Robert Reich

Trump’s political hack nominee for the Bureau of Labor Statistics is already monkeying with the data.
The Senate mustn’t confirm him







Friends,

Sorry to intrude on your inbox again today, but I wanted to alert you to something. Trump’s political hack nominee to become the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the most important source of information about jobs, wages, and the economy — has already begun to f*ck around with the data, and he’s not even confirmed yet.

E.J. Antoni — who’s the chief economist of the Heritage Foundation and was a contributor to its Project 2025 (should tell you all you need to know) — says the BLS should stop issuing a monthly jobs report and instead publish jobs data every three months. He told Fox Business News:


“Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data. Major decision-makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences.”

READ MORE...

At A Glance

California police recover $30K of stolen Labubu collectibles.

... and a man was caught smuggling some 850 turtles, worth over $1M.

Do people really look younger than they used to? (via YouTube)

The best-paying job for every Myers-Briggs personality type.

Lithuania will teach schoolchildren how to build and pilot drones.

Nationwide search for the next golden retriever movie star.

Worst opening lines to use on dating apps—and what to say instead.

... and are engagement proposals losing their serendipity?

Clickbait: This drug can turn your blood into mosquito poison.

Historybook: Sharpshooter Annie Oakley born (1860); Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing, dies (1910); Fidel Castro born (1926); Construction of the Berlin Wall begins (1961); Baseball great Mickey Mantle dies (1995); Celebrity chef Julia Child dies (2004).

The Red Lentil Curry Recipe I've been making EVERY WEEK!

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Paramount purchases UFC streaming rights for all US fights in seven-year, $7.7B deal that begins in 2026 (More)

> Netflix extends creative partnership with Archewell Productions, the media company owned by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (More) | How Netflix changed TV (1440 Topics)

> Texas tops preseason college football AP Poll for first time; Penn State and Ohio State round out the top three (More) | ESPN and Fox to bundle their upcoming streaming services at $39.99/month (More)


Science & Technology
> Amazon launches 24 Kuiper satellites, bringing the total in its space-based internet network to more than 100; satellites were deployed via competitor SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, company's Starlink has more than 8,000 in orbit (More)

> Ford unveils "universal" electric vehicle manufacturing platform, aiming to streamline production across different model types; company to release a four-door electric pickup for $30K in 2027 (More) | The surprisingly long history of electric cars (1440 Topics)

> Study suggests oxytocin, also referred to as the "love hormone," plays a role in the selectivity of social connections; oxytocin-deficient rodents took up to a week to form bonds, compared to 24 hours for control group (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq -0.3%) as investors await key inflation reports this week; consumer price index due today and producer price index expected Thursday (More) | Wall Street's architecture explained (1440 Topics)

> President Donald Trump signs executive order extending the US tariff truce with China for another 90 days (More) | Trump administration cancels tariff talks with Brazil as nation faces 50% levies (More) | Trump to nominate EJ Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics (More)

> Lithium stocks surge amid concerns over tightening supply after top EV battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology announces suspension of major Chinese mine; company cites expiring permit, says it's working to renew (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Israeli airstrike kills five Al Jazeera journalists and cameramen in Gaza Sunday, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif; Israel says al-Sharif led a Hamas cell, has not publicly provided evidence as of this writing (More)

> Federal judge denies Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury materials in the case of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell; cites “rule of secrecy” in grand juries and says information contained is largely public knowledge (More) | Read the ruling (More)

> Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay dies two months after being shot at a political rally (More) | See previous write-up (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Vacations on the Outer Banks

I remember going on vacations as a boy with my older sister and younger brother.  Most of the time, we would spend two weeks on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at Kitty Hawk, just south of where highway 158 dead ends at the ocean highway.

There are two highways that connect the mainland with the Outer Banks, 158 is the northern road and 64 at Manteo is the southern road.

My parents would rent a pink cottage that was a quarter mile west of the beach road.  At the time we were there, it was the only cottage in the area, since the Outer Banks were not bothered by many tourists at that time.  There was a small lake to the south of the cottage that had an island in the center.  A rowboat was moored at the edge of the lake nearest to the cottage that we sometimes used to get out to the island.

In the mornings, we would pack what we needed to spend a day at the beach - everyone had to carry something - my dad carried the most but shared carrying a cooler with our mother.  We had to stop and rest a couple of times before we arrived.  We would have an umbrella, towels, toys, and something to eat and drink but no chairs.  We sat on blankets or on the sand itself.

