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jobs

US Added Only 29,000 Jobs In September While Unemployment Rate Increases 

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Only 29,000 jobs were added by US employers in the month of September, marking a sharp decline from the previous month’s gains with unemployment also increasing. 

America’s unemployment rate specifically increased to 4.2%, according to the most recent data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This decline shows just a fraction of what economists were expecting with just under 70,000 new jobs, according to reports.

Initial reports from July and August were also revised down to 60,000. The labor market contracted by 10,000 jobs in July after revisions while August saw 133,000 jobs added. 

While job growth may have “slumped” over the summer, the labor market unexpectedly contracted in July, and figures made in June and May were revised down from their initial reports with 162,000 jobs being added in August, marking the highest amount since March.

The unemployment rate has also remained at its lowest levels since 2025 when it hit 4.5% in November. US jobless claims also remained lower for the fourth week in a row, according to the labor department. 

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Job openings and the number of new hires have remained relatively stagnant since August, data from the labor department shows, citing the “slow-hire, slow-fire” job market continuing. 

The labor market has also remained pretty strong this year, despite concerns over the US-Israel war on Iran increasing inflation and energy prices. In fact, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates last month for the first time in three years, citing higher prices. 

Federal chair Kevin Warsh emphasized the “strength of the US labor market, which is basically running consistent with full employment, but inflation is too high and has been for too long.”

Investors are “hopeful” that the Fed won’t increase rates again later this month after a commerce department report revealed a “softer-than-expected” reading on inflation. 

Higher prices are continuing to be the biggest issue economically for citizens of America. Mortgage rates specifically are rising rapidly and have hit their highest level in three years this week from 7% to 7.28%, the largest weekly jump since 2022. 

The 10-year treasury yield, which underpins mortgages and other loans, also reached a 24-year high as the recent global bond sell-off continued. 

Higher oil prices have also cost Americans an estimated $936 per household.

us aid

US Withdrawal From Foreign Aid Programs Leave Africa’s Healthcare Systems ‘Under Growing Strain’

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The United States has withdrawn from key aid programs in Africa and has put their healthcare systems “under growing strain,” according to a new report. 

The report stated that the Trump Administration’s cuts to programs like the US Agency for International Development (USAID) along with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and rising cost of living has brought on a “new urgency” for the need to reform healthcare in the global south. 

The report was titled ‘A Sovereign Future For Health’ and was created by global health initiative Accra Reset and led by John Dramani Mahama, president of Ghana. Accra Reset believes that nations in Africa and the wider global south should have more control over their health development as opposed to being dependent on aid from western nations and international institutions. 

Mahama and Accra Reset said that Africa statistically produces less than 1% of its vaccines while carrying about a quarter of the global disease burden. 

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The report also said how abrupt changes to global health financing like the US withdrawal from several global health initiatives, has forced countries within the global south to urgently restrict their finances. 

The Trump administration’s decision to dissolve USAID also pushed Nigeria to absorb the 28,000 health workers who were previously employed by the agency. 

The withdrawal of the US Emergency Plan for Aids Relief funding in South Africa has led to many HIV clinics closing throughout the country. Previously, the funding provided more than $400 million annually, and is credited for saving 26 million lives around the world within the past 23 years. 

These cuts to funding have caused “severe and devastating disruption globally,” according to research that was presented at the 26th International Aids Conference in Brazil this year. 

Mahama attended the World Health Assembly in May, where he stated that Ghana alone lost $78 million after the closure of USAID programs, greatly impacting the treatment of malaria, maternal healthcare, nutrition, and HIV/Aids intervention. 

“The Accra Reset is not an argument for traditional donors to do less on global health. It is an argument for doing it differently and doing it better. As countries take greater ownership of their health futures, donor countries should step up to support that transition – following the lead of countries that set their own priorities, and work alongside them to determine where outside support is most valuable,” said Naveen Rao, senior vice-president of the health initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation. 

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“The Accra Reset shows how we can evolve to back country-led solutions while advancing our shared health and economic interests.”

Mahama stated in the report that the “past few years have shaken global health cooperation to its foundations.”

“The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the risks created by concentrated production and unequal access to essential health products; rising debt and fiscal pressures have constrained national health budgets; and declining development assistance is placing programs and services under growing strain.”

“These shocks have brought new urgency to reform debates that have continued for years with limited progress. It was in this context that we launched the Accra Reset and its Sovereign Health Agenda – to give renewed political force to the reform agenda and place the agency of countries of the Global South at its center.”

