Today’s Big Story

Job Growth Slows

A second weak jobs report undercuts Trump’s claims of a booming economy

The U.S. jobs engine seems like it’s sputtering a bit and looks to be in danger of stalling out. After a bad employment report in August, President Donald Trump fired the official in charge of the numbers. But this month’s data was just as disappointing.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the U.S. added just 22,000 jobs in August, much less than the 75,000 that economists expected. The unemployment rate also saw a slight increase, to 4.3%.

Economists say the release of a second consecutive poor jobs report confirmed the reality that Trump has been trying to avoid. The labor market is stalling—and the nation is facing real strains—under the weight of his economic agenda. Stephanie Ruhle, the MSNBC senior business analyst, put it bluntly that this is not good. She predicted the lackluster numbers make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, something the president and his economic advisers have been pushing for. “But they want a rate cut when things are steady,” Ruhle said. “We’re going to get a rate cut because the economy is slowing. That is the reality that we’re living in.”

The jobs report contains a nerdy little gauge (a diffusion index) that is meant to show the breadth of employment changes across 250 private-sector industries. If it’s above 50, that means more industries added jobs than lost them. It’s been under 50 since April and measured 49.6 in August. Most of those gains, however, were minimal.

Separately, the Labor Department reported that for the first time in more than four years, there are more people looking for work than there are job openings. What’s more, the weaker-than-expected numbers prompted the dollar to lose value against other currencies as well.

ICE Raids Keep Growing

First Georgia, then Boston and signs point to Chicago next

Immigration officials arrested nearly 500 workers—most of them South Korean citizens—at an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia at the end of last week, as the Trump administration continues its far-ranging crackdown on illegal immigration. The raid, which U.S. officials have called the largest-ever at a single location, revealed competing interests within the Trump administration between the president’s push to expand manufacturing in the United States and his aggressive efforts to crack down on immigration.

Over the weekend, the White House launched a new federal immigration enforcement effort in Massachusetts focused on deporting criminals. The move came as the Justice Department filed suit against the city and its mayor, intensifying a clash over local sanctuary policies. ICE said the operation, dubbed “Patriot 2.0”, followed a similar sweep in May. The agency said those taken into custody included individuals accused of sexual assault, drug trafficking and gang activity who had been released from local jails despite federal requests to hold them. Officials said Boston’s policies allowed dangerous offenders to remain in communities instead of being deported.

Trump officials told CNN that the Boston operation, timed in conjunction with the administration’s immigration plans in Chicago, is a signal of its efforts to target sanctuary cities more aggressively in the coming months. Both the Boston and Chicago operations are being modeled after the immigration arrests in Los Angeles in June. The president has reserved the right to call in the National Guard in both cities if a peacekeeping presence is ultimately needed, officials said.

Alcaraz Wins U.S. Open

This matchup follows his victory over Jannik Sinner at French Open and Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz at Wimbledon

Three years after winning his first major title and becoming the youngest No. 1 player in history, Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed his place atop the sport with another win at the U.S. Open. The match’s start was delayed by about a half-hour because thousands of fans were still outside in line, trying to get through the extra security measures in place because of the presence of a sitting president at the tournament for the first time since Bill Clinton in 2000.

Perhaps it wasn’t as seemingly meaningful and plot-driven as their showdown for the Wimbledon trophy, still, what the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz’s 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 1 Sinner on Sunday did do was significant. Alcaraz reasserted his superiority over the defending champion, wrested away the top spot in the ATP rankings and left tennis fans eager for whenever their next clash will come. They are the first two men in the sport’s history to face each other in three consecutive Grand Slam finals within a single season.

After Alcaraz secured the win with an ace on his third championship point, he threw his hands in the air above his head before crouching over on his knees with his trademark smile radiating across his face. Seconds later, he was hugging Sinner at the net and the two—who have a friendly relationship—had their arms around each other as they walked off the court.

The VMAs … Who Are They For?

LL Cool J hosted the MTV awards, which honored Ozzy Osbourne, Ricky Martin and Busta Rhymes

Did you see the VMAs? Trick question … of course you didn’t. But they’re still going on and still as relevant as they can be considering the awards ostensibly celebrate a form no longer actively promoted on the brand’s flagship channel. But with YouTube and social media (and Gap commercials), one might argue that music videos are more important than ever.

Ariana Grande accepted the award for Video of the Year, but Billboard points out there’s now a lot of confusion in category nomenclature—with the nouns disappearing from categories like “best pop” and “best hip-hop”, and artists now accepting awards like “song of the summer” and “best album” that are totally divorced from the music video format. “But a much bigger concern for the VMAs than what awards they should be giving out in 2025 is who they’re putting the show on for the first place: the kids who have been the lifeblood of the channel’s audience for over 40 years now, or the millennials who actually remember when music videos on MTV still moved the culture.”

Millennial nostalgia dominated the show, which featured medley performances from Mariah Carey, this year’s Video Vanguard Award recipient; Ricky Martin, the inaugural winner of the Latin Icon Award; and Busta Rhymes, the inaugural winner of the “Rock the Bells” Visionary Award. Ozzy Osbourne was honored with a star-studded tribute performance featuring Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, YUNGBLUD and Nuno Bettencourt. But newcomers in the music scene who have seen fame escalate thanks to social media platforms like TikTok also made a significant impact at this year’s VMAs. Among them: Alex Warren, who won the best new artist award, and Megan Moroney, who won in the newly introduced best country category.

Go For a Walk

An easy way to boost your overall health

What if it all goes well?