It’s been more than 100 days since President Donald Trump took office. He vowed during the campaign to bring down food prices on day one, and while egg prices are finally falling, the cost of other consumer goods remains high.

Now $6 per pound, the average price of ground beef hit a record high for the third consecutive month, jumping 15 cents since March. The cost of electricity also remained at its peak in April, according to the latest data from the consumer price index.

Some good news? Egg prices are dropping from all-time highs. The average cost of eggs settled at $5.12 in April, declining roughly 18% from March.

Still, the cost of many goods and services has stayed much the same with the change of administrations. The price of milk, bread and chicken has moved very little since December.

Though many of these prices are not directly linked to the White House, they may soon be, with a burgeoning global trade war sure to affect average prices from the grocery store to the pump.

The Tribune is tracking 11 everyday costs for Americans — eggs, milk, bread, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, chicken, ground beef, gasoline, electricity and natural gas — and how they are changing (or not) under the second Trump administration. This tracker is updated monthly using CPI data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To see the average U.S. price of a specific good, click on the dropdown arrow below and select the item you wish to view.

Eggs

Breakfast lovers, rejoice! Egg prices dropped for the first time in months.

In April, the average cost of a dozen large Grade A eggs was $5.12 nationwide — falling more than a dollar from the previous month. This is the first time egg prices have decreased since October, likely due to a declining number of bird flu cases in commercial and backyard flocks.

In February, there were approximately 12.6 million birds affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In March, that number was 2.1 million, and as of April, only 1 million U.S. birds were affected — with those cases primarily concentrated in two commercial flocks in South Dakota and Ohio.

Still, the cost of eggs remains about 24% higher than before Trump took office. But with the number of reported bird flu cases on the decline, experts expect egg prices will continue dropping into the summer months.

Milk

It’s not just poultry flocks and wild birds that have been affected by bird flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus has been reported in dairy cows since March 2024, and just last month, there were 48 new confirmed cases at dairy farms in California, Arizona and Idaho.

But while avian flu cases are declining in poultry, they’re rising in cattle. In April, the number of newly infected dairy cows was double that of March and represented the greatest number of cases reported in a single month since the start of the new calendar year.

So it may not come as a surprise that the cost of milk is increasing, though far from the volatile spikes seen in egg prices. The current average cost is only a 4 cent difference from January.

As of April, a gallon of fresh, fortified whole milk would set you back about $4.07.

Bread

According to the national average, white bread was about $1.91 per pound in April. Bread is priced about 4.3% less than it was 12 months ago.

Bananas

One item that hasn’t seen much fluctuation in recent years is bananas. The fruit’s price has remained reliably low — hovering at $0.64 per pound as of April.

Oranges

Orange prices are expected to steadily rise in the coming months. But don’t fret, because that is normal.

Like many citrus fruits, orange prices are heavily tied to the harvesting season. As we exit orange season, supplies will decrease, coinciding with an increase in demand, thus triggering higher prices. This is standard for the fruit market, with oranges being cheapest in the winter months, then increasing in cost throughout the spring and summer and eventually peaking in September or October each year.

Currently, the average cost per pound for navel oranges is $1.49 nationwide.

Tomatoes

In the U.S., the average price of field-grown tomatoes was $1.79 per pound as of April. That cost is slightly lower than it was the previous month and down roughly 13% since Trump took power.

This change, however, likely has little to do with the administration. Like oranges, tomato prices vary depending on the time of year, rising in the fall, peaking in the early winter months and then plummeting in the spring.

Chicken

The national average crested above $2 per pound for fresh, whole chicken for the first time last year and hit a record high of $2.08 in November. Since then, the average cost has been roughly the same. According to the latest CPI figures, chicken is $2.06 per pound.

Ground beef

Your next backyard cookout might be more expensive, with the cost of ground beef rising.

Prices spiked again from March to April, jumping nearly 2.5% to an all-time high, according to BLS data. The average price of 100% beef ground chuck is now $6.00 per pound — 15 cents more than the previous record set just last month.

