Por Matt Egan, CNN

La crisis energética es una pesadilla financiera para Main Street y una pesadilla política para la Casa Blanca.

La inflación está volviendo, los salarios reales se están reduciendo y los votantes culpan al presidente Donald Trump por tener que pagar la gasolina a US$ 4,50 el galón.

Trump ahora enfrenta un momento decisivo para evitar que los precios de la gasolina superen los máximos históricos de la era Biden.

Sin embargo, Trump ya ha tomado medidas de emergencia diseñadas para limitar el daño. Su administración está extrayendo petróleo de las reservas de Estados Unidos al ritmo más rápido jamás registrado. Se han eliminado las restricciones de envío. Se han suavizado algunas sanciones a Rusia y Venezuela.

Si bien se han planteado otras ideas, como suspender el impuesto federal a la gasolina, la realidad es que a Trump solo le queda una palanca para reducir los precios de la gasolina: reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz, de una forma u otra.

“Es muy poco lo que la administración puede hacer”, dijo Jan Stuart, estratega energético global de Piper Sandler.

Por eso Stuart prevé que la crisis energética empeore esta primavera y verano, elevando la gasolina a US$ 5 el galón tan pronto como este mes.

Stuart espera que los futuros del crudo Brent promedien US$ 130 por barril el próximo trimestre, rompiendo el récord trimestral anterior, y se mantengan cerca de US$ 100 el próximo año.

La Casa Blanca destacó las medidas que Trump ha tomado para abordar la agitación en los mercados energéticos, incluida una exención de 60 días de la Ley Jones.

“El presidente Trump siempre ha sido claro en que se trata de interrupciones temporales a corto plazo. El presidente redujo los precios del petróleo y el gas a mínimos de varios años a una velocidad récord, y a medida que el tráfico en el estrecho de Ormuz se normalice, estos precios de la energía se desplomarán una vez más”, dijo la portavoz de la Casa Blanca Taylor Rogers en un comunicado.

Trump recientemente respaldó suspender el impuesto federal a la gasolina de 18,4 centavos por galón.

Sin embargo, una exención del impuesto a la gasolina que cubriera la temporada de conducción de verano de 122 días le costaría al Fondo Fiduciario de Carreteras US$ 11.500 millones en ingresos perdidos sin brindar un alivio significativo a los consumidores, según un análisis del Penn Wharton Budget Model, un grupo de expertos no partidista.

Incluso llenar un tanque de gasolina de 15 galones una vez por semana solo ahorraría un total de US$ 35 durante la pausa, encontró el análisis.

Una exención del impuesto a la gasolina “impulsaría la demanda de combustible en un momento de escasez de oferta”, según Jason Bordoff, director fundador del Centro de Política Energética Global de la Universidad de Columbia.

En otras palabras, es exactamente lo contrario de lo que se necesita.

No es de extrañar que en 2022 los republicanos de la Cámara de Representantes desestimaran la exención del impuesto a la gasolina como un “truco”. Lo mismo hizo el entonces candidato Barack Obama en 2008, después de que Hillary Clinton y John McCain respaldaran una suspensión del impuesto a la gasolina.

“Es un truco. Tenía razón”, dijo a CNN Mark Zandi, quien fue el principal asesor económico de McCain en la campaña presidencial de 2008 y ahora es el economista jefe de Moody’s Analytics, sobre los comentarios de Obama.

Algunos legisladores han pedido que la administración Trump considere la opción “nuclear”: restringir o incluso prohibir las exportaciones estadounidenses de petróleo crudo, gasolina y otros productos derivados del petróleo.

Si bien algunos analistas admiten que los precios de la gasolina en Estados Unidos podrían caer rápidamente si se prohíben las exportaciones, sospechan que la caída sería fugaz y que la medida extrema desestabilizaría aún m

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

Many of us already have a complicated relationship with Mondays. This one could be especially rough for New Yorkers: city officials are warning of major travel disruptions as strikes disrupt America’s busiest commuter railroad.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ Prayer event

An all-day prayer event on the National Mall on Sunday — backed by taxpayer dollars and private donations — has become the latest flashpoint in the debate over the separation of church and state under the Trump administration. The gathering in Washington, DC, was part of a broader push by the White House to elevate Christianity in the government’s operations, culture and policy. Experts CNN spoke with were split on whether the event was constitutional. Read more.

MORE: Religion is ‘back in fashion’ in America

2⃣ Trump’s new warning

President Donald Trump is escalating his rhetoric toward Iran as he considers resuming US military strikes there. In a social media post on Sunday, Trump warned that if Iran does not move quickly toward a deal, “there won’t be anything left of them.” The threat came a day after he met with his national security team to discuss the path forward on the war. Read more.

