[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A repeat offender accused of shoving a retired teacher to his death in a Manhattan subway station was still wearing a hospital psychiatric bracelet when he launched the deadly attack, police said. I hear they're very stylish in NYC, with Alvin Bragg's autograph
The horrifying killing of 76-year-old Ross Falzone has triggered an investigation into how a man, with multiple recent arrests, was evaluated and discharged from Bellevue Hospital barely an hour after police brought him there on Thursday afternoon.
Police say Rhamell Burke, 32, pushed Falzone down a staircase leading into the 18th Street subway station in Chelsea at 9:30pm on Thursday in a random, unprovoked assault.
Falzone suffered catastrophic injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, fractured spine and broken rib.
He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital - the same hospital Burke had been released from hours earlier - where he died shortly before 3am Friday.
The killing has intensified scrutiny of New York City's handling of mental illness, repeat offenders and involuntary psychiatric evaluations.
A senior NYPD source blasted the situation to the New York Post as a 'complete collapse' of City Hall's approach to mental health.
According to police, Burke's interaction with authorities began around 3:30pm. Thursday outside the NYPD's 17th Precinct stationhouse on East 51st Street.
Police said Burke was acting erratically and had grabbed a stick from a pile of trash before approaching officers.
Authorities ordered him to drop the stick, which he did seconds later.
Officers then transported him to Bellevue Hospital as an emotionally disturbed person for psychiatric evaluation.
Brad Weekes, assistant commissioner of public information for the NYPD, said Burke arrived at the hospital around 3:40pm and was taken into Bellevue's Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program for evaluation and treatment but was released approximately an hour later.
Roughly five hours after walking out of Bellevue, police say Burke encountered Falzone on Seventh Avenue near West 18th Street.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators allegedly showed Burke walking about 30 yards behind the retired teacher before suddenly rushing forward and violently shoving him down the subway stairs.
Police later circulated surveillance images that appeared to show Burke still wearing his hospital bracelet after the attack. The suspect fled the scene, leaving Falzone unconscious on the station staircase.
Responding officers found Falzone unresponsive before medics transported him to Bellevue, where he later died.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered an immediate investigation into Bellevue's handling of Burke's psychiatric evaluation and release.
'I am horrified by the killing of Ross Falzone and the circumstances that led to it,' Mamdani said in a statement on Friday.
The mayor said NYC Health and Hospitals would conduct 'an immediate investigation on what steps should have been taken to prevent this tragedy' and also ordered a broader review of psychiatric evaluation and discharge procedures across the city's public hospital system.
The New York State Department of Health is also expected to participate in the investigation.
Police tracked Burke down Friday afternoon inside Penn Station, where two detectives recognized him from surveillance images and took him into custody.
By Friday evening, Burke was awaiting charges.
Authorities said Burke had already been arrested four times in just the past few months.
His recent arrests included allegations of assaulting a Port Authority police officer on February 2, burglary on February 14, resisting arrest on February 25 and assaulting another person on April 2.
Despite the repeated arrests, Burke had been granted supervised release after at least one of the incidents, according to police.
Neighbors on the Upper West Side where Falzone lived remembered him as a gentle, cultured longtime New Yorker who loved music, conversation and live performances at Lincoln Center.
Marc Stager, 78, who lived next door to Falzone for decades, described him as 'a helpless old guy' and said he was 'disappointed and shocked, frankly, that somebody could do such a thing' to a defenseless elderly man.
Stager said Falzone was a warm and talkative neighbor who had recently been recovering from surgery and appeared happier and more mobile in recent weeks.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
05/09/2026 10:02 ||
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Link ||
[1827 views]
Top|| File under: Nut Jobs
#2
We don't concern ourselves with the mental state of a dog that mauls and kills a child. We simply remove it from society so as not endanger anyone else.
[ESPN] Couldn't possibly have anything to do with State and Seattle insane taxes and politics? Naaaahhhh.
Although potential buyers for the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks are starting to emerge, the franchise hasn't generated the interest the NFL hoped for when the estate of Paul G. Allen put the team up for sale in February, according to an owner, two team executives and another executive with direct knowledge of the state of the sale.
