Economy Added Fewer Jobs than Expected in August as Unemployment Falls

Construction Worker

Economists anticipated that the country would add 161,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August compared to the 114,000 added in initial estimates for July, and that the unemployment rate would fall to 4.2%, according to MarketWatch. The job gains follow a disappointing July report and a downward revision of over 800,000 jobs that the Biden administration had claimed to create between April 2023 and March 2024.

Meanwhile, previously reported job gains for July were revised down from 114,000 to 89,000 while gains for June were lowered from 179,000 too 118,000.

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Ballot Drop Box Battles: States, Municipalities Seek to Ban Them as November Election Nears

Drop Box Sign

Two months out from Election Day and less than two weeks before early voting begins, states and municipalities are fighting over whether to implement ballot drop boxes, amid election integrity and practical concerns.

Ballot drop boxes, a method of voting that became more widespread during the 2020 presidential election as COVID-19 lockdowns continued, are facing a pushback in several municipalities and states ahead of the November election.

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RFK Jr. Reverses Course, Tells Supporters in Every State to Vote for Trump

RFK Jr and Donald Trump

Robert Kennedy Jr., a former independent presidential candidate, reversed course and told his supporters in every state to vote for former President Trump, the GOP presidential nominee.

He previously said his supporters could still vote for him on the ballot in uncompetitive states, despite his endorsement of Trump.

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YouTube Takes Down Conservative Podcast Network Tied to DOJ Russia Indictment

Lauren Chen

YouTube terminated the accounts of a conservative influencer and her media company Thursday evening, one day after the Justice Department indicated the company was tied to a Russian scheme to influence the 2024 election.

The accounts for Tenet Media and Lauren Chen were removed one day after Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference Wednesday announcing an indictment of two Russians in an alleged scheme to influence the 2024 election. A note on Tenet Media’s channel states that it “violated our Community Guidelines” and Chen’s personal account on the Google-owned video site was listed as “not available” Friday morning.

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Walz Subpoenaed for Oversight of $250 Million Fraud Scheme

Tim Walz

Reputation associated with his military record already shattered, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now faces a reckoning tied to a signature education accomplishment – feeding schoolchildren – from a congressional committee chaired by a North Carolina congresswoman.

Called the “largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation,” U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., on Wednesday sent a letter and subpoena to Walz and his state administration associated with the federal child nutrition programs and Feeding Our Future, and to the Biden administration’s U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Office of Inspector General.

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Alaska Vetoes Birth Control Expansion Same Day Judge Takes Sledgehammer to Abortion Restrictions

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy

Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill that would expand birth control access on Wednesday, while a judge on the Alaska Superior Court ruled against a state law that states only licensed doctors can perform abortions.

Dunleavy vetoed the bill, and Judge Josie Garton ruled against the state’s law prohibiting abortions from being performed unless it is by a doctor licensed by the State Medical Board, the ruling states. The bill that was vetoed would have required insurance companies to provide coverage for birth control and contraceptives.

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