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Russia-Ukraine live updates: US sending more rocket launchers to Ukraine

July 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Jul 08, 3:27 pm
US announces new $400M aid package for Ukraine, including more HIMARS

The Biden administration announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine on Friday that includes four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.

Ukraine will now have a total of 12 of these precision rocket launcher systems, which have been “especially important and effective in assisting Ukraine in coping with the Russian artillery battle in the Donbas,” a senior defense official told reporters Friday.

The rockets have a range of 43 miles. The official said that Ukraine has been striking at Russian targets deep behind enemy lines but has not used them to strike inside Russia.

The new aid package also includes 1,000 new “greater precision” artillery. The name of the system was not shared for security purposes, the official said.

The new aid package is the 15th use of the presidential drawdown authority to give existing U.S. military stocks to Ukraine.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Jul 07, 9:26 am
Moscow views nuclear weapons only as a deterrent, Russian official says

Russia considers nuclear weapons only as a deterrent, according to Valentina Matviyenko, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council.

“Russia views nuclear weapons only as a deterrent,” Matviyenko said Thursday at a press conference.

The official noted that Russia has “clearly and strictly prescribed those exceptional cases when [nuclear weapons] can only be used in response to — God forbid that this never happens — a nuclear attack.”

“We behave like a civilized country, and we do it openly,” Matviyenko added.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Max Uzol, and Fidel Pavlenko

Jul 07, 8:16 am
Russia claims no new ground for first time since invasion’s start

Russia claimed no territorial gains in Ukraine on Wednesday for the first time since the beginning of its invasion in late February, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest report.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed territorial gains every day from the start of the war but has not done so since completing the encirclement of the eastern town Lysychansk on July 3, the ISW said.

The Washington-based think tank said the lull in Russian ground force movements supports its assessment that Russian forces “have largely initiated an operational pause.”

The break in operations is not equal to a complete ceasefire, however, as Russian troops still conducted a number of unsuccessful attacks on all frontlines, the experts added.

Russian troops are instead trying to set up conditions for a bigger offensive as they rebuild their combat power, the ISW report said.

Russia has already increased its fleet in the Black Sea on the shores of Ukraine, local media reported on Wednesday. The Russian naval presence grew by several missile carriers, as well as submarines and an amphibious assault ship.

Ukrainian officials refuted Russian claims on Wednesday according to which Russian troops destroyed two HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems supplied by the U.S.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy added that the Western supplied artillery “started working very powerfully” and at full capacity.

“Finally, it is felt that the Western artillery, the weapons we received from our partners, started working very powerfully,” Zelenskyy said in his Wednesday evening address. “Its accuracy is exactly as needed,” the president added.

Zelenskyy said the Western weapons have carried out strikes on depots and areas of logistical importance to Russian troops. “And this significantly reduces the offensive potential of the Russian army,” Zelenskyy noted, adding that Russian losses “will only increase every week, as will the difficulty of supplying [Russian troops].”

Ukrainian forces celebrated another symbolic victory on Thursday when they raised their national flag on Snake Island, a recaptured Black Sea isle located 90 miles south of the Ukrainian port of Odesa that became a symbol of defiance against Moscow, according to local reports.

Images released by Ukraine’s interior ministry on Thursday showed three Ukrainian soldiers raising the blue and yellow national flag on a patch of ground on Snake Island next to the remains of a flattened building.

But Russia responded to the flag-raising ceremony fast. It said one of its warplanes had struck Snake Island shortly afterwards and destroyed part of the Ukrainian detachment there.

Russia abandoned Snake Island at the end of June in what it said was a gesture of goodwill, raising Ukrainian hopes of unblocking local ports shut off by Russia.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Max Uzol, and Fidel Pavlenko

Jul 06, 10:02 am
Blinken to urge G20 to press Russia on grain deliveries

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to appeal to G20 countries to put pressure on Russia to make it support the U.N. initiative on unblocking the sea lanes for Ukraine and allow grain exports, according to local media reports.

“G20 countries should hold Russia accountable and insist that it supports ongoing U.N. efforts to reopen the sea lanes for grain delivery,” said Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs.

Toloui referred to a U.N. campaign aiming to expedite Ukrainian and Russian exports of harvest and fertilizer to global markets.

Around 22 million tons of grain remain blocked in Ukrainian ports due to the threat of Russian attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.