"It's soft," a team owner said of the market for the Seahawks.
"There isn't as much action as there was with Denver and Washington," another executive said, referring to the most recent past two franchise sales.
The sources who spoke to ESPN said the situation was fluid but added that there are doubts among NFL owners and executives about whether the Seahawks sale -- after sports business insiders speculated that it would spark a bidding war and that the franchise would fetch up to $11 billion -- will eclipse the $10 billion mark. They said they believe that the team will sell for slightly above $9 billion, which would still be a record price for an NFL team.
A league spokesperson declined comment. A spokesperson for the Allen estate told ESPN that "there is no news to share about the sale process," and a Seahawks spokesperson deferred to the estate's statement.
What’s involved in moving the team to a new, safer city where the police are permitted to do their job? Because I wouldn’t want to worry about parking or walking in Seattle, between the coddled criminals and Antifa looking for targets — not that I’m in the market for the franchise, but just as a question for potential buyers.
Valuations for sports teams have exploded in recent years. In 2022, a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion. In 2023, a group led by Josh Harris paid $6.05 billion for the Commanders. Last year, the Buss family sold majority ownership in the Los Angeles Lakers at a $10 billion valuation, and last month, Lin Bin, the co-founder and vice chairman of Xiaomi, purchased a 1% stake in the Miami Dolphins at a record $12.5 billion valuation.
The slow process for Seattle, so far at least, is notable not only because the franchise is a winner with a strong fan base but also because the buyers have significant leverage. The Seahawks have been owned by Allen's estate since the former owner and Microsoft co-founder died in 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His sister, Jody Allen, has controlled the team as the executor of the trust, with a directive from her brother to eventually sell and donate the proceeds to charity.
Right now, the pool of potential buyers is small, the sources told ESPN.
Steve Apostolopoulos, a Canadian billionaire who was a candidate to buy the Commanders in 2023, is a potential buyer, sources said -- although an owner added that it was hard to tell how "real" Apostolopoulos is as a candidate, given the team's expected price point. (Responding to a request for comment, Apostolopoulos said: "I'm not pursuing the Seahawks.") Sportico reported Thursday, and two sources confirmed to ESPN, that Aditya Mittal, a member of one of India's richest families and a limited partner of the Boston Celtics, and Wyc Grousbeck, the Celtics' former controlling owner, are preparing a bid, as is Vinod Khosla, a billionaire limited partner of the San Francisco 49ers. In April, Front Office Sports reported that tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook had expressed interest, though Bloomberg later reported that the two aren't planning bids.
The reasons the bidding has been unexpectedly quiet are varied, sources said, beginning with the expected price range. Few interested buyers are liquid enough to pay $9 billion for a team or have the 30% in cash that a major owner must make as a down payment, according to NFL rules. The Seahawks might also need a new stadium in coming years. While a new venue could open up additional revenue in the long term, the politics and cost could be a fight in the short term.
Additionally, the NBA's board of governors recently approved the league to explore bids for an expansion team in Seattle. Some potential Seahawks buyers could have interest in that as a less expensive option, and that new owner will be greeted as a local hero who is reviving professional basketball in the city.
At March's NFL league meetings in Phoenix, there was a brief update on Seattle in the general session (for owners and league and team executives) but not a deeper, more meaty one in the privileged (owners only) meeting. Three sources told ESPN that the relative lack of information stood out compared with the constant updates they would receive when the Commanders and Broncos were up for sale.
The NFL expects the sale process to continue into the 2026 season, but it has dragged a bit. ESPN first reported in January that the franchise would be put up for sale after the Super Bowl, but an owner told ESPN that Allen & Co., the bank handling the sale, was quietly having discussions with potential buyers in the fall.
The NFL officially announced that the team was for sale 10 days after the Seahawks blew out the New England Patriots to win the second championship in franchise history.
[LegalInsurrection] Conservatives warned that it represented the opening salvo in a broader effort to impose a far more expansive tax regime on residents of the Evergreen State.
#5
...yes, because of AWFLs as it upset their feelings. The logo and the title were cleared with indigenous Americans before it was adopted, but, of course, no one asked them when it was being dropped.
