Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including California’s affair with outdoor dining and drinking will continue long after the pandemic; Job market growth fell well short of expectations; Former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge to order Facebook to reinstate his account, and more.

National

Capitol rioters increasingly going it alone, rebuffing counsel

Judges and standby counsel in Jan. 6 cases strongly discourage a pro se defense, with experts noting that the prosecution nearly always wins, and it is a logistical nightmare — especially from jail.

A federal complaint against Capitol rioter Brian Mock shows this still from police-worn body camera footage showing Mock shoving a police officer to the ground at the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6. (Image via Courthouse News)

Hiring slows sharply as economy adds just 194,000 jobs

A surge in coronavirus cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant continued to take a toll on the U.S. economy last month, as employers added only 194,000 new jobs.

A shopper passes a now-hiring sign while entering a retail store in Morton Grove, Ill., on July 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Debt ceiling deferred, Wall Street focuses on deflating jobs report

Multiple headwinds have been working against Wall Street, from the debt-ceiling quagmire to lukewarm jobs reports, but investors were able to sail steadily through into positive gains.

American flags hang outside of the New York Stock Exchange. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Trump asks judge to restore Facebook account while court case plays out

Former President Donald Trump asked a Florida federal judge to order Facebook to reinstate his account, claiming that he will suffer irreparable harm if he remains cut off from the platform while his legal battle over his suspension plays out.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during his Save America rally in Perry, Ga., Sept. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Prison ordered for Capitol rioter caught on film shoving police

A Jan. 6 defendant whose sentencing was delayed by the discovery of video that showed him in an altercation with a police officer failed to avoid prison time at a marathon hearing Friday where he delivered a tearful apology.

This still posted online Aug. 18 shows Robert Reeder shoving a police officer in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The footage caused a federal judge to delay sentencing the Maryland man for a misdemeanor related to riot. (Image courtesy of Sedition Hunters via Courthouse News)

Regional

Abortion and the high court: Kentucky first up in a growing movement

The Supreme Court will hear arguments from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron as he attempts to intervene on behalf of an ostensible ban against second-trimester abortions now that the state has disavowed the law in a newly Democratic administration.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaks during a Sept. 23, 2020, news conference in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, file)

California’s experiment with outdoor dining and drinking will outlast the pandemic

Picnic benches, patios, plastic cups and pop-up bars: California’s affair with outdoor dining and drinking will continue long after the pandemic under legislation signed Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Kupros Craft House in midtown Sacramento has survived the pandemic through its popular patio dining options, including this deck which the city approved in 2020. (Nick Cahill/Courthouse News)

Opinion

Face the music and cringe

Nobody needs Facebook except Mark Zuckerberg. If people with no desperate need for attention use Reply All instead of that reptilian-brain moneysuck, we’d all be better off.

The icons of Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp are seen on an iPhone. (Martin Meissner/AP)

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