Trump firing of labor statistics chief ‘undermines credibility’, ex-leaders say
The former Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioners and non-partisan economic groups have criticized Donald Trump’s shock firing of BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the July jobs report data revealed jobs growth stalled this summer,Trump, without any evidence to back his claims, alleged McEntarfer “faked” employment numbers in the run-up to the 2024 election to boost Kamala Harris’s chances and said that the recent data was “rigged” to make Trump and Republicans look bad,The Trump administration has continued to repeat the allegations,The National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, a Trump appointee, has claimed “all over the US government, there have been people who have been resisting Trump everywhere they can,” in justifying the firing,Friends of BLS, a group chaired by former BLS commissioners Erica Groshen, an Obama appointee, and William Beach, Trump’s appointee during his first term, strongly criticized the firing of McEntarfer, Trump’s allegations, and called on Congress to act.
“We call on Congress to respond immediately, to investigate the factors that led to Commissioner McEntarfer’s removal, to strongly urge the Commissioner’s continued service, and ensure that the nonpartisan integrity of the position is retained,” Friends of BLS wrote in a statement.“This rationale for firing Dr McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers.”The Association of Public Data Users, the National Association for Business Economics and the American Economic Association also criticized the firing.“Under the law, disliking the data is not a qualifying reason to remove the BLS Commissioner from her four-year appointment.Under our democracy, it is unacceptable to fire someone for publishing data collected in accordance with scientific standards,” the Association of Public Data Users said in a statement, echoing the call for Congress “to respond immediately, to investigate the factors that led to Commissioner McEntarfer’s removal, to strongly urge the BLS Commissioner’s continued service, and ensure that the nonpartisan integrity of the position is retained.
”Beach added in a social media post: “the totally groundless firing of Dr.Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.”Beach was nominated by Trump as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2017, was confirmed by the Senate in 2019 and served a full four year term until 2023.In an email, former BLS commissioner Kathleen Utgoff, who was appointed and served under the George W Bush administration, told the Guardian: “A functioning democracy requires accurate data so that workers, businesses, politicians and voters can make good decisions.I was at the BLS after the Iraq war.
Many people asked me how to create something like the BLS there.They could not move forward without data on the state of the economy.”Republican US senators Rand Paul, Thom Tillis, Cynthia Lummis have also questioned the rationale behind Trump’s firing of BLS commissioner McEntarfer.The last jobs report issued by BLS before the presidential election in November 2024 showed the US only added 12,000 jobs in October 2024, the slowest growth since 2020.
‘The Earl of Sandwich is rolling in his grave’: Tesco’s birthday cake sandwich divides opinion
Tesco has launched a birthday cake sandwich, complete with strawberry jam, soft cheese, vanilla frosting and sprinkles – but the candle isn’t included.The limited-edition sandwich, between slices of brioche-style white bread, contains 31.g of sugar – 35% of an adult’s recommended daily intake – and will be on sale for £3 at 1,000 stores for four weeks.Videos of people trying out the sandwich have attracted tens of thousands of views on TikTok over the past 24 hours.Some Tesco customers expressed scepticism on Reddit
Ofwat chief executive to step down ahead of regulator’s abolition
The chief executive of Ofwat is to step down at the end of the month, after the government announced the abolition of the water regulator for England and Wales.David Black has been in the role for four years, and will leave amid intense scrutiny of water companies and their regulators.Ofwat said the government will appoint a new interim chief executive before its abolition.The regulation of the English and Welsh water industry has become a key political issue in recent years, including during last year’s general election, amid a wave of anger over sewage spilling into Britain’s rivers and seas.Black’s decision comes as the government and the environment secretary, Steve Reed, prepare for what they have billed as the biggest overhaul of water regulation since the industry was privatised in 1989
Tech’s trillion-dollar binge, Palantir’s empire and women’s privacy under attack
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. This week, tech companies are spending amounts of money that stretch the limits of the imagination. Donald Trump’s administration is spending more money with data analytics and surveillance firm Palantir. And women on both sides of the Pacific face the extreme difficulty of keeping intimate moments private online.In last week’s edition of the newsletter, my colleagues wrote about the upshot of Google’s earnings call: lots of money earned, but, more importantly lots of money spent on AI
Tesla shareholders sue Elon Musk for allegedly hyping up faltering Robotaxi
Tesla shareholders sued Elon Musk and the electric vehicle maker for allegedly concealing the significant risk posed by company’s self-driving vehicles.The proposed class-action suit, which accuses Musk and Tesla of securities fraud, was filed on Monday night. Tesla conducted its first public test of its self-driving taxis in late June near the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. That test showed the vehicles speeding, braking suddenly, driving over a curb, entering the wrong lane and dropping off passengers in the middle of multilane roads. The National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA), the main transportation regulator in the US, is investigating the Robotaxi’s pilot test
Next up, the Ashes – and England will need Ben Stokes at his all-round best | Ali Martin
The England-India epic that ended up like two weary prizefighters trading blows will live long in the memory – a 2‑2 classic for which the players on both sides deserve immense credit. Not that Mohammed Siraj, still hitting 90mph on the speed gun on the 25th day, showed weariness. If anything, he could well hold the key to solving the world’s energy problems.Plaudits in particular go to three men who stepped up bravely when other sports would have simply subbed them off: Shoaib Bashir bowled with a broken left hand at Lord’s; Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot at Old Trafford; and then Chris Woakes, Horatio Nelson armed with a Gray-Nicolls, followed him in folklore at the Oval. Don’t be fooled by the white flannels and the stoppages for tea – Test cricket is a brutal sport
Trump to announce White House taskforce for 2028 LA Olympics
Donald Trump is expected to announce on Tuesday that he will create a White House taskforce to oversee elements of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.The president is set to sign an executive order establishing the taskforce, which will include cabinet members and government officials and will handle security and transportation on the first games in the US in nearly three decades. The announcement comes after a summer of political clashes between the administration and Los Angeles leaders.“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The president considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement
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