Heating bills are about to climb and some households face a 31% jump

A surge of inflation has hiked prices for everything from gasoline to tomatoes, but a looming source of sticker shock will drop onto household budgets over the coming months: heating costs.

The historic oil shortage set off by the Iran war is expected to drive up heating bills at a pace more than twice the level of overall inflation, squeezing households as they weather elevated prices for a range of other essentials, some analysts told ABC News.

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U.S. households will spend an average of $1,030 to heat their homes this winter, which amounts to an increase of 8.7% compared to last year, the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) said in a report earlier this week.

Households that rely on heating oil -- a major heating source in the Northeast U.S. -- will suffer a staggering average price increase of 31.3% compared to last year, NEADA found. Customers who depend on natural gas are expected to face a jump of 5.8%.

"The costs we're expecting are unusually high this winter," David Konisky, a political science professor at Indiana University and co-director of the Energy Justice Lab, told ABC News.

A large-scale U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February prompted Iran's near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which facilitates one-fifth of global crude supply.

The ensuing war set off the largest oil supply disruption on record and prompted the release of hundreds of millions of barrels of reserve crude from emergency storage in dozens of countries. A six-month stretch of on-again, off-again fighting has continued to choke off oil supply and keep prices elevated.

Global oil prices stood at about $103 a barrel as of Friday afternoon, putting them nearly 50% higher than their pre-war level. The surge in crude costs has propelled diesel prices to a record high and pushed the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline to $4.46, AAA data showed.

Mohammed Aty/Reuters - PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra

Lesser-known fallout from the oil spike will soon hit heating bills as temperatures cool later this year, some analysts said.

The average heating oil price in Maine, for instance, registers at $5.77 per gallon, putting it 74% higher than a year ago, the Maine Department of Energy Resources (DOER) said earlier this week.

Alicia Fasulo, the director of heating assistance at The Opportunity Alliance, a non-profit in southern Maine, said many low-income families in the region are "extremely concerned" about heating costs as winter approaches.

"They have tough decisions about whether to pay for their groceries, whether to pay for their medications, electric bills or fuel costs," Fasulo said.

"Our clients are faced with tough decisions every winter season, but the cost of fuel has never been this high since I started with the heat program seven years ago," Fasulo added.

Maine residents will spend an average of nearly $675 more to fill a standard 275-gallon tank to capacity than they would have a year ago, the DOER said.

Eligible households can avail themselves of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a federally-funded program that provides $4 billion in annual support to defray heating costs.

The program is a "huge help" for roughly 5,000 applicants who receive assistance from The Opportunity Alliance submitting paperwork each year, Fasulo said.

Only one of every five eligible households nationwide gains access to the program each year, however, in part due to the limited resources available, Konisky said.

"There is much more demand than there are resources to fill that demand," Konisky added.

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To be sure, the precise heating costs to be incurred this winter remain uncertain. The price of heating oil could fluctuate and El Niño may bring warmer-than-usual temperatures.

Still, it remains all but certain that elevated inflation will persist into the winter months, Konisky said.

The annual inflation rate stood at 3.4% as of August, the most recent month on record, putting inflation more than a percentage point above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.

"Families will have to figure out how to balance the essential needs they have," Konisky said.

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Ukraine targets Moscow with hundreds of drones in ‘largest ever’ attack

Ukrainian forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia overnight, including hundreds that were launched toward Moscow, officials said Sunday as the Kremlin was wrapping up the third and last day of its parliamentary elections.

Moscow’s mayor described the wave of drones as the “largest ever” attack on the Russian capital and said there had been damage to a Moscow oil refinery and a residential building.

Across the wider Moscow region, the attack killed two people and wounded 20, local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said. The dead were a 74-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, he said.

Writing on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had used a range of missiles and drones in the attack — including Ukraine's domestically made Flamingo and Pelican missiles — to hit oil and logistics facilities.

"These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine," Zelenskyy said, referring to the financial pressure that Kyiv hopes to put on Russia's economy.

The voting underway in Russia is the country's first wartime parliamentary election — balloting that has been virtually devoid of opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s policies and is all but certain to cement the Kremlin’s dominance.

Russia was also holding the vote in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began but still doesn’t fully control, and in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Kyiv has denounced the action as illegal.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that its forces shot down 1,100 Ukrainian drones across the country, as well as over the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 450 drones had been destroyed en route to the Russian capital, and that the attack had damaged the Moscow Oil Refinery and a residential building.