3⃣ Primaries

It’s a big week in US politics. Several states are holding primary elections on Tuesday, but one of the biggest political battlegrounds is Georgia, where high-stakes House and Senate contests could shape key midterm races. The results may also test President Trump’s grip on the Republican Party, especially after a Louisiana primary over the weekend showed the risks of opposing him. Read more.

4⃣ Ebola outbreak

An international effort is underway to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda that has infected hundreds and caused at least 80 suspected deaths. The CDC is also working to relocate a “small number of Americans” who were reportedly affected. Read more.

5⃣ Severe storms

A rare high-end tornado threat has been issued for parts of the central US as a severe storm outbreak is expected to peak today. Forecasters warn dangerous conditions across the Plains and Midwest could bring intense tornadoes — including long-track EF3s or stronger — along with destructive hail, damaging winds and torrential rain. Read more.

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Breakfast browse

A historic victory

Aaron Rai on Sunday became the first English golfer to win the PGA Championship in more than a century.

Video: How not to be a cliché in Paris

Skip the beret. I’m begging you.

By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — Stephen Colbert is going out with a smile — and with many jokes at CBS and its parent company Paramount’s expense.

Colbert is signing off “The Late Show” this week as CBS ends the iconic late-night TV franchise.

Many “Late Show” fans are disappointed, even angry, about the cancellation, doubting CBS’s rationale for the decision and believing that appeasement politics toward Trump are at play.

“I have every right to be pissed off,” Colbert’s predecessor, David Letterman, said during a farewell visit to the show last week.

But while others are outraged on his behalf, and the audience continues to litigate the show’s end, Colbert remains positive and radiates gratitude.

“I’ve really liked working with CBS,” he recently told The New York Times. “They’ve been great partners. And I’d like to end it that way… I feel so much better to be ‘grateful for’ than to be ‘mad about.’”

Colbert’s primary concern, as he has indicated in other interviews, is about the “Late Show” staff, who will be out of work after Thursday night’s finale.

The promotional listings for the final week contain some clues about the show’s plans.

Monday’s episode will be “the worst of ‘The Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert,” according to the CBS press release, which notes that it is “not a clip show,” meaning Colbert has some new material in store.

Tuesday’s episode will feature two A-list stars, Jon Stewart and Steven Spielberg, plus a “special performance by David Byrne and Stephen Colbert.” Spielberg is starting a press tour for his new movie “Disclosure Day,” and Stewart is a longtime friend and producing partner of Colbert’s.

Wednesday’s episode will include a performance by Bruce Springsteen and a special edition of “The Colbert Questionert,” a recurring Q&A segment on the show.

And Thursday’s finale will be a surprise: no guests or segments are being promoted in advance.

Colbert’s chief rivals, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” will both run reruns on Thursday night.

In a podcast taping with Kimmel, Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver last week, Colbert alternated between sentimental and sarcastic about the end of his show.

He also shared that “my son graduates college on the 18th; my show ends on the 21st; my brother gets married on the 23rd. So, I’m kind of sandwiched between things that are, like, a little more important — like, you know, a little perspective.”

Colbert, 62, has said little about his public-facing plans after “The Late Show,” though he is attached to be a writer on a new “Lord of the Rings” movie, a dream gig for one of TV’s biggest Tolkien fans.

‘Two things can be true’

As for the whodunit aspect of his show’s cancellation, Colbert told The Times, “It’s possible that two things can be true.”

When CBS announced last July that this season of “The Late Show” would be the last, the network said it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

But the timing raised plenty of eyebrows. At the time, Paramount was trying to win Trump administration approval for its merger with Skydance Media, and the company had just settled President Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News, even though legal experts deemed the suit frivolous. On the air, Colbert likened the settlement to a “big fat bribe.”

Then came news of the cancellation, though it had apparently been in the works internally for weeks. Numerous Democratic officeholders raised questions about whether Colbert was axed for political reasons. After all, it’s nearly impossible to separate Colbert the comedian from Colbert the Trump critic.

Trump, of course, celebrated Colbert’

By Hanna Ziady, Chris Isidore, CNN

London/New York (CNN) — New Yorkers should prepare for travel disruption Monday, the city’s officials have warned, as service on the vital Long Island Rail Road remains suspended because of a historic strike.

“The City is preparing for travel disruptions going into the workweek and New Yorkers should too,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted to X late Sunday, providing an update of the latest developments and advice on how to navigate the service interruption. “New Yorkers should plan for heavier-than-usual traffic and additional travel time,” he added.