Ukraine is in active negotiations with Turkey and the U.N. to solve the grain export stalemate, Zelenskyy added.

Blinken is also expected to once again warn China against backing Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

“[The upcoming G20 summit] will be another opportunity … to convey our expectations about what we would expect China to do and not to do in the context of Ukraine,” the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, said.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Max Uzol and Nataliia Kushnir

Jul 06, 8:42 am
Russia aims to seize territory far beyond the Donbas, Putin’s ally suggests

Russia’s main objective in its invasion of Ukraine is still regime change in Kyiv and the dismantling of Ukrainian sovereignty, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev suggested in a speech on Tuesday.

Patrushev said the Russian “military operation” in Ukraine will continue until Russia achieves its goals of protecting civilians from “genocide,” “denazifying” and demilitarizing Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The Russian official added that Ukraine must remain permanently neutral between Russia and NATO. Petrushev’s remarks nearly mirrored the goals Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at the onset of the war to justify the military invasion.

Patrushev, a close Putin ally, repeated the Russian President’s stated ambitions despite Russia’s military setbacks in Ukraine and previous hints at a reduction in war aims following those defeats, the ISW pointed out.

Patrushev’s explicit restatement of Putin’s initial objectives “strongly indicates” that Russia does not consider its recent territorial gains in the Luhansk region to be sufficient, the ISW experts said.

Russia “has significant territorial aspirations beyond the Donbas” and “is preparing for a protracted war with the intention of taking much larger portions of Ukraine,” the observers added.

Patrushev’s comments dampened hopes for a “compromise ceasefire or even peace based on limited additional Russian territorial gains,” the experts concluded.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Max Uzol and Nataliia Kushnir

Cherelle Griner says Biden ‘has not forgotten’ Brittney Griner

July 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Cherelle Griner said the letter President Joe Biden wrote in response to her wife, WNBA star Brittney Griner, amid her detention in Russia brought both of them “so much joy.”

“I believe every word that she said to him, he understood and he sees her as a person,” Cherelle Griner said at a press conference in Chicago on Friday afternoon. “And he has not forgotten her, which was her biggest cry in her letter.”

Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, personally reached out to Biden in a handwritten letter that the White House received on Monday, urging the president to help her get out of Russia where she has been detained for more than four and a half months.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Brittney Griner wrote to the president.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet on Thursday that the U.S. officials who attended the second day of Griner’s trial in Russia on Thursday delivered Biden’s letter to Brittney Griner.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News on Thursday that the president was “deeply moved” by Griner’s letter, but wouldn’t say what the president wrote in his response.

“I’m grateful and I’m thankful that the administration that was the first one that BG ever voted for, took the time to see her as a person,” Cherelle Griner continued, “to see her in the midst of what she’s going through and to speak to me directly and let her know that they are exhausting all efforts to bring her home.”

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was visiting Russia to play basketball in the off-season when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17 after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.

The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Cherelle Griner to discuss efforts to release the WNBA star, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in the statement.

Cherelle Griner was joined at the press conference by Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network and leaders from the WNBA, including Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks power forward and President of the WNBA Players Association and WNBA Players Association Executive Director Terri Jackson.

Sharpton called for Biden and Blinken to arrange a trip for faith leaders to see Griner in prison as part of a prayer visit.

“After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Griner’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing,” Sharpton said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cherelle Griner thanked Sharpton for his support and thanked the WNBA for honoring and supporting her wife throughout her detention, including compensating her salary and bringing attention to her case on and off the court.

“It has just been overwhelming for my entire family — the joy of knowing that BG’s footprint was so big — that even in her absence, you still can’t miss her,” Cherelle Griner said.

Along with advocates, leaders and players in both the WNBA and the NBA have called for Griner’s release and raised awareness about her case.

The WNBA, which kicked off its 2022 season on May 6, is honoring Griner with a floor decal bearing her initials and jersey number (42) on the sidelines of all 12 WNBA teams.

Brittney Griner’s detention was extended repeatedly, most recently through Dec. 20, which is the expected length of her trial. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison and also has a right to an appeal.

Brittney Griner said she “would like to plead guilty” Thursday morning on drug charges in a Russian court, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage unintentionally. She said that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law, adding that she was is in a rush and did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag.

Brittney Griner is expected to appear in court on July 14 for the third day of her trial.

