Mar 10, 2017

Trump: "Phony" jobs report is now "real"

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the economy added 235,000 jobs in February, and that the unemployment rate fell to 4.7%. President Trump touted these better-than-expected figures, even though he has dismissed such reports as a "joke" and a "hoax."

Sean Spicer was asked during today's press briefing if Trump still believes the BLS data is bogus. Spicer said that Trump asked to be quoted directly:

They may have been phony in the past but it's very real now.

VIDEO of Spicer quoting Trump on jobs reports: "They may have been phony in the past, but it's very real now." pic.twitter.com/ewpXW0n6uC — Axios (@axios) March 10, 2017

The Labor Department has not changed its process for collecting or analyzing jobs data since Trump took office.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Protests for George Floyd continue for 10th day

Thousands of protesters march over the Brooklyn Bridge on June 4 in New York City. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

All four former Minneapolis police officers have been charged for George Floyd’s death and are in custody, including Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, who were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

The latest: Crowds gathered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Thursday evening and in Atlanta, Georgia, despite the rain. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms joined demonstrators on Thursday. Demonstrators in Washington, D.C. dispersed following a thunderstorm and rain warning for the region.

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Orion Rummler

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump says he will campaign against Lisa Murkowski after her support for Mattis

Trump with Barr and Meadows outside St. John's Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. on June 1. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump tweeted on Thursday that he would endorse "any candidate" with a pulse who runs against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Driving the news: Murkowski said on Thursday that she supported former defense secretary James Mattis' condemnation of Trump over his response to protests in the wake of George Floyd's killing. She described Mattis' statement as "true, honest, necessary and overdue," Politico's Andrew Desiderio reports.

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Dave Lawler

3 hours ago - World

The president vs. the Pentagon

Trump visits Mattis and the Pentagon in 2018. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty

Over the course of just a few hours, President Trump was rebuffed by the Secretary of Defense over his call for troops in the streets and accused by James Mattis, his former Pentagon chief, of trampling the Constitution for political gain.

Why it matters: Current and former leaders of the U.S. military are drawing a line over Trump's demand for a militarized response to the protests and unrest that have swept the country over the killing of George Floyd by police.

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