Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in September, pointing to a surprising soft spot in the labor market and broader economy. Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 29,000 for the month while the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for job growth of 84,000 and an unemployment rate of 4.1%. In addition to the weakness in September, the August jobs count was revised lower to reflect a gain of 133,000 while July switched from a gain to a loss as payrolls fell by 10,000. The revisions in total showed 60,000 fewer jobs than previously reported." MB: The only thing good about this report is that it's bad for Trump & Assoc.
Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter. The ads have run across cable and network television — on Fox News, CNN and MS Now, with football games on Fox and with national newscasts on CBS, ABC and NBC, including 'Meet the Press,' which Mr. Trump is known to watch.
“Mr. Trump was eager to see the laudatory ads on the air and told Russell T. Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to come up with the money from within the government, the people said. Mark Paoletta, the budget office’s counsel, and Will Scharf, the White House counsel, both said it would be legal to use D.H.S. funds. The president and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, both spoke with Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, about the ads. On Sept. 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection — which falls under D.H.S. — awarded the contract to LMD, a Maryland marketing firm, federal records show.... It was not clear why taxpayer funds, and not money from [Mr. Trump's] super PAC, were used for the spots.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
New York Times: Donald “Trump will give Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, an additional position focused on helping develop the administration’s policies and regulations on artificial intelligence, according to current and former officials. Mr. Trump said last month that he would create an 'AI “Czar’” as concerns grow about his administration’s approach to the technology. Amid broad political and public backlash against artificial intelligence, the administration is under pressure to develop new regulations or safety standards for the industry. But Mr. Trump has expressed skepticism of government regulations or any notion that A.I. research labs should slow down the development of new models.” The link is a gift link.
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~~~ Regarding my remarks above, to be fair I should admit that these guys are not the real stand-ins for Sun Tzu. No, the modern-day U.S.A. answer to Sun Tzu is not a mere philosopher-general. No, he of the addled very good brain is the mighty commander of all generals. He is Don Tzu:
Asmaa Elkeurti & Claire Millerof the New York Times: “All American children will be automatically enrolled in Trump accounts for investing in the stock market, the Treasury Department announced this week.... In addition to Trump accounts (also known as 530As), families have two main options: 529s, which are for college savings, and custodial brokerage accounts, which are standard brokerage accounts in a child’s name (known as UTMA or UGMA accounts). Our calculator can help parents estimate which account would be worth the most when a child turns 18, if they started investing now. You can compare different scenarios here, and learn more about each account below.... In most cases, the differences in total savings aren’t huge, but there are important distinctions, like flexibility in how the money can be used and how it’s taxed. The 529 almost always wins because of the tax benefits for education savings. And a custodial account is more flexible than a Trump account for other savings goals.” Emphasis added. The calculator is included in the article. The link is a gift link.
Adam Sella, et al., of the New York Times: “The National Science Foundation, one of the biggest sources of federal research funding, withheld $1.4 billion that Congress had intended for research over the course of the past year.... The extraordinary move — holding back about one-fifth of the N.S.F.’s primary research budget — is the latest sign of how the Trump administration is finding creative ways to work around Congress. Lawmakers from both parties have consistently opposed White House-led proposals to cut funding to major science agencies.... Since the N.S.F. was founded over 75 years ago, the agency has spent nearly all of its budget on so-called basic research from a wide range of scientific fields, which has led to major advances in technology such as M.R.I.s, semiconductors and the internet. The White House wants to redirect the money to a limited set of administration priorities, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, according to two people with knowledge of the administration’s plans.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, "the White House" wants to divert allocations to quantum computing, does it? I urge some inquisitive to reporter to ask the occupant of "the White House" -- who is very smart because he inherited his good genes from his uncle the M.I.T. professor and not from his father the Alzheimer's patient -- what quantum computing is and just why he should steal funds to support it. We have seen enough of these stories to be able to state with certainty that Trump has treated all Congressional funding as a giant piggy bank to be spent any way Trump wants and not as money designated for special projects or specific department and agency requirements.