The report also noted a recent survey in which many US citizens stated that we should continue to be investing in, and providing, foreign aid. 

The survey polled more than 2,000 US adults and was commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation. The results showed that about 75% of Americans, including the 52% who support Donald Trump, believe that the US should restore disease prevention aid, specifically to help contain the Ebola virus. 

It also found that 65% of American adults support international cooperation even if it means compromising national interests.

grand jury

Grand Jury Finds No Evidence Of Criminal Conduct In Nolan Wells Death, Family Will Continue To Fight

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This week, a Mississippi grand jury has decided not to bring indictments in the case of Nolan Wells, the teenager who was found dead off the Mississippi coast in early July.

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AI Company CEOs Calling To Slow The Development Of The Technology Over ‘End Of The World’ Warnings 

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Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei issued a proposal to slow down the advancement of artificial intelligence after multiple warnings that the technology could lead to the end of humanity. Almost immediately after, the heads of some of the largest AI companies in the US agreed, in order to ensure the safety of the public.

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school

Test Scores Are Dropping Around The World As Families Lose Interest In Their Kids’ Education 

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According to newly released standardized test results taken by 15-year-olds around the world, test scores are continuing to plunge, while families’ interest in their kids’ education is also decreasing in many high-income countries. 

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was taken by more than 760,000 teenagers in dozens of countries last year. The results were released this week and showed that the average scores in math, reading, and science are at their lowest point in PISA history among the nations with some of the most developed economies. 

The US specifically has seen a continuous decline in their reading and math scores. China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea scored the highest marks on the test with Estonia, the UK, and New Zealand also scoring high, according to reports from the Associated Press. 

There are a multitude of reasons as to why test scores are falling so much around the world, and thanks to an accompanying survey taken by the students, we have a greater insight into why this is happening. 

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When compared to the 2022 PISA results, almost every nation saw a decline in family support for their kids’ education, which was measured by questions about how often parents talk to their kids about their schoolwork, classes, projects, and learning in general.

“Parents see themselves more as a client of the school, not as someone who takes personal interest,” said Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which runs the PISA test.

The results showed that students who claimed a family member asked them at least weekly about what they did in school that day scored around 35 points higher on the PISA science test, compared with students whose family took less interest. 

One of the other factors is the distraction of technology. Over 25% of students in high-income countries complained that their classmates got distracted by digital devices in most or every science class. Countries that have strong policies controlling the use of cellphones in schools, distraction rates were found to be lower. 

“There’s undoubtedly a strong association between students using digital devices for leisure and lower test scores,” Schleicher said.

When technology is used in the classroom for educational purposes, the results do differ. In Asia, for example, technology is being used in a way to benefit student learning. Fewer than 10% of the students tested in Japan, Korea, and mainland China complained about digital distraction in school. 

Asia also had some of the strongest schools in the world. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Chinese provinces ranked among the top 10 regions for math, science, and reading. 

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Close to 100% of children in the Chinese provinces scored at, or above, baseline for both math and reading. For comparison, in the US only 65% scores at the baseline in math and 74% in reading. 

“To win a technological race, you need the people with the science and the technology and the reading capabilities,” said Tracey Burns, chief of global strategy and research at the National Center for Education and the Economy.

The US scores for math were equal to the average among the nations that administered the test, with the nation being in the top 15 in the world for science, reading, and their new category computational problem-solving. 

US students reading and math scores, however, reached the lowest point since the early 2000s, when the PISA test was first administered. Overall, researchers said that the US’s results should be “taken with a grain of salt” due to the fact that they didn’t meet the standards for having a large enough sample of schools and students to participate in the test. 

One of the biggest issues education systems all over the world are also tackling is the use of artificial intelligence, which has been linked to lower test scores. Students who stated that they never used chatbots performed better than students who did, with almost half of the students in developed economies claiming that they use AI chatbots to help them learn at least once a week.

Schleicher said that China, Japan, Singapore, and Estonia as nations that have succeeded in using AI to “support learning without overusing it.” 

He said that in Asia specifically teachers are more empowered to take the lead in designing AI systems for the classroom. 

“In the United States, teachers largely implement lessons. In Asia, teachers have a very strong role.” 

He also recalled a classroom in China where elementary schoolers were practicing calligraphy with ink and brushes, and then teachers would scan their work using AI to analyze how their handwriting could improve.

