JOURNALISTS have been among those injured during protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles (LA) in recent days, as police clashed with crowds of protesters and fired less-lethal munitions to disperse them.

Since confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement first flared over the weekend, more than 30 cases of “police violence” against journalists while covering the protests have been reported, according to a database maintained by the Los Angeles Press Club.

The press club includes physical violence as well as efforts to impair journalists’ coverage, such as nonconsensual bag searches, in the category. It updates its database with reports from journalists and incidents reported on social media.

Some of the incidents have resulted in injuries.

Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for 9News Australia, was hit by a projectile while reporting live in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Ms. Tomasi had her back to police and was speaking into the camera when an officer pointed a weapon toward her and fired it, according to a video of the incident.

Toby Canham, a freelance photographer working for the New York Post, said he was struck by a projectile on Sunday, resulting in a bruised forehead. In an interview he said the projectile, which was “hard and rubbery,” knocked him to the ground. The Post published an image shot by Mr. Canham showing a law enforcement official that he said had fired at him from about 100 yards (91 meters) away.

Ms. Tomasi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Matt Stanton, chief executive officer of 9News parent company Nine, in a statement called the incident “shocking” and emphasized the need for a formal investigation.

A photo editor at the New York Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The press club said it was aware of 20 injuries to journalists during the LA protests, including at least five that required medical attention.

While Reuters established that at least two journalists were injured, the news agency could not independently confirm whether Tomasi or Canham were targeted because they are journalists. Reuters also could not confirm the press club’s figures.

In remarks to Australia’s National Press Club on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tomasi was targeted as a journalist and that Australia has raised the issue with the Trump administration.

A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesperson did not confirm it had launched an investigation into the Tomasi incident, but highlighted a press release stating that its professional standards bureau “will be investigating allegations of excessive force and other issues related to LAPD actions during the protests.” It is unclear whether those allegations relate to Ms. Tomasi.

Other journalists included in the database said they were tear-gassed alongside protesters, kept in a small area, or had their bags searched by law enforcement without their consent.

Asked about the incidents involving journalists, a White House spokesperson highlighted the risks to law enforcement officers and the public.

“Whenever violent, left-wing rioters engage in lawless behavior, they put innocent bystanders at risk,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

She added that Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “refused to quell the violent riots” and are “directly responsible for putting civilians in harm’s way.”

Spokespeople for Mr. Newsom and Ms. Bass did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Ms. Bass, a Democrat, has said protests have been “largely peaceful,” but there have also been incidents of protesters hurling projectiles at police, burning cars and looting.

INADEQUATE TRAINING?
Adam Rose, the press club’s press rights chair, said the volume of incidents involving members of the media over just four days is unprecedented in Los Angeles.

The high frequency could reflect a number of factors, including inadequate training of both law enforcement and journalists, Mr. Rose said.

Mr. Canham, the freelance photographer who was injured and who previously served in the British Army, described a scene in which people were throwing water bottles at law enforcement before an officer “deliberately aimed” at him.

“My main point is, please positively ID a target before you shoot,” he told Reuters.

Since Los Angeles relies heavily on transportation by car, law enforcement officials have a large responsibility to move protesters out of the way to allow traffic to flow, said Katherine Jacobsen, the US, Canada and Caribbean program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists. The priority for moving traffic could create more opportunities for conflict between police and journalists, she said.

Commentators on the right have taken to social media attacking coverage by some outlets, saying they were at times intentionally downplaying the protests. It was unclear if that criticism had any impact on the number of incidents involving journalists.

Mr. Trump has said protesters have spit on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Saturday that ICE officers had been targeted in recent days and doxxed, the practice of publicizing private information for malicious reasons. Reuters could not confirm these incidents.

GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS
The LA protests are not the first time journalists including some from Reuters covering US civil unrest have suffered injuries, whether by accident or through deliberate attacks. The number of physical assaults on members of the media spiked in 2020, the year nationwide Black Lives Matter protests erupted after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to Press Freedom Tracker, which describes itself as a nonpartisan news website and database.