Two weeks is a long time to spend at the beach and while our parents were very careful about the children spending too much time in the sun, but the second week, that is all we did and after two weeks, there was not much white skin left.

All of our meals were either eaten in the pink cottage or on the beach (usually lunch) and not once did we got out for dinner or breakfast at a restaurant.  We went out for groceries or to shop if it was raining or to see the production of THE LOST COLONY.  Once we experienced the outdoor drama we never went back.

The pink cottage had a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms and four small bedrooms of which we used three.  There was no heat, and no air conditioning units attached to the house, but each room had a portable fan.  I remember that some nights it was difficult to get to sleep even when there was a breeze.

After my parents sold their houses on the Outer Banks; on was on the beach front and purchased from the previous owner; the other was built by my parents right across the street, we never as a family or sibling returned either collectively or by ourselves.

Somewhat Political

 

How China created super steel for nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion reactors rely on powerful superconducting magnets that must function under intense magnetic fields and at temperatures approaching absolute zero. These extreme conditions place extraordinary demands on the structural materials used, which must remain strong and stable despite the cold and stress.

Finding a material that can withstand both has challenged scientists for decades. Now, researchers in China have introduced CHSN01—China high-strength low-temperature steel No 1—a specially engineered alloy designed to meet these demands.

READ MORE...

Sunshine Superman- Donovan

Backseat Sleepers

 

VINCE

 

Centering

 

The Shannon Joy Show

 

Apadana Palace, Persepolis

 

The White House

 

Moon

 

TimcastIRL

 

Brookings Brief

Exam ready: Who uses college admissions test prep and does it work?

Painting with Oils

 

Headlines

Alex Wong/Getty Images




President Trump ordered takeover of Washington, DC, police dept. and activated National Guard. In a press conference yesterday, Trump announced he was declaring a state of emergency in DC to remove homeless encampments and “take our capital back.” Because said capital is a federal district in addition to being a city, Trump has the latitude to enact the plan, which included declaring a “crime emergency” in Washington, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under the control of Attorney General Pam Bondi, and directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate 800 members of the National Guard. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said she would follow the law, but characterized the situation as a “so-called emergency,” and noted that violent crime in the city has fallen since 2023, which the Justice Department confirmed in January of this year.

Two people died in an explosion at a US Steel Plant. The incident occurred at the US Steel Clairton Coke Works plant in Clairton, PA, just before 11am ET yesterday. Two people were found dead, and 10 others were injured. Many of the injuries were non-life-threatening, according to Allegheny County Emergency Services. The explosion occurred inside a battery operating area of the plant and triggered several secondary explosions, according to officials. The cause of the incident is still under investigation. About 1,300 employees work at the Clairton site.

Trump signed order extending tariff truce with China for 90 days. The executive order came down just hours before a key deadline, which is now November 9, and was expected following a third round of talks between US and Chinese officials in Stockholm in July. The two countries first reached a 90-day truce in May, at which time the US lowered its tariffs on China to 30% and China lowered its tariffs on the US to 10%, while also resuming exports of rare earth metals. This latest delay gives Trump a chance to meet with Putin, which he’s scheduled to do this Friday, before taking action on China regarding its purchase of Russian oil. It also means the trade detente will be in place when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend the same international meeting in South Korea in October.—HVL

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Robert Reich

Trump’s “State Capitalism”
It would be communism under any other dictator






Friends,

If “state capitalism” were proposed by Democrats or progressives, it would be considered socialism or communism. Done by a neofascist president — as chronicled by the The Wall Street Journal — it’s simply considered inefficient (as the Journal concludes).

But Trump’s state capitalism is already large and growing, and it’s profoundly altering what we once thought of as the private sector. Consider what Trump has done in recent weeks:

• Allowed Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to license artificial intelligence chips to China on condition they pay the United States 15 percent of the money they make.
• Demanded that Intel’s CEO resign (the CEO met with Trump yesterday to plead his case).
• Proposed that the Defense Department take a 15 percent stake in MP Materials, which mines critical minerals.
• Allowed Nippon Steel to take over U.S. Steel on condition that Nippon pay a “golden share” of the proceeds to Washington.
• Reserved the right to personally direct some $1.5 trillion of promised investment from America’s trading partners into the United States.