This is likely due to a number of factors. In addition to several major ground beef recalls reported in recent months, the U.S. cattle inventory is at a 25-year low, and severe drought in parts of the country has further reduced the feed supply, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

More recently, in trade talks with the U.S., the United Kingdom agreed to buy more American beef, a deal that the president says will lead to greater exports. But as China and the European Union’s tariffs on beef and other U.S. farm exports remain, this may not be the last time we see record prices this year.

Perhaps this is the year to give vegetarianism a try?

Electricity

In April, the average price of electricity nationwide was 18 cents per kilowatt-hour. That average has remained more or less the same since May of last year, with the typical month-over-month changes registering at less than a fraction of a cent.

Even so, the current cost of electricity is the highest on record — going back more than 45 years.

Gasoline

The price at the pump is climbing again.

The cost of gas rose 10 cents month-over-month to $3.33 per gallon of regular unleaded, about a 6% increase from the last month of the Biden administration.

Nonetheless, prices remain about 12% lower than they were in April 2024, and markedly less than the jaw-dropping numbers many Americans saw three summers ago.

Prices in Chicago, meanwhile, are about 12 cents higher than the nationwide average, sitting at $3.45 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Natural gas

Piped utility gas, or natural gas, is another expense that’s creeping up.

Average prices nationwide sit at $1.63 per therm — the highest they’ve been in two years.

By DAVID A. LIEB

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican-led states are accelerating efforts to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, expanding from higher education to other government functions since President Donald Trump fully embraced the movement.

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Governors and lawmakers this year have about doubled last year’s actions targeting DEI initiatives, which had roughly doubled those of 2023, according to an Associated Press analysis aided by the bill-tracking software Plural.

The surge comes as Trump’s executive orders seeking to halt DEI initiatives ripple through the federal government, universities and schools, despite legal challenges.

“The federal attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion from the Trump administration have further cleared the path for conservative state legislators,” said Shaun Harper, a professor of education, business and public policy at the University of Southern California who founded the National DEI Defense Coalition.

“We are seeing the multiplication of the anti-DEI effort literally everywhere,” Harper added.

Details vary by state, but many efforts contain at least some aspects of a four-pronged plan outlined two years ago by a pair of conservative think tanks. The legislative model promoted by the Manhattan Institute and the Goldwater Institute focused on higher education, seeking to abolish DEI offices and staff, end mandatory diversity training, ban compulsory diversity statements and outlaw racial or sexual preferences in hiring and admissions.

Now Republican-led states are using the same model to prohibit DEI initiatives in state and local governments.

“Despite the Trump administration taking action, the states cannot rely on the federal government to root out DEI for them,” said Timothy Minella, senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

What are DEI initiatives trying to address?

Efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion have existed for years in higher education institutions, businesses and government bureaucracies. Supporters say such initiatives benefit everyone by helping people navigate diverse societies and understand people’s differing viewpoints and experiences. Their goal is to promote student bodies and workplaces where everyone feels valued.

A mural by artist Tene Smith is seen near the entrance of Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit dedicated to training and retaining women in the skilled construction trades, is shown on April 1, 2025, at the facility in Chicago. (Tene Smith via AP)

That is why some DEI offices have tailored services to people of particular races, genders, sexual orientations and cultures and disabilities. Some institutions also have factored in equity goals when admitting students, providing scholarships or making employment decisions, to try to reflect society at large.

Findings in a poll conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show that while “DEI” has become a politically toxic term for many Americans, some components of DEI programs have much less opposition.

The poll found about 4 in 10 Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” favor DEI programs in colleges and universities, while about 3 in 10 oppose those initiatives and about 3 in 10 are neutral.

Support is higher for courses on racism and scholarships for students of color, among other services designed to help students from underrepresented groups.

President Joe Biden’s administration required diversity and equity goals in various government programs.

Trump has reversed those efforts, denouncing DEI policies as a form of discrimination that threatens merit-based decision-making. The Republican roll-back gained momentum after the Supreme Court in 2023 struck down racial affirmative action in college admissions. With Trump’s return to the presidency, a growing number of businesses have voluntarily withdrawn their DEI programs.

How are the new state laws defining DEI?

