Saturday, September 06, 2025

We are onto you, Donald, and we are done with you

A young woman clings to a tree as masked men try to peel her off. The men wrench one of the woman’s arms behind her back, then stuff her into the back of an unmarked SUV as bystanders film and shout. She was selling food outside a Home Depot in West Los Angeles when federal agents chased her down and arrested her.

Videos of aggressive immigration raids like this have become commonplace as the Trump administration pursues its goal of deporting millions of people over the next four years.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is arresting people in front of their kids during school dropoffs, on the way to church, and at routine check-ins at immigration offices. Communities are pushing back, leading to clashes with police and protests. These raids are remaking the country.

REVEAL notes the above as an introduction to their audio report (use the link, I can't find the MOTHER JONES report on YOUTUBE). Convicted Felon Donald Chump continues to carry out war against this country as he persecutes immigrants and those who look like they might be immigrants. He's been thundering threats at Chicago for months now. It's all a con game and a distraction from one of the world's biggest liars, a man bound and determined to destroy this country and to destroy our democracy.

Governor JB Pritzker's office served up a few key points:

Here are the facts Donald Trump should read and the White House should include in their next press release:

Chicago does not even make the list for Most Dangerous Places in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report.
Illinois ranks in the top half of states with the lowest violent crime rates in the country.
Gov. Pritzker’s Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA) invested $250 million evidence-based programs to reduce gun violence.
The Peacekeeper Program, which trains residents to mediate and de-escalate conflicts, has resulted in a 41% reduction in gun violence in targeted Chicago and suburban Cook County neighborhoods
Over 90% of communities in Chicago that received state funding experienced declines in total firearm victimizations in July 2025 as compared to July 2024.
Chicago is on track to have the lowest number of homicides in decades with violent crime trending downward across categories as well.
Murders and shooting incidents are both down by more than 30% in the past year and have been cut roughly in half since 2021.

Read more about Illinois public safety efforts and facts here.

As Ryan Cooper (THE AMERICAN PROSPECT) points out:

But not every opponent is a mewling coward. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently demonstrated this with a firm stand against Trump’s planned invasion of the state.

The idea was to whip up one of Trump’s usual unhinged rants about crime in Chicago—it’s a “hellhole,” he claimed, the “MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD”—as a pretext for sending in Texas National Guard troops, along with ICE agents, to do some of his classic autocratic theater. As we saw in Washington, D.C., armed soldiers would be standing around doing nothing much in particular, except deeply unsettling passersby, while ICE goons would set about black-bagging random brown day laborers at Chicago hardware stores.

It should be emphasized that sending National Guard troops from one state to another without the governor’s permission is wildly illegal, and arguably an act of war.

Pritzker—unlike D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been hiding under the bed—was having none of it. In a bracing speech, he pointed out the obvious. “This is not about fighting crime. This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try and intimidate his political rivals.” (The actual murder capital of the world is Colima, Mexico, whose homicide rate is nine times higher than Chicago’s. As my colleague Harold Meyerson recently pointed out, Jackson, Mississippi has a murder rate 5.5 times that of Chicago, but that didn’t stop the state’s governor from sending his National Guard troops to D.C.) “Look around you right now. Does this look like an emergency? Look at this. Go talk to the people of Chicago who are enjoying a gorgeous afternoon in this city. Ask the families buying ice cream on the Riverwalk,” Pritzker added.

Ryan's right to applaud JB. I've known JB for years and would gladly vote for him. That said, I think we're holding out false hope if we honestly think Chump knows how to read. Maybe if JB stamped "Epstein" on it and sent it over to AG Pam Bondi's office, it might get read? Of course, if it was read, she would then immediately 'loose' it, right?

Juliana Kim (NPR) notes that Chump is floating an APOCOLYPSE NOW assault on Chicago. I guess it's a senior moment? He's that divorced from reality? People's lives are at stake and he's trying to act like it's a movie.

Matan H. Josephy and Laurel M. Shugart (HARVARD CRIMSON) reported an hour ago that he's actually moving on Boston:

The Trump administration has begun rolling out its next surge of immigration enforcement in Boston, even as the federal government sued the city over a policy limiting police collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The surge, dubbed Operation Patriot 2.0, is expected to last several weeks, according to a Saturday report by the New York Times. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the move Saturday afternoon.

[. . .]

Reports of ICE agents near Harvard’s campus spread quickly among students Friday afternoon.

Students saw three vehicles marked with ICE lettering and the slogan “Defend the Homeland” driving in Harvard Square on Friday. The vehicles were photographed parked on Mt. Auburn Street and filmed driving toward Central Square.

Across the country, Chump's war is destroying families, civil rights and liberties and the economy. Sandra Sanchez (BORDER REPORT) notes:

The president and CEO of the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights organization says the U.S. economy and families are being “devasted” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Janet Murguía, president and CEO of UnidosUS, told Hispanic Latina leaders on Thursday that employees throughout the country, including the South Texas border, are afraid to go to work and families are scared to go to school and doctor’s appointments for fear ICE agents will arrest and deport them.

“The Rio Grande Valley is also seeing the impact of ICE raids and the administration’s increase in funding for mass deportations,” Murguía told about 400 people attending the Latina Leadership Conference 2025 hosted by the RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

[. . .]

“We’re seeing the humanitarian impact on families that are being devastated by some of the separations and deportations. But really, the biggest point I want to make is how hard it’s hitting the economy. These raids and targeted deportations are really impacting workers and businesses in ways where folks are afraid to show up at work. They’re connected to families who may or may not have someone who’s fully documented, and they don’t want to put their families at risk. They don’t want to put their businesses at risk, and so we’re seeing the economy shut down in areas that should be thriving,” Murguía told Border Report after her keynote speech.

