Coming up next on NewsDepth... the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to combat inflation.

Diesel prices are affecting the supply chain of food.

John D. Rockefeller built an oil empire right here in Ohio.

Ever dream of starting your own business?

Elogical Cosmetics shows us what it takes.

NewsDepth is now.

The Federal Reserve announced a new interest rate increase as it continues its effort to fight inflation.

Hello everyone.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

Thank you for joining us.

Interest rates, inflation.

Let's break down this week's top economy story to explain what it all means.

The Federal Reserve, often called the Fed, is the nation's central bank.

One of its jobs is to help keep prices stable.

To do that, the Fed can change interest rates.

An interest rate is the amount of money charged for borrowing money.

It affects things like mortgages, car loans and credit cards.

Last week, the Fed raised its key interest rate to slow inflation.

Inflation happens when the prices of goods and services go up over time, making everyday items more expensive.

Recently, higher energy costs linked to conflict in the Middle East have helped push prices up.

So how does making loans more expensive help bring prices down?

When interest rates go up, people and businesses tend to borrow and spend less money.

With less demand for goods and services, price increases can begin to slow.

But there's a trade off when consumers spend less, businesses may delay opening new locations, investing in new projects or hiring more workers.

That balancing act slowing inflation without hurting the job market is one of the Fed's biggest challenges.

Karin Caifa is in Washington with more.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday, announcing its latest decision on interest rates.

The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.

In recent months, inflation concerns have overtaken previous worries about the labor market, which the Fed now sees as solid.

What we're seeing right now is a stable unemployment rate, 4.1% in the last reading.

The ongoing war in the Middle East has pushed up energy prices and threatens to make already stubborn inflation more persistent, accelerating the prices of goods and services across the board.

The fact that we've seen constraint in supply of crude oil and the related products of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel.

That's where the proverbial rubber meets the road with respect to causing higher inflation.

The Fed, seeking to put the brakes on inflation by raising its key interest rate and making it more expensive to borrow.

That would follow through to things like credit cards, auto loans, personal loans.

But rate hikes impact businesses too and their hiring plans.

It also raises the rates that businesses pay to secure additional capital or to grow their business.

That makes it more challenging for them to expand, which in turn slows down hiring.

Making the balance between curbing inflation and keeping Americans employed - a delicate dance for the Federal Reserve.

Thank you, Karin.

For our poll this week we want to know: Have you noticed prices going up this year?

You can choose between: Yes.

A lot.

A little.

Not really.

Or I'm not sure.

Now let's take a look at how rising fuel costs are affecting the supply chain.

A supply chain is the network that moves goods from production to consumers, including farming, manufacturing, transportation and distribution.

Diesel prices have surged to record highs, topping $6.23 per gallon nationwide and more than $8 per gallon in some parts of California.

Because about 70% of diesel fuel is used for transportation, rising prices are affecting everyone, from truck drivers to businesses that rely on shipping goods, and those costs can eventually reach consumers.

The impact of higher diesel prices does not stop at the gas pump.

Farmers use diesel to power tractors, irrigation systems and trucks that move crops and livestock.

When fuel costs rise, it becomes more expensive to plant, harvest and transport food.

those added expenses are often passed along the supply chain from farms to food processors, distributors, grocery stores and then the consumer.

That means higher diesel prices can lead to higher prices for items like food and other goods that rely on trucks to reach store shelves.

As fuel costs continue to climb, some farmers are adjusting their budgets and changing what they grow.

One Missouri farmer says higher fuel prices led her to plant fewer corn acres and switch some fields to soybeans, while a cattle producer estimates fuel costs are adding thousands of dollars per day to his expenses.

Producers say the impact is being felt across agriculture, affecting everything from irrigation and transportation to getting food to market.

Ellie Mueller is in Missouri talking to farmers.

Just about everything uses diesel here between our combines and our tractors.

Of course, our pickup trucks use clear fuel, which is highway diesel.

Our big trucks, our semi trucks use clear fuel.

Laura Collins is the co-owner of Willow and Co in Belle City.

She says the farm budgeted for much lower fuel costs, but are now left navigating another year of unexpected expenses.

It's just it's massive.

It's a massive cost on us.

Of course, after the last two seasons we were barely keeping our head above water.

And then you tackle this extra weight onto our shoulders and we're just sinking.

Collins says the cost of fuel influences the decisions farmers make about what they plant and how they operate.

At the beginning of the season, we had 1000 acres of corn on the books to plant.

Whenever the fertilizer and the diesel prices jump, we actually peeled back and we only planted what we currently had sold at the time.

And then we rolled those extra acres over into soybeans because soybeans have less irrigation.

The cost continues to grow after planting.

Collins' 7100 acre farm is 97% irrigated.

Adding on another layer of expenses.