Marathon talks between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the railway, and unions representing railroad workers ended early Monday without an agreement to end the strike, which has shut down North America’s busiest commuter rail network since Saturday.

The MTA’s latest service alert shows that all branches of the Long Island Rail Road, which carries around 250,000 customers each weekday across 947 trains, remain suspended. It advised commuters to work from home if possible.

The MTA will provide shuttle busses from Long Island into the city starting at 4.30 a.m. ET Monday, according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “We have a plan in place to help essential workers get to the city and minimize disruptions as much as possible,” she said on X.

The strike by five unions representing 3,500 workers is the first at the railroad since 1994. It comes after the unions failed Friday to reach a deal with management on wages and working conditions. Workers are seeking their first raise since 2022, in the region of 4-5%.

The National Mediation Board, the federal labor agency governing labor relations for railroads and airlines, summoned representatives for both sides to a Sunday afternoon meeting that continued until nearly 1:30 a.m. Monday, the Associated Press reported.

Though a deal could not be reached, the two sides agreed to restart negotiations Monday morning.

Unions on strike represent engineers, signalmen and machinists. The conductors are not on strike but they are union members and honoring the picket lines.

“The LIRR is the lifeblood of Long Island. Hundreds of thousands of riders depend on it every day. This strike hurts both the riders who rely on the LIRR and the workers who operate it,” said Hochul, who has condemned the strike as “reckless.”

Commuters now face the prospect of having to drive to work at a time when gas prices have surged and new tolls are in place on all cars entering Manhattan’s business district.

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By John Towfighi, CNN

(CNN) — Consumer prices in April rose at the highest annual rate in three years, putting inflation back into focus.

Inflation eats away at the value of your dollar. Smart investing, however, can build wealth at a rate that outpaces inflation over time. And there are different strategies to make portfolios even more resilient against inflation.

There is no one-size fits all model, and investors’ ages, spending needs, risk tolerance and life goals are all important factors. But here’s what investment professionals say about inflation-proofing a portfolio:

Stocks and compounding growth

Putting cash to work in the stock market is one of the most important steps to protect your wealth against inflation, experts told CNN.

Part of that is because, over time, compounding returns can grow at a healthy clip, outpacing overall inflation.

Of course, the downside of stocks is that they can be volatile, and past gains don’t guarantee future returns. But investing in high quality blue-chip stocks or funds that track diversified benchmarks like the S&P 500 can help you stay ahead of inflation in the long run.

Since the end of World War II, the S&P 500 has delivered a compound annual growth rate of 11.3%, according to CFRA Research. In comparison, the Consumer Price Index has had a compound annual growth rate of 3.7%.

Investors should focus on shares in companies with strong balance sheets that pay dividends, and maintain a balance of investment styles, said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Growth stocks, like those of Big Tech companies, can deliver outsized returns during periods of strong corporate earnings. Value stocks, like energy and financials, can generate steady returns and income during periods of higher interest rates and inflation.

A 3% annual inflation rate would double consumer prices across a 25-year retirement, according to research by Kourkafas. That statistic highlights the “hidden cost of cash,” he said, and how dollars can lose their value unless invested in an asset that grows faster than inflation.

“There’s not a magic solution, but it is likely a combination of investments that can help portfolios be more resilient to inflation pressures,” Kourkafas said.

TIPS and I bonds

Two of the best tools to inflation-proof a portfolio are actually offered by the US government, according to Jeremy Keil, a certified financial planner and advisor at Keil Financial Partners.

One asset that can help investors hedge against inflation concerns: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS. These are US government bonds, like Treasuries, designed with inflation in mind.

TIPS track inflation as measured by CPI. When inflation rises, the value of TIPS also rises, raising interest payments and returning more money to your bank account.

“It’s a government security, so very high-quality fixed income,” said Matthew Garrott, director of investment research at Fairway Wealth Management. “And then the inflation-protected piece is a cherry on top.”

But higher Federal Reserve interest rates can send TIPS prices lower, similar to standard Treasuries, hurting investors’ short-term returns.

The US government also issues I bonds. These bonds offer an interest rate that changes every six months based on the latest CPI data, maintaining returns above the level of inflation.

The downside: There is a $10,000 annual cap on new I bond investments along with restrictions on withdrawals. Investors aren’t able to get their money back for at least a year. Even then, there’s a penalty on withdrawing funds before five years.

Commodities and real estate

Investing in so-called “alternative assets” like commodities and real estate can also help diversify