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An inflation measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve ticked higher in July as steep prices continue to squeeze millions of US households. 

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index showed that consumer prices rose 0.2% from the previous month, according to the Commerce Department.

On an annual basis, prices climbed 3.3% — up from 3% the previous month, underscoring the challenge oftaming high inflation.

The figures were both in line with estimates from Refintiv economists.

Core prices, which strip out the more volatile measurements of food and energy, climbed 0.2% from the previous month and 4.2% from the previous year.

While the Fed is targeting the PCE headline figure as it tries to wrestle consumer prices back to 2%,Chair Jerome Powellpreviously told reporters that core data is actually a better indicator of inflation.

Both the core and headline numbers point to inflation that is still running above the Fed’s preferred 2% target.

“The PCE index has been moving in the right direction overall, but core inflation remains stickier than expected keeping the data dependent and agile Fed more likely to raise rates again this year,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.

Other figures included in the report showed that consumer spending jumped 0.8% in July, compared with a 0.6% increase in June.

Still, many economists anticipate that spending will slow in coming months as spenders continue to grapple with expensive goods, high interest rates and the resumption of federal student loan payments.

“Consumers spent freely in July even if it meant dipping into their savings amid slower income growth,” said Gregory Daco, EY chief economist. “We anticipate the trend will slow in August and September as elevated prices for goods and services, higher borrowing costs and moderating income limit consumers spending appetite.”

Stocks climbed Thursday morning as the report fueled investor hopes for a rate pause. 

The Fed in July approved another interest rate hike, lifting the benchmark rate to the highest level since 2001. 

Powell signaled last week that additional rate hikes may be on the table this year as policymakers assess whether high inflation has retreated for good. 

“Although inflation has moved down from its peak a welcome development it remains too high,” he said. “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective.”

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Sources: Gators might be without 3 DLs vs. Miami

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Sources: Gators might be without 3 DLs vs. Miami

Florida might be without three of its top defensive linemen when it tries to end a two-game losing streak at No. 4 Miami on Saturday night.

The Gators (1-2) will be without defensive tackles Caleb Banks and Michai Boireau, and potentially starting defensive end George Gumbs Jr., sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Saturday.

Gumbs made the trip to Miami (3-0) for Saturday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and will try to play, but sources told ESPN that he’s unlikely to go.

Gumbs has 10 tackles and a half-sack in three games.

Sources told ESPN that Boireau didn’t travel to Miami and won’t play against the Hurricanes. He has five tackles in two games and missed last week’s 20-10 loss at LSU with an undisclosed injury.

Banks has already been ruled out of the Miami game after suffering a foot injury against LSU. After missing the first two games, Banks played 29 snaps against the Tigers.

Swamp247 reported Wednesday that Banks had surgery on his foot in Birmingham, Alabama, and a timeline for his return wasn’t known.

Brendan Bett, Brien Taylor Jr. and Jamari Lyons will likely continue to get the majority of playing time up front for the Gators.

“We got a really good group. I’m excited about what I see out of the young players in the group,” Gators coach Billy Napier said. “Still enough players there to have a very effective group.”

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Poll: Sellers edges Nussmeier as NFL draft’s QB1

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Poll: Sellers edges Nussmeier as NFL draft's QB1

As the 2025 season began, the volume of high-end quarterbacks resonated as one of the year’s defining themes.

Heading into Week 4, there’s still little clarity regarding who could emerge from that pack as the top quarterback for the 2026 NFL draft.

ESPN polled 25 NFL scouts and executives to see who they projected as the top quarterback for the upcoming draft. The responses were varied, as seven different quarterbacks came back as the answer for QB1 among the 25 different responses.

South Carolina‘s LaNorris Sellers came back as the top vote-getter with 8, edging LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier (7). The next crop, in order are Miami‘s Carson Beck (3), Oklahoma‘s John Mateer (3), Penn State‘s Drew Allar (2), Arizona State‘s Sam Leavitt (1) and TexasArch Manning (1).

While a handful of hyped players have slumped, the crop is still considered a significant uptick from last season.

The poll should be considered more of a touchstone of the varied opinions than a scientific projection. Last season, we conducted the same poll heading into Week 6. At that time, Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders led Beck (nine votes to five) among the 25 scouts/executives. Cam Ward got one vote. It’s also uncertain who will declare, as Sellers, Mateer, Leavitt and Manning all have eligibility remaining.

The way scouting works, scouts and general managers don’t evaluate everyone week by week. Many general managers don’t dig in intensively until after the season. There’s a process of checking and cross-checking that often goes by region, so many scouts haven’t dug into all the prospects in the same way they will by the end of the season.

“Much like last year,” a general manager said, “it’s hard to pick this early.”

Why is Sellers the early favorite?