Calls to free Brittney Griner escalated following the release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed last month, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange. Former Marine Paul Whelan has also been detained in Russia since 2019.

Reed’s family met with Biden after they protested outside the White House, but despite their outreach, Whelan’s family had not spoken directly with Biden until Friday. Whelan’s family voiced disappointment after Biden’s call with the Griner family, saying that they have not heard from the president and worry that Whelan would be forgotten.

Biden called Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister, on Friday to reaffirm his commitment to bringing Paul Whelan home from Russia, according to a White House official.

“President Biden reaffirmed that he is committed to bringing Paul home as soon as possible, and the U.S. government will continue its efforts to secure the release of Paul as well as Brittney Griner and all other Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world,” the White House official told ABC News. “The U.S. government will continue to be in regular contact with Paul’s family, and with the families of other Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to provide support and assistance and keep them updated on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones.”

Asked by ABC News how the White House can assure Whelan’s family that he is not forgotten, Jean-Pierre said the administration wants to “assure” the Whelan and Griner families that Biden will use “every means that we have” to bring them home.

“Clearly, we cannot negotiate in public. That is not something that we’re going to do. But, we’re committed to making sure they all get home safely,” she said.

ABC News’ Justin Gomez, Cindy Smith, Tanya Stukalova, Kendall Ross, Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

Shawn Mendes postpones tour for three weeks: “I’ve hit a breaking point”

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Shawn Mendes has decided that his current Wonder tour was just too much, too soon.

The Canadian superstar has announced that he plans to hit pause on his trek for the next three weeks so he can focus on his mental health. In an Instagram post, he writes, “I’ve been touring since I was 15 and to be honest, it’s always been difficult to be on the road away from friends and family.”

“After a few years off from the road, I felt like I was ready to dive back in, but that decision was premature,” he continues. “Unfortunately, the toll of the road and the pressure has caught up to me and I’ve hit a breaking point. After speaking with my team and health professionals, I need to take some time to heal and take care of myself and my mental health, first and foremost.”

Shawn said the postponement would last through his July 29 show in Uncasville, CT. He signed off by promising fans he would let them know “as soon as there are more updates.”

Tony Sirico, ‘Paulie Walnuts’ on ‘The Sopranos,’ dies at 79

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Tony Sirico, known for his scene-stealing role as Paul ‘Paulie Walnuts’ Gualtieri on The Sopranos, has died. He was 79.

No cause of death has been released.

Sirico’s brother, Rev. Robert Sirico, announced the news on Facebook Friday. “It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022,” Robert wrote.

“The family is deeply grateful for the many expressions of love, prayer and condolences and requests that the public respect its privacy in this time of bereavement,” the post continued. ”Memorial donations may be made in his honor to Wounded Warriors, St. Jude’s Hospital and the Acton Institute.”

According to the post, Sirico is survived by his two children Joanne Sirico Bello and Richard Sirico, as well as grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews and many other relatives.

Sirico’s Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli shared a tribute post on Instagram Friday, writing in part, “Tony was like no one else: he was as tough, as loyal and as big hearted as anyone i’ve ever known. I was at his side through so much: through good times and bad. But mostly good. And we had a lot of laughs.”

Neil Young says new album with Crazy Horse due out later this year

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Neil Young has revealed that he just finished making a new studio album with Crazy Horse that he co-produced with Rick Rubin.

In a message posted Thursday on his Neil Young Archives website, the 76-year-old folk-rock legend explains that he’d like to release the album immediately, “but it won’t be out until later in this year,” because it will take some time for the vinyl to be manufactured.

“Listeners want vinyl for its quality and it’s worth waiting for,” he says, adding that some tracks from the album will be made available one at a time in advance leading up to the record’s release.

“With this recording, something special is happening and we know we have a good one,” Young enthuses about the new project. “It’s too early to say any more because in this world things come and go so fast. But real magic lasts and we think we have it.”

The as-yet-untitled album is a follow-up to Barn, which Young and Crazy Horse recorded in June 2021 and released in December.

“It’s the same band, Crazy Horse, but the music is unlike Barn, our last offering,” Neil writes. “Music lives!!!!! Two records made in one year!!!!!!!”

A-ha releasing new album and film, ‘True North,’ this year; check out first single

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Veteran Norwegian pop-rock band A-ha, best known for their chart-topping 1985 hit “Take On Me,” have unveiled plans to release a new studio album called True North and a companion film of the same name in the coming months.

