Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

Following a weaker than expected jobs report today, President Trump said he’ll fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, claiming the data was rigged. It’s an unprecedented move with potentially enormous consequences for our understanding of the U.S. economy. We’ll explain. And, we’ll get into how Trump’s tariffs are destabilizing economies across globe. Plus, we’ll weigh in on tariff “rebates” and pricier desserts during a round of Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "The full list of Trump’s tariffs – from India to Taiwan" from The Guardian 
• "‘There’s no work now, just debt’: Cambodian garment workers face precarious future as US tariffs loom" from The Guardian 
• "Tariffs Bring Disaster In Lesotho, the Country That Trump Says Nobody’s Heard Of" from The Wall Street Journal 
• "85 percent of parents worry about tariffs affecting back-to-school cost: Survey" from The Hill 
• "Trump fires commissioner of labor statistics after weaker-than-expected jobs figures slam markets" from CNBC
• "Big Downward Jobs Revisions Could Be a Warning Sign for the Economy" The New York Times
• "Private equity tees up to invest in youth sports" from Marketplace
• "NYC’s Luxury Dessert Scene Is Booming and Higher Priced Than Ever" from Eater
• "Subscription-based children's magazines are revitalizing the genre" from Marketplace
• "GOP senators reject Trump’s pitch to use tariff revenue for ‘rebates’" from The Washington Post

We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

On Friday, job growth figures from earlier months were revised sharply downward: May's gain was cut from 125,000 to just 19,000, and June's total from 147,000 to only 14,000. Today, we're told there were 73,000 more jobs in July, but might that number also get revised down? Also on the show: are President Trump's new tariffs legal? Jess Bravin listened as a federal appeals court panel heard the arguments on Thursday, and he joins us to discuss. Plus, Minneapolis bans discrimination based on body size.

The Trump administration set August 1 as the deadline for countries to strike new trade agreements with the U.S. Some met the deadline, and others did not. The administration says it's about trading away some efficiency in commerce for a new trade system that is "fair and balanced." Mentioned less often is the role tariffs play in raising taxes to fund government spending. Plus, what is the difference between fine art and the art market? Art critic Blake Gopnik joins us to discuss the evolving world of art and commerce.

From the BBC World Service: President Trump’s long-delayed tariff deadline has finally passed and for countries without a deal, the import taxes are steep — the highest in almost a century. But some countries, including Thailand, are breathing a sigh of relief that the revised duties aren’t as high as feared. Meanwhile, automakers are already counting the cost of tariffs which were imposed on vehicles and vehicle parts earlier in the process.

We hear the story of a local woman, “Maria,” who fled war-torn Syria for the United States more than 10 years ago. While her request for asylum languished in the courts for the last seven years, she carried on the work of creating a new life, forming a community, and working as an immigration advocate. Just this week, she found out that her request for asylum has been denied. She now finds herself in a state of limbo, unable to return to her own country out of fear of persecution, uncertain of a future here. In the final installment of our weeklong series looking into what it’s like to be an immigrant without permanent status in the U.S., we focus on the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. We speak with “Maria” from Syria; Maya Oyarbide-Sanchez, Refugee One Wellness Director; Heena Musabji, Legal Director at CAIR-Chicago; and Maketh Mabior, a former refugee from Sudan and lay leader of the South Sudanese congregation at St Paul's Church. All of today’s guests work on representing, resettling, and supporting refugees and other displaced people under a cloud of uncertainty created by the current administration. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The Tea app is a place for women to share red or green flags about men, but it recently suffered a major data breach. Plus, why some members of Congress are protesting a deal with China to allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to the country. And YouTube is rolling out new age estimation technology to protect younger users. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino is joined by Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, to discuss all this.

In our news wrap Thursday, the White House says President Trump is sending two officials to inspect food distribution in Gaza after dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to get aid, Ukraine says Russian drone and missile attacks overnight killed at least 13 and Delta is investigating an incident of 'significant turbulence' that sent dozens of people to the hospital. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

A late-night congressional vote fell short of the number needed to block weapons sales to Israel. But in a dramatic shift, more than half of Democrats supported the measure, reaching its highest level of support to date. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was one of those yes votes. She joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The Trump administration is trying to discredit the intelligence assessment that concluded Russian President Putin ordered a campaign to interfere in the 2016 election with the intent of helping elect Trump. Contrary to almost all intelligence findings, Trump and his aides allege a conspiracy by the Obama White House. Geoff Bennett discussed more with former CIA analyst Michael Van Landingham. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Employers announced around 62,000 job cuts in July, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s up nearly a third from June, and more than double the number of July 2024 layoffs. In this episode, we dissect whether this just a blip, or something to stress about. Plus: Federal data erosion comes with consequences, prices rise but stay behind wage growth, and private equity takes notice of the youth sports market.

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