Employment ticks up: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 in August, slightly more than expected, according to numbers released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate rose to 3.8%. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, social assistance, and construction. Employment in transportation and warehousing declined. The number of unemployed stood at 6.4 million for August 2023, up from the 6 million unemployed in August 2022.
Trump’s claim: Donald Trump’s former Attorney General William Barr on Fox News yesterday said that Trump’s claims that his indictments on charges of stealing government secrets and trying to overturn the election are election interference are silly. “It”™s silly. It”™s silly,” Barr said. “The idea that this is interfering with the election is simply wrong.”
Trial to be televised: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has ruled that the upcoming trial of Donald Trump and his co-defendants on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia can be televised. McAfee approved the transmission of audio and video live streams from the courtroom. His ruling applies to what happens in Georgia courtrooms and would not apply to any elements of the case that might be moved to federal court.
Recovery funds: The White House has called on Congress to increase by $4 billion the funds the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, can use to help pay for recovery from Hurricane Idalia and the Maui fires. FEMA already has been authorized to spend $12 billion, which it is now felt will not be enough in view of the extensive damage caused by the hurricane.
Pope in Mongolia: Pope Francis has begun a visit to Mongolia, the predominately Buddhist country located between China and Russia. This is the first visit by a Pope to Mongolia, which has only about 1,500 Catholics. China refused to allow Catholic bishops in China to travel to Mongolia to be with the Pope.
Judge rules in favor of trees: Federal Judge Andrew Hallman in Oregon has ruled that the U.S. Forest Service improperly changed the rules during the Trump Administration when it allowed logging to take place in old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and requires halting any new cutting of trees on the approximately 6 million acres in question pending a full environmental impact study.