He said the “unprecedented attack” on Moscow was an attempt to disrupt the elections. "The enemy failed in this regard," he said.

Since Russia’s invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine has become a global leader in military drone technology, deploying domestically produced long-range drones alongside missiles for strikes deep inside Russia. Its drone technology has impressed governments and defense manufacturers around the world.

Kyiv is aiming to make the Russian public feel the war’s consequences and pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into negotiating a peace settlement. Putin has so far shown no signs he intends to stop the invasion.

Instead, Moscow and Kyiv have been drawn into an escalating duel of long-range aerial strikes as fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine has slowed, restricted by large numbers of drones and ground robots threatening troop movements.

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U.S. fears rapid escalation in the Mideast after Houthis attack Riyadh

Yemen's Houthi armed forces patrol as Yemeni prisoners loyal to the Houthi authorities arrive in the capital Sanaa on September 12 (Mohammed HUWAIS)

The United States warned Saturday that hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis could "escalate rapidly" after a missile attack targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed.

US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday.

The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition led by Riyadh.

Loud explosions rang out twice on Saturday in the Saudi capital, where AFP journalists saw a fuel tank bearing the logo of oil giant Aramco on fire near the airport.

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the US State Department warned, adding American citizens outside the Middle East should "seriously reconsider travel to and through the region".

The Houthis's lightning offensive seizing swathes of Yemeni territory in recent weeks has left hundreds dead and, according to the UN, displaced more than 110,000 people.

- 'Thwarted'-

These clashes and the subsequent hostilities with the kingdom have already disrupted Saudi Arabia's exports -- the world's leading supplier of crude oil -- as well as maritime traffic.

The Riyadh-led coalition confirmed Saturday evening on X that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards the capital was "successfully intercepted and destroyed".

The coalition added that the pro-Iranian fighters had tried to target "civilians and civilian infrastructure" in several cities in the west of the kingdom, including the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, an important export hub for Saudi oil.

It said these attacks were "thwarted by the Gulf monarchy's air defences".

Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance.

The Houthis said it had responded to recent Saudi attacks by carrying out "two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones", Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram.

"The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu."

Saudi authorities had earlier issued an overnight air raid alert.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like a round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.  

- Lightning offensive -

This is the first time since Yemen's civil war resumed that strikes have threatened the Saudi capital, piling further pressure on a global economy already rocked by seven months of war between the US and Iran.

"The area is under a hostile aerial threat," according to a message received just before 3:00 am by Riyadh residents, urging them to stay indoors.

AFP journalists then heard two explosions, before the Saudi civil defence agency lifted the alert half an hour later.

"I heard the alarm, then my windows shook," a Riyadh resident told AFP. Another resident described the attack as "terrifying". 

The incident comes days after Riyadh accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca on Wednesday, denouncing it as a "cowardly terrorist attack" on Islam's holy city, which welcomes millions of pilgrims each year. The Houthis strongly denied the accusation, calling it a "worn-out lie".

The group has reported scores of retaliatory strikes carried out daily by Riyadh since their offensive this month to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

The United States, according to US news platform Axios, last week refused a Saudi request to strike the Houthis. 

Washington approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom on Thursday to help Riyadh "deter current and future threats", the US State Department said.

War in Yemen broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and other regions, triggering a military intervention led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015.

The fragile truce reached in 2022 between the warring parties collapsed in July, when the Houthis defied Riyadh's control of Yemeni airspace by allowing an Iranian aircraft to land in Yemen.

The apparent attack came as the Houthis improve their defences in newly conquered territory along Yemen's Red Sea coastline, with members of the group telling AFP they have been installing radar and digging tunnels.

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Trump signs bill authorizing sweeping Russia sanctions

Russia has intensified attacks against Ukraine as its full-scale invasion grinds through its fifth year (Oleksandr GIMANOV)

US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Friday authorizing new sanctions designed to pressure Russia over its war in Ukraine, after Congress gave its approval after months of delay.

Washington is pushing to revive a mediated path towards ending the conflict as Moscow intensifies attacks against Ukraine, even though much of its attention -- and munitions -- are focused on the ongoing war against Iran.

The legislation, which US lawmakers approved this week, takes aim at Russia's energy and defense sectors, alongside President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials.

It also targets Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to evade Western sanctions, and allows Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

That could potentially cover China and India, and furthers efforts to cut off revenue financing Moscow's war.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the package by a 262-159 vote on Wednesday.

The bill would also target companies and foreign actors supporting Russia's military, and extend sanctions involving Iran.

