Inflation hasn’t been this bad since 1981

Plus, London police fine UK PM Boris Johnson for lockdown parties. Inflation soars to a 40-year high; London police fine UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for Covid-19 parties. Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.   TOP NEWS US inflation soars to a 40-year high Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images - Supply chain disruptions, strong consumer demand, as well as food and fuel shortages amid the war in Ukraine, have sent US inflation soaring to a 40-year high in March. [[Associated Press / Paul Wiseman](] - According to data the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday, the consumer price index (CPI) — a key measure of inflation — rose by 8.5 percent in the last year. CPI rose by 1.2 percent from February to March, with gas, food, and housing driving most price increases. [[Axios / Matt Phillips](] - Gasoline prices surged 48 percent over last year, and the war in Ukraine sent prices to record highs in March. In an effort to reduce prices, the White House announced that a summer ban on cheaper, potentially dirtier ethanol-rich gas will be lifted this year. [[New York Times / Lisa Friedman and Michael D. Shear](] - The Federal Reserve has now ended its pandemic stimulus and began hiking interest rates in March to slow inflation. More aggressive increases are expected from this year into 2023. [[CNBC / Jeff Cox](] - “Core” inflation, a measure that doesn’t include volatile food and energy costs, grew 6.5 percent over the past year — the most significant increase since 1982. But rates grew slower than expected from February to March, which could mean some inflation relief is ahead. [[USA Today / Paul Davidson](] [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The first sitting UK prime minister to break the law - Tuesday, London Metropolitan Police announced it had fined UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak for attending parties on government property during coronavirus lockdowns. [[CNN / Ivana Kottasová, Amy Cassidy and Lianne Kolirin](] - Police issued the fines as part of the investigation into a series of then illegal gatherings held despite Covid-19 restrictions in place. Johnson is now the first sitting prime minister sanctioned for breaking the law. [[BBC / Jennifer Scott](] - Johnson acknowledged he paid the fines on Tuesday and apologized: “I understand the anger that many will feel that I fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public.” [[Reuters / Guardian](] - The announcement of fines has reignited calls for Johnson to resign. Since Johnson said he would not leave, his party would have to hold a vote of no confidence should they decide he needs to go. [[New York Times / Stephen Castle](]   MISCELLANEOUS Sweden and Finland — two historically neutral counties — may be edging closer to the US-led defense alliance NATO, due to Russian aggression in Ukraine. [[CNN / Luke McGee](] - Tuesday, the South Dakota House impeached state attorney general Jason Ravnsborg for his involvement in a fatal crash in 2020. [[Newsweek / Zoe Strozewski](] - Facing 12 years of drought, Chilean officials might begin rationing water in the capital Santiago. [[Al Jazeera](] - The Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased the cost of natural gas needed to make fertilizer — threatening the global food supply. [[AP / Geoffrey Kaviti, Chinedu Asadu, and Paul Wiseman](]   VERBATIM “The big news in the March report was that core price pressures finally appear to be moderating.” [[Andrew Hunter, senior US economist at Capital Economics, on the latest inflation report](]   LISTEN TO THIS The case for regret Sean Illing talks with writer Daniel Pink about his book The Power of Regret and why regret can be not only useful, but potentially the most valuable emotion we have. [Listen now ▶](   Read more from Vox [Stop calling them “accidents”]( [Congrats! You formed a union. Now comes the hard part.]( [The growing, lightly controversial industry teaching kids crypto]( [They warned about pandemics before Covid-19. Now they have a $100 billion plan to stop the next one.]( [Why was a Texas woman charged with murder over an abortion?]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.