Corn alone, it's about $122 an acre increase between the fertilizer and the fuel.

On the beans, it is about $60 an acre.

Those challenges aren't just being felt in the fields.

It's probably costing us, oh, north of $2,000 a day, just in fuel.

Perryville cattle producer David Steinbeck says it's adding to the cost of moving cattle.

Both producers say it affects every decision they make.

Thank you, Ellie.

From the farm, now let's look at distribution.

Truck drivers in South Dakota and across the country are adjusting to the price increase while working to keep goods moving.

Some drivers are slowing down to save fuel, carefully managing expenses and even avoiding routes to places where diesel is especially expensive.

Because trucking is a key link in the supply chain, rising diesel costs can increase the cost of transporting everything from food to consumer goods.

Fiona Sullivan explains how these higher costs constrain a company's budget, especially for independent truckers.

Trying to find ways to still get their job done and get the items they need as well.

Jerry Seaman is currently leased with K &J trucking, but previously operated as an independent driver and has worked since 1971.

Seaman says he's familiar with the constant peaks and does his best, but notes that the high peaks are still very intense.

Other truck drivers I spoke to shared similar sentiments.

You have to manage your money if you're going to be in trucking and I mean really manage it, and you have to be careful what you do and understand where your expenses are.

Since fuel has gone higher, I've had to slow down.

So my top speed now has been 65mph instead of where it was 68mph to 70mph before.

Because K & J Trucking operates on an owner operator model, the company has a surcharge mechanism and reimburses drivers.

However, there is still a strain.

The biggest hardship that we deal with is it hurts your cash flow rate.

It takes cash out of your business kind of immediately.

Like California today, fuel is $8 a gallon.

So if we're not getting paid appropriately to go there and to get that fuel cost offset, we just won't take that route.

Seaman pays roughly $1,200 for fuel when near empty, and he says many of the independent drivers he knows have it even worse.

Some of them think shutdowns the way to do it.

I don't think shutdown is a way to do it, because if you look back when we did shut down to the 70s, that hurt trucking as a whole.

Thank you, Fiona.

We've followed the fuel supply chain from production to distribution.

Our final stop is your plate.

Small businesses, like restaurants are feeling the impacts of the rising costs of fuel.

Business owners say fuel prices affect everything from ingredient deliveries to customer spending habits.

In Michigan, some restaurants have been forced to raise prices or even close, while others are adapting by encouraging carryout orders and finding ways to manage higher costs.

As Simon Shaykhet reports, small business owners are finding ways to adjust as fuel prices continue to put pressure on their bottom line.

As flowers bloom outside Ellen's Bakery and Cafe in Sylvan Lake.

Inside, customers are showing up for their favorite local dishes served with love.

I go to a lot of restaurants.

I do.

Customer Regina Henderson just moved to the area and tells me comfort food at this family owned restaurant is a welcome break from daily stresses of tariffs and soaring fuel costs.

Thank you for joining us.

However, she knows businesses like this one are feeling strained as well.

When the owner of a restaurant says if we don't increase some of our prices, we'll go out of business.

What do you think?

As horrible as that is, is, I don't see no other way to do it.

Here in Michigan, according to triple A, the state average for regular gas is nearly four and a half dollars a gallon above the national average of $4.33 a gallon.

Customers telling me when they order from popular delivery companies, they feel it there, too.

How often are you noticing the increase in costs when you order food?

Every day.

We use, honest goodness, great ingredients.

Owner and chef George Kalergis is also telling us higher gas costs, including diesel fuel above $6 a gallon, affect the price he pays for shipments from suppliers.

And he's seen customers change their habits by picking up their own food.

Instead of hiring a driver.

Its easier for a customer to call in the order and pick it up themselves.

Thank you, Simon.

More than a century ago, one Ohio businessman built an empire around the oil industry right here in Cleveland.

John D. Rockefeller moved to Ohio as a teenager and built Standard Oil into one of the most powerful companies in the world, becoming the world's first billionaire.

His success helped make Cleveland a major industrial and business hub in the late 1800s.

Beyond business, Rockefeller donated much of his wealth to education, health care and scientific research, an impact that can still be seen throughout Cleveland today.

Zaria has this week's Know Ohio all about John D. Rockefeller.

Before names like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk became symbols of American business success, there was another entrepreneur whose fortune changed history.

It was none other than John D. Rockefeller, the oil tycoon who built one of the most powerful companies the world had ever seen.

Rockefeller would go on to become the world's first billionaire.

Building his fortune in Ohio and helping transform Cleveland into one of America's most important business and industrial cities.

John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839, in Richford, New York, but when he was just 14 years old his family moved to Strongsville, Ohio, looking for new opportunities.

Even as a child, Rockefeller was known for being hardworking, organized, and very good with numbers.