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate Demand Is On The Rise Throughout The US 

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According to a new index from the National Association of Realtors, a multitude of markets throughout the US are showing an increased demand for commercial real estate throughout the country. 

South Carolina, in particular, ranked the highest among all US states in future potential demand for commercial real estate. The National Association of Realtors works to provide a clear vision for investors throughout America when it comes to pursuing their next big venture. The data they report utilizes figures from local economies and past patterns to predict future demand. 

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This specific index looks at over 300 metropolitan markets, analyzing office, industrial, retail, and multifamily sectors while measuring the economic conditions within each region, CNBC reports. 

Government data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau for population and movement also helped inform the rankings. The office sector looked at growth in professional and business services employment. For industrial they looked at manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing employment growth. 

The NAR also measures growth in retail trade along with leisure and hospitality employment. In the multifamily sector, they incorporated population growth and net migration domestically and internationally. 

“It doesn’t say, ‘OK, go there and just buy property,’ but it says … where the data shows that the momentum is building, the demand is building,” Nadia Evangelou, principal economist and director of real estate research at NAR, said. 

The association also compared those selected markets to 2022, which is considered the peak of the pandemic migration boom. According to the index, out of all the markets analyzed, Raleigh, North Carolina is the only major one that is stronger today than it was in 2022. 

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Austin, Texas, Miami and Naples, Florida, once considered to be “superhot” markets, have all declined within the market within the past four years. 

Within the index the strongest metropolitan market is St. George, Utah due to their office employment growth. 

“It also has very strong population growth and in-migration, and its industrial demand is above average,” Evangelou said. 

“So St. George, for example, is the No. 1, because one industry happened to have a good year, so there is a broader momentum over there.”

Evangelou also said that small and midsized markets could provide some of the best opportunities for investors. 

The index also broke down where each of the four sectors is seeing their strongest demand, which includes Salem, Oregon and Fairbanks, Alaska. 

“When we take a look at New York, San Francisco and the big coastal markets, we see that the large markets are still generally weaker than the fast-growing Sunbelt and smaller markets in this index,” said Evangelou.

mining

Multiple Nations Are Turning To Brazil For Rare Earth Minerals, Raising Environmental Concerns 

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Brazil is emerging as an alternative to China’s dominance when it comes to rare earth minerals, leading to a global race to secure the materials that are used for nearly everything. From clean energy resources, smart technology, medical equipment, batteries, lights, and so much more, having access to these minerals is integral for nearly every industry. 

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cellphones

US Teenagers Advocating For Their Digital Wellbeing As Schools Across The Nation Ban Phones 

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While educators and parents are looking forward to this upcoming school year without having to worry about screens, many students are advocating for their own digital wellbeing, and are trying to ensure they’re a part of the important conversations surrounding the internet’s impact on growing minds. 

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covid

US Experiencing Covid-19 Surge In Every State 

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Every state in the US is currently experiencing a rise in Covid-19 cases, with healthcare professionals and experts warning citizens to be on the lookout for symptoms, and stay diligent with healthy lifestyle practices. 

Dr. John Brooks, an infectious disease doctor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia who also used to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told NPR about how as a country, “we’re now in the midst of a growing summer surge of Covid.” 

“I think most of us kind of feel like it’s fading away and are certainly very grateful for that. But nationally we’re seeing [Covid-19] ticking up pretty much everywhere.”

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According to the CDC, the disease is mainly spreading in the South and West, but is also rising in the Northeast and Midwest. As of right now, however, the virus is still at very low levels, and the current wave of infections is following along the trend of getting milder each year, with less people being hospitalized or dying. 

“What we’re seeing is very likely evidence of growing herd immunity if you will,” Dr. Brooks said. 

“More and more people have had one or more infections that give them some immunity against the virus and have had more than one vaccination, or maybe both, and all of that really has begun to offer us a lot of protection.”

The most important thing that doctors want US residents to remember is Covid-19 never disappeared, and is still greatly impacting communities around the nation. Many are still finding themselves feeling intensely sick for up to two weeks, and for some people, Covid can still cause serious disease, hospitalizations, and in the worst of cases, death. 

Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, emphasized this point to NPR, stating that “Covid-19 is still dangerous, particularly for older adults, infants, and people who are immunocompromised.” 