“He’s got most physical talent,” one veteran scout told ESPN. “His ability to scramble and make plays with his feet as a runner. He’s instinctive and the ball comes out quick. He’s got a unique talent level. The kid, his story and how he got there. He’s got a toughness to him. It intrigues people.

“He’s got the makeup, intangibles and ability to run. He’s got the most potential to be an impact player.”

The debate between Sellers and Nussmeier came down to physical traits for some scouts. Sellers is a 6-foot-3 and 240 pound redshirt sophomore who fits the modern paradigm of quarterbacks who can be a threat in the called run game.

Nussmeier is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds and is considered a good athlete, as LSU coach Brian Kelly wanted him to use his legs more this season as part of his development. While both are in their second full season as a starter, Nussmeier has been in school five seasons and is the son of an NFL offensive coordinator.

“Instinctive and finds a way,” another scout said. “He’s got a great feel for the position and a good arm.”

Beck has helped himself in the early part of the season, as he struggled in stretches during 2024 after entering the season as the projected favorite to be the top quarterback in the 2025 draft.

“Let’s see if Beck can continue his renaissance,” said a scout, “because there’s enough ability there.”

Mateer’s performance against Michigan convinced a few scouts, as he also fits the more pure dual-threat role.

Most scouts around the NFL expected Manning to go to school another year, and that belief has been amplified only by his tepid start to the 2025 season.

“He’s very talented,” a scout said. “Just from top-to-bottom, arm talent. Just understanding in the pocket and seeing the field and feeling the field. You see his arm strength.

“He just needs to get everything under control and for the game to slow down.”

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Hacker reveals details of Tesla’s upcoming stripped-down Model Y

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Hacker reveals details of Tesla's upcoming stripped-down Model Y

A hacker has revealed new details of Tesla’s upcoming stripped-down Model Y, which is likely going to be the automaker’s most affordable level yet.

Tesla has been teasing the release of “more affordable models” since last year, but there’s been confusion around what Tesla plans to release.

As we have reported for almost a year, CEO Elon Musk canceled Tesla’s planned “$25,000 EV” in favor of stripped-down versions of its Model 3 and Model Y.

Due to Tesla still referring to them as “new, more affordable models”, many people believed that Tesla would still bring to market new, cheaper models.

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In fact, the automaker initially stated that it would arrive in the “first half of 2025.”

The first half of 2025 came and went without new, cheaper models. Instead, Tesla claimed that the “first build” of the new model was produced in June, and it will launch later this year.

In July, Musk finally confirmed that the first “new affordable model” is in fact simply a Model Y.

The new stripped-down Model Y is codenamed E41 and is expected to feature cheaper materials and fewer features than the normal Model Y, which starts at $45,000 in the US.

It is expected to be similar to what Tesla did with the new base Model 3 in Mexico, which features cloth materials instead of vegan leather, lacks a rear display, has no ambient lighting, and features a less advanced audio system.

However, we now learn that the new affordable Model Y will go further than a cheaper interior.

Green, a well-known Tesla hacker who often reveals new features in vehicles through looking deep in firmware updates, claims to have uncovered new details about the upcoming Model Y E41 through the latest Tesla firmware update.

The details are somewhat limited as he has to decode them from the firmware, but here’s the full list of what he has found out about the new cheaper Model Y:

  • “Essential” and “essential with commodity” audio packages
  • Backup camera without heater
  • No “air wave” in the center console, which likely means no air flow control for the second row
  • A new front fascia
  • Simplified fiberglass headliner
  • Simplified cabin lighting (footwell only)
  • Simplified seat controls (single axis)
  • No power mirror folding
  • No puddle lamps
  • No glass roof
  • No second row display
  • No Tire Pressure Monitoring System
  • Simplified 18″ wheels
  • Downgraded suspension

Tesla has yet to confirm when the new Model Y version will launch, but we previously reported that Tesla is likely waiting for Q4 as it is enjoying strong demand in Q3 from the end of the federal tax credit in the US.

Electrek’s Take

I like “simplified”. I don’t know if the term comes from Green or Tesla, but it certainly works better than “stripped-down,” even though it is also accurate based on what we are learning about the new version.

This didn’t work with the Cybertruck. Tesla quickly discontinued the “simplified” version, but the Cybertruck was already much less popular than Model Y.

I don’t know. This could work. It depends entirely on pricing. If it brings the base price down to $35,000, I can see some people going for it.

However, it will likely devalue Tesla’s “premium” brand and the Model Y significantly.

Also, most of the demand is likely going to come from Model Y buyers in the first place – cannibalizing Tesla’s own sales.

In short, it’s more of a placeholder to slow down the degradation of Tesla’s EV business amid its shift to autonomous driving and robotics, rather than a solution to return to EV growth. That’s a bummer.

Tesla needs brand-new EV models. It’s plain and simple.

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