There is no universal definition about what’s covered by those initiatives. But most state laws and gubernatorial orders focus on initiatives related to race, ethnicity, gender or sex.

Some measures, such bills passed in Oklahoma and Wyoming, further narrow their definition of DEI activities to those that grant preferential or differential treatment of individuals based on such factors.

FILE – Students from the University of Missouri School of Medicine pose for a group photo in a Senate committee room in the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., after testifying against legislation on March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, file)

The state measures don’t typically mention people with disabilities, military veterans or those from lower-income households, even though they might also be included in an institution’s equity efforts, said Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts extends well beyond race, gender and sexuality, but it has been framed in ways that targets those populations and demonize those populations,” she said.

Some workers targeted by Trump’s anti-DEI measures claim they are being used to justify firing people who happen to be minorities and women. One class-action complaint by federal workers alleges that Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders discriminate against employees who aren’t white men.

Where are DEI efforts being targeted?

Limits on DEI initiatives in higher education recently approved by legislatures in Missouri and Oklahoma raise the total number of similar state laws and gubernatorial orders to two dozen since 2023. That includes bills passed earlier this year in Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming. More are under consideration in additional states.

The Missouri measures show the growth of the movement. A provision limiting DEI in higher education got left out of the state budget last year. But it got included this year after new Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe issued an order barring executive agencies from using state funds on DEI positions and activities.

New laws in Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming target DEI initiatives in state and local governments as well as higher education.

What have governors been doing?

More governors are issuing directives now.

On his first day in office in West Virginia in January, Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey ordered an end to DEI staff positions and activities that grant preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity or sex in executive departments and state-funded institutions. On his second day, Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun issued a similar order. Kehoe’s anti-DEI order came in his second month as Missouri governor.

Texas was among the first states in 2023 to legislate against spending on DEI programs in higher education. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott expanded upon that this year, ordering all state agencies to “comply with the color-blind guarantee” of the U.S. and state constitutions. His executive order described DEI concepts as “blatant efforts to divide people” with “new forms of racism.”

What’s next in the anti-DEI crosshairs?

A new Idaho law signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little not only bans DEI offices and programs in higher education but also addresses what’s taught in the classroom. It prohibits colleges and universities from requiring students to take DEI-related courses to meet graduation requirements, unless they’re pursuing degrees in race or gender studies.

It’s the first such law nationally, according to the Goldwater Institute, which teamed up with Speech First to develop a model they describe as the “Freedom from Indoctrination Act.” DEI opponents are hoping more states will soon follow.

“Our goal is to get rid of the DEI mandates for general education and programs in order to get a degree,” Minella said.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of U.S. first lady Melania Trump that was sawed off and carried away from her hometown.

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The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said Friday that the police were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible.

According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawed off at the ankles and removed.

Ankles of sawed off and taken away bronze statue which represented Melania Trump remain on the tree stump where it was placed in 2020, in the village of Rozno, Slovenia, Friday, May 16, 2025, near Melania Trump’s hometown of Sevnica. (AP Photo/Relja Dusek)

Franja Kranjc, who works at a bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes with Melania Trump’s name in support of the first lady, said the stolen statue won’t be missed.

“I think no one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA,” he said. “So I think its OK that it’s removed.”

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017. The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.

By ADRIANA MORGA, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Between collections resuming, courts blocking student loan programs and layoffs at the Education Department, borrowers might be confused about the status of their student loans.

Recently, the Education Department announced it would start involuntary collections on defaulted loans, meaning the roughly 5.3 million borrowers who are in default could have their wages garnished by the federal government.

At the center of the turmoil are the government’s income-driven repayment plans, which reduce monthly payments for borrowers with lower incomes. Those plans were temporarily paused after a federal court blocked parts of the plans in February.

“There’s so much confusion, they’ve made it very complicated,” said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

At the same time, some borrowers are struggling to get their loan servicers on the phone, making it hard to find answers to their questions, said Abrams.

If you’re a student loan borrower, here are some answers to your questions.

What if I want to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan?

Applications for income-driven repayment plans are open, but they’re taking longer than usual to process.