[CBS] An audio recording captures the moments after a Frontier Airlines flight struck a pedestrian while departing Denver International Airport on Friday.
Things begin smoothly, with the tower confirming the pilot is clear for takeoff and wishing the flight crew "a good night," according to audio from ATC.com. About 30 seconds into the audio, the Frontier pilot says he is "stopping on the runway."
"We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire," the pilot says. My number 2 engine appears to be running a little hot.
Air traffic control staff provide instructions on how the plane can safely exit the runway. When asked for more details, the pilot says there "was an individual walking across the runway." About 40 seconds later, the pilot reports "smoke in the aircraft" and says he will evacuate the plane on the runway.
Video shot by a passenger aboard the plane and shared with CBS News shows smoke in the cabin of the aircraft. The passengers and flight crew used inflatable slides to evacuate the plane. Emergency crews bused the passengers back to the airport terminal, and their flight to Los Angeles was rescheduled.
The images also appear to show blood on the plane's engine.
No major injuries were reported among any of the 224 passengers or seven crew members aboard the plane at the time of the incident, according to Frontier Airlines. The airport said that 12 people reported minor injuries and five of those were transported to area hospitals.
The airport said in a statement that the pedestrian was killed. The person, who has not been identified, jumped the perimeter fence and was hit two minutes later while crossing the runway, the airport said. The fence is intact, and the pedestrian is not believed to be an airport employee. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy referred to the person as a "trespasser" in a post on social media. ....and may never be "identified."
Frontier Airlines is investigating the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board was also notified. The runway where the crash occurred will stay closed during the investigation, according to Denver International Airport, and is expected to be reopened Saturday.
There was horror onboard a Frontier Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles when it struck and killed a person walking on the runway at Denver International Airport on Friday night.
Denver International Airport released a statement confirming that a person 'jumped the perimeter fence' near the runway and was hit two minutes later at 11.19pm.
The individual is dead and has not been identified, though officials do not believe they were an employee of the airport.
The person was at least partially consumed by one of the engines, an official confirmed to ABC News.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy described the person who was hit as a 'trespasser' who breached airport security before deliberately scaling the fence. Officials who examined the fence said it was intact. Duffy added on X: 'No one should EVER trespass on an airport.'
Suicide by airplane? Or possibly just you can’t fix stupid.
Videos posted to social media showed passengers escaping from the cabin of Frontier Flight 4345, an Airbus A321, via the emergency slides.
In one clip a child could be seen jumping on to the slide. All 224 passengers and seven crew members escaped to safety via the slides.
There was at least 12 minor injuries among those on the aircraft and five people were transported to local hospitals, while the rest of the passengers were taken to the terminal and have since left on a new Frontier flight.
Ethics Question - is now everyone on that plane who ingested the smoke now cannibals? With the plague ships, seems a plane full of cannibals is fair Bingo spacing?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/09/2026 19:49 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Skid, I know that on aircraft carriers they regularly do a FOD walkdown. On the other hand, a carrier is roughly 1000 feet long. A runway at an airport is typically 8000 to 16000 feet.
Refineries catch fire or explode regularly. Sometimes it is caused, often it is spontaneous.
[FoxNews] Emergency crews are responding to a New Orleans refinery after a large explosion Friday afternoon rocked the Chalmette community.
Video showed a large plume of smoke at Chalmette Refining, which processes roughly 189,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
It is unclear if there were any injuries or fatalities.
St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed there was a fire at the refinery, noting a number of road closures while emergency responders work at the scene.
"Motorists are asked to avoid the area and seek alternate routes until further notice," the agency wrote in a Facebook post. "Please use caution and allow first responders space to safely perform their duties."
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry released a statement on X noting he has been in direct contact with local officials and law enforcement on the ground.
"We are actively monitoring developments and working closely with parish leaders and first responders to ensure public safety and provide any assistance needed," Landry wrote in the post.
Chalmette Refining did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Chalmette, Louisiana, is located about five miles east of downtown New Orleans, along the Mississippi River.
At 22 Gasoline gallons per barrel.