The album, which will be released on October 21, was recorded in November 2021 in the Norwegian city of Bodø, located just south of the Arctic Circle. The film, which documents the making of the album, will premiere in select theaters around the world in late summer and then will be made available for rental or purchase on October 21.

The first single from True North, “I’m In,” was released Friday via digital formats, along with a video featuring footage of A-ha performing the emotional song with Norway’s Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra.

A-ha multi-instrumentalist Magne Furuholmen, who wrote “I’m In,” says the song is a tune “about total commitment and a show of support for someone who is troubled.”

The True North film features the group performing and recording the new songs with the orchestra and also captures the band members discussing the project around Bodø. In addition, the film features scenes where actors portray life in the northern region of Norway.

“True North is a letter from A-ha, from the Arctic Circle, a poem from the far north of Norway with new music,” says Furuholmen.

The True North album can be preordered now and will be available on CD, as a two-LP vinyl set, digitally and as limited deluxe edition featuring the CD, the two LPs, a 40-page hard-cover book and a USB card.

Visit AhaTrueNorth.com for more information.

Music notes: Harry Styles, Lindsey Stirling, Janet Jackson and Jewel

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

A new TikTok video shows Harry Styles coming to a fan’s defense when performing in Antwerp, Belgium. A woman from North Carolina was waving a sign that said she was “stuck” in Europe, so naturally Harry asked her about it onstage. Once the audience learned she was American, they started booing. Harry looked appalled and tried lightening the mood by interacting further with the stranded fan — who definitely loved the extra attention.

If you need help rehabbing a cheap wig, just ask Lindsey Stirling. She revealed on Instagram that she ordered two $30 wigs off Amazon for her “Til The Light Goes Out” music video. She styled the wigs herself and revealed that if you want your wig to look “expensive,” you “cut some little wispy hairs in front to mask the cheap hairline.”

It’s been 40 years since Janet Jackson released her debut solo single, “Young Love,” and the Grammy winner has been celebrating the milestone anniversary on Instagram. “Wow it’s been 40 years u guys. Thank u so much for all the LUV,” she wrote while sharing some throwback pictures of the single’s official artwork.

How would you celebrate your kid’s birthday? How about a giant bubble bath? That’s what Jewel did! The singer is on tour and revealed she convinced a venue to put a ton of bubbles in their in-ground pool so her kid could enjoy some pre-birthday shenanigans. Jewel is currently on tour with Train and Blues Traveler.

Blondie releases rare 1980 demo as advance track from upcoming ‘Against the Odds’ box set

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Blondie has released a rare demo of a song called “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer” that was recorded in 1980 and that will be featured on the band’s expansive forthcoming box set, Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982, which is due out August 26.

The track, which is available now via digital formats, is an early version of “Go Through It,” a country-flavored tune that appeared on the band’s hit 1980 album, Autoamerican.

As previously reported, Against the Odds focuses on the influential New Wave band’s original heyday and is fully authorized by the group.

The retrospective, which can be preordered now, will be available in multiple formats and configurations, including an eight-CD set and a super deluxe collectors’ edition that features 10 12-inch vinyl LPs, a 10-inch LP and a 7-inch vinyl single.

The vinyl box set features 124 tracks, 36 of which are previously unreleased. The collection contains remastered versions of Blondie’s first six studio albums — 1976’s Blondie, 1977’s Plastic Letters, 1978’s Parallel Lines, 1979’s Eat to the Beat, Autoamerican and 1982’s The Hunter — and four LPs of outtakes, demos, remixes, alternate versions, home recordings and other rarities.

The 10-inch disc features additional rarities from 1974 and ’75, while the vinyl single boasts a cover of The Doors‘ “Moonlight Drive” and a demo of the song “Mr. Sightseer.”

The box set also includes extensive liner notes and track-by-track commentary from Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke, and from former members Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante and Gary Valentine.

Blondie: Against the Odds also will be available as a four-LP package, a three-CD set and digitally.

Record heat, severe storms expected for parts of US this weekend

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Excessive heat warnings are in effect across much of the southern U.S. heading into a weekend with potentially record-breaking temperatures.

As of Friday morning, 13 states are on heat alert and temperatures will reach triple digits in parts of the south, with feel-like temperatures as high as 115 degrees, ABC News weather team reports.

