Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some really pressing stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
Protests in Chicago turn violent, revised figures show U.S. jobs growth is lower than previously reported, and consumer spending may be slowing down. Also, former President Donald Trump says he’d consider having a current presidential opponent in his administration, and U.S. lawmakers want answers regarding American companies that conduct clinical trials with the Chinese military.
DNC Protests in Chicago Turn Violent Outside Israeli Consulate
Tuesday’s demonstration, which was organized by the group Behind Enemy Lines, marks an escalation in the agitation between mainstream Democrats and pro-Palestinian activists.In the hours leading to the violence, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Accenture Tower, which houses the Israeli consulate. Chants of “intifada,” which is an Arabic word for rebellion or uprising, were heard, along with chants of “The whole world is watching!” That’s a reference to the anti-war protests outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which was also held in Chicago. Many protesters were wearing keffiyehs, masks, or other face coverings.
Around 8:30 p.m. ET, the crowd of demonstrators backed a line of reporters to a wall of police at the corner of Madison and Clinton Streets, and then violence broke out. Bodies hit the pavement, and some protesters were quickly detained.
Once the crowd was pushed back, the Chicago Police Department established a security perimeter, and about a half hour after the initial outbreak of violence, police officers ordered the crowd to disperse. However, the crowd stood down and while they tried to get closer to the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was taking place, the police blocked them and prevented them from getting inside.
By the way, Tuesday night’s demonstrations followed protests on Monday, when demonstrators breached fencing in a park near the DNC venue. This led to more fencing being put up, and you should know that additional protests are expected tonight.
US Job Creation Revised Down by 818,000
The U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs—or 30 percent less—from April 2023 to March 2024 than the BLS previously reported. This represents the largest downward revision to payrolls since the global financial crisis.The updated numbers were a part of the Department of Labor’s annual benchmark revisions to the payroll data. The BLS adjusts employment data annually in order to make the payroll figures more accurate.
According to federal statistics, the downward adjustments were seen in 8 of the 11 industries, led by professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and trade, transportation, and utilities.
The three sectors that experienced upward changes were private education and health services, something called other services, and government.
In addressing these noticeable job revisions, the Labor Department says that businesses might have experienced changes that were not initially confirmed to statisticians. Meanwhile, various other government numbers have indicated that the employment gains reported in recent years have been exaggerated.
For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that by using the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data, the BLS had overstated job creation by as much as 1.1 million from March 2022 to June 2022. Instead, the Philly Fed highlighted that only 10,500 net new jobs had been added during this period.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government could be on track for another set of downward revisions in the coming year. In just the first six months of 2024, the jobs data was revised down by nearly 300,000. You should know that the January 2025 Employment Situation report will include the final benchmark revision.
Macy’s and Target Give Cautious Sales Forecasts, Suggesting Consumer Spending Slowdown
Macy’s and Target have both released cautious sales forecasts for the year, signaling a possible softening in the all-important consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic output.In its second-quarter earnings report released yesterday, Macy’s slashed its full-year sales forecast, saying that shoppers were more picky with their purchases, and the company had to offer more discounts to get people to buy. Macy’s is now expecting up to $22.4 billion in sales for 2024, compared with its previous estimate of up to $22.9 billion in sales.
That same report also showed that the retailer posted a 3.8 percent year-over-year decline in net sales.
Target, another measure of U.S. retail sales, posted relatively strong quarterly earnings and sales numbers yesterday, although it also aligns with Macy’s view that consumer spending may be set for a slowdown in the second half of the year.
In its second-quarter earnings report, Target posted forecast-beating revenues of $25.42 billion, up by around 2.6 percent year over year.
By the way, Macy’s and Target’s views on their respective sales outlooks are right in line with that of Home Depot, another consumer spending bellwether. In its second-quarter report, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer cited “continued uncertainty around consumer demand” in cutting its full-year comp sales forecast from an earlier 1 percent decline to as much as a 4 percent decline.
Interesting to note, concerns about a slowdown in consumer spending align with a recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which shows that household spending expectations have fallen to their lowest level since April 2021.
Trump Says He’d Consider Role for RFK Jr. in His Administration
On Tuesday night, Trump suggested that he’s open to giving independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a position in his administration.Earlier this week, Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan told a podcaster that the campaign is facing a number of hurdles and presented two options: consider dropping out of the race and “join forces” with Trump, or create their own political party. She also told the podcaster that Trump had taken an interest in their health care policies, making it worth exploring “a unity party.”
You should also know that Trump has been after Kennedy’s support, according to a leaked phone call from last month.
Initially, Kennedy planned to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination, but switched to run as an independent. Biden, as you know, later dropped out and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
By the way, Kennedy, who appeared to make reference to the Shanahan interview, said that he’s willing to talk with leaders of any political party to further his campaign goals, which include reversing the chronic disease epidemic, ending the war machine, protecting freedom of speech, and ending the politicizing of enforcement agencies.
Interesting to note, Shanahan, an entrepreneur and attorney, says their team has never been in talks with Harris.
US Lawmakers Call on FDA to Investigate US Clinical Trials That Partner With Chinese Military
In a letter sent earlier this week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers asks the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that American clinical trials are not aiding genocide by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It also says the United States needs the FDA to take on a greater role in protecting U.S. national security interests.The lawmakers are asking FDA Commissioner Robert Califf for answers and a potential investigation. Their request targets the website clinicaltrials.gov, which shows that over the past decade through today, U.S. biopharmaceutical companies have done hundreds of clinical trials where they partnered with at least one Chinese military entity.
Some of these trials are done in China’s Xinjiang region, where the CCP persecutes Uyghurs in reeducation and labor camps, and also subjects them to torture, sexual violence, forced medical treatments, and death.
The congressional members also said in the letter that U.S. companies may be “unintentionally profiting from the data derived from clinical trials during which the CCP forced victim patients to participate.”
They also said there is a national security issue involved, since those trials produce sensitive and proprietary data. This raises serious concerns that critical intellectual property is at risk of being transferred to the People’s Liberation Army or being co-opted under China’s national security law.
You should know that the FDA commissioner has the authority to request and analyze data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States.
By the way, the lawmakers want answers by Oct. 1 as to whether the FDA has inspected these clinical trial sites at Chinese military facilities and whether the agency has ever been denied access to any of these trial sites.
They also want to know the average cost of these China-based trials, and if FDA regulations are in place to ensure that these trials meet ethical and safety standards, as well as prevent intellectual property and technology transfer risks.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
Thanks for checking out the program today, and next time you drop in for a listen, please share the program with some folks you know because the News Brief is best when shared with friends and family.
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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from the great poet Robert Frost, who said: “A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age.”
My dear friend and colleague Rachel has a birthday today, but being a diplomat, I won’t inquire as to her age. I’ll guess, but I won’t ask.
Before we go, today is National Be an Angel Day, a day that encourages good deeds and kindness to others.
Today is also National Burger Day. A BBQed burger with bacon, onions, cheese, and avocado, hot off the grill in the middle of summer, just can’t be beat.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your Thursday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, and have an absolutely superb day today! Bye for now.
