Feds Charge Charlotte Suspect, Biggest Jobs Revision Ever Exposes Real Biden Economy： AM Update 9⧸10
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Summary
The FBI files a murder charge against the suspect accused of killing a young woman in cold blood on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. The full video is out, and it is horrifying. New York City mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani endorses a plan making it harder for police to track gang activity. Job growth was vastly weaker during the Biden administration than ever previously reported. The biggest annual jobs revision in history, revealing President Trump came into office with a much weaker economy than previously known.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Wednesday, September 10th, 2025, and this is
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your AM update. We have to be vicious just like they are. It's the only thing they understand.
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The Fed's filing a murder charge against the suspect accused of slaying a young woman in cold blood
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on a Charlotte, North Carolina light rail train. The full video is out, and it is
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horrifying. New York City mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani endorses a plan making it harder for
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police to track gang activity. Job growth was vastly weaker during the Biden administration than ever
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previously reported. Job growth was actually overstated by approximately 2 million jobs.
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The biggest annual jobs revision in history, revealing President Trump came into office with a much weaker
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economy than previously known. And wait until you hear how AOC spends her small dollar donations.
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
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Department of Justice officials on Tuesday announcing a federal charge against the man
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accused of murdering 23-year-old Irena Zarutska on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina
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in late August. Carlos Brown Jr., who we allege stabbed Irena Zarutska, is in state custody on
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first-degree murder charges. But I'm here today to announce that we're going to supplement those
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state charges with federal charges. These federal charges will go alongside the murder case in state
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court. And we hope that they will ensure justice for Irena, for her family, and for the whole
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Charlotte community. The charge we are bringing is in Title 18, which is the criminal code. It's
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Section 1992A7, which is the law that Congress passed really for this situation. It is an act of
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violence on a mass transportation system. The charge is one count of committing an act causing
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a death on a mass transit system. The maximum penalty is life without parole or capital punishment.
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U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson saying prosecutors may bring more charges in the future, including
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potential civil rights violations. This, as newly released security camera footage, appears to show
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the suspect, a black man, saying what sounds like, quote, I got that white girl. A second voice appears
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to add, I think you stabbed a girl. Though further clarification from police is needed to be certain
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exactly who said what. The tape is deeply disturbing, not for its gore, but for Irena's vulnerability,
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her clear shock, and her apparent horror as we watch her struggling to make sense of what just happened to
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her. The assailant, who is seated behind her on the light rail train, stands up out of nowhere and
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stabs her quickly and repeatedly with a pocket knife, including in her neck. He pulls back, done with the
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attack, and she is now cowering, still conscious, legs pulled up and held to her chest, in a defensive
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position. She is looking up at her attacker in sheer terror. She looks down at her own body, almost as if
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checking to see if and where she is injured. It is chilling and hard to watch, as the viewer knows
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she's dying. She first covers her mouth, as if in horror, then her eyes, as she appears to be either
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crying or about to. Her hands alternate between covering her eyes and her mouth. Again, she appears
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confused. After about 15 seconds, she collapses over to her left side and down, off of her seat,
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succumbing to her injuries. The passengers around her do nothing. For over a minute, no one helps her.
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A woman in red, seated next to her, across the aisle, appears to look over at a suffering Irena,
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and then looks away. One passenger gets up and walks away, seemingly in the direction of the
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perpetrator. Finally, a fellow passenger appears, a man in a green shirt, who takes off that shirt and
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tries to help stop the bleeding. The New York Post reports that some passengers did attempt CPR.
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In the days since the first videos of the horrific attack were revealed to the public,
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we've come to learn a lot about this suspect. His mile-long rap sheet stretching over more than a
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decade. Fourteen arrests, including felony larceny, robbery, and assault, known by local law enforcement
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to have schizophrenia. Most recently arrested in January for repeatedly dialing 911 to report,
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quote, man-made material had been implanted in his body and was controlling how he walked,
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talked, and ate. He was released without bond by Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes. Not only did Ms.
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Stokes graduate from a law school with the lowest bar passage rates in America, she also serves as the
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director of a mental health and addiction treatment facility, leading some to believe she was
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conflicted and in no position to determine bail for defendants like DeCarlos Brown with a long rap
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sheet and obvious mental issues. In July, at the request of his public defender, the court ordered a
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psychological exam be conducted to assess Brown's competency for trial. That order from Chief District
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Judge Roy Wiggins, who chose not to detain Brown pending the evaluation. Once again, his obvious mental
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issues did not result in a lockup. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt taking some of this on from the White
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House on Tuesday. This monster should have been locked up. An arena should still be alive. But Democrat
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politicians, liberal judges, and weak prosecutors would rather virtue signal than lock up criminals
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and protect their communities. And perhaps most shamefully of all, the majority of the media, many outlets
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in this room decided that her murder was not worth reporting on originally because it does not fit a
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preferred narrative. Many of the journalists in this room spilled plenty of ink trying to smear Daniel
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Penny for defending a subway car from a deranged lunatic in New York City. But none of those same
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reporters lift a finger to write stories about an actual murderer. Yesterday, prosecutors sharing more
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about the life of the victim. In Ukraine, Irena earning a degree in art and restoration. She was
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living in a bomb shelter before she left her home for a brighter life in the U.S. At the time of the
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attack, she was returning home from a job at a local pizzeria. Officials say she also helped at a
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retirement home, taking care of neighborhood animals as well. She had recently moved in with her partner,
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U.S. Attorney Ferguson describing a conversation with her family.
