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Grocery and Gasoline Prices Surge

[Kirkland, WA – WBHG News] – It’s been more than five months since President Donald Trump was inaugurated after campaigning on controlling inflation to lower grocery and fuel prices. One hundred and fifty-two days later, has the situation improved?

On January 21, 2025, our team benchmarked grocery, fuel, and fast food prices in Kirkland to track over the next four years. This is our fifth update.

Based on actual retail prices, today’s grocery trip costs $2.18 more than last month and $12.05 more than our first trip in January. The price of Oscar Meyer hot dogs went up, and shrinkflation raised the prices of Prego pasta sauce, which lost an ounce, and Bounty paper towels. The “6=12” package of Bounty paper towels we purchased on January 21 is now equivalent to 9.15 rolls, without a change in packaging.

Today’s bill increased from $245.17 to $247.35, a 0.9% rise from last month.

A 12-gallon fill-up of regular gasoline has climbed $2.40 from a month ago and is now 63 cents a gallon higher than it was on January 21. Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson signed the state budget bill this morning, which will increase the gasoline tax by 6 cents on July 1, 2025.

The prices of popular fast food items at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Domino’s did not change.

Here are the Products

We are tracking the prices of 27 popular items, including regular unleaded gasoline and meals from three major fast food brands.

ItemWeight, Volume, QuantityMay 21, 2025, Non-sale PriceJune 21, 2025
Non-sale Price
Change
Dairy Products
Whole Milk – Kroger Brand128 fluid ounces$3.69$3.69
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter4 count – total weight 16 ounces$5.99$5.99
Kraft Singles American processed cheese food product24 individual slices – 16 ounces by weight $5.49$5.49
Household Products
Tide 3-in-1 Pods laundry detergent102 count – 85.0 ounces$24.99$24.99
Dawn Ultra dishwashing soap38 fluid ounces$6.49$6.49
Bounty 6=12 doubles paper towels
6 2-ply rolls, 50 11 inches X 10.2 inches sheets per roll, 211 square feet
$14.99 for 233 square feet$14.99 for 211 square feetSize dropped from 233 square feet to 211 – a $1.56 price increase
Breakfast Foods
Cheerios toasted oat cereal20 ounces$6.99$6.99
Starbucks Pike Place Roast ground coffee – medium roast18 ounces$14.49$14.49
Meat
Kroger Brand “Simple Truth” prepackaged natural ground beef – 90/1016 ounces, individual vacuum pack$9.99 for 90/10$9.99
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks – Classic10 count – total weight 15 ounces$5.49$5.99Increase, 50 cents
Infant/Baby
Pampers baby-dry stage 6 diapers50 count$28.99$28.99
Health and Beauty
Tampax Pearl Large Light Day tampons36 count$11.49$11.49
Charmin Ultra Strong 12=48 Mega roll toilet paper12 2-ply rolls, 220 3.92 inches x 4 inches sheets per roll, 287 square feet$16.99$16.99
Snack and Convenience Foods
Red Baron brick oven crust pepperoni pizza17.89 ounces$5.29$5.29
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza flavor8 count – total weight 36 ounces$10.99$10.99
Oreo cookies18.12 ounces$4.99$4.99
Doritos – Cool Ranch Flavor – party size14.5 ounces$6.99$6.99
Coca-Cola – canned, sweetened with corn syrup12 count – 12 fluid ounce cans$10.99$10.99
Soups and Broths
Swanson chicken broth32 fluid ounces$2.99$2.99
Quick Meals
Prego Traditional jarred prepared pasta sauce, tomato23 ounces by weight$2.79 for 24 ounces$2.79 for 23 ouncesIncrease, 12 cents
Barilla rotini pasta16 ounces$1.99$1.99
Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner, original flavor7.25 ounces$1.29$1.29
Wonder Bread, white, sliced20 ounces$3.49$3.49
Staples
C&H premium pure cane granulated sugar in bag64 ounces$4.99$4.99
Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, bleached and enriched80 ounces$5.69$5.69
Condiments
Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing16 fluid ounces$4.39$4.39
Heinz real tomato ketchup in the easy squeeze bottle20 ounces$3.99$3.99
Gasoline
Regular unleaded E-10 87-octane gasoline at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer location128 fluid ounces$4.19-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade fees$4.39-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade feesA 6-cent increase in state gasoline tax will go into effect on July 1, 2025.
Fast Food
McDonald’s Big Mac meal at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, locationBig Mac with 2 2-ounce beef patties, medium French fry, and medium 21 fluid ounce Coca-Cola with regular ice$11.39 before tax$11.39 before tax
Taco Bell 3 Crunch Taco Combo at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, location3 hard shell tacos with ground beef filling, included toppings, and a large 30 fluid ounces Pepsi with regular ice$8.69 before tax$8.69 before tax
Domino’s large Ultimate Pepperoni pizza for store pickup at the 100th Ave NE, Kirkland location14″ pizza with hand-tossed crust, pepperoni (extra), shredded parmesan asiago and provolone cheeses, and tomato sauce$21.99 before tax$21.99 before tax

Local Grocery Prices Climb Again

[Kirkland, WA – WBHG News] – It’s been four months since President Donald Trump was inaugurated after campaigning on controlling inflation to lower grocery and fuel prices. One hundred and twenty-one days later, has the situation improved?

On 21 January 2025, our team benchmarked grocery, fuel, and fast food prices in Kirkland to track over the next four years. This is our fourth update.

Based on actual retail prices, today’s grocery trip costs $1.90 more than last month and $9.87 more than our first trip in January. The price of Kraft Singles processed cheese and milk went down, and hamburger, Dawn dishwashing soap, and Tampax tampons went up.

Two products had very minor changes that didn’t significantly impact their prices. On January 21, the ground beef we used for our benchmark price was 16 ounces and 93/7 fat content. That changed to 91/9 in March and 90/10 in May. The weight for 102 Tide Pods 3-in-1 laundry detergent went from 84.7 ounces to 85.0 ounces.

Today’s bill climbed from $243.27 to $245.17, up 0.8%, an identical increase from last month.

A 12-gallon fill-up of regular gasoline was unchanged from a month ago and is 43 cents a gallon higher than January 21. Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson signed the state budget bill this morning, which will increase the gasoline tax by 6 cents on July 1, 2025.

The prices of popular fast food items at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Domino’s did not change.

Here are the Products

We are tracking the prices of 27 popular items, regular unleaded gasoline, and meals from three popular fast food brands.