In subsequent years, assaults on journalists have moderated, the Press Freedom Tracker shows. Before the recent unrest in Los Angeles and other US cities, only a handful of such cases have been logged by the database this year. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US consumer prices increased less than expected in May as cheaper gasoline partially offset higher rents, but inflation is expected to accelerate in the coming months on the back of the Trump administration’s import tariffs.

The report from the Labor department on Wednesday also showed underlying price pressures muted last month. Economists say inflation has been slow to respond to President Donald J. Trump’s sweeping tariffs as most retailers are still selling merchandise accumulated before the import duties took effect.

Walmart last month said it would start raising prices in late May and June. Inflation was also being curbed by slower price rises for services, including subdued airline fares. The US Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged next Wednesday, with financial markets optimistic of a resumption in monetary policy easing in September.

“This report is another indicator that, before tariffs and economic uncertainty, we were well on our way to inflation falling back to target and that the main impediment to future progress is tariff-related price increases,” said Daniel Hornung, a senior fellow at MIT.

The consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.1% last month after rising 0.2% in April, the Labor department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI climbing 0.2%.

A 0.3% increase in the cost of shelter, mostly rents, was the main driver of the rise in the CPI. Food prices rebounded 0.3% after dipping 0.1% in April. Grocery store prices climbed 0.3%, lifted by strong increases for cereals and bakery products as well as other food consumed at home.

Fruit and vegetable prices also rose, but consumers got some relief from a 2.7% decline in the cost of eggs. Meat, fish, nonalcoholic beverages and dairy products also cost less relative to April. Gasoline prices dropped 2.6%.

In the 12 months through May, the CPI advanced 2.4% after gaining 2.3% in April.

In addition to pre-tariffs inventory, economists say an uncertain demand environment was likely making some businesses hesitant to raise prices. Economists expect inflation to heat up from June and through the second half of the year and believe companies will raise prices incrementally to avoid a price shock for consumers and attracting the attention of the White House.

Mr. Trump last month told Walmart to “eat the tariffs” instead of raising prices. The administration has maintained that the duties, which are a tax, were paid by the exporting countries.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said a US-China trade deal was “done.” But duties on Chinese imports would still be way higher than they were in January.

Stocks on Wall Street rose. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. US Treasury yields fell.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI gained 0.1%. The so-called core CPI rose 0.2% in April.

Shelter costs rose 0.3%, with owners’ equivalent rent increasing 0.3%. But the cost of hotel and motel rooms eased 0.1% and airline fares dropped 2.7%, signs of slowing demand.

SOME TARIFF-RELATED INCREASES
Healthcare costs rose 0.3%. Motor vehicle insurance increased 0.7% and personal care costs rose 0.5%. Overall, services costs gained 0.2% after rising 0.4% in April. Some economists are hopeful any tariff-related surge in inflation would be blunted by moderating services prices, especially wage growth.

“The economy is primarily a service sector economy and the biggest cost input is the cost of workers,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. “A cooling jobs market implies that this too will help to mitigate the tariff impact.”

Prices for household furnishings and operations rose 0.3%. Used cars and trucks prices decreased 0.5% while those for new vehicles eased 0.3%. Apparel prices slipped 0.4%.

But there were some pockets of tariff-related increases. Prices for major appliances soared 4.3%, the biggest gain since August 2020, likely reflecting the first round of steel and aluminum duties. Toy prices jumped 1.3%, the largest increase since February 2023.

Prescription medication prices increased 0.6%. Overall core goods prices were unchanged after gaining 0.1% in April.

In the 12 months through May, the core CPI inflation increased 2.8% after rising 2.8% in April.

The Fed tracks different inflation gauges, including the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, for its 2% target. Economists estimated core PCE inflation rose 0.2% in May after edging up 0.1% in April. That would raise the annual increase in core inflation to 2.6% from 2.5% in April.

Those estimates could, however, change after the producer price index (PPI) data on Thursday.

Mr. Trump seized on the benign CPI report to demand that the US central bank lower rates by “one full point.”

But higher prices are likely coming. The Fed’s Beige Book report last week noted “widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward.”

The CPI data will come under close scrutiny in the months ahead also for another reason. Last week the BLS, which also compiles other economic releases including the closely watched employment report, announced the suspension of CPI data collection in three cities because of resource constraints.

