US employers add 528,000 jobs; unemployment falls to 3.5%

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying anxiety about a possible recession and raging inflation, America’s employers added a surprising 528,000 jobs last month, restoring all the jobs lost in the coronavirus recession as the country’s hiring boom continued. Unemployment fell to 3.5%, lowest since the pandemic struck in early 2020. July’s job creation was up from 398,000 in June.  The American job market has repeatedly defied skeptics this year. Economists had expected only 250,000 new jobs in July.

China halts climate, military ties over Pelosi Taiwan visit

WASHINGTON (AP) — China says it is canceling or suspending dialogue with the U.S. on a range of issues from climate change to military relations and anti-narcotics efforts in retaliation for a visit this week to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The measures announced Friday are the latest in a promised series of steps intended to punish Washington for allowing the visit to the island claimed by Beijing as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. China is holding threatening military exercises off the coast of the island republic. The White House summoned China’s ambassador in Washington to protest what it called China’s “irresponsible” actions since Pelosi's visit.

Democrats say they've reached agreement on economic package

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats say they have reached an accord on changes to their marquee economic legislation, clearing the major hurdle to pushing one of President Joe Biden’s leading election-year priorities through the chamber in coming days. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a centrist who was seen as the pivotal vote, says she is ready to “move forward” on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York says lawmakers have achieved a compromise that will receive the support of all Democrats in the chamber. His party needs unanimity and Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote to move the measure through the Senate over certain solid opposition from Republicans.

Kentucky flood survivors turn to grim task: Burying the dead

CHAVIES, Ky. (AP) — Angel Campbell should have been looking through photo albums and eating soup beans in her grandmother's living room this week. Now the living room is gone and so is her grandmother. At least 37 people died as massive floods roared through Appalachian communities of eastern Kentucky last week. Funeral homes have settled into a steady cadence of visitations and memorials, one after another. They press on with the grim work of recovering and burying the dead even as more rain falls. One survivor says they may not have much money, but they're rich in friendship and family, and that's what's important.

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 9, including senior militant

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed at least nine people, including a senior militant, and wounded 55 others. Israel says it is responding to an “imminent threat” after days of tensions following the arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad leader in the occupied West Bank. Israel had closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to the border as it braced for a revenge attack. An Islamic Jihad commander was among those killed Friday, raising the likelihood of a wider conflict. Israel and the Hamas militant group ruling Gaza have fought four wars and several smaller battles over the last 15 years.

Economist: Alex Jones, his company worth up to $270 million

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An economist says conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company Free Speech Systems are worth up to $270 million. The testimony came Friday in front of a jury trying to determine if Jones should have to pay punitive damages to the family of a 6-year-old killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The same jury already ordered Jones to pay Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis $4.1 million in compensation for defamation. Their attorney asked jurors Friday to award another $145.9 million. Jones' lawyers said less than $300,000 would be fair. Economist Bernard Pettingill, whom the plaintiffs hired to study Jones’ net worth, says records show Jones withdrew $62 million for himself last year.

Republicans pick Milwaukee to host 2024 national convention

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans have unanimously chosen Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin to host the 2024 national convention, beating out Nashville in deep-red Tennessee. The decision, announced at the Republican National Committee’s summer meeting on Friday in Chicago, follows months of wrangling by both states to land the convention where the party’s next presidential candidate will be officially nominated. Milwaukee was selected by Democrats to host the 2020 convention, but that moved almost entirely online due to the coronavirus pandemic. The city used its preparations for that convention to argue to Republicans that it had a “turnkey” operation ready to host for real in 2024.

Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen

BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — The Associated Press has obtained nearly 12,000 pages of sealed records from a child sex abuse lawsuit against the Mormon church. The documents offer the most detailed and comprehensive look yet at the church's so-called “help line” for dealing with child sex abuse accusations against officials and members. Families of survivors who filed the lawsuit said they show it’s part of a system that can easily be misused by church leaders to divert abuse accusations away from law enforcement and instead to church attorneys who may bury the problem, leaving victims in harm’s way. One victim was 5 when her father told his bishop that he was sexually abusing her. The abuse went on for seven more years, while the bishop failed to report it to authorities.

Amazon to buy vacuum maker iRobot for roughly $1.7B

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon on Friday announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for approximately $1.7 billion. It's a move that will allow Amazon to scoop up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances amid broader concerns about its market power. iRobot sells its products worldwide and is most famous for the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum. Amazon says it will acquire the company for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction that will include iRobot’s net debt. The deal is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators. Upon completion, iRobot’s CEO, Colin Angle, will remain in his position.

NCAA hoops leagues grapple with unequal pay for women's refs

The NCAA earned praise last year when it agreed to pay referees at its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments equally. The gesture only cost about $100,000, a tiny fraction of the roughly $900 million networks pay annually to broadcast March Madness. Now, as the NCAA examines various disparities across men’s and women’s sports, pressure is rising to also pay referees equally during the regular season. Two Division 1 conferences told The Associated Press they plan to equalize pay, and another is considering it. Others are resisting change, even though the impact on their budgets would be negligible.

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