RAS writes, "Another scary thought is how crazy this administration will get after they aren't 'appealing' to voters anymore after the election." ~~~
~~~ Eric Katz & "The White House has instructed the Justice Department to move slowly on any abortion-related actions ahead of the midterm elections.... In a series of discussions, senior White House officials, led by White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, directly delivered the message to Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to a senior administration official.... Wiles suggested that an aggressive approach on abortion would generate unwanted attention, something the officials worried could alienate voters ahead of the November elections." Thanks to RAS for the link. The Washington Sun, formerly NOTUS, is now subscriber-firewalled. I was able to read this story, probably because were in the first of the month and I haven't used up whatever freebies the Sun may grant.
David Goodman of the New York Times: “A federal judge in El Paso on Friday halted border wall construction across the Big Bend region, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to erect hundreds of miles of barriers despite fierce local opposition. The federal government 'shall not build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction or ground disturbing activities, in the Big Bend sector,' the judge, Kathleen Cardone, wrote in her order, which she read from the bench. In a two-page order granting an injunction in the case, the judge said the federal government could not rely on waivers of environmental and other laws it had granted itself to speed up the construction, writing that it 'must comply with all applicable laws.' Judge Cardone ruled that the government could not use the waivers until the case was resolved. She wrote that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of at least one of their claims.” The link is a gift link.
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New York. Michael Rothfeld & Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: “The Tompkins County district attorney said recently that the evidence he reviewed in 2024 made it impossible for him to bring charges in the Cornell University rape inquiry. But records obtained by The New York Times show that the same district attorney’s office declined to review any additional evidence gathered by the campus police department beyond a six-page statement signed by the former student, now known as Jane Doe.... On Nov. 25, 2024, a Cornell police investigator, Jeffrey Northrop, spoke to a member of the district attorney’s staff, Jeff Huddle, about additional interviews the police had done, the records show. Prosecutors did not express interest, saying they agreed that based on the woman’s statement, 'criminal charges would not be pursued in this case,' Mr. Northrop wrote in a note documenting their call. By that point, the police had conducted numerous interviews, reviewed chat messages, logged anonymous tips, reached out to lawyers for the some of the accused men and spoken to at least two others, the records show.
“On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul harshly criticized the district attorney and the Cornell police for the way they handled the investigation and appointed Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor, giving her power to bring criminal charges.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Maia Coleman of the New York Times: “One of the seven men accused by a Cornell student of sexual assault sued the university in March seeking to overturn the punishment given to him after a school administrative investigation and expunge references to the assault allegation from his academic record, according to court records unsealed in Tompkins County Supreme Court, N.Y., this week. The man, identified in the filings as John Doe, was among the seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity who were accused of assault by a fellow student in a lawsuit filed on Sept. 16. (Although the fraternity members were identified by name in that lawsuit, it was not clear which filed the suit seeking to overturn his punishment under the name John Doe.) All of the men accused in the woman’s suit have denied any wrongdoing.” The link is a gift link.
Tennessee. Behold the Lord High Executioner. Eduardo Medina, et al., of the New York Times: “The head of the agency that botched the execution of Christa Pike was brought to Tennessee three years ago to save the state’s death penalty. But the official, Frank Strada, had overseen three problem-plagued executions when he was a top prison official in Arizona.... The questions swirling around Ms. Pike’s failed execution echo some of the questions that arose in 2022 after a string of mishaps in executions in Arizona, where Mr. Strada was in charge of the teams that carried out death sentences. In each instance, according to lawyers and court records, the teams struggled to insert IVs into the condemned prisoners’ arms.... But in 2023, Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee recruited Mr. Strada to lead the state’s Department of Correction and help restart executions, which had been put on hold in 2022.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: “Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator in a Nashville hospital as of Thursday evening, a day after surviving a botched execution attempt, her lawyers said in a court filing[.] Ms. Pike was critically ill, they wrote in a Friday filing in Davidson County Chancery Court, and both of her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital. Ms. Pike’s medical condition, some legal experts said, raises questions about whether the state could attempt to execute her again if she is not fully cognizant or capable of understanding what is happening. The disclosure is the most detailed update on Ms. Pike’s health since she survived two rounds of pentobarbital, the drug used as part of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, on Wednesday evening.” The link is a gift link.
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