Chicago and surrounding areas are gearing up for whatever crimes Chump plans to attempt. Susan Sarkauskas (DAILY HERALD) reports, "At least 250 people protesting on the streets of Wheaton Saturday made one message clear -- they don’t want immigration agents arresting people in their hometown. Standing along sidewalks in front of a Jewel-Osco store at Main Street and Geneva Road, they held signs, rang bells, drummed and chanted." Wheaton is a city to the west of Chicago in Illinois. And that's a very big turnout for the seat of DeKalb county which, last November, saw 48.1% of the voters turn out for Chump (Kamala Harris won the county with 50.1% of the voters, she also carried the state). Cristobal Cavazos is quoted stating that they chose the protest site as a result of ICE grabbing a man in the parking lot there on August 1st, "We saw what ICE terrorism is doing to what the Bible says re 'the least of these'." ABC 7's Christian Piekos, Maher Kawash, Evelyn Holmes, and Rob Hughes report:

A rally and march was held Saturday evening in downtown Chicago against the anticipated surge in ICE operations. A large crowd gathered at Michigan and Ida B. Wells before marching up Michigan Avenue.

President Donald Trump says the surge in immigration enforcement activity in the Chicago area is about getting dangerous criminals off the streets.

The White House has not released any details about what's being planned. City and state leaders oppose deploying federal agents to the city.

Protests wrapped up Saturday night in the city and suburbs as federal immigration enforcement was expected to expand. The protests stayed peaceful, but demonstrators had a strong message for the president.

Massive crowds marched through downtown Chicago. At least a few thousand people protested the Trump administration.

Joanie Lum and Will Hager (Chicao's FOX 32) adds that an estimated 2000 people participated in the protest and they note:

Veronica Castro, deputy director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said, "Our job is to take to the streets, defend our space and keep each other safe."

"Our communities are still experiencing state-sanctioned trauma as a result of this orchestrated fear campaign," Viviana Barajas of Palenque USA said.

They marched through the Loop, stopping at the U.S. citizenship and immigration services office, the federal courthouse and paused at the foot of Trump Tower to send loud messages.

There’s been no sign of the National Guard in Chicago but the city is braced for it.

Friday, Senator Dick Durbin's office issued the following:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced seven amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2026 to push back against the Trump Administration’s threats to deploy the military to cities across the country, including Chicago. These amendments would enhance congressional oversight over President Trump’s expansive use of the military for law enforcement operations in American cities, including without the consent or request of a state’s elected officials.

“Deploying the military to Chicago without the request or consent of Illinois’ elected leaders is a clear violation of the law by the President. Chicago does not need to be ‘saved’ by President Trump, and this is nothing more than a shameless scare tactic,” said Durbin. “President Trump continues to abuse his power as Commander in Chief, but Senator Duckworth and I are pushing for stronger oversight over his actions.”

“I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in sponsoring these amendments that will help ensure our military can remain focused on its core missions and prevent Donald Trump—or any President—from politicizing and misusing our Armed Forces for their own gain,” said Duckworth. “Forcing the military, uninvited, into our cities to intimidate Americans in their own communities does not make our nation stronger, it simply distracts the military from executing its core mission of keeping our nation safe from real adversaries who wish us harm. Trump’s threats against Chicago are more unwarranted, unwanted and unjust moves straight out of the authoritarian’s playbook that will only jeopardize civil rights, undermine our military’s readiness and ultimately weaken our national security.”

The amendments that Durbin and Duckworth announced include:

Amendment #3028 to curb misuses of military bases, installations and facilities for detentions by prohibiting the use of any military construction funds to construct, renovate or expand any facility forthe purposes of detaining migrants.
Amendment #3209 to draw a bright line between military and policing by prohibiting individuals from simultaneously serving as an employee in the Department of Defense and in any civilian law enforcement entity, except if they are members of the Reserves and National Guard and hold law enforcement roles solely in their civilian capacities.
Amendment #3210 to protect civil rights and prevent misuse of military by requiring the President to notify Congress and justify in writing before providing access to military equipment—including surveillance equipment—bases or facilities to support law enforcement, and require Congressional approval to extend any such support longer than 30 days. This amendment would make it harder forPresident Trump to use military bases for detention, provide military surveillance equipment to support police or DHS, and claim it is legal to deploy the military to American cities because they are only in support roles to law enforcement. In recent months, the Trump Administration has dedicated expensive DOD platforms, assets and facilities for support to law enforcement, including designating military bases in five states for DHS support, including Ft. Bliss which was once used for Japanese internment, and pulling expensive military systems away from their normal missions to assist DHS with surveillance within the United States along the border.
Amendment #3596 to prohibit DoD non-reimbursable support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the purposes of immigration enforcement activities. The Trump Administration’s expansive use of the military for immigration operations, both domestically and overseas at Guantánamo Bay, has raised significant civil liberties concerns and risks eroding trust in the military. It is also a costly diversion of military resources that undermines readiness, as the Department of Defense (DOD) has provided such immigration enforcement support to DHS on a non-reimbursable basis, effectively forsaking the intent behind such Congressionally directed defense funds.
Amendment #3774 to prohibit the use of DoD funds for any activities that would violate the Posse Comitatus Act or that would infringe on powers reserved to the States under the Constitution.
Amendment #3775 to ensure applicability of the Posse Comitatus Act on the National Guard. This amendment would close an unintended loophole President Trump has abused to deploy National Guard troops across state lines for law enforcement support and absent invocation of emergency authorities under the Insurrection Act.
Amendment #3773 to prohibit the use of funds for any DoD deployment of National Guard forces under Title 32 authorities in a state or federal territory over the objections of the chief executive.

Both Durbin and Duckworth have repeatedly spoken out against President Trump’s threats to deploy troops and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Chicago. Earlier this week, Durbin and Duckworth led Illinois delegation members in demanding that President Trump abandon his plans to deploy the military to the city, and the Senators wrote to the leaders of DOJ, DHS, DOD, and the FBI to request information about the Trump Administration’s plans to send federal agents and troops to Chicago. After reports surfaced that DOD planned to use Naval Station Great Lakes to enable operations by ICE officers, the Senators requested a meeting with the Secretary of the Navy. The Senators visited Naval Station Great Lakes earlier today.

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Duckworth also successfully secured the following amendments in the NDAA that the Committee approved in July and are set to be considered by the full Senate:

Language to strengthen public trust of the military and enhance civil rights by requiring that servicemembers identify themselves as part of the military when assisting federal law enforcement in the United States. As the Trump Administration continues to send federal agents and our nation’s military into our communities to intimidate their fellow Americans, this provision ensures that servicemembers identify themselves properly—to avoid public misunderstanding about who is providing logistical support versus conducting arrests or law enforcement duties.