ItemWeight, Volume, QuantityApril 21, 2025, Non-sale PriceMay 21, 2025
Non-sale Price
Change
Dairy Products
Whole Milk – Kroger Brand128 fluid ounces$3.99$3.69Decrease, 30 cents
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter4 count – total weight 16 ounces$5.99$5.99
Kraft Singles American processed cheese food product24 individual slices – 16 ounces by weight $5.79$5.49Decrease, 30 cents
Household Products
Tide 3-in-1 Pods laundry detergent102 count – 85.0 ounces$24.99$24.99Size increased from 84.7 ounces to 85.0 ounces
Dawn Ultra dishwashing soap38 fluid ounces$6.29$6.49Increase, 20 cents
Bounty 6=12 doubles paper towels
6 2-ply rolls, 50 11 inches X 10.2 inches sheets per roll, 233 square feet
$14.99$14.99
Breakfast Foods
Cheerios toasted oat cereal20 ounces$6.99$6.99
Starbucks Pike Place Roast ground coffee – medium roast18 ounces$14.49$14.49
Meat
Kroger Brand “Simple Truth” prepackaged natural ground beef – 90/1016 ounces, individual vacuum pack$9.49 for 91/9$9.99 for 90/10Increase, 50 cents with a 1% increase in fat content
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks – Classic10 count – total weight 15 ounces$5.49$5.49
Infant/Baby
Pampers baby-dry stage 6 diapers50 count$28.99$28.99
Health and Beauty
Tampax Pearl Large Light Day tampons36 count$9.79$11.49Increase, $1.70
Charmin Ultra Strong 12=48 Mega roll toilet paper12 2-ply rolls, 220 3.92 inches x 4 inches sheets per roll, 287 square feet$16.99$16.99
Snack and Convenience Foods
Red Baron brick oven crust pepperoni pizza17.89 ounces$5.29$5.29
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza flavor8 count – total weight 36 ounces$10.99$10.99
Oreo cookies18.12 ounces$4.99$4.99
Doritos – Cool Ranch Flavor – party size14.5 ounces$6.99$6.99
Coca-Cola – canned, sweetened with corn syrup12 count – 12 fluid ounce cans$10.99$10.99
Soups and Broths
Swanson chicken broth32 fluid ounces$2.99$2.99
Quick Meals
Prego Traditional jarred prepared pasta sauce, tomato24 ounces by weight$2.79$2.79
Barilla rotini pasta16 ounces$1.99$1.99
Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner, original flavor7.25 ounces$1.29$1.29
Wonder Bread, white, sliced20 ounces$3.49$3.49
Staples
C&H premium pure cane granulated sugar in bag64 ounces$4.99$4.99
Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, bleached and enriched80 ounces$5.69$5.69
Condiments
Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing16 fluid ounces$4.39$4.39
Heinz real tomato ketchup in the easy squeeze bottle20 ounces$3.99$3.99
Gasoline
Regular unleaded E-10 87-octane gasoline at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer location128 fluid ounces$4.19-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade fees$4.19-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade feesA 6-cent increase in state gasoline tax will go into effect on July 1, 2025.
Fast Food
McDonald’s Big Mac meal at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, locationBig Mac with 2 2-ounce beef patties, medium French fry, and medium 21 fluid ounce Coca-Cola with regular ice$11.39 before tax$11.39 before tax
Taco Bell 3 Crunch Taco Combo at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, location3 hard shell tacos with ground beef filling, included toppings, and a large 30 fluid ounces Pepsi with regular ice$8.69 before tax$8.69 before tax
Domino’s large Ultimate Pepperoni pizza for store pickup at the 100th Ave NE, Kirkland location14″ pizza with hand-tossed crust, pepperoni (extra), shredded parmesan asiago and provolone cheeses, and tomato sauce$21.99 before tax$21.99 before tax

Local Grocery and Gasoline Prices Climb Compared to Last Month

[Kirkland, WA – WBHG News] – It’s been three months since President Donald Trump was inaugurated after campaigning on controlling inflation to lower grocery and fuel prices. Ninety-one days later, has the situation improved?

On 21 January 2025, our team benchmarked grocery, fuel, and fast food prices in Kirkland to track over the next four years. This is our third update.

Based on actual retail prices, today’s grocery trip costs $1.88 more than last month and $7.94 more than our first trip in January. The price of Land-O-Lakes butter decreased, and the price of Oscar Meyer All-Beef Classic Hot Dogs increased.

The quantity of Bounty 6=12 Doubles Paper Towels shrank 37 square feet, the equivalent of 1.65 rolls. Due to shrinkflation, the cost is $2.38 more expensive, despite selling for the same price of $14.99.

The total bill climbed from $241.39 to $243.27, up 0.8%.

A 12-gallon fill-up of regular gasoline increased by $3.60, a 7.2% increase from a month ago and 43 cents a gallon higher than January 21.

The prices of popular fast food items at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Domino’s did not change.

Here are the Products

We are tracking the prices of 27 popular items, regular unleaded gasoline, and meals from three popular fast food brands.

ItemWeight, Volume, QuantityMarch 20, 2025, Non-sale PriceApril 21, 2025
Non-sale Price
Change
Dairy Products
Whole Milk – Kroger Brand128 fluid ounces$3.99$3.99
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter4 count – total weight 16 ounces$6.99$5.99Decrease, $1.00
Kraft Singles American processed cheese food product24 individual slices – 16 ounces by weight $5.79$5.79
Household Products
Tide 3-in-1 Pods laundry detergent102 count – 84.7 ounces$24.99$24.99
Dawn Ultra dishwashing soap38 fluid ounces$6.29$6.29
Bounty 6=12 doubles paper towels
6 2-ply rolls, 50 11 inches X 10.2 inches sheets per roll, 233 square feet
$14.99 for 270 square feet$14.99 for 233 square feetTotal square footage reduced by 37, equal to 1.65 rolls of paper towels, price increase of $2.38 due to shrinkflation
Breakfast Foods
Cheerios toasted oat cereal20 ounces$6.99$6.99
Starbucks Pike Place Roast ground coffee – medium roast18 ounces$14.49$14.49
Meat
Kroger Brand “Simple Truth” prepackaged natural ground beef – 91/916 ounces individual vacuum pack$9.49$9.49
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks – Classic10 count – total weight 15 ounces$4.99$5.49Increase, 50 cents
Infant/Baby
Pampers baby-dry stage 6 diapers50 count$28.99$28.99
Health and Beauty
Tampax Pearl Large Light Day tampons36 count$9.79$9.79
Charmin Ultra Strong 12=48 Mega roll toilet paper12 2-ply rolls, 220 3.92 inches x 4 inches sheets per roll, 287 square feet$16.99$16.99
Snack and Convenience Foods
Red Baron brick oven crust pepperoni pizza17.89 ounces$5.29$5.29
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza flavor8 count – total weight 36 ounces$10.99$10.99
Oreo cookies18.12 ounces$4.99$4.99
Doritos – Cool Ranch Flavor – party size14.5 ounces$6.99$6.99
Coca-Cola – canned, sweetened with corn syrup12 count – 12 fluid ounce cans$10.99$10.99
Soups and Broths
Swanson chicken broth32 fluid ounces$2.99$2.99
Quick Meals
Prego Traditional jarred prepared pasta sauce, tomato24 ounces by weight$2.79$2.79
Barilla rotini pasta16 ounces$1.99$1.99
Kraft mac & cheese dinner, original flavor7.25 ounces$1.29$1.29
Wonder Bread, white, sliced20 ounces$3.49$3.49
Staples
C&H premium pure can granulated sugar in bag64 ounces$4.99$4.99
Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, bleached and enriched80 ounces$5.69$5.69
Condiments
Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing16 fluid ounces$4.39$4.39
Heinz real tomato ketchup in the easy squeeze bottle20 ounces$3.99$3.99
Gasoline
Regular unleaded E-10 87-octane gasoline at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer location128 fluid ounces$3.89-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade fees $4.19-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade feesPrice for 12 gallons of gas increased $3.60.
Fast Food
McDonald’s Big Mac meal at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, locationBig Mac with 2 2-ounce beef patties, medium French fry, and medium 21 fluid ounce Coca-Cola with regular ice$11.39 before tax$11.39 before tax
Taco Bell 3 Crunch Taco Combo at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, location3 hard shell tacos with ground beef filling, included toppings, and a large 30 fluid ounces Pepsi with regular ice$8.69 before tax$8.69 before tax
Domino’s large Ultimate Pepperoni pizza for store pickup at the 100th Ave NE, Kirkland location14″ pizza with hand-tossed crust, pepperoni (extra), shredded parmesan asiago and provolone cheeses, and tomato sauce$21.99 before tax$21.99 before tax

Local Grocery and Gasoline Prices Fall Slightly Compared to Last Month

[Kirkland, WA – WBHG News] – It’s been two months since President Donald Trump was inaugurated after campaigning on controlling inflation to lower grocery and fuel prices. Fifty-nine days later, has the situation improved?

