www.reuters.com

...LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDUCATION DRAG

Local government education employment dropped 49,600 last month, the most since October 2021, and contributing to a 53,000 decrease in overall government payrolls. Excluding government, private payrolls increased by 30,000, matching June's gain.

Private job growth has averaged 72,000 per month this year, and some economists argued that this was a better reflection of the labor market. They expected the slump in local government to reverse in August.

Leisure and hospitality employment decreased by 40,000, losing jobs for a second straight month. Payrolls at restaurants and bars dropped by 26,100. The retail trade sector lost 19,400 jobs, the bulk of them at warehouse clubs, supercenters and other general merchandise stores.

These two sectors, which have become volatile in recent months, weighed down overall payrolls by 59,400 jobs.

Employment in financial activities fell further, shedding 14,000 jobs. Financial activities jobs are down by 121,000 since peaking in May 2025. Healthcare payrolls increased 22,000, but well below the monthly average of 36,000 over the past year.

There were 22,000 construction jobs added, while manufacturing employment rose 5,000. A total of 31,000 factory jobs have been added this year, likely driven by an artificial intelligence buildout. But the share of manufacturing industries reporting employment gains dropped to 50.0% from 56.9% in June. ...

Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong - Summertime
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Brits forced to sleep in kitchens to cope with hot weather in heat trap' homes
www.independent.co.uk

... One in six Britons are taking "drastic action" to cope with heatwaves, including sleeping in kitchens, missing work, or booking hotels, Citizens Advice has found.

These measures extend to sleeping in gardens or on balconies, taking sick days or unpaid leave, and paying for hotels.

Extreme heatwaves this summer have put lives at risk, sparked wildfires and forced millions into hosepipe bans.

July, with temperatures above 34C, was the driest month on record for England and Wales, the Met Office confirmed.

The charity warns millions across the UK are "trapped in homes they can't cool", with almost half (44%) feeling powerless to prevent their houses overheating. ...

www.reuters.com

... Details of the household survey from which the unemployment rate is derived were mostly weak. Household employment dropped 87,000 and the number of people working part-time for economic reasons increased 123,000 to 4.804 million.

The median duration of unemployment fell to a still-elevated 10.5 weeks from 11.0 weeks in June.

The participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, has declined in six of the past seven months. ...

Trump nominee Todd Blanche clears major hurdle in bid to become attorney general
www.reuters.com

... Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Friday he would back Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a path for Donald Trump's nominee after weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department's independence from the White House.

Cassidy emerged as the likely deciding vote after Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she would oppose Blanche for the top U.S. law enforcement job, leaving the nomination on the brink. ...

Hellbent on putting Fauci in jail, Rand Paul wants to skip a Senate vote
www.politico.com

... Rand Paul wants to fast-track prosecution of former Covid czar Anthony Fauci.

The legal process will be fraught.

After the Kentucky Republican pushed a contempt of Congress resolution through his Senate committee on party lines Thursday morning " saying Fauci had impeded his investigation of the pandemic by refusing to answer questions last week " Democrats demanded he take it to the full Senate for a vote they could filibuster. Paul said he's going to instead take it straight to the attorney general.

For Fauci, the difference is massive. A failed Senate vote to hold him in contempt would show he's still got defenders after Republicans released a diary showing his enthusiasm for fame and then grilled him while he took the Fifth. A referral to the attorney general puts a decision on prosecution in the hands of a Trump Justice Department that has shown it's willing to play politics.

"Maybe he should" be prosecuted, President Donald Trump told reporters about Fauci on Thursday, referencing the contempt prosecutions of two of his allies, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, that began when Democrats controlled Congress. "What he did is far more serious than a lot of crimes."

After his committee voted, Paul said he's sick of waiting to hold his pandemic nemesis accountable. "This way we don't sit a month waiting to determine whether or not to bring it to the Senate floor," he told reporters. "It will immediately be referred over, and I think it's important for them to look at." ...

Tony Bennet & K. D. Lang - A Wonderful World
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Water Boys ...
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Roy Orbison & K.D. Lang - Crying
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