As a man who’s not used to losing, Trump is going through a bit of a rough patch since his party turned against him over the Epstein case. He’s flailing, lashing out, and acting afraid. After all, he knows how many times his name comes up in the Epstein files, and Ghislaine Maxwell continues to enjoy a bevy of special perks at her cushy prison for some reason. At the same time, the economy isn’t helping him, the stench of a lame duck is growing, and the threat of oversight by Dems after the midterms feels real. Plus, some skepticism about MTG’s new-found clarity, Fox and Trump’s war on Christmas, the crash of bitcoin, and the Kinzinger documentary.
Adam Kinzinger joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
Congress voted overwhelmingly to authorize the release of the Epstein files. President Donald Trump welcomed the decision, signing the bill on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added 119,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4%. It is the only jobs report the BLS will release until December. On Wednesday, the agency canceled the October jobs report for the first time in 77 years.
And, in global news, US President Donald Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “knew nothing” about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in direct contradiction of U.S. intelligence. The president welcomed the kingdom’s de facto ruler to the Oval Office where they announced military and investment deals between the two nations.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal took a hit this week when the Chicago City Council’s Finance committee voted down $600 million in taxes 25-10. One of the major sticking points? A corporate head tax that would charge large employers $21 per employee per month. The mayor and alderpersons now head back to the drawing board. In the Loop checks in with Johnson for our monthly “Ask the Mayor” series and takes listener questions on the budget ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline to pass a plan.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
You can have enough ICE recruits or you can have standards for the shape that they’re in, but you can’t have both—this was just one lesson Donald Trump could have learned this week, in between hosting a summit of McDonald’s franchise owners and calling a reporter “piggie.”
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Plus: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country faces a difficult choice over the Trump administration’s proposed plan to end the war. And New York Fed President John Williams, a key ally of Jerome Powell, says he sees room for an interest rate cut in the near term. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
Bonus Episode for Nov. 21. Chipmakers are raking it in, but investors are getting nervous over “circular” AI semiconductor deals, the potential for an AI bubble and the pop that could follow. How grounded are those concerns about the AI boom? WSJ chips reporter Robbie Whelan discusses how the biggest names in chipmaking performed last quarter and what it could mean for markets.
WSJ Heard on the Street writer Asa Fitch hosts this special bonus episode of What's News in Earnings, where we dig into companies’ earnings reports and analyst calls to find out what’s going on under the hood of the American economy.
Crypto markets plunged toward April lows on Friday as a lingering liquidity crunch amplified price swings. CoinGlass data shows that the sell-off coincides with nearly $2 billion in liquidations over the past 24 hours. Will the market recover from this? CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.