On 21 January 2025, our team benchmarked grocery, fuel, and fast food prices in Kirkland to track over the next four years. This is our second update.

Based on actual retail prices, today’s grocery trip costs $2.26 less compared to last month and $6.06 more than our first trip in January. The price of Kraft Singles cheese, Tide 3-in-1 pods, and Oscar Meyer All-Beef Franks decreased, and the price of Cheerios increased. The total bill dropped from $243.65 to $241.39, down 1.0%. The quantity of Tide 3-in-1 pods dropped from 112 to 102, but the price per pod fell 1/2 a cent each. General Mills stopped selling the 18-ounce Cheerios. It has been replaced by the 20-ounce “giant size,” which is 1.7 cents per ounce more expensive.

Oreo cookies were tagged with a “new lower price” despite no price change from a month ago.

A 12-gallon fill-up of regular gasoline decreased by $2.40, a 5.3% decrease from a month ago but still 4.7% higher than January 21.

The prices of popular fast food items at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Domino’s did not change.

Here are the Products

We are tracking the prices of 27 popular items, regular unleaded gasoline, and meals from three popular fast food brands.

ItemWeight, Volume, QuantityFebruary 20, 2025, Non-sale PriceMarch 20, 2025
Non-sale Price
Change
Dairy Products
Whole Milk – Kroger Brand128 fluid ounces$3.99$3.99
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter4 count – total weight 16 ounces$6.99$6.99
Kraft Singles American processed cheese food product24 individual slices – 16 ounces by weight $6.29$5.79Decrease, 50 cents
Household Products
Tide 3-in-1 Pods laundry detergent102 count – 84.7 ounces$27.99 for 112, weight 93 ounces$24.99Decrease, 56 cents, price per pod decrease, 1/2 a cent
Dawn Ultra dishwashing soap38 fluid ounces$6.29$6.29
Bounty 6=12 doubles paper towels
6 2-ply rolls, 58 11 inches X 10.2 inches sheets per roll, 270 square feet
$14.99$14.99
Breakfast Foods
Cheerios toasted oat cereal20 ounces$5.99 for 18 ounces$6.99Increase, 30 cents, price per ounce increase, 1.7 cents
Starbucks Pike Place Roast ground coffee – medium roast18 ounces$14.49$14.49
Meat
Kroger Brand “Simple Truth” prepackaged natural ground beef – 91/916 ounces individual vacuum pack$9.49$9.49
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks – Classic10 count – total weight 15 ounces$6.49$4.99Decrease, $1.50
Infant/Baby
Pampers baby-dry stage 6 diapers50 count$28.99$28.99
Health and Beauty
Tampax Pearl Large Light Day tampons36 count$9.79$9.79
Charmin Ultra Strong 12=48 Mega roll toilet paper12 2-ply rolls, 220 3.92 inches x 4 inches sheets per roll, 287 square feet$16.99$16.99
Snack and Convenience Foods
Red Baron brick oven crust pepperoni pizza17.89 ounces$4.99$5.29
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza flavor8 count – total weight 36 ounces$10.99$10.99
Oreo cookies18.12 ounces$4.99$4.99
Doritos – Cool Ranch Flavor – party size14.5 ounces$6.99$6.99
Coca-Cola – canned, sweetened with corn syrup12 count – 12 fluid ounce cans$9.99$10.99
Soups and Broths
Swanson chicken broth32 fluid ounces$2.99$2.99
Quick Meals
Prego Traditional jarred prepared pasta sauce, tomato24 ounces by weight$2.79$2.79
Barilla rotini pasta16 ounces$1.99$1.99
Kraft mac & cheese dinner, original flavor7.25 ounces$1.29$1.29
Wonder Bread, white, sliced20 ounces$3.49$3.49
Staples
C&H premium pure can granulated sugar in bag64 ounces$4.99$4.99
Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, bleached and enriched80 ounces$5.69$5.69
Condiments
Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing16 fluid ounces$4.39$4.39
Heinz real tomato ketchup in the easy squeeze bottle20 ounces$3.99$3.99
Gasoline
Regular unleaded E-10 87-octane gasoline at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer location128 fluid ounces$4.09-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade fees $3.89-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade feesPrice for 12 gallons of gas decreased $2.40.
Fast Food
McDonald’s Big Mac meal at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, locationBigMac with 2 2-ounce beef patties, medium French fry, and medium 21 fluid ounce Coca-Cola with regular ice$11.39 before tax$11.39 before tax
Taco Bell 3 Crunch Taco Combo at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, location3 hard shell tacos with ground beef filling, included toppings, and a large 30 fluid ounces Pepsi with regular ice$8.69 before tax$8.69 before tax
Domino’s large Ultimate Pepperoni pizza for store pickup at the 100th Ave NE, Kirkland location14″ pizza with hand-tossed crust, pepperoni (extra), shredded parmesan asiago and provolone cheeses, and tomato sauce$21.99 before tax$21.99 before tax

Local Grocery and Gasoline Prices Climb Despite Trump’s Pledge to Curb Inflation

[Kirkland, WA – WBHG News] – It’s been a month since President Donald Trump was inaugurated after campaigning on controlling inflation to lower grocery and fuel prices. A month later, has the situation improved?

On 21 January 2025, our team benchmarked grocery, fuel, and fast food prices in Kirkland to track over the next four years. This is our first update.

Based on actual retail prices, today’s grocery trip costs $8.32 more compared to last month. The price of diapers, Coca-Cola, and frozen pizza went up while the cost of coffee and bread went down. The total bill climbed from $235.33 to $243.65, up 3.5%. Most of that jump was caused by shrinkflation.

Two products, Barilla rotini pasta, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, were marked with a tag showing a “new lower price,” despite no price change from last month.

A 12-gallon fill-up of regular gasoline increased by $4.56, a 10% increase from a month ago.

The only change to fast food prices was at McDonald’s, where a Big Mac meal is now 10 cents cheaper.

Here are the Products

We are tracking the prices of 27 popular items, regular unleaded gasoline, and meals from three popular fast food brands.

