Bad news for regular people: prices are climbing at the fastest pace in three years, driven by war and high oil prices, while the White House shrugs it off.

• Consumer prices are up sharply from a year ago, with gas up 40% since the Iran war began.
• Cooking at home now costs so much that eating out can be cheaper, squeezing families on groceries and energy bills.
• Trump says he likes the inflation, tying it to seizing Iranian oil and turning the US into a big oil exporter to Japan and China.
• Shipping everything costs more because oil is expensive, so prices rise across nearly every product, not just fuel.
• Russia is the quiet winner — war and high oil prices always pump money into its economy.

Outlook: With an election in November and tech layoffs piling up, pressure is building to change course, but near-term prices and oil costs look set to stay high.