Ensure all servicemembers know their legal obligations during deployments both at home and abroad by mandating legal training to all servicemembers, including a refresher within 90 days of any mobilization or deployment, on their responsibilities under the law of armed conflict, rules of engagement, defense support for civil authorities and standing rules for the use of force within the United States. In light of the Trump Administration’s increasing use of troops to support law enforcement within the United States, this provision will ensure troops know how to responsibly operate within the bounds of domestic laws and protect American civil rights.

A copy of Amendment #3209 is available here.

A copy of Amendment #3210 is available here.

A copy of Amendment #3773 is available here.

A copy of Amendment #3774 is available here.

A copy of Amendment #3775 is available here.

A copy of Amendment #3596 is available here.

-30-

Protests have been taking place around the country. Thursday saw protests in Florida. Grisha Glozman (FIGHT BACK! NEWS) notes:

On Thursday, September 4, around 60 students at the University of Central Florida rallied and marched to demand the reversal of their university’s 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as the establishment of a sanctuary campus.

The rally was led by UCF Students For A Democratic Society (SDS), who were joined by the UCF Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), and UCF Students For Education in Prison (SFEP), and others.

Speakers included the vice president of SDS, Vanessa Christaldi, who told the crowd, “Students should not have to feel afraid to go to school.” Erik Feyer emphasized the need for unity among students throughout the country in order to stand up to the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant and international students.

And people are preparing to fight for their neighbors and their friends and their family. Will Fitzgerald (SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE) notes:

Trump’s relentless attacks on immigrants are front of mind for students, teachers, and working families headed into the 2025-26 school year. Following the ramping up of ICE raids in Los Angeles last spring, as well as cases like the detention and separation of fourth-grader Martir Garcia Lara from his father, many Latino and immigrant students stayed home for graduation events at the end of last school year, fearing the crackdown. The spectre of Trump’s ICE looms just as large now as then, in the context of Trump’s authoritarian takeover of DC and stated plans to send troops into Chicago.

The fear of ICE descending upon our schools is real, and is not just circulating on high school campuses either. High-profile detentions and visa revocations on college campuses have been a clear feature of Trump’s administration, most notably with the arrest and disappearance of pro-Palestine antiwar activist Mahmoud Khalil in March. Not only this, but the rise of Trump has further emboldened far-right organizing on college campuses. Last semester, there were reports of students dressing up as ICE agents and student groups organizing events to call ICE on their undocumented classmates. This has contributed to the atmosphere of fear and disunity among students and workers that Trump’s administration has been actively stoking. From elementary schools to universities, school communities are desperately seeking ways to protect themselves and defeat Trump’s deportation agenda.

To seriously push back Trump’s deportation agenda, our schools need to become bastions of opposition to Trump’s plans for immigrant detentions and deportations. Many educators and their unions have already taken to distributing “Know Your Rights” leaflets to parents and students at school thresholds. Such was the case for Alondra Garcia, an immigrant elementary school teacher in Milwaukee who was suspended without pay for providing families with information about legal services available to them in case of deportation.

Importantly, in an action initiated by Socialist Alternative members, hundreds of community members, union educators, and immigrants rights activists rallied outside of her school on the day of her suspension to defend Ms. Garcia and all immigrants under attack right now. This action helped put enough pressure on the Milwaukee Public School district to win back-pay for Ms. Garcia for her wrongful suspension and to strike the file from her personal record.

This points towards the type of rapid-response organizing and solidarity needed to protect immigrant students and community members from ICE. While it is important for immigrants to know their basic legal rights as individuals, it is more important that working-class communities, especially unionized workers and those who are native-born and with legal status, are prepared to respond to raids by ICE and local police with direct action!

At The Good Men Project, Ilana Newman notes of Colorado:

In response to increased ICE presence in the region, local groups have been holding ‘Know Your Rights’ trainings to educate both immigrants and allies about what to do if federal law enforcement is present. Garcia Waddell held one such training in Cortez, Colorado in mid-August with a group of around 40, mostly white, retirement-age community members who showed up to protect their neighbors.

Mariana Stump, an activist who lives in Cortez, has also held a Know Your Rights training for the Latino community in Montezuma County. Stump said that about 40 people attended a training in Spanish she held at a church in Cortez earlier in August and she plans to organize another one in September. “We just keep spreading the word to let the community of Cortez know that they’re not alone. We’re here to help them and support them in any hard and difficult times,” said Stump in an interview with the Daily Yonder.

Angela Clark, who helped start the Cortez immigrant support group Manos Unidad as part of Montezuma County’s Indivisible chapter, said in a Daily Yonder interview that many Latino residents didn’t attend big local events like the rodeo and the Montezuma County Fair this year out of fear of ICE activity.

In rural communities like Cortez, Latino residents have a lot of economic power and their absence will have ripple effects. “Restaurants would be closed. Hotels would not have staff,” said Clark about the economic impact of losing Latino residents. According to census data, around 3,200 Hispanic identifying people live in Montezuma County, about 12% of the population. Stump said that many residents who are afraid of ICE agents don’t want to leave the house, even to go to Walmart. To help mitigate this risk she runs errands for them.

Colorado Rapid Response Network was established in Colorado in 2016 by a coalition of organizations. The network receives calls about ICE sightings or activity and mobilizes local people to respond to and confirm any sightings. Other states, cities, and regions have their own localized rapid response networks like the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, the Florida Immigrant Coalition Hotline and the California Rapid Response Network that also includes local chapters.

Responders within these networks are trained, and have practice, dealing with federal law enforcement and enforcing immigrants’ rights. “Practice is very important, that’s how you know what to do in a stressful situation,” said Garcia Waddell. In La Plata County, Clark said a recent ICE raid led to a man fleeing by foot into the mountains, leaving his work truck behind with ICE agents who were unable to catch him.