ItemWeight, Volume, QuantityJanuary 20, 2025, Non-sale PriceFebruary 20, 2025
Non-sale Price
Change
Dairy Products
Whole Milk – Kroger Brand128 fluid ounces$3.99$3.99
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter4 count – total weight 16 ounces$6.99$6.99
Kraft Singles American processed cheese food product24 individual slices – 16 ounces by weight $6.29$6.29
Household Products
Tide 3-in-1 Pods laundry detergent112 count – 93 ounces$27.99$27.99
Dawn Ultra dishwashing soap38 fluid ounces$6.29$6.29
Bounty 6=12 doubles paper towels
6 2-ply rolls, 58 11 inches X 10.2 inches sheets per roll, 270 square feet
$14.99$14.99
Breakfast Foods
Cheerios toasted oat cereal18 ounces$5.99$5.99
Starbucks Pike Place Roast ground coffee – medium roast18 ounces$14.99$14.49Decrease, 50 cents
Meat
Kroger Brand “Simple Truth” prepackaged natural ground beef – 91/916 ounces individual vacuum pack$9.49$9.49
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks – Classic10 count – total weight 15 ounces$6.49$6.49
Infant/Baby
Pampers baby-dry stage 6 diapers64 count$28.99$37.11Count dropped from 64 to 50. Unit price increased from 45 cents per diaper to 58 cents.
Health and Beauty
Tampax Pearl Large Light Day tampons36 count$9.79$9.79
Charmin Ultra Strong 12=48 Mega roll toilet paper12 2-ply rolls, 220 3.92 inches x 4 inches sheets per roll, 287 square feet$16.99$16.99
Snack and Convenience Foods
Red Baron brick oven crust pepperoni pizza17.89 ounces$4.99$5.29Increase, 20 cents
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza flavor8 count – total weight 36 ounces$10.99$10.99
Oreo cookies18.12 ounces$4.99$4.99
Doritos – Cool Ranch Flavor – party size14.5 ounces$6.99$6.99
Coca-Cola – canned, sweetened with corn syrup12 count – 12 fluid ounce cans$9.99$10.99Increase, $1.00
Soups and Broths
Swanson chicken broth32 fluid ounces$2.99$2.99
Quick Meals
Prego Traditional jarred prepared pasta sauce, tomato24 ounces by weight$2.79$2.79
Barilla rotini pasta16 ounces$1.99$1.99
Kraft mac & cheese dinner, original flavor7.25 ounces$1.29$1.29
Wonder Bread, white, sliced20 ounces$3.99$3.49Decrease, 50 cents
Staples
C&H premium pure can granulated sugar in bag64 ounces$4.99$4.99
Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, bleached and enriched80 ounces$5.69$5.69
Condiments
Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing16 fluid ounces$4.39$4.39
Heinz real tomato ketchup in the easy squeeze bottle20 ounces$3.99$3.99
Gasoline
Regular unleaded E-10 87-octane gasoline at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer location128 fluid ounces$3.71-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade fees $4.09-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade feesPrice for 12 gallons of gas increased $4.56.
Fast Food
McDonald’s Big Mac meal at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, locationBigMac with 2 2-ounce beef patties, medium French fry, and medium 21 fluid ounce Coca-Cola with regular ice$11.49 before tax$11.39 before taxDecrease, 10 cents
Taco Bell 3 Crunch Taco Combo at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, location3 hard shell tacos with ground beef filling, included toppings, and a large 30 fluid ounces Pepsi with regular ice$8.69 before tax$8.69 before tax
Domino’s large Ultimate Pepperoni pizza for store pickup at the 100th Ave NE, Kirkland location14″ pizza with hand-tossed crust, pepperoni (extra), shredded parmesan asiago and provolone cheeses, and tomato sauce$21.99 before tax$21.99 before tax

Can Trump Keep his Promise to Lower Grocery Prices

[Kirkland, WA – WBHG News] – During the 2024 United States elections, inflation and grocery prices took center stage, with the blame for post-COVID inflation placed on politicians from both parties, corporations, and private equity firms. President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to lower grocery prices, while his opponents and some economists argued that the White House doesn’t have much direct control over the price of Kraft mac and cheese or a gallon of gasoline.

Inflation at the grocery store has been a very real problem for Americans since 2020, caused by COVID-19 supply chain disruptions. The reasons why prices have continued to increase, and inflation has remained stubborn are complex and go beyond national politics. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) peaked in 2022 at 8.0% and has since dropped to 3.2% in 2024. Economists prefer to see an inflation rate between 2% and 3%, so the U.S. economy remains slightly overheated. Additionally, CPI doesn’t account for shrinkflation, when companies make a product smaller without changing the price.

During Trump’s inauguration, our team benchmarked grocery, fuel, and fast food prices in Kirkland to track over the next four years. Will grocery prices drop now that the Republicans have control of the House, Senate, the White House, and confirmed a majority of the sitting Supreme Court justices?

Methodology

Our team established the following rules for identifying what items to track and how to keep the methodology as fair as possible.

  • We benchmarked prices using national brands, which are less impacted by local market fluctuations, with two exceptions. We benchmarked milk based on the Kroger store brand and ground beef using Kroger’s Simple Truth organic brand. Dairies in the United States are regional, which impacts local prices and supply. Four corporations control most of the meat product distribution and pricing in the United States, and the house Kroger brand provides a fixed product with a known weight.
  • We decided not to track the price of eggs or poultry due to the bird flu epidemic, which is decimating egg and poultry production across the United States. The current outbreak is outside of the control of the previous and current administration. Further, the egg cases in the local stores were practically empty and missing most of their price tags.
  • We did not benchmark the price of fresh produce because Washington is one of the largest producers of some items in the country, such as apples. This increases our supply and variety, which lowers our regional prices. In contrast, fresh corn and lettuce are more expensive in the winter months compared to the southern United States due to the need to import these items over very long distances. Additionally, prices are impacted by acts of God and weather, creating another layer of complexity.
  • The size of each product was carefully recorded, including the unit count and the weight or volume of each unit within the package. This will enable our team to track shrinkflation, which could hide a price increase.
  • We will recheck the prices once a month on the 20th. In the event that one of the stores we benchmarked is closed on the 20th, we will check prices on the closest opening day after the 20th. If a location permanently closes, we will record prices as the next closest location, preferably within Kirkland.
  • Prices from McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Domino’s were logged using their respective apps and are determined without using any coupons, incentives, or benefits from customer loyalty programs.

We Couldn’t Benchmark Every Item on our List

During our audit, we noted that almost all items were on sale or had new price reductions in the Kroger-branded stores in the Kirkland area. Some of the sale tags showed the normal retail price, while others didn’t. We were unable to benchmark shampoo, toothpaste, razors, canned and frozen vegetables, and other popular items.

In other cases, there were problems with the posted price tags. For example, we wanted to benchmark Cascade automatic dishwashing pods, which is the most popular national brand. However, the item on the shell was 62 count, while the price tag reflected a 57 count product. We could not determine if the 57 count price was an error or misplaced under the slightly larger product being sold or if Cascade is rolling out a smaller package.

We photographed each product with its published price tag, documenting the count, weight, and volume.

Here are the Products

We will track the prices of 27 popular items, regular unleaded gasoline, and three popular fast food brands. We will publish our next update on February 21.

