curated citations to news sources
WSJ: Hiring Stalled in August, With 22,000 New Jobs
Revised figures show a summer slowdown, with 13,000 jobs lost in June
U.S. job growth continued to slow down in August, a sign that the labor market is deteriorating markedly.
The government also revised its numbers from earlier in the summer, and said the economy lost a net 13,000 jobs in June. It was the first such decline since December 2020.
(WSJ more…)
Moneywise: The US hits a ‘turning point’ with more unemployed workers than job openings for the 1st time since April 2021
The U.S. economy, already plagued by tariff uncertainty and inflation concerns, received a “jolt” of bad news just days after Labor Day. For the first time since the pandemic era, the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) showed that unemployment outpaced the number of available job openings.
Robert Reich: The jobs crash
When I say jobs crash I mean that employers have essentially stopped hiring. Today’s report from the B.L.S. shows that the economy added only 22,000 jobs in August (relative to the normal monthly gain of 180,000 to 200,000).
Soy Nómada: U.S. Trade Deficit Surges Beyond Expectations in July
The U.S. trade deficit witnessed an unexpected surge in July, reaching a staggering $78.3 billion. This figure significantly exceeded the anticipated $64.2 billion, marking a 32.5% increase. The primary driver behind this surge was a notable rise in imports, as businesses scrambled to stockpile goods before the implementation of new tariffs.
Raw Story: Trump Cabinet member just ‘confessed’ the president has been ‘lying’
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If you add it all up, Bessent is only alleging $2.35 trillion in promised investments into the U.S. — way less than Trump’s boasts, Wheeler noted.
Time: Americans’ Energy Costs are Rising. You Can Blame Trump and Big Tech
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – September 5, 2025
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Just what that looks like was made clear on Wednesday when the Trump administration launched a strike on a boat carrying 11 civilians it claimed were smuggling drugs. Covering the story, the New York Times reported that “Pentagon officials were still working Wednesday on what legal authority they would tell the public was used to back up the extraordinary strike in international waters.”
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Jay Kuo: Zoom In, Zoom Out on Venezuela
The Trump regime, claiming its right to stop drug smuggling, attacked a vessel in international waters outside Venezuela, killing 11. But it’s about far more than that.
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Zoom in
…The White House has provided shifting narratives on this, too. Secretary of State Marco Rubio first said the vessel was headed to Trinidad, which would undermine the idea that it was laden with drugs headed to the U.S. But Rubio changed his statement after Trump insisted that the small vessel was heading to the U.S.—again, over 1,000 kilometers away.
As demonstrated by its record with “administrative error” resulting in mistaken renditions of non-criminal immigrants to CECOT in El Salvador, as well as its “strike first, ask questions later” mistakes in Yemen, where it claimed to have killed militants but instead struck a tribal gathering celebrating the end of Ramadan, this regime has not earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to its actions or its version of events.
Zoom out
Zooming out from the attack itself, let’s be clear: Drug smuggling is not a capital offense. As Dan Rather noted in his newsletter today, the Trump White House played judge, jury and executioner over an alleged nonviolent crime.
Attacking a civilian vessel in international waters and killing everyone on board is a clear violation of international law.
(Jay Kuo more…)
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Glee Violette: The more I think about the boat full of people that was blown up by military officers of the United States of America under Donald Trump, the more things don’t add up.
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Thom Hartmann: When the Court Says Trump Is Above the Law, Who Protects the Eleven Dead on That Boat?
By protecting him from accountability, the Court gave him power to end lives at will — and he’s wasting no time using it…
(Thom Hartmann more…)
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NY Times: How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart
The 2019 operation, greenlit by President Trump, sought a strategic edge. It left unarmed North Koreans dead.
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The 2019 operation has never been publicly acknowledged, or even hinted at, by the United States or North Korea. The details remain classified and are being reported here for the first time. The Trump administration did not notify key members of Congress who oversee intelligence operations, before or after the mission. The lack of notification may have violated the law.
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Miles Taylor: Trump is creating the “deep state” he decried
After a purge of federal employees, the White House is re-stocking the government with loyalists.
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Qasim Rashid, Esq.: Today I Protested ICE Fascists—They Ran & Hid Like Cowards
The three main lessons from today’s protest that every American should know
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LAWdork: Holding vigil in “a post-USA America” as Trump orders the vigil gone
Philipos Melaku-Bello tells Law Dork that if the tent is taken out of the park, “then lawyers will get involved, and we’ll do what we can to get it back.”
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As of 6:30 p.m. Friday, the tent and Philipos were still there.
(LAWdork more…)
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Charlotte Clymer: The Kennedy Family Wants RFK, Jr. Out
When common sense is thicker than blood.
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Josh Barro: Abundance Is a Bipartisan Project
My report from the Abundance 2025 conference, where Democrats and Republicans were refreshingly eager to work together.
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Atlantic: Florida Decided There Were Too Many Children
The state’s elimination of vaccine mandates is a courageous first step toward decluttering itself of any excess kids.
(Atlantic more…)
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Slate: Texas’ New Abortion Bounty Law Has a Fatal Flaw
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The reality remains that abortion opponents haven’t yet found a recipe for stopping the flow of abortion pills into conservative states. Unless and until Donald Trump puts his thumb on the scale, that isn’t likely to change. Instead, the upshot is likely to be more fear and uncertainty, and more scandalous allegations about broken relationships. Abortion opponents may believe that this law will only hurt shield doctors and drug companies and abortion seekers, but if the past teaches us anything, their movement will be in the firing line too.
(Slate more…)
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Dean Blundell: “Hostile Act”: Inside Trump’s FRANTIC Push to Bury the Epstein Files Vote
Trump is threatening the lives and careers of 214 GOP members with career death – or worse – if they help seek justice for Epstein Victims.
TL;DR:
- Survivors spoke. The public wants daylight. A bipartisan discharge petition to force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act is within striking distance.
- Instead of welcoming transparency, the White House and House leadership are leaning on Republicans to stay off the petition and pushing a performative alternative to run out the clock.
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Slate: A Senator Just Unapologetically Declared the U.S. a White Homeland
America, he says, isn’t an idea—and isn’t for everyone.
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Schmitt makes clear that the problem of immigration is not that people violate the rules or that the rules are not enforced. It is about immigration per se, about non-Europeans stealing the birthright of the descendants of America’s original white Christian settlers. This includes German settlers like Schmitt’s ancestors, a group at one time considered nonwhite, but not the Black slaves who built much of the country and whose roots here largely predate his own, nor countless other ethnic groups who have made significant contributions to this nation.
(Slate more…)
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Nate Silver: What is Blueskyism?
And why is it so toxic for political persuasion?
(Nate Silver more…)
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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