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After Irena's death, the embassy in Ukraine called and said, we'll help you bring her home.
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And her family said no. They said she loved America. We're going to bury her here.
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As folks in the media try to spin their own narratives, U.S. Attorney Ferguson directly
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addressing accusations of political grandstanding.
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What do you say to people who see what's happening here today and wonder if this is political
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grandstanding? This is a heinous crime and we are going to remedy it. I don't know what the
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politics is here. If this was a political grandstand, there would be an opposite side to
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this. Is the opposite side, let's allow murders on our light rail? Is the opposite side, let's let
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people out of state prisons so they can commit other crimes? There's no other side to this. There's
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no politics to this. President Trump releasing a video from the Oval on Tuesday imploring Democrat
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leaders to work with the federal government to clean up the streets. For far too long, Americans
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have been forced to put up with Democrat-run cities that set loose savage, bloodthirsty
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criminals to prey on innocent people. In every place, they control radical left judges, politicians
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and activists. And they've adopted a policy of catch and release for thugs and killers. We cannot
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allow a depraved criminal element of violent repeat offenders to continue spreading destruction
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and death throughout our country. We have to respond with force and strength. We have to be
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vicious just like they are. It's the only thing they understand.
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As America reels from another senseless act of violence committed by a repeat offender,
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New York City Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate, frontrunner Zoran Mamdani, elaborating on plans
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that could make life easier for alleged criminals in New York City. Mamdani speaking Monday at Columbia
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University's School of Journalism, saying as mayor he would support abolishing New York City's so-called
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gang database. Established in 2013, the database contains approximately 16,000 names, including some
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as young as 11 years old, reportedly, long criticized by progressives and civil rights groups as racially
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biased, unfairly targeting Black and Hispanic men. A bill to ban the database is currently stalled
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in the city council. Here now, Mamdani. If city council legislation to abolish the NYPD gang database
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were to pass, would you support and sign that? I have supported that proposal. It's one that I've
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supported because of the vast dragnet has meant the inclusion of New Yorkers on the basis of whether
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they go out late, photos they put on social media, so much of the facts of life of being a young New
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Yorker. And yet it then becomes a mark of suspicion. There's no question that we have to take
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gangs extremely seriously. And yet I find that a database that includes New Yorkers on such bases
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is one that doesn't actually do exactly that. City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute,
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reporting in March on a drop in New York City shootings to nearly pre-pandemic levels, citing
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the database as a key law enforcement tool. Quote, gangs are responsible for 65 percent of the city's
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shootings. When a gang member is shot, officers use the database to assess rivalries, anticipate
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reprisals, and deploy resources strategically to contain escalating violence. Instead of piecing
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together information from scattered sources, investigators can quickly identify suspects,
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establish motives, and close cases faster. NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch defending the
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database in the wake of Mamdani's comments on 1010 Winds Radio. Much of the violence that we've seen over
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the past few weeks in the Bronx is gang-related. We know who the gang members are, thanks to our
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criminal group database, and we know where they operate. And so you can be sure that we have deployed,
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12,000 cops in the borough of the Bronx, on the streets, in the times we know the crime has
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occurred. We are focused on precision policing, the right blocks, the right time, and we know who
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the people are that are in these gangs, and we are going after the gangs. This year, we have
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done more gang takedowns in New York City than we ever have. Mayor Eric Adams, running as an
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independent, supports the database. Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo's stance is unclear.
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Recent polling from the New York Times shows Mamdani leading the pack by double digits and
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expanding his top spot in the four-way race. 46 percent of likely voters supporting Mamdani
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compared to 24 percent for former Governor Andrew Cuomo, 15 percent for Republican Curtis
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Sliwa, and 9 percent for incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. The number crunchers finding if the field were to
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shrink to a head-to-head matchup between Mamdani and Governor Cuomo, the race would likely be much
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tighter. Mamdani with 48 percent, Cuomo, supposedly, with 44. With election day less than two months away,
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the White House reportedly considering job offers within the administration to get Adams and Sliwa
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out of the race. That's if they would agree to leave. Both candidates stating, right now,
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they intend to see it through to the end. Coming up, a new jobs report reveals President Trump
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inherited a much weaker economy than previously thought. And AOC prides herself on small dollar
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Joe Biden's economy was even worse than we knew, according to new data released yesterday.