ItemWeight, Volume, QuantityJanuary 20, 2025, Non-sale PriceMost Recent PriceChange
Dairy Products
Whole Milk – Kroger Brand128 fluid ounces$3.99
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter4 count – total weight 16 ounces$6.99
Kraft Singles American processed cheese food product24 individual slices – 16 ounces by weight $6.29
Household Products
Tide 3-in-1 Pods laundry detergent112 count – 93 ounces$27.99
Dawn Ultra dishwashing soap38 fluid ounces$6.29
Bounty 6=12 doubles paper towels
6 2-ply rolls, 58 11 inches X 10.2 inches sheets per roll, 270 square feet
$14.99
Breakfast Foods
Cheerios toasted oat cereal18 ounces$5.99
Starbucks Pike Place Roast ground coffee – medium roast18 ounces$14.99
Meat
Kroger Brand “Simple Truth” prepackaged natural ground beef – 91/916 ounces individual vacuum pack$9.49
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks – Classic10 count – total weight 15 ounces$6.49
Infant/Baby
Pampers baby-dry stage 6 diapers64 count$28.99
Health and Beauty
Tampax Pearl Large Light Day tampons36 count$9.79
Charmin Ultra Strong 12=48 Mega roll toilet paper12 2-ply rolls, 220 3.92 inches x 4 inches sheets per roll, 287 square feet$16.99
Snack and Convenience Foods
Red Baron brick oven crust pepperoni pizza17.89 ounces$4.99
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza flavor8 count – total weight 36 ounces$10.99
Oreo cookies18.12 ounces$4.99
Doritos – Cool Ranch Flavor – party size14.5 ounces$6.99
Coca-Cola – canned, sweetened with corn syrup12 count – 12 fluid ounce cans$9.99
Soups and Broths
Swanson chicken broth32 fluid ounces$2.99
Quick Meals
Prego Traditional jarred prepared pasta sauce, tomato24 ounces by weight$2.79
Barilla rotini pasta16 ounces$1.99
Kraft mac & cheese dinner, original flavor7.25 ounces$1.29
Wonder Bread, white, sliced20 ounces$3.99
Staples
C&H premium pure can granulated sugar in bag64 ounces$4.99
Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, bleached and enriched80 ounces$5.69
Condiments
Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing16 fluid ounces$4.39
Heinz real tomato ketchup in the easy squeeze bottle20 ounces$3.99
Gasoline
Regular unleaded E-10 87-octane gasoline at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer location128 fluid ounces$3.71-9/10, which includes 18.4 cents federal motor fuel tax, 49.4 cents Washington state gasoline tax, and approximately 43.4 cents for Washington state cap and trade fees
Fast Food
McDonald’s Big Mac meal at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, locationBigMac with 2 2-ounce beef patties, medium French fry, and medium 21 fluid ounce Coca-Cola with regular ice$11.49 before tax
Taco Bell 3 Crunch Taco Combo at the 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, location3 hard shell tacos with ground beef filling, included toppings, and a large 30 fluid ounces Pepsi with regular ice$8.69 before tax
Domino’s large Ultimate Pepperoni pizza for store pickup at the 100th Ave NE, Kirkland location14″ pizza with hand-tossed crust, pepperoni (extra), shredded parmesan asiago and provolone cheeses, and tomato sauce$21.99 before tax

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is falling apart, and the world is ignoring the danger

[WBHG 24 News] – The latest reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has had a team of international inspectors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for 16 months, painted an alarming picture of leaking steam generation circuits and safety systems, inadequate staff, and no 2024 maintenance plan.

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located in occupied Enerhodar. Previously located on the banks of the Kakhovka Reservoir, the primary source of cooling water for ZNPP drained away in June 2023 after the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed. Russian forces captured the plant on March 3, 2022, during the opening days of the expanded war of aggression against Ukraine. Webcams showed Russian tanks firing on the power plant and shooting into administrative buildings during the brief siege.

After pictures, videos, and satellite images proved that Russian forces had militarized the plant in violation of international humanitarian law and the pillars of nuclear safety, the IAEA, backed by the United Nations, pressured Russia to establish an international group of permanent monitors. On September 1, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and a team of experts, accompanied by Russian state media, arrived at the plant. There have been 15 rotations of monitors since.

Three reactors have various leaks, and Russia doesn’t plan to fix them

Currently, five of the six reactors at ZNPP are in cold shutdown, with Reactor 4 in hot shutdown to provide steam for plant operations and heat for the nearby town of Enerhodar.

On November 17, IAEA inspectors were told by Russian occupiers that boron had been detected in the secondary cooling circuit of Reactor 4, which was in hot shutdown at the time. Boron is added to the primary cooling and steam circuits of modern nuclear reactors as an extra safety measure. Boron isn’t supposed to be the secondary cooling system, but trace amounts are acceptable.

Four days later, the reactor was shut down, with Russia declaring the boron leak was within acceptable levels and would not be repaired. This was the second unscheduled shutdown of 2023. On August 10, Reactor 4 had to be shut down after a water leak was discovered in one of its steam generators. Plant technicians also found that the heat exchangers needed to be cleaned and did regular maintenance on the reactor’s transformers and emergency diesel generators.

On December 22, inspectors found boric acid deposits on valves, a pump, and on the floors of several rooms in the containment building of Reactor 6. Russian occupation officials said the leak was coming from a cracked boric acid storage tank and it would not be repaired. After IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi published the finding in a January 3 update, inspectors were barred from accessing parts of Reactor 6 for almost two weeks.

On February 1, the IAEA reported that boric acid leaks were also discovered in Reactor 1.

Unreliable external power connections

Although power plants generate electricity, power to run a power plant is provided by external sources. This provides a layer of safety by assuring that there is always electricity to support normal operations in the event of a facility shutdown. Although a nuclear reactor can be “shut down,” it still needs external power to continuously circulate cooling water in the reactors and on-site spent fuel storage. In the event of a total power failure, backup generators running on diesel fuel become the last line of defense. ZNPP has 20 generators and keeps enough diesel for a minimum of ten days of operation.

It’s estimated that if a ZNPP reactor is in cold shutdown, it can go more than three weeks without water circulation. But in hot shutdown, a meltdown can start 27 hours after the loss of all external power. In the worst-case scenario, the absolute last line of defense is when a nuclear plant operates in “island mode.” That’s when a reactor or reactors are used to generate onsite power to maintain plant operations. It’s inherently dangerous because it requires bringing a reactor online, leaving no margin for error if there are any additional failures. None of ZNPP’s reactors have produced electricity in the last 18 months.

Before Russia’s hostile takeover, ZNPP had ten redundant external power connections – four 750 kilovolt (kV) and six more 330 kV lines from the nearby Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP), which Russia also occupies. Today, the plant only has two. Since the occupation, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has lost all external power eight times, forced to rely on onsite diesel-powered emergency generators. But the problems don’t stop there.

On March 1, 2023, Russian shelling of the Nikopol Raion on the right bank of the Dnipro River damaged infrastructure that cut the 330 kV external power connection to ZNPP. Ukrainian officials told the IAEA that due to unrelenting Russian attacks on the area, it was impossible for technicians to repair the damage. The plant was now reliant on a single 750 kV power connection while Russia was attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Power had come from the nearby ZTPP in the past, but Russian officials claimed that the switchyard between the two power plants was damaged. The IAEA repeatedly asked to inspect the area, with Russian operators denying access, promising that repairs were imminent.

Three months later, Grossi said, “Our experts must access the ZTPP to see for themselves what the current situation is like and whether it might be possible to restore backup power there.”

On June 11, he repeated his request to allow the on-site inspection team to visit the switchyard, and five days later, Grossi joined the IAEA staff during its rotation. The Russians permitted him to inspect the damage, and the connection was restored on July 1. However, there was a misconfiguration in the repairs. When power was cut to the 750 kV line, the 330 kV backup didn’t automatically roll over. The plant had to use onsite diesel generators while technicians solved the problem.

On November 15, Reactor 6 unexpectedly lost all power for 90 minutes, briefly shutting down the cooling circuits before it was switched to emergency power. The reason for the failure was not published.

On November 26, power was lost from the single 750 kV external connection due to a historically powerful storm that moved across the Black Sea. While power successfully rolled over to the backup 330 KV line, Reactor 4 didn’t energize, forcing plant operators to use the emergency onsite diesel generators. During the August 2022 unscheduled maintenance, the backup systems were also misconfigured.

The most recent incident was on December 2, when both external power lines failed. The 330 kV connection failed first due to an “external grid fault.” Five hours later, the 750 kV connection also disconnected. During the outage, power was lost to all four cooling pumps for Reactor 4, forcing operators to start moving it to cold shutdown, which could have left the plant with an inadequate supply of steam. Diesel generators were brought online, restoring power, and the 750 kV line was reconnected five hours later.

Blocked access, broken promises, and landmines

To successfully complete its role as a nuclear watchdog, IAEA inspectors need unfettered access to ZNPP. Russia has repeatedly hampered these efforts.