READ MORE...

At A Glance

Remember over 421,000 fallen American World War II heroes.

The history of Disappointment Island. (via YouTube)

AOL is pulling the plug on dial-up internet.

Drones reveal major nesting site of endangered Amazon turtles.

Every continent's most turbulent flight route.

... and what flying has looked like through the decades.

Best bars across Europe, according to locals.

McDonald's drops its adult Happy Meal today.

Clickbait: The first artificial tongue that can taste like a human's.

Historybook: Egyptian queen Cleopatra dies by suicide (30 BCE, estimated); James Bond creator Ian Fleming dies (1964); IBM personal computer is released (1981); Sue, largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, discovered (1990); Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall dies (2014).

Weeknight Meals | Basics with Babish

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Seventeen-year-old Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera wins US women's gymnastics all-around championship (More) | ... and Asher Hong wins his second US men's title by a record margin (More)

> Bobby Whitlock, keyboardist and cofounder of Derek and the Dominos, dies of cancer at age 77 (More) | Two Japanese boxers die of brain injuries at same boxing event, but separate fights, in Tokyo (More)

> Pennsylvania tops Indiana 1-0 to win the 2025 Little League Softball World Series (More)


Science & Technology
> Health official Vinay Prasad reinstated as top vaccine regulator for the Food and Drug Administration; reversal comes two weeks after being dismissed from the role following criticism from right-wing activist Laura Loomer (More)

> SpaceX's Crew-10 astronauts return to Earth after five months aboard the International Space Station; mission was NASA's first Pacific Ocean splashdown in 50 years (More) | The evolution of SpaceX rockets (1440 Topics)

> Scientists develop platform allowing proteins to evolve thousands of times faster than in nature; approach expected to accelerate new drug discovery for a wide variety of diseases (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher Friday (S&P 500 +0.8%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +1.0%), with Nasdaq closing at a record high (More) | How stock markets work (1440 Topics)

> Trump administration weighs public offering of government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac later this year; aims to sell 5% to 15% of shares, raising upward of $30B (More) | A history of US homeownership (1440 Topics)

> HeartFlow, AI-driven company focused on diagnosing coronary artery disease, closes first day of trading up 51.3% Friday, raising $316.7M (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> California's Gifford Fire along the central coast becomes state's largest wildfire in 2025, consuming over 114,000 acres; is roughly 20% contained as of this writing (More)

> President Donald Trump nominates State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as deputy representative of the United States to the United Nations (More)

> William H. Webster, former head of the CIA and FBI, dies at age 101; Webster is the only person to spearhead both US agencies, leading the FBI for most of the 1980s before heading to the CIA for four years (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Labor Costs

 

The US has a high standard of living and a relatively low cost of living...

Why do you think that is?

Costs of Goods Sold include:

• Labor costs
• Raw materials cost
• Overhead costs
• Taxes

Labor costs are cheaper in the southern US than they are in the northern US.

Labor costs are cheaper outside the US than inside the US

ISSUE:

Right now, our cost of living is lower because we use foreign labor to produce the items we purchase.  If we made those same products at home, we would be paying much more for our items.

EXAMPLE:

California raised the minimum wage to $20/hour which impacted the fast food industry more than anything else, causing many of those companies to shut down and relocate.

What you don't want is for AMERICANS to make stuff because of the wages they demand.

Not only do Americans want higher wages but they want more vacation days and more health benefits than workers from other countries.

Understand this...

We have a lower cost of living because we ship our good in from overseas and NOT BECAUSE we use American labor...

Somewhat of a CATCH 22 is it not???

Somewhat Political

 

Theories on dark matter's origins point to 'mirror world' and universe's edge

Two recent studies by Professor Stefano Profumo at the University of California, Santa Cruz, propose theories that attempt to answer one of the most fundamental open questions in modern physics: What is the particle nature of dark matter?


Science has produced overwhelming evidence that the mysterious substance, which accounts for 80% of all matter in the universe, exists. Dark matter's presence explains what binds galaxies together and makes them rotate. 

Findings such as the large-scale structure of the universe and measurements of the cosmic microwave background also prove that something as-yet undetermined permeates all that darkness.

READ MORE...

George Harrison & Ringo Starr - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Prince...

Water Bowl