Thursday drove home how important it is for us all to get into this fight and to speak out and show up. That's when Chump's gestapo seized nearly 500 people in one city in Georgia. Jacob Cross (WSWS) notes:

On Thursday, multiple federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)—a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), carried out a massive immigration raid on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America campus in Ellabell, Georgia.

According to HSI, the fascistic raid resulted in the kidnapping of 475 workers. In a press conference Friday, Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of HSI in Georgia, said it was the largest single-site raid in the agency’s history.

Schrank claimed the workers had either entered the US illegally, overstayed their visas, or were violating their visas by working. He stated that most of those arrested were from Korea and that they had already been transported to an ICE concentration camp in Folkston, Georgia.

Alaa Elassar, Isabel Rosales and Caroll Alvarado (CNN) explain, "Federal agents descended on the Hyundai site Thursday morning like it was a 'war zone,' a construction worker at the electric car plant told CNN Friday." CBS NEWS adds, "No criminal charges were announced during Friday's news conference. The sweep was conducted as part of a month-long investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other federal crimes, Schrank said. He described Thursday's raid as the largest enforcement operation at a single site in the history of Homeland Security Investigations, which is a unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement." 475 people arrested and the next day, at a scheduled press conference, they have no criminal charges to announce? That's because the bulk of the arrested across the country are not violent criminals. They're hard working people who are being lied about and treated as props so that Chump can scare the stupid. That's all he has left: The stupid. Smart people on money? They're dancing away from his as fast as they can -- they see him wrecking the economy and they're even more worried that he's going to start nationalizing companies. Smart people who care about children and don't want them assaulted? He's run them off as well between his support for Ghislaine Maxwell and Robert Kennedy Junior. Go down any list. It's only the deeply stupid that still cling to him. So he lies to scare them and keep control over them.

The American Immigration Council issued the following statement:

“These raids don’t make anyone safer. They terrorize workers, destabilize communities, and push families into chaos,” said Michelle Lapointe, legal director at the American Immigration Council, who is based in the Atlanta, Georgia area. “This historic raid may make dramatic headlines, but it does nothing to fix the problems in our broken immigration system: a lack of legal pathways and a misguided focus on punishing workers and families who pose no threat to our communities. Raiding work sites isn’t reform, it’s political theater at the expense of families, communities, and our economy.”

“Immigrant workers are the backbone of our economy, filling critical labor gaps in manufacturing and beyond. Nationwide, 5.7% of manufacturing workers are undocumented, and here in Georgia they make up 6.7% of that workforce. Raiding worksites instead of fixing our pathways to legal employment is cruel, wasteful, and deeply shortsighted. The chilling effect of these raids will make it less likely that people will show up to work, deepening labor shortages and hitting businesses hard at an already precarious economic moment,” said Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council.

Clea Skopeliti (GUARDIAN) points out, "The raid is the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was created in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US in New York and Washington DC." This raid did 'accomplish' something. Debbie Elliott (NPR) notes, "South Korea's foreign minister is considering a trip to the U.S. to meet with the Trump administration after hundreds of South Korean nationals were arrested in Georgia this week at an electric vehicle battery plant." Someone might try to explain to Chump that South Korea? That's the Korea that's the US's ally and has been for decades. That's not the one you want to anger. The one we are in conflict with is North Korea which is headed by a dictator that Chump can't stop dry humping.

As a result of these criminal stunts carried out by Chump, cities are goin to protect themselves. Ana Despa and Lucas Lin (DUKE CHRONICAL) report:

In an unanimous vote Tuesday, Durham City Council passed a resolution to make Durham a “Fourth Amendment Workplace,” increasing protections for city workers against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests.

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against arbitrary searches and arrests and serves as the basis of search warrants with a probable cause of crime. The resolution directs city staff to “uphold the 4th amendment at their workplace and city agencies and report back to Council any barriers to effective training on the 4th Amendment for any departments.”

The resolution says the city has “historically pursued equity and safety for all residents” and the trust of Durhamites is essential to the city carrying out its operations. It says the threat of “unconstitutional seizure” has prevented immigrants in Durham from “safely engaging in public life, including pursuing employment and education.”

The move comes less than two months after four ICE agents appeared at the Durham County Courthouse to detain an undocumented individual charged with felony. The officers donning plain clothes did not arrest anyone, but their presence sounded alarms among Durham residents and council members alike.

Fighting back? That's what this country is doing and it's what scares the hell out of a liar like Donald Chump. He grasps that We The People are onto him and, yes, we also done with him.

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Keep It Moving With Jody Watley’s LET’S DANCE Vol. 1

Posted on September 1, 2025

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Jody Watley is a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum artist, songwriter, producer, and style icon. With 6 Billboard Top 10 Hot 100 hits, 13 No. 1 Dance singles, and a genre-spanning catalog—from R&B, Pop, and Hip Hop to Jazz, Electronic, and House—Watley is listed among Billboard’s Top 60 Female Artists of All Time.

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The Snapshot

Friday, September 5, 2025. Little Bobby Junior strips naked before a Senate committee to expose his big, huge ignorance, the job reports coming out this morning, a Chump staffer gets caught chatting on camera about Epstein and Maxwell, and much more.

To wake up slowly, let's start with something obvious and also needed. Rachel Siegel, Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Natanson (WASHINGTON POST) report:

They were civil rights lawyers, Social Security employees and labor experts. And now they’re all in completely different jobs.

To fill vacancies left behind by waves of firing and resignations in the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government, agencies are reassigning people to posts they know little about. That includes people who were forced out of jobs that are required by law or are essential to basic government functions, according to interviews with 20 federal employees across seven departments, most of whom spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Often, those moves reflect the administration’s agenda: The Department of Homeland Security, for example, has reassigned dozens of employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help bring on new hires for the government’s mass deportation agenda. Justice Department officials gave a select group of senior career attorneys a choice between quitting or joining a new Sanctuary Cities Enforcement working group.

Many staffers have been moved from civil rights jobs, workers say. At the Justice Department, for example, attorneys who protected employees from workplace discrimination were moved to roles handling human resources complaints or Freedom of Information Act requests. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, civil rights lawyers who pursued cases of housing discrimination were shifted to defend the agency from complaints. At the Transportation Department, an employee who spent a decade working in civil rights is now reviewing highway grants.

