Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
Job growth slowed sharply last month and period Scott Horsey reports U.S. employers
“added just 57,000 jobs in June, less than half as many as the month before.”
After several months of relatively strong job growth, the pace of hiring slowed in June, health care continued to add workers, but not in great numbers, and leisure and hospitality saw a net loss of jobs. The rise figures also show that hiring was weaker than initially reported in April and May, with a combined downgrade of 74,000 jobs, the unemployment rate dipped last month
to 4.2%, but only because more than 700,000 people dropped out of the workforce. For people who are working, average wages were up 3.5% from a year ago, but that's likely not enough to keep pace with inflation. Prices have been climbing at an annual rate of more than 4%. Scott Horsey, MPR News, Washington.
The federal grand jury has indicted a man accused of vandalizing the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C., as MPR's Joe Hernandez reports the felony destruction of property charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Piero says David Hurne allegedly pulled up two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the reflecting pool.
Piero says witnesses included a park service worker who told Hurne to stop. Hurne reacted by shouting at that park's employee saying that she cared too much about the reflecting pool.
The Trump administration has spent around $14 million to renovate the pool ahead of America's
250th anniversary, but the project has run into problems, including an algae bloom that's turned to the water green. Attorneys for Hurne say their client is innocent and that the indictment quote reflects the administration's effort to shift blame for their own failures. Hurne is a former U.S. Olympian who competed in canoeing, Joe Hernandez and PR News.
“A massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital key has killed at least 21”
people and injured another 90 people, and Piero's join a kick-kissist reports that Russia says he's attacks are in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. The Ukrainian Air Force had it shot down most of the Russian drones, but that a third of the missiles got through, writing on social media, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, said at least 20 sites around the city were hit, most were apartment buildings.
In a statement, Russia's ministry of defense said the overnight strikes on Kiev were aimed at military and energy sites. Russia is facing fuel shortages after weeks of long-range drone strikes by Ukraine on oil depots and refineries. U.S. lead talks to end Russia's war on Ukraine have stalled as the Trump administration has focused on the Iran war.
Joining a kissist NPR News cave. And from Washington, this is NPR News. New Jersey is set to charge companies whose workers are on Medicaid. California's lawmakers are calling on their state to do the same thing next year. It's an idea that other states are considering as new federal policies mean fewer people
have coverage and states have to put more of the bill when they do. The alt-right website Info Wars is undergoing a major rebrand tonight, NPR's Chloe Velban reports satirical outlet the onion is relaunching the controversial brand as a parody. The new Info Wars video streaming site aims to spoof previous owner Alex Jones' unfounded claims, harassment of crime victims and supplement sales.
The onion bought Info Wars' assets at auction in 2024 after Jones declared bankruptcy, disappeared courted ordered the conspiracy theorist to pay the families of the victims
of the 2012 Sandi Hook's school shooting more than $1 billion, but falsely calling the
shooting a hoax. Jones has yet to pay any of that. The onion CEO Ben Collins says his first goal is to share $100,000 from merchandise sales with the families. One term.
We're going to turn this really, really bad website into a really good one and give people some hope that maybe funny things can still happen. The onion's legal battle with Info Wars is ongoing. Jones' lawyers did not respond to NPR's request for comment. Chloe Velban and Pionneus.
Prosecutors say a man who scaled the Empire State Buildings antenna with his girlfriend and unfurled a banner about love yesterday told police he wanted to do something special for their engagement. A couple was arranged on felony reckless endangerment, burglary, and other charges today. A court complaint noted the danger to officers who climbed part of the way up the antenna
to intercept the two.
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