22x 189,000 = 4,158,000 Gallons of Gas won't be made PER DAY.
Typical US Car fuel tanks are about 15 gallons = 277,200 vehicles per day.
Given that same barrel of crude oil typically also produces about 11 to 13 gallons of diesel fuel
12 x 189,000 = 2,268,000 gallons of Diesel won't be made PER DAY.
A typical CDL Long Haul Diesel truck holds 250 to 300 gallons.
Using 250 as a mid-range number
2,268,000 gallons / 250 = 45,360 trucks won't be hauling food and supplies per day.
BUT! The US Strategic Petroleum Reserves are at around 372M barrels. The economy uses about 21M barrels of oil per day. So we have about 17 days in reserves.
BUT WORRY NOT
Of course there will be the usual other refineries in still working. So the Gas prices will just jump $0.20 to $0.25 cent a gallon. And Diesel will be around $6.00 a gallon.
[YouTube] On the morning of July eleventh, nineteen forty-three, Ukrainian militias attacked ninety-nine Polish villages simultaneously. They came at dawn, while families were dressing for Sunday mass. They surrounded the villages so no one could flee. They killed men, women, children, with axes and knives so the gunfire would not give them away. By nightfall, eight thousand Poles were dead.
The killings would continue for months. Across Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, the dead would eventually number around one hundred thousand. The Germans, who occupied the territory, did not stop them. The Soviets, advancing from the east, would later call it a footnote.
This is the story of the Volhynia massacres of nineteen forty-three to forty-four — one of the largest single ethnic cleansing campaigns of the Second World War, carried out by Ukrainian nationalist militias against the Polish civilian population of what is now western Ukraine. The killings were ordered by the Bandera faction of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists. They were carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the UPA. They were aimed at the creation of an ethnically pure Ukrainian state.
In Poland, the dead of Volhynia have been remembered for decades. In June two thousand and twenty-five, the Polish parliament made July eleventh a national day of remembrance. The first exhumations of victims on Ukrainian soil, after years of dispute, began in May two thousand and twenty-five. By the Polish state's estimate, the remains of around fifty-five thousand victims are still in unmarked graves.
In Anglophone histories of the war, Volhynia is mostly absent. It is not in the textbooks. It is not in the films. The story is carried, mostly, by the Polish-Volhynian diaspora and by the people who lived it.
[MAIL] More than 100 people on a cruise ship have been sickened with norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug that can cause vomiting so severe that sufferers are left with cracked ribs.
Some 102 passengers and 13 crew members were reported sick so far on board the Caribbean Princess, the CDC said.
The ship, run by Princess Cruises, set off on April 28 and is currently in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, headed toward Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. It is scheduled to arrive at Port Canaveral, Florida, on May 11.
There are a total of 3,116 passengers and 1,131 crew members on board.
The outbreak was reported to the CDC on May 7 and the predominant symptoms, according to the health agency, were diarrhea and vomiting.
Princess Cruises and the crew have increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, collected stool specimens from sick passengers for testing, isolated sick crew and passengers and consulted with the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program.
The company said: 'We quickly disinfected every area of the ship and added extra sanitizing throughout the voyage. Upon arrival to Port Canaveral on May 11, Caribbean Princess will undergo comprehensive cleaning and disinfection before departing for her next voyage.'
Who wants to be peaceful and functional anyway, when a destructive war can be fought for no good reason instead.
NEW | The TPLF reinstated the pre-Tigray war regional government, effectively voiding the Pretoria peace agreement that ended the Tigray war and risking a potential military confrontation with the federal government.
NEW | The TPLF reinstated the pre-Tigray war regional government, effectively voiding the Pretoria peace agreement that ended the Tigray war and risking a potential military confrontation with the federal government.
The council then selected TPLF head Debretsion Gebremichael as president, who had previously deposed TIA head Getachew Reda during TPLF's first de facto coup of the TIA in March 2025.
The TPLF’s reinstatement creates a rival body to replace the Tigray Interim Administration (TIA), despite the Pretoria agreement mandating that the TIA govern until the federal government sponsors regional elections.