When high-resolution satellite images showed that Russian forces had built small arms gun emplacements on the roof of the reactors, the IAEA requested access to verify there were no violations of the pillars of nuclear safety and international humanitarian law. Russian occupiers stonewalled the IAEA for months, finally granting access to the roofs of Reactors 2, 3, and 4. Inspectors were supposed to be allowed on the other three units on December 19, but the inspection was canceled at the last minute due to “security reasons.”

Inspectors have also been blocked from consecutively walking through the six-turbine halls and maintenance areas. When the IAEA arrived at ZNPP on September 1, 2022, military vehicles were found in some of the maintenance areas, but there weren’t any offensive weapons or ammunition. A continuous walk-through would permit the IAEA to confirm that heavy weapons or ammunition are not stored in any of the turbine halls and that Russian occupiers aren’t playing a shell game. Despite repeated requests during individual inspections, the IAEA has not been allowed into all areas of the turbine halls since 2022.

Russia placed land and directional mines in restricted areas and on the perimeter of the plant after the occupation. Grossi stated that their presence violated the principles of nuclear safety but added none of the explosives were located in critical areas of the plant. In November, with Russia’s fall-winter offensive in full swing, the mines were removed, only to be replaced in late January.

Starting in December, Russian occupiers have blocked the IAEA from asking new workers at ZNPP about their training and credentials. Additionally, despite repeated requests, Russian operator Rosatom has refused to provide a comprehensive site maintenance plan for 2024.

Russian occupiers also disconnected the online radiation monitoring systems, forcing the IAEA team to take manual readings twice a day using a backpack system. The background radiation information is handed off to Russia, which shares the data twice a day.

A worsening staffing crisis

In January 2022, ZNPP had 11,500 employees, with most living in the nearby town of Enerhodar. While some fled at the start of Russia’s war of aggression, many stayed behind due to their sense of duty to nuclear safety. Since the Russian occupation, Ukrainian workers and their families have been interrogated, kidnapped, and tortured. Some have disappeared. In Enerhodar, residents living under occupation have reported extrajudicial arrests, disappearances, robberies, and evictions, mostly at the hands of Chechen forces.

After the illegal annexation of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast in October 2022, the Ukrainian staff working for Energoatom who had not aligned themselves with Russia were subjected to forced passportization and constant coercion to sign employment contracts with Rosatom. Some gave in, others fled, while others resisted. On January 25, in a report to the United Nations Security Council, Grossi said, “operating on significantly reduced staff, who are under unprecedented psychological pressure – which despite the reactors being shutdown is not sustainable.”

On February 1, the IAEA was notified that all remaining employees of ZNPP who had not accepted Russian citizenship and were still employees of Energoatom were barred from the plant. Russian occupiers told the onsite inspectors, “There are enough certified personnel at the plant, and all positions are fully filled.”

According to the IAEA, the plant is staffed at just 39% of its pre-occupation level, with 4,500 workers and 940 job applications under review. Russian occupiers closed the so-called “road of life” between Vasyivka and Kamyanske in December 2022 and never reopened it. For Energoatom employees and their families who are now jobless and want to leave the occupied territories, it will require a journey through Russia, where they risk filtration, interrogation, and arrest.

How dangerous is the situation

After briefing the U.N. Security Council last month, Grossi held a brief press conference.

January 26, 2024 – IAEA Secretary-General Rafael Grossi’s press conference at the United Nations

When asked on a scale of one to ten, “ten being the most dangerous and one being secure,” what would you rank Zaporizhzhia [NPP] right now, he said, “Well, as I was telling…her just a minute ago, I think there are days where you are near ten, and there are days that nothing seems to happen – and the problem is this. The complete uncertainty because this is a war.”

Grossi was also asked about the level of cooperation Ukraine and Russia were providing to the IAEA, telling reporters, “Yes. I would say, by and large, yes. Of course, there are – there are moments of frustration. Mine and theirs, I guess, because sometimes when I say things that they don’t appreciate, or that I or they would prefer me to say differently – there is tension – there but – this is a little bit – what the – is all about. And this happens to us when it comes to Iran. When it comes to the DPRK. People sometimes do not appreciate what we have to say, but we have to say it anyway.”

In June 2023, when the world had its eyes on ZNPP, nuclear experts told us it would be extremely difficult for there to be a Fukushima or Chornobyl-sized accident or a European continent-obliterating act of nuclear terrorism. ZNPP has Pressure Water Reactors, which are very similar to Western nuclear power plants and have little in common with the infamous Soviet-era RBMK reactors. The vessels for all six reactors were designed to survive the impact of a commercial airliner crashing into them. In a cold shutdown state, it would take weeks for the reactors to start to melt down, which would require the removal or arrest of the onsite IAEA inspectors and weeks of denials and cover-ups.

Scenario one – radioactive water or steam release

This was considered the second most likely accident or act of intentional sabotage. A release of radioactive steam or water would contaminate a limited area with mild to moderate levels of radiation. With the Kakhovka Reservoir drained away, the threat to the water supply is not as dire as it was at the start of 2023. This would also be the easiest accident to clean up.

Scenario two – breach or loss of coolant to spent fuel storage

ZNPP has onsite storage for spent nuclear fuel, which requires cooling and containment. In a worst-case scenario, the intentional destruction of containment would have a similar impact to a dirty bomb, spreading highly radioactive material over a relatively small area. Irradiated material would be carried by the wind, spreading mild to moderate radioactive over a larger area. Clean-up would be complex and expensive, and a small area, when compared to the two most infamous accidents of the nuclear age, could be left uninhabitable. If the spent fuel storage lost circulation or its coolant, the materials would heat up, eventually burning through their containment.

Scenario three – meltdown

While ZNPP doesn’t have all of the safety systems of its Western peers, the facility is well-engineered with the reactors encased in a protective vessel, the concrete and steel reinforced external containment building, redundant cooling systems, fire suppression systems, boron injection systems, and multiple backups. An accidental full meltdown is always theoretically possible but nearly impossible. Even in the event of a full meltdown of one or all the reactors, it would take an intentional act to breach the outer containment vessels. In the worst-case scenario, radiation would impact all of Ukraine, parts of Russia, and many areas of eastern and central Europe. However, claims that the plant would explode like 20 megaton hydrogen bombs are inaccurate.

Scenario four – economic terrorism

Faced with having to withdraw from ZNPP, experts told us the most likely scenario would be Russian occupiers intentionally contaminating the reactor vessels, rendering the plant unusable. While the radiation risk outside of the plant would be low, releasing large amounts of radiation in one, some, or all of the containment buildings would block access. It would also make attempts to repair ZNPP not only complex and dangerous but potentially economically unviable.

A very uncertain future

Director General Grossi is traveling to Kyiv on February 6 and will visit ZNPP for the fourth time the next day during the 16th rotation of the IAEA inspectors. After his visit, he plans to travel to Moscow for additional meetings with Russian officials.

The approach to maintenance, training, and staffing that Russian enterprise Rosatom is taking at ZNPP provides a glimpse into how Moscow runs its other nuclear facilities. With the world’s attention focused on the Middle East, there’s a ticking timebomb in the middle of Ukraine, and not enough people are paying attention.

Unraveling Claims of Ukrainian Involvement: Donetsk Market Attack Points to Russian Origination

[WBHG News 24] – After a shocking incident in the occupied city of Donetsk that killed 28 and wounded 30 in the market area in the Kirovs’kyi District, evidence that has emerged surrounding the attack raises doubts about Russia’s claim of Ukrainian involvement. Russian state media, along with the self-proclaimed governor of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Denis Pushilin, alleged that Ukraine was responsible for shelling the area using 152 mm and 155 mm artillery, leaving 18 of the wounded hospitalized.

