US job growth slowed more than expected in June
(CNN) — The US economy added far fewer jobs than expected last month, with just 57,000 added in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday. June’s tally is a cooldown from May’s gains of 129,000 jobs and came in well below economists’ expectations for 100,000 jobs to be added. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3%. Thursday’s report showed that leisure and hospitality businesses shed 61,000 jobs last month, reflecting weaker-than-usual seasonal hiring, the BLS noted in the report. That sector — which is closely watched as a gauge for consumer health, since it can be tied to discretionary spending — was expected to be a wild card: Economists were unsure as to how much World Cup-related events lifted hiring in May and June. June’s job gains were driven (once again) by healthcare, an industry buoyed by an increasingly aging US population. Healthcare and social assistance added 46,600 jobs last month. Professional and business services jobs increased by 36,000 last month, while industries such as construction (+11,000 jobs) and manufacturing (+3,000 jobs) ticked up. In addition to leisure and hospitality, jobs were shed in industries such as information (down 9,000 jobs) and retail trade (down 7,500 jobs). Still, more industries added jobs than lost them, and employment growth is running at a significantly faster tick than last year.
Man pulled from rubble in ‘miraculous’ rescue 8 days after devastating Venezuela earthquakes
La Guaira, Venezuela (CNN) — Rescuers pulled a man from under the rubble of a nine-story building in Venezuela in a “miraculous” operation eight days after the devastating earthquakes that hit the country. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, 44, who was buried under 29-feet of wreckage from a collapsed shopping mall parking lot in La Guaira, was freed on Thursday amid a delicate days-long effort by local and international rescue teams. Flores is in “good condition” after being rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building eight days after Venezuela’s twin earthquakes, according to Chile’s fire brigade, which was involved in the rescue. “He has now been transferred to a medical facility,” said the fire brigade in a post on X, adding that it had taken 70 hours to rescue Gil Flores. The man’s wife, Gusbimar Gonzales, told CNN moments before the successful rescue that she had experienced “days of great sorrow” following the earthquakes as she thought he might be dead. “But once I found out that he was alive I saw a ray of sunshine,” she said. “He was holding up like a hero.”
Two dead after ‘multi-jurisdictional’ manhunt, standoff in Massachusetts, officials say
LOWELL, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Two people are dead following a shooting and standoff in Massachusetts on Tuesday, according to authorities. Berlin, Mass., police say while they responded to the Highland Commons Shopping Plaza parking lot for a reported assault around 3:30 p.m., they heard that shots were possibly fired at the scene. Upon arrival, officers found a person with several gunshot wounds, who was later pronounced dead at the scene. “At the same time events were unfolding at the shopping plaza, a witness from the plaza followed a car containing the alleged suspect onto I-495 North,” Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a press conference. The witness followed the vehicle onto I-495 until officers were able to stop the car on the highway. “State police deployed emergency services, he pulled over, which is when the chase came to a stop,” Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said. Video from WMUR’s sister station, WCVB’s, helicopter showed a large police presence on the roadway. Officers had their guns drawn, appearing to be involved in a standoff with a suspect. During the standoff that followed the pursuit on I-495, the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The vehicle involved in the standoff had New Hampshire license plates. Authorities say the two people involved in this incident knew each other.
Dems: Trump-backed organizer of America’s 250th birthday events may have duped donors
(CNN) — Donors who intended to support a bipartisan nonprofit that’s organizing celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary were allegedly redirected — without their knowledge — to a separate nonprofit behind events being promoted by President Donald Trump, according to a report from a group of House Democrats, citing confidential, unnamed sources. The interim report, compiled by Democratic staff on the House Natural Resources Committee, includes accounts from unnamed sources about donors who wanted to give to the America250 nonprofit, which is overseen by a bipartisan congressional commission, being given incorrect wire instructions so that their money would flow to the Trump-backed Freedom 250. “A gift solicited in the name of the nation’s nonpartisan birthday commission could thus be redirected without the donor’s knowledge, by an entity created to serve the President’s priorities,” the report said. If true, the actions could constitute “potential wire fraud and charitable solicitation fraud,” according to the report, which doesn’t detail how much money was diverted, if at all. The 41-page report claims Trump allies sought to sideline America250 while putting the president at the center of the nation’s anniversary and “selling” access to him in exchange for donations. Freedom 250’s activities are largely overseen by top Trump aides, and it has taken steps to brand itself as the “nonpartisan” group “leading the celebration” of America’s birthday.
OpenAI in talks to give Trump administration a 5% stake in the company, FT reports
London (CNN) — OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is reportedly discussing handing the Trump administration a 5% stake in the company amid growing government scrutiny of artificial intelligence firms. The proposal would involve other US AI companies giving the government similar stakes, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing two people familiar with what were described as “early conversations.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has argued that the arrangement would allow the public to share in the financial upside of AI, the FT reported. OpenAI declined to comment. The White House did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. A 5% share in OpenAI would be worth about $42.6 billion, based on a funding round in March that valued the company at $852 billion. Sharing the wealth generated by AI with the public could help to address some of the pushback against the technology, which threatens jobs in many industries and has potentially wide-ranging implications for national security. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing for stock market listings, which would allow the public to buy shares in the companies and also lift the veil on their finances.
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