But the broad powers to impose tariffs sparked an unusual split among Democrats, who largely support Ukraine but have resisted handing Trump wider authority over trade.

- Tougher pressure -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier hailed the legislation as "symbolic" and thanked US lawmakers.

The bill is "an extremely powerful tool that can stop this terrorist war and bring Russia to the point where it has to make peace," Zelensky wrote on X.

"Sanctions must be strong so that all efforts for peace -- including our joint diplomatic efforts with the United States, Europe, and our other friends -- can succeed," he added.

India said on Thursday it would continue buying oil "through diversified sourcing."

New Delhi -- which counts Russia as one of its most important strategic partners -- has navigated the energy crisis sparked by the US-Iran conflict in part by turning to Moscow, despite pressure from Western countries.

Supporters of the legislation argued that tougher economic pressure is needed against Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Congress vote was celebrated by pro-Ukraine activists, who pointed to continuing Russian attacks, including drone strikes on Wednesday on civilian transport in the south that officials in Kyiv said killed five people.

Trump has generally preferred to retain control over sanctions and tariffs rather than have Congress dictate policy, helping delay the measure for more than a year.

The president's signing of the bill comes a week before he is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Washington.

bys/jgc/cms/hol

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Aerial threat alert sounds in Saudi capital for 1st time in latest escalation with Houthis

Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom, including in its capital, late Friday and early Saturday.

Also Saturday, Iran’s state TV reported that a man was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Full coverage is available here.

Alerts sound across Saudi Arabia for aerial threat

Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” after issuing a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom late Friday and early Saturday, and at least one explosion was heard in the capital, Riyadh.

The alert heard in Riyadh was first for the Saudi capital since the latest escalation with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

No casualties or damage were reported after the alerts were lifted. Saudi authorities didn't say what prompted the alerts or the cause of the audible explosions, but they previously reported intercepting incoming Houthi missiles and drones.

UN Security Council condemns Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia and commercial vessels

The U.N.’s most powerful body said late Friday that the Houthis' military escalation, attacks and threats “risk further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade” while undermining regional and international efforts to secure peace in Yemen.

It was warned that continued escalation would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.

The council's 15 members called for “practical cooperation” to prevent the Iran-backed Houthis from acquiring arms, military training, financing and other military-related assistance needed to carry out their attacks. They stressed that all countries must enforce the U.N. arms embargo against the rebel group.

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

Iran's state TV reported on Saturday that a man identified as Hossein Pedram was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.

The report said Pedram passed on to Israel classified information on “sensitive military sites” in Iran's Isfahan province. It didn't say how he accessed the classified information.

Pedram was reportedly arrested after those sites, which included missile bases, were targeted in the 12-day air-war by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in June last year.

A recent surge of executions in Iran prompted an international outcry by human rights groups.

___

This piece will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

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Trump says Donald Jr. repaid Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin for wedding party

President Donald Trump said Friday that his son Donald Trump Jr. has paid back a Russian oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin who the Trumps have confirmed hosted two nights of parties after Trump Jr.'s wedding. 

Trump was asked in the Oval Office on Friday whether it was appropriate for his son to have accepted the gift from Umar Kremlev. 

"Well, it's totally, it's totally allowed. And a lot of people have parties and all, but it's totally allowed," Trump said. "But as I understand it, he paid them back. He didn't want to have that, so I hear he paid them back. A person that he knows pretty, I guess a friend of his, gave him a wedding party. That's very common."

NurPhoto via Getty Images - PHOTO: Bettina Anderson Trump and her husband Donald Trump Jr. hold hands while standing together during the formal welcoming parade lines inside Aras an Uachtarain on Sept. 12, 2026, in Dublin, Ireland.

ProPublica first reported on Kremlev's gift to Trump Jr.

Russian oligarch paid for parts of Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration, report says

Lawmakers and critics have expressed concern over the gift. Some of them warned that accepting expensive gifts from foreign adversaries could create potentially severe conflicts of interest and potential leverage over the president's family.

When pressed about Kremlev's close ties to the Kremlin, Trump suggested that his son "didn't do a background check."

A reporter commented that it was the first the public had heard that Trump Jr. paid Kremlev back.

Blanche says investigation into Russian oligarch's wedding gift to Trump Jr. is unlikely

"No, I heard I heard about that. I actually heard that -- when I heard the story, I asked about it. He said, 'No, I'm paying it back, Dad.' So, and that was a while ago," Trump later added.

ABC News has asked the White House and The Trump Organization for evidence that Trump Jr. paid Kremlev back. 