The BLS, like all government agencies, has been severely affected by mass firings, voluntary resignations, early retirements and hiring freezes, which are part of an unprecedented campaign by the White House to drastically reduce the size of government and remake it.

The BLS has also announced that it would, effective with the release of the July PPI data in August, end the calculation and publication of about 350 indexes. That would include data from PPI industry, commodity, final demand-intermediate demand and special index classifications.

Amid estimates that BLS staffing was down by at least 15%, that is raising concerns about data quality. But the BLS said on Tuesday its published data met rigorous standards. It, however, did not address staffing issues.

“Data quality is evaluated through measures of variance, bias studies, and assessments of survey methods,” the agency said in a statement to Reuters. “BLS continues to evaluate data quality.” — Reuters

TOKYO — JERA, Japan’s biggest power generator, has agreed to new supply deals for US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from four projects to diversify its global portfolio away from its reliance on Australia, it said on Thursday.

JERA plans to buy up to 5.5 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of US LNG under 20-year contracts, with deliveries starting around 2030. That total includes some previously reported deals as well as newly announced agreements.

Of the 5.5 mtpa announced on Wednesday, 2.5 mtpa are non-binding agreements, also called Heads of Agreement (HOA).

The move illustrates Japan’s efforts to seek stable and flexible LNG supply to strengthen energy security and meet growing electricity demand driven by expanding data centers. The country is the world’s second-largest LNG importer after China.

The move also boosts US President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to expand LNG exports from the United States, already the world’s top shipper of the super-cooled fuel, to help domestic producers and improve the trade balance with Japan.

Doug Burgum, the US Interior Secretary, said at an event at the Department of Energy headquarters in Washington that the agreements are about prosperity and peace.

“When we can sell energy to our friends and allies, our great ally like Japan, so that they don’t have to buy it from our adversaries, that makes the world a more secure place.”

Among the agreements, Japan’s biggest LNG buyer signed an HOA with Sempra Infrastructure for 1.5 mtpa from its Port Arthur LNG phase 2 project and an HOA with Cheniere Energy for up to 1 mtpa from Corpus Christi LNG and Sabine Pass LNG.

The Japanese utility also signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement with US LNG developer Commonwealth LNG for 1 mtpa from its Louisiana project. On Tuesday, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters about the deal, although both companies declined to comment at the time.

The 5.5 mtpa figure also includes its deal announced on May 29 with NextDecade to buy 2 mtpa from its Rio Grande LNG project.

All four are 20-year, free-on-board contracts with no destination restrictions, although the Cheniere deal could go beyond 20 years, JERA said.

“We made these decisions because cost-competitive and flexible LNG is essential as we look towards the 2030s,” JERA’s global chief executive officer and chair, Yukio Kani, told Reuters.

He added that LNG has become increasingly important amid rising power demand from data centers and the soaring costs of cleaner alternatives like hydrogen and ammonia.

“We were also aiming to secure contracts with the projects already under development and tied to the EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) agreements before the recent surge in LNG project costs and interest rates,” he said.

REBALANCING SUPPLIES
The announcement comes amid ongoing trade talks between Japan and the United States, though Mr. Kani stressed there was no government pressure behind the deals which he said were purely private-sector decisions.

“We are rebalancing towards the global supply mix,” he said, to reduce its weighting toward Australia.

After the new deals, the US will supply nearly 30% of JERA’s LNG mix, up from 10% now. Oceania and Asia, including Australia, currently account for more than half.

Cheniere said in the last decade it has found it challenging to find a Japanese buyer for its LNG.

“We’re honored that off-taker is Japan’s, and the world’s, largest buyer of LNG.” Cheniere Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin said at the event on Wednesday.

Sempra said it was happy to work with JERA.

“With this announcement, we continue to make steady progress towards reaching a final investment decision for the project,” said Justin Bird, chief executive officer of Sempra Infrastructure.

Commonwealth LNG said it was delighted to be partnering with JERA, considering the Japanese buyer’s prominent role and extensive experience along the full LNG value chain.

JERA, jointly owned by Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, already buys US supply from Freeport LNG and Cameron LNG. In 2023, it signed a 20-year contract to buy 1 mtpa from Venture Global’s CP2 project. — Reuters