The TPLF’s move sets up a showdown with the federal government that could spiral into a military confrontation, as preexisting tensions have escalated into open hostilities in 2026, fueling a military standoff on Tigray’s regional border since February. The Ethiopian government responded to the reinstatement by flying fighter jets over Mekelle, the Tigray regional capital.
CNBC reports that the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the elevation of the investigation, which originally began in early 2025 following a request from French Member of Parliament Éric Bothorel. The probe centers on allegations of algorithmic manipulation designed to interfere in French politics and concerns about the spread of AI-generated deepfake content on the social network.
According to the prosecutor’s office, both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino received summons to appear before French authorities on April 20. Neither complied with the request to answer questions related to the investigation.
The investigation focuses on multiple serious allegations against X and its AI chatbot Grok. Authorities are examining complaints that X employed algorithmic manipulation to influence and interfere in French political processes. Additionally, prosecutors are investigating allegations that Musk and X knowingly permitted users of Grok to create and disseminate nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images through the platform.
#2
"Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs."
We have a law against governmental officers who violate our citizen's Constitutional rights. Let us act according to our national customs.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Cloudflare has unleashed a brutal worldwide jobs massacre - slashing more than 1,100 workers as the San Francisco tech titan races to reinvent itself for the age of artificial intelligence.
The internet security and cloud networking giant revealed the staggering layoffs on Thursday while also boasting first-quarter revenue of $639.8 million - a hefty 34 percent jump from the same time last year.
In a stark internal memo, co-founders Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn warned staff that AI had completely transformed how the company operates.
'The way we work at Cloudflare has fundamentally changed,' the pair told employees.
The bosses said the company's internal use of AI had skyrocketed by more than 600 percent in just three months as workers across engineering, HR, finance and marketing increasingly rely on automated systems.
'We don't just build and sell AI tools and platforms. We are our own most demanding customer,' they wrote.
According to the memo, employees now run 'thousands of AI agent sessions each day.'
'That means we have to be intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era,' stated the memo, obtained by Business Insider.
Cloudflare insisted the savage cuts were 'not a cost-cutting exercise' and claimed they were not linked to employee performance. Instead, executives described the bloodbath as part of a dramatic overhaul to 'reimagine every internal process, team, and role across the company.'
The company, founded in 2009, employed 5,156 full-time workers at the end of 2025 - meaning nearly one in five staff members will lose their jobs.
It remains unclear how many employees in the Bay Area will be impacted.
In another shock move, company chiefs said workers would learn their fate directly by email within an hour rather than through their managers. Executives described the cuts as a one-off purge intended to avoid 'smaller, repeated cuts' that could prolong uncertainty.
Cloudflare insisted the savage cuts were 'not a cost-cutting exercise' and claimed they were not linked to employee performance. Instead, executives described the bloodbath as part of a dramatic overhaul to 'reimagine every internal process, team, and role across the company.'
The company, founded in 2009, employed 5,156 full-time workers at the end of 2025 - meaning nearly one in five staff members will lose their jobs.
It remains unclear how many employees in the Bay Area will be impacted.
In another shock move, company chiefs said workers would learn their fate directly by email within an hour rather than through their managers. Executives described the cuts as a one-off purge intended to avoid 'smaller, repeated cuts' that could prolong uncertainty.
'We've asked the team to do this only once.'
Those leaving the company are being offered eye-watering severance deals, including full base pay through the end of 2026, continued US healthcare coverage through the end of the year and equity vesting through August 15 - even for some staff who had not yet reached normal vesting milestones.
Cloudflare said it expects to rack up between $140 million and $150 million in restructuring costs, mostly tied to severance and employee benefits, with the bulk of the hit expected in the second quarter.
The company said the sweeping shake-up should be largely complete by the end of the third quarter as it pushes to transform itself into a leaner, faster, AI-first powerhouse.
Prince - the richest resident of Utah - has been a controversial figure in his home state, after he build an 11,000-square-foot mansion in Park City. Neighbors and city planners historically opposed the project for its height, size, and disruption of the historic district. The mansion boasts three bedrooms, a pool, a 4,000-square-foot garage, and a separate 1,100-square-foot home office.
Beyond his mansion, Matthew Prince has been at the center of high-profile legal and corporate battles, ranging from neighborhood lawsuits over 'menacing' dogs to global debates on internet censorship at Cloudflare.
Earlier this week a different billionaire crypto boss told hundreds of workers they were being sacked in a blunt early morning email that warned artificial intelligence had changed work forever. Brian Armstrong, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, posted a copy of the message on social media at 6.55am on Tuesday morning.
Armstrong wrote that the company would cut 14 percent of its workforce, affecting roughly 700 people, blaming AI and the pressing need to change the company's culture. He said affected workers would receive more details by email within an hour, but Coinbase employees said their system access had already been restricted.
'I know this feels sudden and harsh,' he wrote - adding that Coinbase had made the 'difficult decision' because of its 'duty to protect customer information.'
Oracle, the software and cloud computing powerhouse founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, started cutting staff in April in what insiders described as a 'significant reduction in force.'
Workers said they were informed via early morning emails before quickly losing access to company systems.
'Today is your last working day,' read one termination notice seen by Business Insider, which told staff their roles had been eliminated as part of a 'broader organizational change.'
The $420billion company has declined to comment on the scale of the layoffs, though one employee told the BBC the cuts could reach around 10,000 roles.
[Conservative Daily News] The United States Postal Service (USPS) closed comments Monday on a proposed rule that would allow law-abiding citizens to mail firearms, reversing a 99-year-old ban.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo in April questioning the ban, citing the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, prompting the USPS to prepare new regulations, The Associated Press reported. The ban, imposed by Congress in 1927, covers "concealable" firearms.
"We conclude that the restriction imposed by section 1715 violates the Second Amendment. Section 1715 makes it difficult to travel with arms for lawful purposes, including self-defense, target shooting, and hunting," the memo says.
"The statute also imposes significant barriers to shipping constitutionally protected firearms as articles of commerce, which interferes with citizens’ incidental rights to acquire and maintain arms. Indeed, the statute ultimately aims to suppress traffic in constitutionally protected articles thus rendering the law per se unconstitutional as to those articles, and we are aware of no historical analogues that would satisfy the government’s burden of showing that this unprecedented restriction ’is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,’" the memo continues.
The USPS is now considering whether to publish the final rule after Democratic elected officials and anti-Second Amendment organizations have pushed back. The Justice Department referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to the memo when reached for comment.
Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade. Federal government employment continued to decline.
----------
other findings
Fed employment down about 350k since Oct 2024
Transportation and warehousing down 100k since early 2025
Part time employees wanting full time employment spiked 400k (but might be an aberration)
productivity increased nicely
workweek up slightly
Another jobs report, another report on shrinking the federal government.
Total employment increased by 115,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost double the market’s expectations for a gain of 62,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent.
‘Investors worried that layoff announcements from tech giants like Microsoft and Meta could mean even more widespread layoffs ahead, their fears have not been borne out by the data this time around,’ Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, told the Daily Mail.
This is the second consecutive month of better-than-expected job growth: The March report saw a revised gain of 185,000 jobs, which like April was well above the consensus view.
Wood told us the stable unemployment rate makes it even more likely for the Federal Reserve to hang tight and wait for more data before changing interest rates.
Stock markets gained ground before the open of trading thanks to the strong jobs report.
Revisions to the jobs numbers out earlier this year were mixed: The February total was revised down by 23,000 jobs to -156,000, while March was revised higher by 7,000 jobs to +185,000.
The April jobs data showed that gains were, once again, driven by the health care, which added nearly 54,000 roles. Transportation also showed strength, adding more than 30,000 jobs.
'More than half of April’s job gains came from trade, transportation and utilities,' eToro investment analyst Bret Kenwell told the Daily Mail.
'That's a reminder that the headline number was encouraging, but not necessarily broad-based,' he said
The outstanding jobs numbers come just a week after a separate report showed solid US economic growth in the first quarter - despite the Iran conflict and rising oil prices.
Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures all the goods and services produced in the economy, grew at a 2 percent annualized rate in the year to March, up sharply from the fourth quarter rate of 0.5 percent.
US economic growth in the first quarter was bolstered by strong consumer spending, a huge gain in business investment from AI and higher government spending after Congress finally resolved the longest government shutdown on record last year.
While the numbers out today are outstanding, a separate jobs report published by Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that layoffs in April rose 38 percent to 83,387, driven by technology companies cutting staff as they pivot to investment in artificial intelligence.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, AI was cited for 26 percent of all job cuts in April, with Meta, Amazon and Coinbase announcing big staff reductions. Over 119,000 tech employees have been laid off this year, with April being the third-highest month for job losses since 2009.
April's strong job growth and steady unemployment rate could prompt the Fed to turn its attention back to resurgent inflation as the conflict in the Middle East pushes prices higher.
Deeper trends behind the data suggest that as the US population ages and immigration plummets, the amount of job growth needed to keep the unemployment rate under control is also sliding - that's a point outgoing Fed chair Jerome Powell made earlier this year.
In March, Powell said that while there had been 'zero net job creation in the private sector,' that outcome may have been 'about what the economy needs in terms of dealing with very, very low -nonexistent, really - growth in the labor force, which, of course, we’ve never had in our history.'
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/09/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1767 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
FLIP TO REAL WORLD
Wife & I were at a store yesterday evening.
We saw an older 60+ female crying and shaken.
So the wife inquired to help.
The lady responded she and others were SMS Texted and told they were immediately being laid off and NOT to report to work Monday.
Naturally thinking it was a joke. The woman had called her companies HR dept to warn them about the joke text msg.
HR Rep stated it was NOT a joke.
She and number of other office workers for this company were immediately laid off.
[iO] She was making $272K a year before U.S.A.I.D was exposed.
Now Ms. Cowan is interviewing for $19 p/hr jobs.
For a managerial slot at a Penzey’s Spices shop. The owner has been driving off customers for decades because he insists on mass emailing his customer list about all of his Progressive causes. As it turns out, he just slapped his name on a copy of the family business, so by being adamantly apolitical The Spice House has been picking up his former customers. Highly recommended.
Posted by: NN2N1 ||
05/09/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1874 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#4
If she actually had any job skills, she wouldn't have a problem.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/09/2026 9:48 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Can’t she organize some Learing centers, trucking companies and home healthcare conglomerates? How does she leave government with no skill at corruption? She must have just been milking the government for a paycheck when she should have been laying the foundation for a vast criminal enterprise. Slacker. Bet she regrets binging Netflix during the workday now.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/09/2026 10:23 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Real jobs require you to produce real measurable results. It appears she may lack experience in that department.
[ZeroHedge] With just one more point on election day, the Alternative for Geprmany (AfD) is closing in on producing a political earthquake.
According to a recent poll by Infratest dimap, the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt is pushing its lead even further, now at 41 percent.
The poll also shows that for the CDU, establishing a government is becoming more difficult, especially since any realistic option besides the AfD appears to be a minority government.
There are just four months until election day, and much could change until then, but the AfD appears to be only gaining momentum, not only in the state, but also nationwide, where it just hit a record of 28 percent in the latest Insa survey.
In the “Sachsen-AnhaltTREND” survey, which was conducted by Infratest dimap on behalf of the Magdeburger Volksstimme, the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, and Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the AfD hit 41 percent. Meanwhile, its closest rival, the CDU, lost 1 percentage point compared to the previous week and sits at 26 percent.
Compared to an Infratest poll from last September, the AfD has increased its support by 2 percentage points. Following the CDU are Die Linke at 12 percent and the SPD at 7 percent.
Both the Greens and the BSW are polling at 4 percent. These two parties, along with the FDP, would currently fail to enter the state parliament. The FDP, a current member of the state government with the CDU and SPD, was not listed individually in the results because of its low figures. All other parties combined represent 6 percent of the total.
If all the current values of the other parties held, then just one point more for the AfD would allow the party to rule with an absolute majority. However, if other parties, such as the Greens, were to pass the 5 percent threshold on election day, this would complicate the math for the AfD.
In addition, a majority of respondents are unhappy with the state government, with 62 percent stating they are only slightly or not at all satisfied. Only 33 percent expressed that they are very satisfied or satisfied with the government’s performance. Furthermore, 82 percent of people have little to no confidence that the state is generally fulfilling its duties, and the same number, 82 percent, assess the current economic situation as “less than good” or “poor.”
Only 14 percent rate the economy as “very good” or “good.”
Administration officials are quietly using debt collection companies to enforce huge fines on migrants who have ignored judges’ orders to leave the United States.
Since January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has levied fines against at least 65,000 migrants for at least $36 billion. Nationwide, roughly 1.5 million migrants have been ordered home but have not left.
AZMirror reported the debt-collection notice sent to a landscaper who crossed into the United States 20 years ago:
Sanchez was already nervous about receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but nothing could prepare him for seeing the dollar amount the government said he owed them: $1,820,252.00
The Cuban landscaper, who came to the United States with his family 20 years ago, was floored. The Arizona Mirror isn’t identifying Sanchez by his full name because he fears he will be retaliated against for speaking out.
…
Sanchez’s case is one of thousands across the country where DHS is charging immigrants $998 a day for staying in the country. The fines can be levied for a maximum of five years, and that’s what’s happening to Sanchez and the others, who all have been saddled with the same $1.8 million fine.
The fines grow by roughly $1,000 per day per person.
The fines are part of the multifaceted campaign by President Donald Trump to implement the deportation mandate he was given in November 2024. The departure of the foreign economic migrants will help younger Americans win higher wages and cheaper rents, and will pressure politicians to help Americans instead of migrants.
DHS is rebutting complaints about the law.
“DHS is encouraging illegal aliens to voluntarily depart using the CBP Home app, which allows them to fly home for free and receive a $2,600 stipend, while preserving the option to return the legal, right way,” said a DHS statement. “Illegal aliens who do not depart will face fines of $1,000 per day, as well as arrest and deportation without return.”
#4
If they are illegal are they really subject to Federal fines?
Of course. Just as they are subject to arrest and jail time if they cause a traffic accident. Just because they broke the law to come and/or stay here does not mean they don’t have to obey all our other laws. Especially because they law they are being fined for breaking is the one that says they had to leave our country when they were told they were no longer allowed to stay.
[Military Times] Vilseck, Germany — The picturesque Bavarian town of Vilseck has hosted U.S. forces since the end of World War Two and could bear the brunt of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw at least 5,000 troops from Germany.
Although details of the units affected by the order have not been confirmed, the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment — the only permanent brigade combat team in Germany — based at Rose Barracks in Vilseck is expected to go.
"The consequences would be dramatic," said the town’s new mayor, Thorsten Graedler, who took office this week facing the prospect of thousands of job losses in a rural area where the base is one of the biggest employers for miles around.
Over the years, he said, the presence of the base, with its thousands of well‑paying jobs for local people and steady stream of customers for local businesses, had produced a situation of dependence whose risks were now being felt.
"Our entire town of Vilseck relies largely on the military training area for its livelihood — pubs, restaurants, garages, supermarkets," he said.
#2
But look at the bright side.
IF this location is anything like Patrick Henry Village outside of Heidelberg / Schwetzingen. It had 1,500 housing units, schools, a supermarket, sports facilities and a cinema.
There the US remodeled the Apartment complex and then turned it over to the Germans FREE at US Taxpayer expense.
#8
Got told about the 'old barracks' in Vilseck by younger son, who lived there for a while.
The building only ever had 2 tennants: the Waffen SS and the US Army. The lintels over the entrances had the German eagle carved into them, they got sandblasted repeatedly, but were still visible. In the basement laundry, the walls had painted outlines for the German WWII weapons. And the plumbing was crap. The Wehrmarck evidently didn't understand what a 'P' trap was.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/09/2026 9:46 Comments ||
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#12
#6, as much as I disagree with European Conservative, I don't always disagree with him and I value his willingness to share his point of view. It would be a very dull planet if we all agreed about everything all the time.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/09/2026 15:00 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[MAIL] More than 100 people on a cruise ship have been sickened with 