A thorough analysis by our international analyst team casts doubt on the accusations, revealing a complex web of evidence that challenges the narrative quickly created by Russian authorities. Our team reviewed dozens of publicly available videos and images shared by Russian channels, state media, and propagandists and conducted an audio analysis of the attack itself while it was still in progress. Although a conclusive war crime assessment requires an on-site investigation, the publicly available information suggests that Ukraine was likely not responsible for the attack.

Two things that hampered the investigation was an apparent effort by Russian state media and propagandists not to share images of impact craters, which is crucial for splash analysis. Despite these efforts, our team successfully geolocated hits at four locations and identified three impact craters, including one that provided information on the direction of the attack. Another critical revelation was the absence of key details from Russian officials, such as pictures of an official investigation or recovered shrapnel. This is highly unusual compared to other incidents, and the attack scene was hastily cleaned up before any apparent detailed investigation was made. Additionally, the nature of the craters photographed appear to be 82 or 120-millimeter mortars and don’t align with the artillery rounds mentioned by occupation governor Pushilin.

The impact crater at the base of a tree on Lyashenka Street near the bus stop indicates the shells were fired from the west-southwest, making it highly improbable that Ukrainian artillery was involved. The closest Ukrainian-controlled area in that direction is Pobieda, 17 kilometers away and only 2.5 kilometers from the line of conflict. The closest safe area for artillery to operate is another 7.9 kilometers west, near the village of Illinka.

If Ukraine were responsible, the closest safe firing location would be 24.9 kilometers away, and even in Pobieda, the Russian D-20 152-millimeter howitzer would be at its absolute maximum range. At 24.9 kilometers, the M-777 or NATO standard self-propelled artillery pieces would be at or just beyond their standard range. Because Russian officials did not share any images of shrapnel, we have no way to authenticate the munition used.

Along with the impact crater at the base of the tree on Lyashenka Street, a video recorded during the attack provided critical information on the potential distance from the area attacked and the firing point. The Russian video shared on the popular Telegram channel Typical Donetsk captured the sound of outgoing rounds that impacted 2.5 and 4.25 seconds later. If the rounds were fired from M-777 artillery with a muzzle velocity of 870 meters per second, the maximum linear distance the round could travel is 3,700 meters, deep within the city of Donetsk itself. Factoring for the arc an artillery shell travels and the minimum possible range of the M-777, the distance drops to 2,300 meters. That’s an impossibly short distance for the rounds to have been fired by Ukraine.

The timing of the attack is also suspect, occurring while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was en route to a UN Security Council meeting, and the U.S. Congress remains poised to discuss continued military support for Ukraine.

The available evidence suggests that the origin of the attack was in a forested area between the Kirovs’kyi and Petrovs’kyi Districts, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 meters west of the market area. Immediate claims that any combatant committed a war crime should receive a thorough investigation before news agencies directly quote national officials and report the claims as pure fact. The intricacies of this investigation underscore the importance of a thorough and unbiased examination of available evidence by subject matter experts.

A copy of the full analysis and technical information is available for download.

A Russian Disinformation Empire in Oak Harbor, Washington

Updated April 16, 2023 – Sarah Bils Naval NOS and rank were verified.

Updated April 17, 2023 – NAFO involvement in this investigation was clarified. Story has been lightly edited for clarity.

In late 2021, a nascent social media influencer based in Oak Harbor, Washington, embarked on a clandestine career spreading Russian propaganda. Starting on Twitter under the moniker Donbass Devushka, they would eventually expand to Telegram, a podcast, and a YouTube channel. Donbass Devushka gained a much larger following after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The person behind the social media account made incongruous claims. They were born in Russia. They were born in the Ukrainian city of Luhansk during the Soviet era. They were born in Gaza. They immigrated to the United States at a very young age. None of it was true.

Things started to unravel for Donbass Devushka when reputable members of the pro-Ukrainian online movement “NAFO” collaborated with reporters from Malcontent News. Our investigation into Donbass Devushka included analyzing open-source material, conducting interviews with multiple sources, and obtaining public records. We confirmed the true identity of the mysterious woman born in three places: former United States Navy Legal Clerk Sarah Bils. She was recently released from active duty.

Bils was born not in Russia, Ukraine, Gaza; less exotically, she was born in the United States. Nor were her parents abroad; they grew up in South Philadelphia. Bils now lives in Oak Harbor, Washington, in the shadow of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island where she once served. According to public court records, she legally changed her name to the more Russian-sounding “Lyudmila Mikhailova Karakova” on March 31. Bils could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

A Make-Believe Past and Present Masks a Strange yet Mundane Reality

A March 2011 marriage license shows that Bils was born in Voorhees, New Jersey, a world away from the Soviet Union. In a phone conversation, Bils’s mother denied any knowledge of her daughter’s online activity and was unaware of her recent name change. Her parents also refuted they were from Russia, or that Bils had any national connection to the former Soviet Union, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, or the so-called Luhansk or Donetsk People’s Republics.

Bils enlisted with the United States Navy in November 2009, according to the Department of Defense’s Manpower Data Center (DoDMDC). In November 2022, her active duty status with the Navy ended, but the DoDMDC did not list a discharge date. An archive of her LinkedIn page listed her Navy Occupational Specialty (NOS) as Legal Clerk, but did not provide her specialist code or additional details.

Update A reader shared documentation that shows in Fiscal Year 2021, Bils was promoted to the rank of Chief Petty Officer with a NOS of ATC – Chief Aviation Electronics Technician. We have been advised this role would still require a security clearance.

Bils’s social media persona claimed that in 2014, she traveled between the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and the Ukrainian city of Luhansk “while Kyiv dropped shells and sponsored Nazi marauders.” Bils was certainly in a conflict zone, but it wasn’t in the Donbas. Instead, it was in an Oak Harbor courtroom where she was embroiled in a domestic court case with her husband of three years.

While serving with the Navy on Whidbey Island, Bils ran Cascadia Aquatics, selling tropical fish and specialized food imported from Poland. By 2018, within the tight-knit community of freshwater tropical fish enthusiasts, Bils’s had cultivated a reputation for being knowledgeable and trustworthy. COVID isolation and her prior interviews for Cascadia Aquatics would allow Malcontent News, years later, to expose her other side hustle: a Russian propagandist targeting a Western audience.

As a Legal Clerk, Bils would have been required to hold a security clearance and was obligated to report foreign contacts, including online friendships through social media and even her business contacts in Poland for the specialized fish food. It is unclear if she made the proper security disclosures to her chain of command.

In June 2020, she appeared on a since-deleted episode of the Aquarium co-op Podcast. Recorded over Zoom, the video showed her face, voice, and accessories in her home. Open-source intelligence shared on Twitter would zero in on all three of these details. The accessories in her former home match the home décor to her current apartment. Bils’s face and voice match the face and voice of her alter ego. These three details outed Bils as the person behind a spreading and influential social media footprint.

On the morning of September 14, 2021, the Washington State Patrol reported that an Audi SQ5 driven by Bils at a high rate of speed rear-ended a Ford Econoline van as it attempted to turn onto Highway 20 in the sleepy town of Coupeville. Bils and the male driver of the van were injured and taken to the hospital.

In a Twitter Space with No Experts on Ukraine, a participant alleged that a former Navy co-worker claimed Bils was dismissed due to a drunk driving incident related to the 2021 crash. In a phone conversation, her mother denied that Bils faced drunk driving charges. A review of court records did not show a previous criminal case in Island County Superior Court for Bils under any of her current or previous names. Her mother added that Bils had suffered significant injuries, and she traveled to Washington to assist her while recovering.