Trump Jr.'s wife Bettina Anderson said in an Instagram post that Kremlev "very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding. It was an extraordinary gift from a friend and something for which were and remain incredibly grateful."

Kremlev's press office told ProPublica that “Mr. Kremlev and Mr. Trump Jr have a friendly relationship” and they first met "a couple of years ago." ABC News has reached out to Kremlev for comment.

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Lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial says he 'didn't have any doubts'

He was the sole holdout on a 12-person jury who otherwise voted to acquit Lindsay Clancy of murdering her three children — frustrating the defense and causing a mistrial.

After seven days of deliberations, and with specific instructions from Judge William Sullivan to follow the letter of the law on reasonable doubt, the jury said it still had one holdout who refused to budge. A mistrial was declared on Sept. 4.

Now, the lone juror, named Michael Desronvil, has come forward to share his side of the story, saying that he "didn't have any doubts" that Clancy was criminally responsible for the killings.

In a statement shared with CBS on Sept. 17 via his representative Ray Marcel, Desronvil said: "As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present.

"Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she knew exactly what she was doing and planned," he added.

Desronvil refused to acquit Clancy on charges of the murder of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, whom she admitted killing in 2023.

Attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik said in a social media post he was representing Desronvil and that his client would not be giving any interviews.

“We are focused entirely on his health, safety, and well-being,” Paltzik said. “There will be a time for accountability and a time for the real story of the Lindsay Clancy Trial to be told. But not right now.“

Paltzik added that his client was “safe and sound at an undisclosed secure location in a rural area of Northern New England.”

The trial centered on whether Clancy could be held legally responsible for their deaths, as her defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.

The case is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 29.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington pictured making an argument, as the jury resumes deliberations, in Plymouth Superior Court.

Reuters / REUTERS

Desronvil’s statement follows a number of jurors giving their views publicly about the case.

Last week, one juror said that Desronvil, one of three men serving on the jury, did not cite "a single piece of evidence" to support his position.

Juror Nick Dargie said the holdout juror did not show the other jurors any witness testimony or evidence to support his position.

"There was several times I would ask him to show us evidence or, you know, describe a witness testimony that helped to prove what he was saying, and ... he couldn't," Dargie said in an interview with ABC News aired on Sept. 10.

"There wasn't a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was," Dargie continued, explaining that this was why the jury had given a note to Judge William Sullivan that eventually led to a mistrial.

"Otherwise, like, there's nothing wrong with somebody having a completely opposite opinion ... that would be a hung jury. That, like, that is our justice system."

What else did the jurors say?

Prior to Dargie's ABC interview, jury foreperson Roni Carlson had told NBC10 Boston that the holdout juror blocked Clancy’s acquittal despite having reasonable doubt.

A guilty verdict requires guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest standard of proof in the U.S. legal system.

"He had reasonable doubt. He admitted he had reasonable doubt," Carlson said.

"I started filling out the forms, I was so excited. There were three forms I had to fill out, and then he said, 'But I'm still not going to say that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity.'"'

Another juror, who chose to remain anonymous, told local CBS station WBZ-TV that most of the jurors were "very firm in their stance," adding that "the stand-alone juror was not the only one that was unwilling to see things from the other side".

"I'm going to kind of defend that individual in a sense," she told WBZ-TV. "There were some big personalities in that room. But at the end of the day, it just came down to an inability to move past your convictions."

She added that there was "so much doubt."

"The prosecution didn't have a figurative smoking gun. There was not a single moment throughout the presentation of that case where you could say 'Yup, 100% I'm certain she did it' or that she didn't do it. There was too much gray area."

What happens next?

The two sides in the case are scheduled to return to court on Sept. 29, when the next steps will be decided. 

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not announced whether he will seek to retry Clancy.

Speaking outside the courthouse on Sept. 4 following the mistrial, Cruz said, "I appreciate the fact that there are strong feelings and opinions tied to this case." 

He added: "However, our job is to set aside our feelings and focus solely on the facts. The facts are, Lindsay Clancy killed her three children and the evidence suggested to us that she was in control of her actions when she committed those homicides."

Attorney Kevin Reddington speaks to members of the media after a judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy.

Reuters / REUTERS

Meanwhile, Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, said he was open to a plea deal, but told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he would not agree to one that would result in her serving prison time.

"I want to hear what Tim [Cruz] has to say," Reddington said. "I hope, however, after sitting through this trial and seeing the evidence that was presented from the government, as well as from the defense, that he would revisit that issue."

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