The result, employees said, is that work is being done less efficiently by people with little relevant experience or background, even if they have spent years in government in other positions. One former IT worker at the Social Security Administration — newly reassigned to disability benefits processing — described the changes as “leaving a Bugatti in the garage” and “a strategic decapitation of institutional knowledge.”

The reassignments are “another thing, in the long line of efforts, to get us to just quit and abandon ship,” said Paul Osadebe, a HUD civil rights attorney.

He has actively destroyed our government. That's our government, not his. He was put in place for four years to work for us and so far, day 229 of his administration (on THE 11TH HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUEHL, Stephanie notes the number at the top of each broadcast) he's not working for us, he's not ensuring this country's future, he's just addicted to vengeance and ripping everything apart. His administration is nothing but crooks and fools -- that's not an either/or. They are all crooks, they are all fools.

His job was to bring in the best and the brightest. Instead, to ensure he'd have lackeys who flattered him, he brought in the worst and the dimmest.

As Elaine's noted, Little Junior may be the most dangerous because he's destroying public health. Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell called him "the most dangerous nepo baby in American history."

I was at the hearing yesterday. Afraid, honestly, that I'd have to cover it here because the media would be an embarrassment with their coverage. However, Lawrence had Senator Raphael Warnock on last night. And Lawrence did a great job covering the hearing (no surprise there), but it's also true that MSNBC as an outlet did a great job covering the hearing.

That's Jen Psaki.

And Jen did a great job covering Senator Elizabeth Warren's exchange with Junior. That's Stephanie Ruhl who, of course, MSNBC still hasn't posted any segments of to YOUTUBE so far. That's everyone, I saw.

I could note Chris Hayes, he did a good job on this. But he also did another segment which kind of soured me on noting him in this snapshot. He had on guest X.

Why did I fear I'd have to go through all my notes from the hearing yesterday to pull for this snapshot?

Yesterday, Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:

ICYMI: Senator Murray Issues Statement on Launch of West Coast Health Alliance in Response to Trump and RFK Jr. Attacks on CDC

ICYMI: Senator Murray Calls for Immediate Firing of RFK Jr., Commends CDC Director Monarez’s Stand for Science and Public Health

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full floor speech***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, took to the Senate floor to reiterate her call for the firing of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. for his increasingly dangerous attacks on lifesaving vaccines and America’s public health infrastructure and his efforts to discard evidence, manipulate outcomes to fit his conspiracy-addled ideology, and force out anyone—including former Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez—who dares to stand up for basic science. The CDC Director is a Senate-confirmed position for the first time this year thanks to the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act Senator Murray negotiated and passed into law as HELP Chair in 2022.

Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care who has led hearings on addressing vaccine hesitancy, has been a leader in raising the alarm over RFK Jr.’s nomination since the beginning—speaking out on the Senate floor, holding numerous events, raising the alarm after meeting with him, and hammering the threat he poses to Americans’ health nonstop. She led the opposition to the Trump administration’s disastrous plan to dismantle HHS and fire tens of thousands of staff in critical positions across CDC, NIH, FDA, and other agencies, and spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.’s ousting of the entire CDC vaccine advisory board, including one ACIP member from Washington state. Senator Murray has held countless events across Washington state and in Washington, D.C. with doctors, patients, and former HHS officials to lift up how Trump and Republicans’ attacks on health care will be devastating for families.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below:

“Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today with a pretty simple message: Fire RFK Jr. This man is burning down our public health system from the inside. We have got to take away his matches and his keys away, and we need to do it now.

“We need to make his latest attack on public health, firing a CDC Director—why? Because she stood up for science.

“The stakes are sky-high. Our medical research, our public health, our pandemic preparedness, our food safety—RFK Jr. is putting all of that in jeopardy, and putting communities across this country in danger. We cannot put our heads into the sand.

“We absolutely need a Secretary of Health and Human Services, not a Secretary of Conspiracies, not a Secretary of Measles and Food Poisoning, certainly not a Secretary of Cancelled Research and Chemtrail Nonsense.

“It does not take a shred of imagination to see how dangerous RFK Jr.’s leadership has been. It just takes two eyes and two seconds, if that!

“I mean, one of the first things he did, right off the bat, was fan the flames of a measles outbreak by ignoring the science, peddling quack treatments, and spreading falsehoods about vaccines.

“The result, no surprise, was the largest measles outbreak we have seen in decades, one that tragically took the lives of two children.

“Did that spark one iota of reflection from RFK Jr.? Of course not. The largest measles outbreak since 1992—and do you know how RFK Jr. described the response this week? ‘Effective.’ Effective! Are you kidding me?

“I shudder to think what it would take for a man like that to admit failure. We should all hope that we never find out. Instead of learning even a single lesson, all he has done now is double down on doing as much damage as possible.

“When it comes to vaccines, he has not only spouted off nonsense and falsehoods to families who looking to him for reliable guidance, he fired every single member of CDC’s vaccine advisory board—down to the last one.

“And then, he started replacing them with a who’s-who of anti-vax alarmists, who have already started shaping federal policy to fit their anti-science conspiracies.

“And when the new CDC Director, nominated by Trump, endorsed by RFK Jr. himself, confirmed by the Senate, dared to stand up and say—you know, I think we should follow science instead of nonsense, RFK Jr. pushed to fire her too. This is unbelievable!

“Meanwhile, when it comes to medical research, he is tossing promising work and potential breakthroughs into the garbage. One example: mRNA research is on the cutting edge of medical innovation—not just for lifesaving vaccines by the way, but for lifesaving cancer treatments.

“And you don’t have to just take my word for it: President Trump’s own health leaders champion mRNA research as a groundbreaking scientific advancement.

“But with all the lives hanging in the balance, RFK Jr. pulled the plug on all federal funding for mRNA research.

“Not only is this a massive blow to our researchers and to our patients, but it is a massive win by the way for China, who we just handed a huge opening to now take the lead on biomedical innovation. And mRNA technology isn’t the only cancer research RFK Jr. has upended.

