Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the U.S. economy added 528,000 jobs while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%; Ukraine is preparing for a brutal winter and the possibility Russia will push to capture more Black Sea territories; The Republican National Committee selected Milwaukee to host its 2024 convention, and more.

National

Labor market stays red-hot, adding 528,000 jobs

Shattering expectations as recession fears grow, the U.S. economy added a whopping 528,000 jobs in July while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%.

A now-hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Highland Park, Ill., on July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Booming jobs data doesn’t lift Wall Street, which remains worried about Fed

Markets took a breather after last week’s rally, with investors worried the red-hot jobs data released Friday means the Federal Reserve will remain hawkish on interest rates.

The New York Stock Exchange on June 29, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Regional

Milwaukee selected to host 2024 Republican National Convention

The chair of the Republican National Committee announced Friday the party had selected Milwaukee to host its 2024 convention, making Wisconsin’s largest city the site of a national party convention for the second time in four years, and for only the second time ever.

Downtown Milwaukee, Wis. (Kevin Lessmiller/Courthouse News)

Texas jurors award Sandy Hook parents $45.2 million in punitive damages

After nearly five hours of deliberations, a Texas jury on Friday unanimously awarded two Sandy Hook parents $45.2 million in punitive damages against Austin-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones attempts to answer questions about his emails asked by Mark Bankston, lawyer for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, during trial at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2022. (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)

Seventh Circuit ends 50 years of federal oversight of Illinois governor’s office

Fifty years of federal oversight over the Illinois governor's employment policies ended Friday afternoon, in a ruling handed down by the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker departs the Memorial Chapel Funeral Home in Waukegan, Ill., on July 9, 2022, after visiting the family of Eduardo Uvaldo, who was killed during a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

International

Bank of England predicts stark recession as rates rise

The United Kingdom’s central bank, the Bank of England, increased the bank rate of interest by 0.5% on Thursday - the highest rate hike in 27 years – while issuing a foreboding forecast for the country’s economy.

People wait at the Bank of England in London on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Ukraine, already strained by war, braces for Russian southern offensive

After more than five months of war, Ukraine continues to fight hard against Russia's invasion, but there are signs that Kyiv's forces and political leadership are strained by serious problems as the country girds for a brutal winter and the possibility Russia will push to capture more Black Sea territories.

People stand in front of destroyed buildings after Russian shelling in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov)

Opinion

Make Russia Great Again

What Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine today bears striking resemblance to what the United States has done for years, under the rubric of the Monroe Doctrine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on July 11, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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