“In a typical office if you have 20 colleagues, it’s likely that one or two of them are some degree of immunocompromised. So it’s very common that people have risk factors that make Covid-19 dangerous.”

Rivers also pointed out that unlike flu season, which sees a major surge in the winter months, Covid-19 has seen spikes twice a year since the initial pandemic in 2020. That biannual surge remains a mystery to experts. 

“It’s a big mystery as far as I’m concerned. It is the only seasonal respiratory virus that has a summer season. To my knowledge, we don’t know what is causing this seasonality.”

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Rivers advises the general public to stay up to date on their vaccines, and pointed out how she still wears a mask when she’s in crowded places. Staying consistent with your vaccines also allows the body to stay strong against the new and dominant strains that emerge. 

The CDC has not issued any updated recommendations for Covid-19 vaccinations due to litigation over the Trump administration’s work to overhaul immunizations in the US, according to reports. 

The administration itself no longer recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older routinely get an annual shot. Major medical groups, however, still highly recommend it. 

Major insurance companies throughout the nation have also emphasized that they will continue to cover the costs of vaccinations, and the shots themselves will also still be free through other government programs. 

Public health experts are worried about the opposing messages regarding vaccines and how they might confuse more vulnerable populations as well. 

Claire Hannan, for example, is an executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers which works to advocate for immunization and the multiple free programs that offer them throughout the US. 

“The message is that the Covid-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine will be available, they’re covered by insurers, they’re recommended by medical societies. People should get them and get them for their kids.”

Dr. Brooks also pointed out that there’s also now a new drug called Xocova that individuals can take right after they’ve been exposed to the virus to decrease their chances of getting sick from Covid-19. This will especially be useful for individuals working in the healthcare industry who are exposed to a myriad of sick patients every day. 

“It is something for people to just have in the back of their mind.”

tsa

TSA Warns Travelers They Could Face Massive Fines If They Pack Certain Banned Items 

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has recently been emphasizing that travelers need to double check what they’re packing to ensure they can avoid potentially major fines. The easiest way to make sure your luggage is protected is to check the TSA’s website for a complete list of the banned items for carry-on and checked luggage. 

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Besides the risk of having some of your items confiscated or thrown away, when an item is flagged, even if it’s technically permitted, your luggage may have to go through additional screenings. 

One of the worst case scenarios for travelers who try to bring a prohibited item through is a fine up to  $17,062 in civil penalties per violation, per person. 

This month, the TSA tweeted at travelers with children specifically that toys that are filled with more than 3.4 ounces of gel or dough are not allowed in carry-ons, in alignment with the TSA policy for liquids, gels, and aerosols. 

Squishy toys, slimes, and fidgets have grown greatly in popularity in recent years, leading to an uptick in confiscations at US airports. 

USA Today reported that many travelers also don’t realize a lot of household tools that seem fine are also banned, such as cordless curling irons and sporting equipment. 

Travel items like power banks for electronics and other lithium-ion battery devices must be kept in carry-ons as well. 

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“To avoid delays, always check TSA and airline rules before packing, keep your luggage organized, pack liquids and electronics separately for easy access, and make sure any items that could need extra screening are on top or in an easily accessible pocket,” Paul Stewart, travel expert and founder of My Baggage, told USA Today.

The publication listed out some of the items that are often confiscated by TSA that travelers may be surprised by: 

  1. Cordless curling irons – banned in checked baggage
  2. Bowling balls – banned in carry-ons
  3. Cast iron cookware – banned in carry-ons
  4. Corkscrews with a blade – banned in carry-ons
  5. Electronic cigarettes and vaping devices – banned in checked luggage
  6. Foam toy sword – banned in carry-ons
  7. Gel-type candles – banned in carry-ons
  8. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones – banned in carry-ons and checked luggage
  9. Screwdrivers longer than seven inches – banned in carry-ons
  10. Snow globes – banned in carry-ons if containing over 3.4 ounces of liquid

One exception to the 3.4-ounce rule is baby formula, breast milk, toddler drinks, and baby/toddler food, all of which are allowed in carry-ons. TSA has this rule in place because these items are medically necessary for babies and toddlers. 

Additionally, to make getting through the line easier, travelers should inform the TSA officer of the specific liquids they have, remove them from their carry-on, and store it in clear bottles. 

For a full list of banned items, be sure to thoroughly go through the TSA’s website while they’re packing their carry-ons and luggage.