“He and Trump are cutting research grants across the board, across the country, and cutting patients off from clinical trials that were their last, best chance at beating a deadly disease.

“They are now condemning some of these patients to death. They are killing their hope for a cure. And some of these patients are kids. Children.

“Last month, the National Cancer Institute’s Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium stopped enrolling kids with brain cancer in clinical trials that could save their lives. All after Trump and RFK Jr. ended federal funding for that work. What do my colleagues want to say to these parents? I don’t even know what there is to say.

“Yes, we can fight to restore funding. Yes, we will fight here to restore funding, especially as so many of Trump’s cuts are, in fact, outright illegal.

“But we can’t restore lost time, invaluable time, for kids fighting an incredibly deadly disease. For some of them it may be too late. That is heartbreaking. And it’s a direct result of RFK Jr.’s disastrous leadership at HHS.

“To my colleagues: Sorry does not cut it, especially if you aren’t sorry enough to demand the person who is responsible be fired.

“What happened to the accountability Republicans pretend to care so much about?

“And that’s not all. RFK Jr. is sabotaging food safety. I’m glad that some companies are choosing to remove artificial dyes from some of their products, but when it comes to bedrock regulations that keep all Americans safe and prevent foodborne illnesses, RFK Jr. may as well be pro-food poisoning.

“Because on his watch, CDC is throwing in the towel on food safety monitoring.

“This summer, our food surveillance network stopped monitoring requirements for all but two dangerous pathogens.

“I know RFK Jr. doesn’t like listening to public health experts, but I don’t think it takes an expert to understand that listeria will not go away just because states don’t have to track it. It will not go away just because no one is looking. Shigella outbreaks will not disappear if you ignore them.

“Foodborne diseases will sicken people. They will actually kill people.

“This isn’t about following the science—that’s as plain as day. You don’t follow the science by defunding it. You don’t follow the science by shutting it down. You don’t follow the science by firing the scientists!

“That is exactly how RFK Jr. has been operating.

“And as I mentioned, last week we saw one of the most egregious examples yet when he fired the CDC Director, all because she chose to listen to science instead of falsehoods, all because she insisted on protecting lives instead of pandering to anti-vax conspiracies.

“And as we now continue to see the damaging aftershocks of RFK Jr.’s reckless decision to steamroll a CDC Director that refused to bow to his will. Several other experienced, respected, trusted public health experts resigned from CDC in protest.

“Some are now also shared alarming allegations of the widespread culture of conspiracy, and incompetence, and willful ignorance of science—that is now defining RFK Jr.’s leadership. And just this week, a thousand, one thousand, HHS workers demanded he resign because of how his actions are compromising the health of the nation.

“And it’s clear RFK Jr. has no intention of changing gears. Earlier today, he had a Senate hearing, and he continued to flaunt his ignorance like a badge of honor, not even knowing the COVID death toll. Outright lying about established science. Refusing to take any accountability for his actions.

“Mr. President, great leaders leave behind a track record of accomplishments. But it is painfully clear that RFK Jr. will leave behind a body count. How high will it go?

“That all depends on how long will Republicans let him go around setting fires? How much damage will my colleagues let him do? How many children will die before they finally take action?

“We should not let him have one more day in power.

“I know some of my colleagues understand the grave reality of the situation. What I don’t know is how long they are going to be willing to stay silent? You can talk about oversight—but what are you actually doing?

“You can talk about the need to follow the science—but that’s not the path you have put us down. If you want to show you are serious, if you want to save lives, you need to join us in talking about how important it is President Trump fire RFK Jr.

“Anything less is lying to yourself, while RFK Jr. lies to the American people, about things as basic, as established, and as lifesaving as vaccine safety.”

###

Senator Parry Murray has led on this issue. She wasn't at yesterday's hearing because she's not on that Committee. But, as we noted in last Friday's snapshot, on Wednesday of last week, she called for Junior to be fired.

And the only problem I've had with that call was when a woman writing for MOTHER JONES -- run by two women -- did a 'report' last Saturday that managed to ignore Patty while noting two men who followed her days after. I'm damn tired of women being stripped of their credits and their work ignored.

When we covered hearings constantly here, it was always interesting to see how many women seated on Committees were ignored. It was interesting to see media favorites shape the coverage.

The most important hearing on Iraq that the Senate had after Barack Obama became president was completely miscovered by the entire press with the exception of Elisabeth Bumiller for THE NEW YORK TIMES. I sat through that hearing, we spent days covering that hearing while the press turned it into John McCain (a press favorite) had a cat fight!

That was in the first 15 minutes of the hearing and you could see the press exiting thinking that they had their story. They didn't. They missed it. They missed the very important points Senator Kay Hagen made, for example.

That's big media. Let's not pretend little media didn't do the same.

Guest X that Chris Hayes had on yesterday? I've called him out by name here many times but I'm not in the mood to publicize him today.

He didn't like Hillary Clinton. Fine, I don't care. I do care that Guest X 'live blogged' a hearing and completely ignored her and then lied that his cable went out to excuse his not covering her in the hearing. This is the hearing where Hillary rightly noted that Nouri al-Maliki was a thug -- and used the term "thug." Her comments and questions to Gen David Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker were very important.

But Guest X hated Hillary and refused to report on it.

Guest X has never owned it. Has never apologized for it.

John Kerry -- who chaired the hearing -- was an utter embarrassment But he and other men were covered by Guest X. So, sorry, Chris, I'll thank you but I won't advance your show in this snapshot due to your interview with Guest X. Not in a snapshot less than a week after MOTHER JONES felt sexism was more important than giving a woman credit for leading on an issue.

I think there was solid work on the Committee, that senators -- even Republican ones -- voiced serious concerns and tried to hold a non-stop liar accountable.

Senator Maria Cantwell especially had some strong moments. The strongest was this:

Senator Maria Cantwell: Following up on the same line as Senator [Bill] Cassidy because

that's exactly -- I represent one of the most science-based states in the country. That is percentage of

scientists per capita. And at your conﬁrmation hearing, we asked about this: Whether you would follow

science. You've made a statement here today in your testimony that you would follow science, and yet

you are not following science and that was what Senator Cassidy's question was. It's a simple yes or no

answer. "Do you think the President deserves to get a prize for Warp Speed and the mRNA technology

that saved so many lives?" And you won't answer that question.

