Scott

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The US job market added 517,000 jobs in January, a huge gain for the labor market even as the Federal Reserve has pushed up interest rates to bring down inflation and try to temper hiring. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has held relatively steady at 3.4% – a 0.1% decrease compared to last month. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise slightly last month, but the rate still remains on par with what was seen before the pandemic. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/03/us-jobs-report-january-2023-unemployment-rate

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Post reported and removed: 16. The Bangkok Post, Khaosod, Pattaya Mail, Phuket News and the Thaiger do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on ASEAN NOW. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to the Bangkok Post, Khaosod, Pattaya Mail, Phuket News and the Thaiger publications will be deleted from the forum. These restrictions are put in place by the above publications, not by ASEAN NOW. In rare cases, forum administrators or the news team may use these sources under special permission.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A “high chance” of a mass shooting in Hollywood has been thwarted by police seizing a cache of guns and ammunition in a high-rise apartment where several rifles were pointed toward a nearby park, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Braxton Johnson was taken into custody Tuesday after he allegedly made violent threats involving weapons to security staff at the apartment building and people outside, the agency said Wednesday. Police searched Johnson’s apartment and found two assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines, all of which are illegal in California, as well as three handguns, a sniper rifle, a shotgun and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/high-chance-of-mass-shooting-in-hollywood-was-prevented-police-say

CNN — A small family-run business that employed one of the purported leaders of a White supremacist, pro-Nazi homeschooling network announced he is no longer an employee as a result of “this disturbing and secretive behavior.” The Lawrence Insurance Agency, with an office in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, released a statement condemning the messages and so-called lessons that have come to light from the social media-based homeschooling network. “The viewpoints & ideology recently expressed by Logan Lawrence and his wife in no way represent the values of Lawrence Insurance Agency,” the statement said. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/us/ohio-white-supremacist-homeschooling-network-employment

The chief financial officer of Alex Murdaugh’s former law firm testified in his double murder trial Thursday about confronting the now-disbarred attorney about missing funds the morning his wife and son were killed, as prosecutors work to convince the judge to allow testimony about Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes. The testimony of Jeanne Seckinger, CFO of the firm formerly known as PMPED, was heard Thursday morning without the jury present as Judge Clifton Newman weighs whether to allow the admission of evidence about Murdaugh’s purported schemes, for which he faces 99 charges separate from the murder case. Prosecutors indicated in pretrial filings they believed Murdaugh killed his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and his 22-year-old son Paul Murdaugh to distract attention from those alleged crimes, which the state contends were about to come to light when they were killed on June 7, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/us/alex-murdaugh-trial-thursday/index.html

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States, a senior defense official said on Thursday. The Pentagon has been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said. “We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People’s Republic of China],” a senior defense official said. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/politics/us-tracking-china-spy-balloon/index.html

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It's a conspiracy because you do not back up your claim with a credible link.

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Republicans have ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from her committee post in a sign of escalating tensions in the US Congress. They voted to remove Ms Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments about Israel. Republicans said the move sent a strong statement against antisemitism. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/politics/house-vote-ilhan-omar-committees/index.html

Dangerous wind chills as cold as 50 degrees below zero will blast the Northeast while parts of the South struggle to thaw from a deadly ice storm. The mind-numbing wind chills set to wallop New England “could be the coldest felt in decades,” the Weather Prediction Center said. More than 15 million people are under wind chill warnings or advisories in the Northeast. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/weather/winter-storm-south-northeast-us/index.html

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More than half of schools in England either restricted attendance or closed during teacher strikes on Wednesday, government data suggested. Teachers in England and Wales were among thousands of workers taking action during what was said to be the biggest strike day for a decade. University staff, train drivers, bus drivers and civil servants separately walked out. https://www.bbc.com/news/education-64406520

Tyre Nichols' family gathered in Memphis, Tennessee, for his funeral, weeks after the 29-year-old died following a violent encounter with Memphis police caught on body camera. Graphic footage of the Jan. 7 traffic stop, which showed officers beating Nichols, was released to the public on Friday and sparked nationwide outrage. Nichols, a young father who loved skateboarding, died on Jan. 10, after spending three days in a hospital. Five officers involved in the incident have since been fired and charged with several felonies, including second-degree murder. https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/tyre-nichols-funeral/?id=96788715

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was raising its short-term borrowing rate another 0.25%, the central bank's second consecutive decision to slow rate increases while extending an effort to cool the economy and dial back inflation. The Fed has put forward a string of borrowing cost increases as it tries to slash price hikes by slowing the economy and choking off demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the U.S. economy into a recession and putting millions out of work. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/fed-expected-raise-interest-rate-amid-recession-fears/story?id=96762635

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House Democrats pushed Republicans to clarify the implications of a new bill that would denounce the “horrors of socialism” and socialist policies, expressing concern that it may include Medicare and Social Security benefits. The House Rules Committee met Tuesday to discuss the resolution, proposed on Jan. 25 by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). Democrats, including the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), urged GOP lawmakers to specify the meaning of opposing “socialist policies.” https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3838607-dems-press-gop-on-whether-anti-socialist-bill-could-hit-medicare-social-security/

Gautam Adani looks set to cede his position as Asia’s richest man to another Indian billionaire as shares in his business empire continue to plunge following fraud allegations leveled by an American short seller. In an investigation published last Tuesday, Hindenburg Research accused Adani’s ports-to-power group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.” Adani Group denounced the report as “baseless” and “malicious,” and has said it is considering legal action, but the market reaction has been brutal and relentless. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/01/business/adani-stocks-plunge-hindenburg-fraud-hnk-intl/index.html