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An annual revision from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, showing the U.S. jobs market was
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much weaker than previously reported across most of 2024 through the beginning of 2025. Each month,
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the BLS releases jobs data collected from two main surveys, one of homes, another of businesses and
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government agencies. These monthly reports are early snapshots. The numbers are revised several more
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times as delayed data becomes available. Once a year, the jobs data gets a full true-up, covering the
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entire stretch from March of one year through the following March. In this case, the Bureau of
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Labor Statistics dropping the largest preliminary revision ever recorded from March of 2024 through
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March of this year. The BLS reporting 911,000 fewer jobs were created than initially reported. The average
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employment gains revised downward from 147,000 per month to about 70,000. This is the second August
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revision in a row revealing employment numbers were overestimated by nearly one million jobs. Last
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month, President Trump firing the Biden-appointed head of BLS, accusing the agency of cooking the
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books to create more favorable reports under President Biden. Critics of the move calling it a political
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stunt, accusing Mr. Trump of trying to deflect blame from his own tariff policies, which they say are
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driving up costs for businesses and slowing growth. Trump administration officials like National Economic
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Council Director Kevin Hassett and Senior Counselor Peter Navarro, arguing data collection methods are
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outdated and have only deteriorated since COVID. CNBC's senior economics reporter Steve Leisman putting the
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latest revisions into context. There have been questions lately about how this process, this data,
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the president raised it, he fired the BLS chief. Does this feed into those concerns about how the data
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was so off? I think it should, and I'll tell you why, Sarah, because when I look at the history of
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these as a percentage of payrolls, actually they do a pretty good job when you look at the revisions as
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a percent, 0.1, 0.2, it's averaged about 0.3. This is 0.6. This is double the average, and it was 0.4
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in 2024. So the last couple of years have been quite a bit above average in terms of the amount
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of revision. What's happening here is we're getting jobless claim insurance data from the states. I
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don't know if the problem is at the state level or if it's at the federal level. Whatever it is,
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there's something not going quite as well as it used to go in terms of the ability of the BLS to gather
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monthly data. The Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 initially dipping on the news, though rallying
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throughout the day to finish in the green. Historically, weak job growth is a signal for
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the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at yesterday's briefing
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saying these numbers bolster the president's call for the Fed to take action at its meeting next week.
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This was one of the biggest revisions in absolute terms in decades. Between this revision and last
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year's job growth was actually overstated by approximately 2 million jobs. And the Biden
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administration stood up here and vouched for that data and told you that data was real.
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And when President Trump calls into question the veracity of that data like he did before he took
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the oath of office and even now as president of the United States, he was ridiculed for that.
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And turns out this revision proves two things. Number one, the president was right. And this is why we
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need new leadership at the Fed. And this makes it very clear that President Trump inherited a much worse
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economy by the Biden administration than ever reported. And it also proves that the Federal
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Reserve is holding our monetary policy far too restrictive. Interest rates are too high. The Fed
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needs to cut the rates because of the mess that we inherited from the Biden administration.
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This annual report will be revised one final time those numbers expected in February.
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Nothing says fighting oligarchy quite like racking up hefty bills at five-star hotels.
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Just ask U.S. Congresswoman from New York, Democrat Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or AOC.
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The Washington Examiner reporting on the Congresswoman's Federal Election Commission
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filings, campaign expenditures revealing large tabs at luxury accommodations, coinciding with stops on the
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Fighting Oligarchy Tour launched earlier this year by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
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AOC is a frequent guest on the tour, the AM Update reporting in April on the duo's penchant for flying
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first class, or better yet, private, as they crisscross the country to raise money from regular folks in
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their so-called fight against the oligarchs of the Trump administration. The Examiner noting the stark
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contrast between AOC's message to the crowds and what her life is really like behind the scenes.
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Last March in Vegas, AOC railing against income inequality, telling rallygoers,
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quote, we don't have to live like this anymore, Las Vegas. We deserve better than this.
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Only for the campaign to then drop $3,508.92 at the Vidara Hotel and Spa, according to the Examiner.
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In April, after a Salt Lake City rally railing against the rich, expense reports show the campaign
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dropping $3,445.59 at the Asher Adams Hotel. The Examiner reporting, quote,
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retrofitted from a historical railroad station, the train-themed hotel houses a fine dining restaurant
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offering wine as pricey as $900 a bottle, lobster towers, and $95 caviar for appetizers.
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Altogether, the filings show more than $8,000 in luxury hotel bills over just two months,
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thanks to the small-dollar campaign donors AOC claims to champion.
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And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show,
00:21:21.540
live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash megankelly,