After finishing school, he got a job as a bookkeeper, keeping track of a company's finances, but he soon began investing in a business of his own.

Then, in the 1860s, a new industry was taking off in Ohio - oil.

At the time, oil was used to make kerosene for lamps and many other products.

Rockefeller saw an opportunity and helped build a company that would eventually become Standard Oil.

Standard Oil grew rapidly and became one of the largest and most successful companies in the world.

Cleveland was the perfect place for a business like this to grow.

The city was booming with industry and its railroads, waterways and access to international markets made it a center of innovation and commerce.

As Standard Oil grew, Rockefeller's wealth grew too.

By the time of his death in 1937, his fortune was estimated at about 1.4 billion.

That's a few hundred billion dollars in today's money.

In fact, Rockefeller was the world's first billionaire.

His wealth represented roughly 1.5% of the entire U.S.

economy.

But Rockefeller wasn't known only for making money.

He was also a philanthropist, which means someone who uses their wealth to help others.

He believed that successful people had a responsibility to give back to their communities.

Throughout his life, he donated large amounts of money to schools, universities, hospitals, scientific research, and charitable organizations.

His family continued that tradition for generations.

More than a century later, you can still see Rockefeller's influence throughout Cleveland: downtown's historic Rockefeller Building, Rockefeller Park along Martin Luther King Jr Drive, and his grave at Lakeview Cemetery, marked by a towering 70ft obelisk.

Learning about the Rockefellers helps us understand how Cleveland grew into one of America's most important industrial cities in the late 1800s.

His story is not just about business success, it's also a story about innovation, philanthropy, and a lasting impact one family can have on a community.

Thanks for the deep dive, Zaria.

And that brings us to our write-to-us for the week.

We want you to build your own business.

Tell us what would be the name of your company and what goods would you make, or what services would you provide?

Students can use our inbox form online at newsdepth.org to share their business plans.

Last week we visited some of Ohio's fairs with a lot of history.

We asked you: Did you go to the fair this summer?

55% of you said that unfortunately, you haven't gotten the chance to go.

Another 45% said you did go to the fair this year.

I hope you had a great time.

I went to the Medina County Fair this summer and I got a giant turkey leg.

One of our stops was the Iowa State Fair, where we enjoyed a nice bowl of hot beef sundae.

And we asked you to put on your chef's hat and create a recipe for a new sundae.

I got my spoon ready.

Let's dig in.

A fourth grader from Evening Street Elementary in Worthington sent us an email with the recipe for the Penny Sundae.

Step one get a bowl and put vanilla and mint chocolate chip ice cream into the bowl.

Step two put caramel sauce, rainbow sprinkles, and gummy bears on the ice cream.

Step three, now put whipped cream on the ice cream.

Four, finally, serve and enjoy!

A fifth grader from Columbus Gifted Academy in Columbus sent us this drawing of their over-the-top sundae.

Just listen to what it comes with: A waffle cone bowl, then three scoops, all different flavors, three different sirups.

Then on top with three green, red and blue gummy bears, then golden Oreos and three cherries on top.

Now on the savory side, a fifth grader from Hayes Elementary School in Lakewood shaired a recipe for a burger sundae.

My recipe is a burger on the bottom, then hot sauce and mustard.

Then you have a strawberry on the very top.

Another fifth grader from Bellevue Elementary in Bellevue also has a unique take on a sundae.

I would do General Tso's chicken with rice and sushi on top.

I would also put extra hot sauce and maybe some parsley.

And for dessert.

How about a cookie pancake from this eighth grader from Berea Park Middle School in Middleburg Heights?

Take Oreos or Chips Ahoy.

Mash them up with milk.

Add in enough flour to thicken and a small pinch of baking soda and salt.

They're yummy cookie pancakes.

I'll take a double scoop on my cookie pancake, please.

But some of those recipes a little questionable for my taste, but we thank you for writing.

In our next segment, we'll explore the challenges and rewards of being a business owner.

Bethany Pugh is not your regular high school student.

She is the founder of Elogical Cosmetics, an anime inspired cosmetics line.

In this installment of Making It, Bethany shares the story of how she started her makeup line and how she develops her products.

Hi, my name is Bethany Pugh.

Get ready with me while I talk about my cosmetic line, Elogical Cosmetics.

I started this business when I was in middle school during Covid.

Basically, it started as a clothing brand and that only lasted a couple of months before I found out I was kind of bored with that.

So I changed my mind and I started doing more makeup related things.

My first eyeshadow palette I came out with was actually my Love the Hunt palette, and then I came out with my blush palette, which I think really made my brand really popular.

I really liked the process of making eyeshadow palettes, like it's something I really fell in love with.

