⛽ Axios PM: Gas prices heat up

🏈 Plus: D.C.'s football fever | Wednesday, August 02, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Aug 02, 2023 😎 Good Wednesday afternoon! Today's PM — edited by Erica Pandey — is 545 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     1 big thing: Gas prices heat up Data: AAA. Chart: Axios Visuals Gas prices ticked up 15¢ in just the past week, as the heat wave hitting Texas and Louisiana slowed oil refineries. Why it matters: The nation's mood runs on gas prices — when they're high, economic vibes worsen. Rising energy prices keep inflation elevated, complicating the Fed's efforts to rein in higher prices, Axios' Emily Peck writes. 🔎 Zoom in: Refineries, which turn crude oil into products like gasoline, don't function as efficiently in 100°-plus weather. Demand for gas typically rises in the summer. Gasoline inventories in the U.S. are at their lowest July level since 2015, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a note. Some states are seeing higher prices than others, AP reports. The average price per gallon in California was $5.01 yesterday, the highest in the country. Gas was cheapest in Mississippi, at $3.29 a gallon. ⚡ Reality check: Prices are still nowhere near the high levels we saw last summer. 👀 What to watch: Hurricane season. Severe weather could also impact refineries and push up prices. Share this story.     2. 🏈 Washington's football fever Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   Football is once again Washington's talk of the town in the post-Dan Snyder era, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil writes. Local son Josh Harris' purchase of the Commanders has the city humming with anticipation for the gridiron. Suddenly, a new stadium sweepstakes is unfolding. The name could change — yes, again! 36 days away from Week 1, fans are giddy and pols are peacocking. State of play: RFK Stadium — the once-bustling, now-defunct site in D.C. — has the momentum. Harris called D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser after the purchase, and last week they met in her office. Not to be outdone, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin trekked over to training camp in Ashburn last week, huddling with Harris on the sidelines. On a possible stadium, Youngkin said afterward: Virginia has a "brand new commitment to Washington football." Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has previously said he supports spending some taxpayer dollars on a stadium in his state. Go deeper ... Get Axios D.C.     A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports DCA is at capacity     DCA has America's busiest runway and adding more flights will increase safety issues, delays and cancellations. What you need to know: Congress has a choice. They can vote to protect passenger safety and convenience — or vote to make travel worse. Learn more.     3. Catch me up Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   🩺 It's becoming ever more dangerous to give birth in America: More than 5.6 million American women live in counties with little to no access to maternity care services. Some 300 hospital birthing units have closed since 2018, according to the March of Dimes. Go deeper. ⚖️ The gunman in the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 will be sentenced to death. Get the latest. 🇨🇦 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, are separating after 18 years of marriage, the couple announced today. Get the latest.     4. 🔥 Literal dumpster fires Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   If Tampa Bay wasn't hot enough, spontaneously combusting garbage certainly doesn't help. Tampa's solid waste department has seen a recent trend in "hot loads" during the spring and summer, aka spontaneous combustions and fires inside trash or recycling trucks, Axios Tampa Bay's Selene San Felice writes. What's happening: These are caused by overheating lithium-ion batteries, chemicals, cleaning solutions, propane tanks or electronics improperly disposed of in bins. Tampa Fire Rescue has responded to more than 1,200 trash or dumpster fires in the last year, the city announced.     A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports Protect regional access to our nation's capital     Regional airports are critical for connecting communities and supporting local economies. Okay, but: One group is pushing for changes to DCA's slot and perimeter rules that threaten these communities' access to our nation's capital. Take action.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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