Here are the high temperature records to watch on Saturday:

Salt Lake City, UT: 102º (1994)
Denver, CO: 98º (2021)
Scottsbluff, NE: 104º (2017)
Corpus Christi, TX: 100º (2005)
Austin, TX: 104º (2009)
Houston, TX: 102º (1980)
Waco, TX: 104º (1978)
Dallas, TX: 106º (1980)
Shreveport, LA: 104º (1884)
Tupelo, MS: 100º (1936)

Severe weather is also expected to continue across parts of the North, including Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota where large hail and damaging winds are possible, and a tornado cannot be ruled out. Golf ball size hail was reported in Montana and record flooding was reported in North Carolina and Missouri on Thursday.

Flash flooding due to heavy rain is possible through the weekend in parts of the Southeast, especially coastal regions from Georgia through the Carolinas where more than 3” is possible.

Biden says falling gas prices show his ‘program is working’

July 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday touted falling gas prices, robust new jobs numbers and a low unemployment rate to make the case that his economic program and fight to bring inflation down is “working.”

“The unemployment rate is near a historic low of 3.6%. The private sector jobs are at a record high,” he said at a White House event about abortion. “Gas prices are still way too high, and have fallen 25 days in a row. And this week we saw the second largest single day decrease in gas prices in a decade. We still have a lot of work to do … But I am suggesting we are making significant progress. The program is working.”

The national average for a gallon of gas stood at $4.72 Friday, down three cents from Thursday and about 12 cents since this time last week, according to AAA.

The average cost for gas peaked at $5.01 per gallon on June 14, according to AAA, and the price of crude oil fell below $100 per barrel this week for the first time since May 11.

Relief at the pump comes as global demand for commodities slows, resulting in lower prices for crude oil copper, cotton, and lumber.

“I think the reason why oil prices are going down now is because the prospect that we do see an economic slowdown,” GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan told ABC News Thursday.

If that trend continues, a potential recession could prove politically problematic for Biden and fellow Democrats ahead of the midterm elections in November. Building a strong economy was a priority in the Democratic party’s 2020 platform.

“But, if all of a sudden, the worries over the recession fade, we can see oil prices go right back up,” De Haan said.

A hurricane making landfall near a refinery, such as one in Louisiana, could also cause prices to rise.

In the coming weeks, what Americans pay at the pump in some states could fall another 25 to 50 cents per gallon on average, De Haan said.

Some stations around the country have already lowered prices to the mid-three-dollar range.

The president’s remarks Friday are the latest in a largely unsuccessful White House effort to counter damaging daily headlines about skyrocketing prices at the pump.

What began with attributing the rise in prices to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became a proposal to suspend the federal gas tax for three months. But that plan found little support among Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Some Republican senators called the proposal to halt the 18-cent tax a gimmick, while some Democrats said it might not work.

The president also floated offering rebate cards to Americans in June, but the Washington Post reported a chip shortage would make it challenging to produce the cards.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm then met with top oil executives late last month to discuss how their companies might help ease pain at the pump, but some analysts say it is unlikely the current price drop is related to the administration’s lobbying efforts.

The falling price of crude oil and weakened demand have driven the cost of gas down and the industry is also working through higher-cost inventory, according to investment research firm Third Bridge’s global lead for energy Peter McNally.

“That is bringing prices at the pump down, not the president telling the corner gas station to do it,” McNally said Thursday.

The White House doubled down this week, again calling for Congress to suspend the federal gas tax Thursday and blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Friday.

“Wholesale gas prices are down by $1 per gallon,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday. “Retail gas prices have only come down by about 20 cents over the same period. More work needs to be done.”

But gas stations are slowly lowering their prices as they try to recapture some of their margins from when prices rose, De Haan said. Stations are behind the curve when their costs rise for up to five days, as raising prices is difficult if other stations do not adjust theirs, he said.

The White House and the Federal Reserve deserve some credit for recognizing inflation as a serious challenge, University of Houston petroleum engineering professor Ramanan Krishnamoorti said Thursday.

The FED raising interest rates last month “certainly slowed down some of the price exuberance we’ve seen with inflation,” he said.

The government’s release of 100 million oil barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve year-to-date has also helped. Releasing oil has added supply to the market, likely preventing prices from going higher, McNally said.

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