Bils claims she was “kicked out” of the military due to her “leftist views.” Former associates expressed concern about Bils’ mental health and described her as a habitual liar. In talking with her mother, she indicated that her daughter frequently made up stories and that she was somewhat disconnected from Bils.

After the car accident, Bils started to express anti-American views more publicly, embracing a pro-Russian persona and claiming to be from the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine. She presented herself as an expert on geopolitics and history, maintaining a profile on ResearchGate. Although the website is used for tracking academic publications, no publications to her name are listed. Bils’ profile, still active on publication, displays her photo, and claims she attends Arizona State University’s School of Politics and Global Studies. Her social media persona claims to hold two additional degrees, with her archived LinkedIn profile listing one degree earned while with the Navy. However, she was never promoted to the officer corps.

From Fish Food and the Navy to a Western-Facing Russian Propagandist

When Russia expanded its 2014 invasion on February 24, 2022, Bils created multiple personas on Twitter and, starting in April, added Telegram. By the summer of 2022, despite only having an audience in the tens of thousands, she started hosting a podcast that included Jackson Hinkle, Scott Ritter, Garland Nixon, and Russian state media journalist Fiorella Isabel as guests. Some of the interviews occurred while she was still on active duty with the Navy and would have required a foreign contact disclosure.

She cycled through several social media accounts on Twitter, which were reported and suspended for community guideline violations, before repurposing PeImeniPusha, created in July 2012. In a year, her small following grew into a small disinformation empire on Twitter and Telegram under her brand of Donbass Devushka: “a girl and a cat against the world.”

Her Telegram channel shares more graphic and offensive content, including memes, doctored and misattributed images, and ultra-violence. Posts include celebrating the killing of a retired United States Marine who went to Ukraine as a foreign volunteer, graphic videos of dead Ukrainians, and defending a video that showed a Ukrainian POW decapitated by Russian mercenaries with the Private Military Company Wagner Group.

The activity across these accounts and access to people like Jackson Hinkle, Scott Ritter, and Russian state media journalists indicates that Bils is part of a larger and coordinated organization targeting a Western audience with Russian disinformation, antisemitism, and racism. It is highly unlikely that one person could conduct all of this work independently.

A co-host on her podcast is the person behind the former social media channel, AZ Geopolitics. On April 13, they deleted their Telegram and Twitter accounts, claiming their Telegram was being mass reported. On the same day, Bils announced that going forward, AZ Geopolitics would align with her personal brand.

In a tangle of posts, videos, and graphics, Bils has claimed that English is either her first, second, or third language. She has claimed she was born and raised in Russia, eastern Ukraine, and was an immigrant to the United States during her childhood. With social media users alleging she has misappropriated solicited donations to help support Russian causes for her own use, she insisted on April 15 she never made any financial requests and disclosed what little money was collected was for herself and her work. Yet numerous posts across her social media profiles show requests to transfer money to her through cryptocurrency, CashApp, and Buy Me a Coffee so that she can donate the funds to support Russia. We cannot confirm any allegations of financial misconduct on the part of Bils nor if any money was transferred to Russia.

For now, her supporters are standing by her.

A Leak of Pentagon Documents, Doctored Photos, and Frozen Fish Stick Heir Tucker Carlson

As early as January 2023, the U.S. government alleges that hundreds of secret and top secret documents were shared by Airman First Class Jack Teixeria of the Massachusetts National Guard on his Discord server, Thug Shaker Central. Teixeria, who federal officials arrested on April 13, appears to have shared the documents to chase Internet clout, despite knowing up to a dozen members of his private server were foreign nationals – including from Ukraine, Brazil, and Russia. It is unclear which individual or individuals leaked the information from Thug Shaker Central to a broader audience, and at least two people who are among his inner circle are cooperating with federal authorities.

An investigation by Bellingcat traced the spread of the documents from Teixeria’s Discord to 4Chan, Telegram, and Twitter. Dueling versions of key documents were circulating, with one showing Russian losses far exceeded Ukrainian losses, and the other, poorly edited version showing the opposite. Bellingcat alleges the doctored versions originated on the Donbass Devushka Telegram channel on April 5, a claim Bils denies.

On April 13, Tucker Carlson, the host of the Fox News show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” claimed that Ukraine was suffering a 7-1 troop loss ratio and was “losing the war.” The doctored versions showing the 7-1 troop loss ratios for Ukraine were also amplified by other high-profile, anti-American propagandists such as Joe Flynn and Democratic Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was recruited by Steven Bannon to run as a spoiler in the upcoming 2024 election.

Bils’s channel has also been endorsed by Russian milblogger Rybar. The leaders of Rybar are two former Kremlin information officers with an operating budget of over $20,000 per month. Rybar runs a social media empire documenting and praising Russian military activity around the world, including the Middle East and Africa.

In a series of Tweets and two long posts on Telegram, Bils confirmed some of the details of her past. She also claimed that an admin of her Telegram channel shared the top secret documents. She added that the images had been removed once discovered by her, and the person who posted them was “disciplined.” However, on April 14, images of the documents, and a denial that she had edited them, were still on her Telegram channel.

Ironically, if the intent was to damage Ukrainian and United States credibility by editing the materials distributed by Teixeria, it created deep mistrust in the integrity of all the documents among the Russian milblogger community and the Kremlin. Publicly, the Kremlin has mostly dismissed the documentation as a psychological operation.

A Cloudy Future

It is unclear if any laws were broken by sharing the secret and top secret documents on the Donbass Devushka Telegram channel. If Bils was fully discharged from the Navy when they were posted, it is highly unlikely she would be subject to the UCMJ. Even if she never made appropriate disclosures to her foreign contacts while serving with the Navy, even the casual fish food business contacts back to 2018, typically, the punishment would be the loss of security clearance.

Experts we talked to said that if federal agencies investigate Bils, they will likely look at when the documents were acquired, her role in the distribution, and her broader connections in the anti-American and pro-Russian information space. There is no evidence of any direct links to Teixeria.

In Washington, D.C., a bi-partisan chorus of American politicians is asking how the lower ranks of the United States military can be so compromised after the revelation that an Air National Guard E3 had such easy access to sensitive information. In comparison, Bils’s anti-American and pro-Russian work was out in the open while she continued to serve in the Navy and likely held a security clearance. The American justice system has determined that a military uniform does not negate Constitutional protections for Americans, but at least one legal expert we talked to who examined her content suggested that Bils may have legal exposure.

It is ironic that if Bils, now going by her new, more Russian-sounding name, had taken the same actions in the Russian Federation with Russian military plans, she would be charged under the so-called “don’t say war laws,” and would be facing criminal charges for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. The sentence for this crime is up to 15 years in a Russian penal colony. The very freedoms she claims are part of a global conspiracy to take away freedom enables her to maintain her public illusion of just a girl and a cat fighting for her life in the Donbas.

Meanwhile, detached from Voorhees, New Jersey, or Oak Harbor, Washington, the Ukrainian people continue to fight for their existence, while the damage caused by the leaked Pentagon information remains unknown.

Breaking: Truck drives off after striking the Kirkland Ave bridge

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – MTN The infamous truck-eating bridge didn’t quite claim another victim but may be a victim itself after a significant bridge strike where the driver left the scene.

Around 4:30 PM on Saturday, a truck heading “eastbound” toward 85th Avenue struck the bridge, causing moderate damage to the concrete, exposing the supporting rebar, and sending at least one section of conduit into the road. The roadway is littered with concrete pieces. The truck drove off after the strike with unknown but likely significant damage.

This is a breaking news story and we will provide an update as more information becomes available.