Even though I was working on the blush palette at the same time, there was something about just testing out formulas, testing like pigments and stuff like that, and getting to really decide what colors I wanted.

It was something about it.

I just, I just really, I just really fell in love with.

It's something about anime that is just so exciting.

It's hard to describe, honestly.

It's like magical almost, but connects with makeup too.

Like being able to just paint on your face.

Literally.

Come to day one of Cleveland Fan Expo with me, a vendor.

My first convention with my business was the Cleveland Fan Expo.

We are finally here.

That was really an experiment for me.

I wasn't sure if something like that would be a good thing for my business, or if I would get a lot of sales or engagement.

I ended up having tons of people telling me, I've seen you.

I've seen you before.

They were really into it and really, really listened to me talk about my brand and how much goes into it and stuff.

There's something about Cleveland, I just like.

Love Cleveland.

Of course, I have my friends who always are interested in helping with my products.

And you know, everyone wants to make an eye shadow palette.

Who doesn't, like.

But on my team, like people who will help me carry all this into a convention center, Really, my mom.

Smile for TikTok She loves picking out colors with me, even though she doesn't really get like the vibe of some of the anime.

She's always been really supportive though, even when I first started with my clothing brand.

Okay, so basically I went to a camp and it was called Ohio Business Week, and that was that was so much fun for me.

I never really had a group of people around me that were my age that even considered entrepreneurship as something that they were interested in.

I still talk to those people to this day.

They're so sweet.

One of my best friends, Nevada, I met her there.

Love thinking about them.

Being able to put like all types of colors and glitter all over my face is just something that I really, really enjoy.

It's.

Therapeutic almost for me, and I hope that my makeup has that same effect on other people when they use it.

Thank you, Bethany, and congratulations on all of your success.

One of the great things about all of our NewsDepth viewers is how you all go to great lengths to make everyone feel welcome, no matter their beliefs, race, or disabilities.

It really makes me proud knowing that you all tune in week after week.

This week's A+ Award goes to Mrs.

Elena Scottons students at Cuyahoga Heights Middle and High Schools for taking inclusion to soaring new heights.

World Inclusion Day is celebrated during the first week of March every year.

It's a time when advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities join together to spread the word about the importance of including all people in schools and communities.

An advocate as a person that publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.

Mrs.

Scotton's class planned a full day of activities to recognize the importance of inclusion for all the students and teachers at Cuyahoga Heights middle and high schools.

Talk about some motivated Red Wolves!

The day started with elementary, middle school, and high school teachers standing outside of the school and cheering for students as they entered the building.

Once the students were in the school, the Red Wolves cheerleaders made a large banner that all students can sign, making a pledge to be inclusive to their classmates.

The students were also given inspirational stickers.

But that's not all, Mrs.

Scotton's students also worked with the video production students to produce a video featuring staff members sharing how they help their students reach new heights.

All of the students got to watch the video in the high school's auditorium.

The superintendent said the community is, quote, excited to join together to show our support and celebrate World Inclusion Day and look forward to continuing what we do best helping all students reach new heights.

This week's A-plus award goes to Mrs.

Scotton's class for advocating for inclusive communities.

Keep up the great work!

I wanted to end today's episode on a relaxing note and NewsHound said, he knows just the thing that can help us all.

Take a breath and slow down.

Calming ASMR with NewsHound.

ASMR stands for the autonomous Sensory Meridian response, and people often describe it as a gentle wave of calmness.

Let's take a listen.

Wait, Newshound barking is not relaxing.

Okay.

You're just excited to tell us about the story you found today.

University students in Texas came up with a way to help a partially paralyzed tortoise.

When Speedy arrived at All Things Wild Rehabilitation Center, What do you think?

His future was uncertain after being hit by a car.

Unfortunately, what happened was it affected his spinal column.

And so he's paralyzed partially on his two back legs, as you can see.

His front legs work fine.

It's just his back legs.

And so when he when he walks along, he drags himself and he drags his back legs.

Mary Smith has helped care for Speedy for years.

She also works at Southwestern University.

So when she saw an opportunity to connect speedy with students, she took it.

I do think he's sitting on it way better.

That's when Applied Physics major Amanda Mejia and computer science student Dante Medina got to work.

And they approached me and said, hey, I know like you live here and you love animals, so I think this would be the perfect project for you.

The goal was to build a device that could help him move more naturally.

So we use a 3D modeling device which use CAD.

Not every version worked, but each new design was a step towards success.

To see how these students helped Speedy get his speed back.

Check out the full story on our website and YouTube channel.

Thanks, NewsHound, for stressing me out with all of your barking.

Great story.

Good job, NewsHound.

That's all the time we have for today's episode of NewsDepth.

But we love to keep the conversation going and we always like to hear from you.

There are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

You can email us at newdepth@ideastream.org.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

See you next week.