HHS Junior: I answered it.

Senator Maria Cantwell: No, you are saying that there are problems with what was interpreted. You can say yes --

HHS Junior: I said the president deserves a Nobel Prize. But the mRNA vaccines that we're working on, the ones we canceled, which are for upper respiratory infections alone --

Senator Maria Cantwell: You canceled $500 million of research, because the mRNA technology is about continuing the research to be ready for the next inﬂuenza, the next pandemic, and you have to do the research to --

HHS Junior: I'm happy to have a detailed discussion with you about it. You are so wrong on your facts.

Senator Maria Cantwell: You're interrupting me and, sir, you're a charlatan. That's what you are.

Speak the truth. That's what he is, that's all he is. For me, that was the strongest moment in the hearing. When the exact term for what Junior is was applied to him. Senator Maggie Hassan also spoke the truth. She noted he was hiding information from the public. Junior kept falling back on that things were done publicly. He may have been lying, he may not have been (he was wrong regardless), we'll get to that in a moment but here's what it got heated.

HHS Junior: This is crazy talk. You're just making stuff up.

Senator Maggie Hassan: -- to prescribe this vaccine for children -- I’m not making things up. Do you know how the FDA approval process works and what --

HHS Junior: I-I-I-I --

Senator Maggie Hassan (Con't): -- an off-label prescription is?

HHS Junior: I know exactly how it works. I know exactly how it works.

Senator Maggie Hassan: So why -- so why behind closed doors do you --

HHS Junior: It's not behind closed doors. The industry makes the studies and they could not provide a study that said that it is effective for healthy kids.

Senator Maggie Hassan: So when have you produced the data that you relied on and that this FDA relied on to change those parameters? You did it behind closed doors.

HHS Junior: The data's all public!

Senator Maggie Hassan: Now, parents who decide that they do want their children to have a COVID vaccine --

HHS Junior: You’re just making stuff up, Senator.

Senator Maggie Hassan: I'm not making stuff up.

HHS Junior: You're just making stuff up.

Senator Maggie Hassan: You know, sometimes when you make an accusation, it's kind of a confession, Mr. Kennedy.

They're talking about two different things. The senator's noting that Junior and others did not make decisions in public, they were behind closed doors and we have no information regarding the discussions that went down.

When Junior is claiming things are in the public, he's referring to the drug companies studies and findings. Those are public. The drug companies were following the laws (as far as we know) That's not what she was talking about. She was talking about the deliberative process that he overseas and that he has hidden from the public. The things that provide us with an open government, a democracy. Those laws and regulations? Junior's not following them.

Much has been made of Junior's struggle to breathe in public -- yes, he kept forgetting to turn off his microphone when not speaking, but it was more than that. He was struggling and he's struggling -- as someone who knows him -- because he's off his meds. That's not a joke. And that's also why he couldn't sit still and kept bouncing when speaking. I don't make fun of his voice, it's a health issue. If others want to, go for it. I'm not stop anybody and I say we throw everything we can at these people trying to destroy our country. But I do know Junior is supposed to take meds and I do know what he's like when he doesn't. You saw a crazy fool having some form of a psychotic episode while testifying to Congress.

And what was up with his face. Remember those machines that they had for kids that would polish rocks? His face look like it had been through one.

Let's jump over to Senator Mark Warner.

Senator Mark Warner: I want to go back to just, again, some basic facts. Do you accept the fact that a million Americans died from COVID?

HHS Junior: I don't know how many died.

Senator Mark Warner: You're the Secretary of Health and Human Services. You don't have any idea how many Americans died from COVID?

HHS Junior: I don't think anybody knows that because the -- There was so much data chaos coming out of the CDC and there were so many --

Senator Mark Warner: You don't know the answer of how many Americans died from COVID?

This is the Secretary of Health and Human Services? Do you think the vaccine did anything to prevent additional deaths?

HHS Junior: Again, I would like to see the data and talk about the data. I'm not fully --

Senator Mark Warner: You've had this job for eight months and you don't know the data about whether the vaccine saved lives?

HHS Junior in a whiny voice the attacked Joe Biden. Like Betty and so many other Americans I am damn tired of people trying to blame Joe Biden. This administration destroying everything needs to bee held accountable. Joe stepped down in January.

We'll note this before moving on to the next senator.

Senator Mark Warner: Mr. Chairman, the Secretary of Health and Human Services doesn't know how many Americans died from COVID. He doesn't know if the vaccine helped prevent any deaths. And you are sitting as Secretary of Health and Human Services? How can you be that ignorant?

Junior had no answer to that question though he did continue to sport his ignorance throughout the hearing. For example? Asked by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto the amount that Medicare Part B premiums would be increasing in 2026, he responded, "I don't know." That's really his job to know.

Senator Masto: Next year, seniors and families are facing higher health care costs across the board. Twenty-three million people on Medicare with standalone Part D drug plans could see their premiums rise to $50 a month, up from $35, because the Trump Administration is cutting the federal subsidy that has been keeping costs down. Part B premiums will jump 11.6% to $206 a month in 2026, one of the largest single year increases in decades.

It's Junior's job to know the numbers that Masto cited. But instead of facts and figures, Junior just repeatedly said "I don't know" in one form or another throughout the hearing.

Junior was shrill and moody throughout the hearing. Senator Ben Ray Lujan noted that the members of the committee wanted to know the truth and Junior disputed that and at another point Junior demonstrated how he did not inherent his father's charm by snapping at Lujan, "I don't know what you're talking about, you're talking gibberish." Senator Peter Welch saw Junior as evidence and proof that of how Congress has been abdicating their duties this session, " And what has Congress done? On oversight, and advice and consent, we have confirmed a vaccine denier. On tariffs, we've given up our constitutional responsibility. On appropriations, we're bending the knee to an Administration that is rescinding and decided what to spend and what not to spend despite the way our law -- in a bipartisan

way -- was passed."