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The applications were temporarily shut down earlier this year after a federal court in Missouri blocked the SAVE plan, a Biden administration plan that offered a faster path to loan forgiveness. The judge’s order also blocked parts of other repayment plans, prompting the Education Department to pause income-driven applications entirely.

Amid pressure from advocates, the department reopened the applications on May 10.

Borrowers can apply for the following income-driven plans: the Income-Based Repayment Plan, the Pay as You Earn plan and the Income-Contingent Repayment plan.

Abrams expects applications will continue to be approved but at a slower pace than before the application pause.

Borrowers currently enrolled in an income-driven plan should be receiving notifications about recertification, said Khandice Lofton, counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Recertification is required annually to update information on family size and income, and dates are different for each borrower.

To review income-driven repayment plans, you can check the loan simulator at studentaid.gov.

What if I applied to the SAVE plan?

Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan have been placed in administrative forbearance while a legal challenge is resolved. That means they don’t have to make payments and interest is not accruing. Time in forbearance normally does not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The Education Department will notify borrowers with updates on payments and litigation.

“We don’t know for sure when the SAVE forbearance is going to end,” Abrams said.

While the future of the SAVE plan is decided in court, Abrams encourages borrowers to explore their eligibility for other income-driven repayment plans.

What if I want to consolidate my student loans?

The online application for loan consolidation is available again, at studentaid.gov/loan-consolidation. If you have multiple federal student loans, you can combine them into one with a fixed interest rate and a single monthly payment.

The consolidation process typically takes around 60 days to complete. You can only consolidate your loans once.

What if my loan was forgiven?

It would be difficult for the Education Department to reinstate loans that were canceled during President Joe Biden’s administration. So far, it isn’t believed to be happening, Abrams said.

What about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program?

Nothing has changed yet.

President Donald Trump wants to change the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to disqualify workers of nonprofit groups deemed to have engaged in “improper” activities. He signed an executive order to that effect, but it has yet to be enforced.

Borrowers enrolled in PSLF should keep up with payments to make progress toward loan forgiveness, said Sarah Austin, policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

“There could be some changes coming in regards to PSLF but at this current time PSLF is still functioning and there is still loan forgiveness being processed under the PSLF provision,” said Austin.

An income-driven repayment tracker has disappeared from the federal student loan website for many borrowers, said Abrams. For keeping track of their status, Abrams is recommending that borrowers take screenshots of their payments.

What if I can’t get a hold of my loan servicer?

Contacting your loan servicer is crucial to managing and understanding your student loans. Due to the large number of people trying to get answers or apply for programs, loan servicers are taking longer than usual to respond.

Abrams recommends borrowers prepare for long wait times.

“We’ve heard borrowers being in hold for three or four hours, then being transferred to a supervisor and then being hung up on, after all that wait time. It’s incredibly frustrating,” Abrams said.

What can I do if I’m delinquent on my student loans?

If you’re delinquent, try to get back on track. Borrowers who don’t make their payments for 270 days go into default, which has severe consequences.

“If you’re delinquent but have not defaulted yet, do whatever you can do to avoid going default,” said Kate Wood, a student loans expert at NerdWallet.

Borrowers who are delinquent on their student loans take a massive hit on their credit scores, which could drop 100 points or more, Wood said. A delinquency stays on your credit report for seven years.

Wood recommends contacting your servicer to ask for options, which can include forbearance, deferment or applying for an income-driven repayment plan.

What if I’m in default on my student loans?

The Education Department is recommending borrowers visit its Default Resolution Group to make a monthly payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan or sign up for loan rehabilitation.

Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute for Student Loan Advisors, recommends loan rehabilitation.

Borrowers in default must ask their loan servicer to be placed into such a program. Typically, servicers ask for proof of income and expenses to calculate a payment amount. Once a borrower has paid on time for nine months in a row, they are taken out of default, Mayotte said. A loan rehabilitation can only be done once.

What happened to Fresh Start?

The Fresh Start program was a one-time temporary program that helped borrowers get out of default. This program ended Aug. 31, 2024.

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.