to attack anyone who is \u201cwounded, sick, or shipwrecked\u201d, thus the controversy over the second follow-up strike on 2 September that killed survivors after the initial strike failed to kill everybody onboard.
To read more on the legal arguments around the 2 September strike, click on the story below:
The New York Times<\/strong> filed a lawsuit <\/a>against the Pentagon<\/strong> on Thursday, accusing the defense department of infringing on the constitutional rights of its journalists with its new reporting restrictions.
The restrictions, which went into effect in October, require reporters to sign a pledge <\/a>that they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official \u2013 a stark departure from previous guidelines. In a summary of the filing, the New York Times called this policy \u201cexactly the type of speech- and press-restrictive scheme that the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit have recognized violates the First Amendment<\/strong>\u201d.
The Guardian, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost and trade publication Breaking Defense are among the US outlets that refused to sign the agreement<\/a>.
In the lawsuit, the New York Times<\/a> is asking the US district court in Washington to issue an order stopping the Pentagon from enforcing the press policy. The New York Times \u201cintends to vigorously defend against the violation of these rights, just as we have long done throughout administrations opposed to scrutiny and accountability\u201d, the company said in a statement.
Hello and thank you for joining us on the US politics<\/a> live blog. I\u2019m Vivian Ho and I will be bringing you the latest news over the next few hours.
Frank \u201cMitch\u201d Bradley<\/strong>, the US navy admiral who reportedly issued orders to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat, is expected on Capitol Hill on Thursday to provide a classified briefing to congressional lawmakers overseeing national security.
Trump administration officials have defended carrying out the 2 September follow-up strike by arguing that the objective was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat <\/a>\u2013 essentially mirroring the language in a secret justice department office of legal counsel (OLC) memo that purportedly said it was permissible for the US to use lethal force against unflagged vessels carrying cocaine since the cartels use the proceeds to fund violence.
Still, questions continue to mount over the legality of the attack, particularly around the reasoning of the second strike and what orders the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth<\/strong>, gave.
\u201cThis is an incredibly serious matter. This is about the safety of our troops. This is an incident that could expose members of our armed services to legal consequences,\u201d the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer<\/strong>, said in a floor speech on Wednesday. \u201cAnd yet the American public and the Congress are still not hearing basic facts.\u201d
Hegseth, who is in hot water after a report by the Pentagon\u2019s inspector general concluded that he had violated departmental policies <\/a>when he shared secret information in a Signal messaging chat in March, has sought to downplay his own involvement in the strike. Democratic senator Mark Warner<\/strong> has called for his resignation and Republican senator Lisa Murkowski<\/strong> said that Hegseth does not have her support.
The briefing comes as The New York Times<\/strong> filed a lawsuit <\/a>against the Pentagon, accusing the defense department of violating the first amendment with its new reporting restrictions.
In other developments:
The Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown continues as federal agents descended upon New Orleans <\/a>on Wednesday, sending fear through the region\u2019s Latino community and prompting businesses to close. Gregory Bovino<\/strong>, the border patrol chief who has become the face of the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation efforts, was spotted leading a group of masked agents through the historic French quarter as one woman heckled the agents.
The operation in New Orleans came as Donald Trump <\/strong>continued his xenophobic attacks on Somali immigrants, telling reporters on Wednesday that \u201cthose Somalians should be out of here. They\u2019ve destroyed our country\u201d and that congresswoman Ilhan Omar<\/strong> should be \u201cthrown the hell out\u201d.
In more immigration news, an Amnesty International<\/strong> report published on Thursday found that detainees at the Florida immigration detention facility, \u201cAlligator Alcatraz<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong>, face \u201charrowing human right violations\u201d.
The Department of Veterans Affairs<\/strong> (VA) is also in the process of creating a new internal database of non-US citizens who are \u201cemployed or affiliated\u201d with the government department, a sensitive memo leaked to the Guardian has revealed<\/a>.
Trump also announced on Wednesday that he is repealing Biden-era federal fuel economy standards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Trump said earlier this week that the issue of affordability for Americans is a \u2018fake narrative\u2019 conjured by DemocratsA new poll by Politico shows that 46% of Americans surveyed say that the cost of living is the \u201cworst they can remember it being\u201d. What\u2019s more, 37% of Trump voters share that view.Similarly, almost half of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-174254","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}