Senator Ron Wyden is the Raking Member on the Committee and he noted in his opening statement:

Instead of finding ways to help American families pay less for health care, Robert Kennedy is singularly focused on his anti-vaccine mission, fueled by a messiah complex, the consequences be damned. Amid this litany of corruption and chaos, the one point I must underline is this: Robert Kennedy puts children in harm's way every single day. To my Republican colleagues, I must ask, "What line must Robert Kennedy cross before you too sound the alarm?" This weekend, under the cover of darkness, Robert Kennedy attempted to disappear hundreds of children under his care at the Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities. These children, here without parents or family, were rounded up in the middle of the night and put on planes to Guatemala. Lawyers on the ground described unthinkable scenes. One child said to their lawyer, "Why do they want to send me back? My mom is dead and my dad abuses me. Why do they want to hurt me?" These actions were illegal, and documents show that many of these children were in the country to escape trafficking in their home country. Kennedy calls himself a "protector of children." It's a rich claim coming from someone who has flown on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet on multiple occasions. Robert Kennedy shouldn't be within a million miles of this job. Republicans on this committee had a chance to prevent the public health train wreck that Kennedy is responsible for; every one voted to confirm him. It is in the country's best interest that Robert Kennedy step down, and if he doesn't, Trump should fire him before more people are hurt by his reckless disregard for science and the truth.

Good points and now let's go back to Senator Maria Cantwell.

Senator Maria Cantwell: Do you think the women on the steps of the Capitol were a hoax yesterday?

HHS Junior: I don't know about any women on the steps of the steps of the Capitol yesterday.

Senator Maria Cantwell: The women who were talking about Epstein? Do you think they were a hoax yesterday?

HHS Junior: Do I think they were?

Senator Maria Cantwell: Do you think they were a hoax yesterday?

HHS Junior: Perpetuating a hoax?

Senator Maria Cantwell: Yeah.

HHS Junior: I have no idea what they were saying. This the first I'm hearing about it.

Senator Maria Cantwell: Your first time that you're hearing about the women on the Capitol steps saying that they believe that the Epstein information should be made public? That's the first you're hearing about it? What I'm saying is you are perpetrating hoaxes. You as the secretary of health, so you're undermining the whole health care delivery system, and you keep trying to point to chronic disease. But you're not putting solutions on the table to cover more Americans, and you're taking away the science and technology that has made us the leader, that has saved, according to the first Trump Administration Surgeon General, millions of lives! And you don't want to keep that going! So no, I don't support your continued efforts as Secretary, and I definitely think that our colleagues need to rally around science. If you want the Northwest to just continue to lead on all innovation and all healthy people. Okay, we'll do that, but it's a sad statement for the rest of America and America's leadership on technology.

Yes, Junior was connected to Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein died in prison during Chump's first term as president. He was convicted of sex trafficking and Chump had been friends with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for years. Epstein and Maxwell worked together as pedophiles engaged in sex trafficking. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Weeks ago, Chump moved his friend Ghislaine to Club Fed -- a camp for low risk offenders (not registered sex offenders) in Bryan, Texas. That and his refusal to release documents on Epstein and Maxwell have outraged many including the survivors as well as Americans who believe in fairness and justice.

On YOUTUBE, MSNBC has done a compilation of some of their coverage of the Epstein survivors.

The big news as the work week winds down? Alex Griffing (MEDIAITE) reports:

James O’Keefe, the Project Veritas founder and longtime pro-MAGA activist, published a clip on Thursday of a Trump Justice Department official claiming that Ghislaine Maxwell was moved to prison “to keep her quiet.”

In the clip, an off-camera woman asks Joseph Schnitt, an acting deputy chief of special operations, about the Epstein Files and Maxwell – a convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice.

“But those files do exist,” noted the woman.

“Yeah, thousands and thousands to page through. They’ll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those pages,” Schnitt replied.

“I think they visited that Maxwell person. Kind of also involved,” presses the woman.

“Transferred to a minimum security prison too recently, which is against BOP policy because she’s a convicted sex offender. They’re offering her something to keep her quiet,” Schnitt claimed.

David Edwards (RAW STORY) adds:

The Department of Justice later responded on X with a letter from Deputy Chief Joseph Schnitt that appeared to confirm that he spoke to someone who worked for O'Keefe.

"I met a woman named Skylar on Hinge, a dating app, in July 2025, her profile is no longer findable," Schnitt explained. "We had two dates (August 4 and August 16)."

"She gave no clues that she was a reporter or recording our dates. Had I a clue, the first date would have ended immediately and there never would have been a second one," he continued. "The comments I made were my own personal comments on what I've learned in the media and not from anything I've done at or learned via work."

Let's turn to the economy. BLOOMBERG is live blogging the release of the jobs report this morning. Yesterday, Nazmul Ahasan (BLOOMBERG NEWS) noted:

Applications for US unemployment benefits rose to the highest since June, adding to evidence that the labor market is cooling.

Initial claims increased by 8,000 to 237,000 in the week ended Aug. 30. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 230,000 applications.

Companies have grown more hesitant about hiring while assessing the economic impact from President Donald Trump’s policies. Hiring plans fell to the weakest level for any August on record in data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas going back to 2009, while intended job cuts rose.

Elizabeth Crisp (THE HILL) adds:

Layoffs surged nearly 40 percent last month, with employers eliminating 85,979 positions — the largest August hit since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to research released Thursday.

The analysis from the Challenger, Gray & Christmas consulting firm noted the cuts, which have hit the pharmaceutical, financial and retail industries especially hard, are likely linked to some of President Trump’s policies since his return to office in January.

Alicia Wallace (CNN) points out, "New metrics released Thursday showed that first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to an 11-week high; that private-sector businesses sharply reined in their hiring last month; and that last month was the worst August for layoff announcements since the Great Recession." Alex Harring (CNBC) adds, "Jobs tied to trade, transportation and utilities saw particular weakness in August, with the group losing 17,000 roles on net, according to the ADP. Education and health services followed, recording a decline of 12,000 jobs."

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "What Jen Psaki Should Have Said" and "Miss Sassy JD Vance Flaunts That He's Vulgar Trash" went up this morning. The following sites updated: