White House officials rush to defend Trump after shaky economic week

US trade representative says ‘the president is the president’ after firing of labor statistics chief amid slow job growth

Donald Trump administration officials fanned out on Sunday’s US political shows to defend the president’s policies after a bruising week of poor economic, trade and employment numbers that culminated with the firing of labor statistics chief Erika McEntarfer.

The US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said Trump had “real concerns” about the jobs numbers that extend beyond Friday’s report that showed the national economy added 73,000 jobs in July, far below expectations. Job growth numbers were revised down by 285,000 for the two previous months as well.

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Senate confirms Trump ally Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor for DC

Former Fox News host boosted lies that Trump lost 2020 election because of electoral fraud

The US Senate has confirmed Jeanine Pirro – a former Fox News host and staunch Donald Trump ally who boosted lies that he lost the 2020 presidential race because of electoral fraudsters – as the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital.

Pirro – a former New York state district attorney and county judge who joined Fox News in 2011 – was confirmed on Saturday in a 50-45 vote along party lines.

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Police continue to search for Montana gunman who killed four people in a bar

Law enforcement were looking for 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, a US army veteran who lived in Anaconda

Authorities continued to search Saturday afternoon for the man accused of killing four people at a Montana bar.

Local, state and federal law enforcement were looking for 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, a US army veteran who lived in a small town, Anaconda, next to The Owl Bar, where on Friday morning he allegedly opened fire and killed a bartender and three patrons.

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Federal agency opens inquiry into ex-special counsel Jack Smith over Trump investigations

Smith led investigations into Trump’s part in the January 6 Capitol attack and the mishandling of classified documents

The US office of special counsel, an independent federal agency, confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that it is investigating former Department of Justice prosecutor Jack Smith for possible violations of the Hatch Act.

Smith led investigations into Donald Trump’s part in January 6 US Capitol riot and alleged mishandling of classified documents.

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Forged signatures listed on New York City mayor’s re-election campaign petition – report

More than 50 signatures were revealed to be fraudulent on Eric Adams’ petition to run as an independent in election

More than 50 signatures on New York mayor Eric Adams’ petition to run as an independent candidate in November’s election are fraudulent, according to a report published on Friday.

The Gothamist said it had found 52 signatures from people who said their names were forged, including signatures of three people who turned out to be dead. The publication cited others who said they were deceived into signing the petitions.

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Forged signatures listed on New York City mayor’s re-election campaign petition – report

More than 50 signatures were revealed to be fraudulent on Eric Adams’ petition to run as an independent in election

More than 50 signatures on New York mayor Eric Adams’ petition to run as an independent candidate in November’s election are fraudulent, according to a report published on Friday.

The Gothamist said it had found 52 signatures from people who said their names were forged, including signatures of three people who turned out to be dead. The publication cited others who said they were deceived into signing the petitions.

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Man allegedly hijacks transport cart at Buffalo airport and destroys moving walkways

Kevin Sinning was charged with criminal mischief and larceny after allegedly driving cart over walkways while drunk

A man commandeered a transportation cart at New York’s Buffalo Niagara international airport and destroyed moving walkways with it at the facility, according to authorities investigating the unusual incident.

Kevin J Sinning, 29, of Wyoming, faces charges of second-degree criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, criminal nuisance, third-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property worth more than $3,000 after his arrest at about 1am on 28 July, the Niagara frontier transportation authority police department said.

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Man allegedly hijacks transport cart at Buffalo airport and destroys moving walkways

Kevin Simmons was charged criminal mischief and larceny after allegedly driving cart over walkways while drunk

A man commandeered a transportation cart at New York’s Buffalo Niagara international airport and destroyed moving walkways with it at the facility, according to authorities investigating the unusual incident.

Kevin J Sinning, 29, of Wyoming, faces charges of second-degree criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, criminal nuisance, third-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property worth more than $3,000 after his arrest at about 1am on 28 July, the Niagara frontier transportation authority police department said.

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Republicans slam Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics chief

President claimed that recently released figures showing jobs slowdown were ‘rigged’ to make him look bad

Senior Republican lawmakers are condemning the decision of their party leader, Donald Trump, to fire the leading US labor market statistician after a report that showed the national economy added just 73,000 jobs – far fewer than expected – in July.

The disappointing figures – coupled with a downward revision of the two previous months amounting to 258,000 fewer jobs and data showing that economic output and consumer spending slowed in the first half of the year – point to an overall economic deterioration in the US.

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Republicans slam Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics chief

President claimed that recently released figures showing jobs slowdown were ‘rigged’ to make him look bad

Senior Republican lawmakers are condemning the decision of their party leader, Donald Trump, to fire the leading US labor market statistician after a report that showed the national economy added just 73,000 jobs – far fewer than expected – in July.

The disappointing figures – coupled with a downward revision of the two previous months amounting to 258,000 fewer jobs and data showing that economic output and consumer spending slowed in the first half of the year – point to an overall economic deterioration in the US.

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Trump says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s past comments make pardoning him ‘more difficult’

They partied together and called each other friends in the past, but in 2020 Combs said Trump should be ‘banished’

Donald Trump says he considers Sean '“Diddy” Combs “sort of half-innocent” despite his criminal conviction in federal court in July – but the president called pardoning the music mogul “more difficult” because of past criticism.

Trump spoke about Combs during an interview on Friday night on the friendly environs of Newsmax. Combs was found guilty on 2 July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, with each leaving him facing up to 10 years in prison – but he was acquitted of more serious sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.

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Trump says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s past comments make pardoning him ‘more difficult’

They partied together and called each other friends in the past, but in 2020 Combs said Trump should be ‘banished’

Donald Trump says he considers Sean '“Diddy” Combs “sort of half-innocent” despite his criminal conviction in federal court in July – but the president called pardoning the music mogul “more difficult” because of past criticism.

Trump spoke about Combs during an interview on Friday night on the friendly environs of Newsmax. Combs was found guilty on 2 July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, with each leaving him facing up to 10 years in prison – but he was acquitted of more serious sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.

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Durham disclosures further undermine Gabbard’s claims of plot against Trump

Declassified document contains deflating conclusion for DNI director that Russian spies were behind key 2016 emails

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US national intelligence, hoped to uncover evidence that Barack Obama and his national security team conspired to undermine Donald Trump in a slow-motion coup.

But if her crusade was aimed at proving that Obama embarked on a “treasonous conspiracy” to falsely show that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump, Gabbard made a mistake. A previously classified annexe to a report by another special counsel, John Durham – appointed towards the end of Trump’s first presidency – has further undermined Gabbard’s case.

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Durham disclosures further undermine Gabbard’s claims of plot against Trump

Declassified document contains deflating conclusion for DNI director that Russian spies were behind key 2016 emails

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US national intelligence, hoped to uncover evidence that Barack Obama and his national security team conspired to undermine Donald Trump in a slow-motion coup.

But if her crusade was aimed at proving that Obama embarked on a “treasonous conspiracy” to falsely show that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump, Gabbard made a mistake. A previously classified annexe to a report by another special counsel, John Durham – appointed towards the end of Trump’s first presidency – has further undermined Gabbard’s case.

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India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

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India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

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India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

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Trump moves nuclear submarines after ex-Russia president’s menacing tweet

Order comes after president’s anger at tweet from Dmitry Medvedev which called Trump’s threat to sanction Russia over Ukraine a ‘step towards war’

Donald Trump has said that he has deployed nuclear-capable submarines to the “appropriate regions” in response to a threatening tweet by Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev, suggesting that he would be ready to launch a nuclear strike as tensions rise over the war in Ukraine.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote that he had decided to reposition the nuclear submarines because of “highly provocative statements” by Medvedev, noting he was now the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council.

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Musk’s X must face claim of negligence over child abuse images, judge rules

Court revives part of lawsuit accusing X of failing to promptly report uploaded images to relevant authorities

A federal appeals court on Friday revived part of a lawsuit accusing Elon Musk’s X of becoming a haven for child exploitation, though the court said the platform deserves broad immunity from claims over objectionable content.

While rejecting some claims, the ninth US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco said X, formerly Twitter, must face a claim it was negligent by failing to promptly report a video containing explicit images of two underage boys to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

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Four killed in Montana bar shooting that is US’s ninth mass murder of 2025

Manhunt for suspect who lived nextdoor to bar where shooting occurred on Friday morning at about 10.30am

Four people were killed on Friday in a shooting at a Montana bar, prompting a lockdown in a neighborhood several miles away as authorities searched a wooded area for a suspect in the case.

The shooting brought the number of mass murders so far this year in the US to nine, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-partisan resource which defines such cases as killings in which four or more victims are killed.

Associated Press contributed reporting

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