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❖ THE GRIPE ❖
A Personal Affront, Reported Faithfully
My water bill came this week, and I read it at the kitchen sink while the faucet dripped. Households pay 62 percent more for water at home than they did a decade ago, according to a study from Food and Water Watch. The group looked at 500 of the largest water systems, serving 155 million people, and the average bill came to $531 in 2025. San Jose Water in California averaged $1,416, up 163 percent from ten years ago. Hempstead, New York, averaged $133. The same water costs more than ten times as much depending on whose pipe it comes through. Privately run systems averaged $823, which is $329 more than public ones. The study does not count sewer or stormwater charges. The faucet has dripped since spring, which is when I first meant to call the plumber. I have been paying for that drip every month since.
❖ THE DAMAGE REPORT ❖
Today's News, Ranked By How Much It Ruined My Mood
🔥 MOST ENRAGING
The No Surprises Act took effect in 2022 to protect patients from surprise bills, and it sends payment fights between insurers and providers to arbitration. Officials expected about 17,000 disputes a year. In the first six months of 2025 there were 1.2 million. Insurers are paying hundreds of dollars for lab tests that usually cost $10 to $30, and 70 percent of awards come from employer health plans. The law protected patients from the bill and left the premium for later.
😩 MOST EXHAUSTING
It formed in the Gulf on Wednesday with 65 mph winds and was forecast to become a hurricane by Thursday morning, which would make it the first of the Atlantic season. Landfall is expected on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. A hurricane watch runs from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida. The season waited until October and then picked a weekend.
😤 UNREASONABLY ANNOYING
President Trump announced an order Tuesday letting anyone buy red-dyed diesel, the kind meant for off-road use, without the 24.4-cent federal tax. The tax is deferred for the rest of 2026, and a White House official said drivers would owe it only if the IRS enforces it. Many states ban dyed diesel on roads. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan says whether anyone gets a tax bill is his most unanswered question. So the discount is real, unless it becomes a loan.
🤷 SOMEHOW ALSO HAPPENING
Officials say a Delta passenger got onto the airfield at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday evening, took an Alaska Airlines tug and crashed it into a vehicle near Gate 7. The passenger then tried to take an American Airlines lavatory truck before airport police stepped in. A controller was heard on the radio saying "someone stole a tug." Three airlines were involved, and the passenger never left Orange County.
I Almost Threw Out My Keurig. It Wasn't Broken.
Every cup from my Keurig started tasting weak, flat, stale — so I unplugged it and stuck it in a closet. Then I learned the dirty secret of grocery store K-Cups: by the time a pod reaches your kitchen, it's usually spent months going from factory to warehouse to truck to shelf. The flavor oils are long gone. Some brands even over-roast to hide it.
The fix wasn't a new machine. It was fresh pods from Angelino's, a family-owned L.A. roastery that roasts, packs, and ships within 3–5 days — straight to your door, from 39¢ a cup. Over 1,000,000 happy customers. 50+ flavors, no subscription required, and 15% off your first order, applied automatically at checkout.
❖ AND SOME OTHER STUFF ❖
Briefly, And With Limited Enthusiasm
▸ The Federal Election Commission has not resolved an enforcement case since May 2025. It has two of its six seats filled and needs four to act, and its backlog went from 154 cases to 307 in a year. Political ad spending this cycle is projected at $11.6 billion.
▸ A former CIA official pleaded guilty Tuesday in a scheme prosecutors say used fake classified programs to divert nearly $200 million. He is forfeiting at least $194 million, including 298 gold bars, 35 luxury watches, two BMWs and four Florida homes. The programs were secret, which kept the questions to a minimum.
▸ Zavodovski Island, near Antarctica, lost nearly two thirds of its chinstrap penguins between 2011 and 2025. The British Antarctic Survey says breeding chinstraps fell from about 1.09 million to 402,000, mostly because warming water pushed their krill elsewhere. The macaroni penguins there went up and now outnumber them.
✦ THE ONE GOOD THING
Fine. A silver maple came down through Gilbert Kirk's roof during a storm in Wyandotte County, Kansas, and trapped him and his dog, Beetle, under it for hours. He told local news all he wanted was a tarp. Two days later a stranger showed up on his lawn, said he would be back in 30 minutes, and returned with lumber and a crew. Kirk has called one of them, Steven Vega, every day since to say thank you. I am calling the plumber this morning.
Check the faucets before the bill does.
THE GRUMP · (AND LARRY)